As an empath, introvert, HSP, or simply someone who is sensitive to the energies in your immediate environment, social situations can be challenging. You might become overwhelmed by others’ emotions, sometimes to the extent that you’re not sure whether what you’re feeling is yours or not. Sound about right? Then this post is for you.

Over time, taking on others’ negative emotions can wear you down, drain your energy, and even affect your physical health. I’ve found that setting up “filters” around your energy system, or aura, can be helpful in keeping your personal boundaries intact.

I’d like to share with you the meditations I use to create and maintain these energy filters. I wrote these meditations up in response to a request from a friend. I’ve been using them for years, but had never put them down in writing until fairly recently. They are based in part on techniques I learned at Vermont Witch Camp in 2005. The Reclaiming Collective, founded by one of my favorite Pagan authors, Starhawk, runs these amazing camps. I learned so much just in that one week I attended, and I highly recommend them.

Without further ado, here are the filter meditations!

Filter Creation Meditation

Relax and get comfortable. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Close your eyes and imagine a tiny golden ball of energy in your head, behind your third eye. Watch this tiny, spinning golden ball. As it spins, it gathers up your thoughts, helping you let go of distractions. Continue to breathe slowly and watch the tiny golden ball.

Visualize the ball starting to sink slowly down through your body. See it sink down the inside of your body, past your neck, down into your heart area. The ball continues to sink slowly, and as it does, you relax more and more. This golden glowing ball sinks down into your belly, and comes gently to rest there.

Now see the ball starting to gradually expand. As it starts to get a bit bigger, you notice that the ball looks like a tiny net. It looks like it’s made of the same material as a window screen, with tiny little holes. The ball grows until it becomes the size of a golf ball. It’s still golden, with a perfect mesh pattern. It expands until it’s the size of an orange, then a grapefruit. The ball keeps expanding, and now it’s as big as a basketball. The mesh pattern is still small, with tiny holes like the screen on a window. The ball is a lovely golden color, and as it expands and grows, you feel relaxed and protected.

The golden ball grows until it is a big sphere, long and wide enough to encase your entire body. You feel calm and safe inside the ball, which is a golden filter. You see that the netting is there to filter out any negative energies from outside yourself. All the things that you want inside your filter, like love and joy and fun, will come through. All negative energies from other people, like anger or fear or judgement, are now being filtered out for you.

This golden filter is the perfect size for you, and will stay with you as long as you like. The netting will keep out any energies that are not yours that you don’t want to feel. It will be working for you even if you don’t remember it’s there. And anytime you’re feeling especially overwhelmed, you can focus on your filter and remember how it helps protect you from unwanted energies.

Relax now and let go of seeing your golden filter. Know that it is still there even when you’re not focused on it. Take a few deep breaths and come back slowly to the room you’re in. When you’re ready, open your eyes.

Filter Maintenance Meditation

Every couple weeks or so, or when you’ve been in a particularly emotional or overwhelming situation, it’s a good idea to clean and maintain your golden filter.

As before, relax and get comfortable. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Close your eyes and visualize your golden filter surrounding you. Notice if there are any places where the screen seems clogged or dirty. Focus your attention there, and imagine tiny cleansing bubbles scrubbing your filter clean. Continue the process until the filter is all sparkling and golden, just like new.

Now examine your filter and see if there are any rips or tears in the screening. In your imagination, picture a little robot with tiny tools to repair your filter. The repairs are made quickly and easily, and the places that were harmed are now perfectly repaired. Your filter is all-new, golden and glowing, ready to protect you from unwanted energies that come to you from others.

Let the image of your filters fade, and take a few deep breaths. Trust that your filter is still there, shiny and strong, ready to protect you from unwanted energies.