You know what it’s like when you feel another person more than yourself? You go through life wondering if everyone else is okay and forget to check in with yourself.  

I’m an empath. I take on everyone and everything. I knew a lot already about mindfulness and meditation, but it wasn’t teaching me how to connect compassionately without burden. I was looking for a new way to work with people without taking it all on. I knew that I had to learn a different way or I would burn out. I also was so tired of meeting online and was aching to be in a real room with real people. My goal was to be with others in real-time and find a way to not take on other people's energy and release the suffering of other people so that I wouldn’t carry it with me through life. 

Being in person allowed me to make a deeper connection—to the group, with nature, and with the overall process. There was a shared presence that allowed me to learn and embody my learning in a new way. I learned some foundational spiritual steps to take that taught me how to remain connected with others and maintain my own inner sacred space. The results were amazing.  

I left the weekend feeling Full. I received new insights, new tools, more clarity, and more confidence to shine my light out into the world. I left with an inner commitment to live with courage and authenticity. I finally knew how to be with people without taking them on. 

-Deborah Benedict