An Empath in New York

I just spent a couple of whirlwind days in New York City. I love The City and had a great time walking around Central Park, visiting the Guggenheim and even geeking out in Times Square.

Times Square!

Have you ever noticed that every disaster movie ever made has something going down in Times Square. I think it’s a big X Marks The Spot for hostile alien take overs, tsunamis, the repeat of the Ice Age and the Zombie Apocalypse. All of which are excellent cinematic fun!

I was getting my picture taken with the Naked Cowboy and the Statue of Liberty, and I noticed that I was having a little bit of Times Square Disaster Movie PTSD. I kept looking over my shoulder and waiting for the aliens and zombies to appear.

It was extra dicey due to the inherent nature of the throngs of tourists roaming about the place. Was that crazy lady in sweats and a fanny pack a zombie?  An alien?  A tourist? An alien tourist just visiting from Planet Zombie?

Sooooo hard to tell….

Manhattan has the best things to offer in terms of everything!  Restaurants, shops and entertainment, especially the entertainment that goes on inside my own head.

But I definitely find that it wears on me as a psychic and an empath.

I was staying in a pretty swanky, funky boutique hotel in Midtown and there was just no where to go where I could get away from the huge amounts of energy happening 24/7 all around me.

How does an empath manage all that cool, amazing, chaotic energy? I buckled down and just began to practice what I preach. I did my own grounding meditation every so often and that really helped. Grounding, clearing off the goo and refilling up my energy is just Energy Management 101 type stuff but it really helped!

I went walking around Central Park to help just get some space around me. (Turns out that I am an Uptown Girl for that very reason!) And it was lovely to get the sun on my skin and a little wind in my hair. I think Manhattan would be unbearable without Central Park! At least for us empaths.

And everywhere I went, I practiced my mindfulness techniques. One of my super psychic friends who lived in NYC forever told me that she knows the city is huge, but:

“You can only ever been in one place at a time! So be there with 100% of your attention and don’t think of all other things going on, and then it becomes totally manageable.” Sound advice from my Buddha like pal.

And then it started to rain and I proved my Bostonian roots by epically failing to get a cab. Ugh!  I am waaay to nice to get a cab in NYC in the rain. I had so many of them scooped right out from under my nose by native New Yorkers that I finally gave up and walked from the Guggenheim to Midtown in the pouring rain.

Ah well! It was a sweet experience and I had the best chocolate croissant that I have this side of Paris on the way, so it was all good.

And I felt great!  I was managing my empathy and when I couldn’t, I knew what to do! (Ground, clear, protect!  Repeat!)

The Art of Surrendering

Bliss