Over the years, one of the greatest lessons Spirit has taught me has also been one of the most freeing.

As an empath, I naturally feel the emotions and energy of those around me. For many years, I didn't fully understand what I was experiencing. I would find myself carrying emotions that weren't mine, feeling exhausted for no apparent reason, or becoming overwhelmed by the pain of others.

Sometimes I would notice myself becoming frustrated while driving in traffic, only to realize a few moments later that the emotion didn't even belong to me. That has become one of my personal signals that it's time to stop, reconnect with myself, and clear my energy.

That is why I practice chakra clearing, cord cutting, and grounding on a regular basis. These aren't simply techniques I teach—they are part of my own spiritual practice. They help me return to my center and remember who I truly am.
For a long time, I believed that being an empath meant I was responsible for helping everyone.

Spirit gently showed me something different.

One day I received this message:

Honor those around you and remember you all have lessons to learn. It is not your job to fix people's lives. It is your job to guide them. They get to choose whether or not they want to take action.

Those words changed my life.

I realized that every soul comes to Earth with its own unique journey. We grow through experience. We learn through challenges. We expand through both our successes and our mistakes.

When I try to carry someone else's burdens, I unintentionally interfere with lessons that may have been chosen for their own growth. My role is not to remove every obstacle from another person's path. My role is to offer love, encouragement, guidance, and support while honoring their freedom to choose.

That realization also taught me something equally important.

I am not responsible for carrying someone else's energy.

I can love deeply without carrying their pain.

I can support someone without sacrificing my own peace.

I can hold space for healing without taking responsibility for another person's choices.

This lesson has transformed not only my work as a healer, but also my life.

Whether I am offering a reading, teaching Reiki, guiding a meditation, or simply having a conversation, my intention is never to tell someone how to live their life. My intention is to help them reconnect with the wisdom that already lives within them.

I don't believe I have all the answers.

I don't see myself as better than anyone else.

I believe we are all equal.

Each of us is walking our own sacred path, learning exactly what our soul came here to learn.

If I can help someone remember their own inner light, then I have fulfilled my purpose.

So today, if you find yourself carrying burdens that don't belong to you, take a deep breath.

Release what is not yours to carry.

Honor your own energy.

Honor the journeys of those you love.

Trust that every soul is exactly where it needs to be.

And remember...

May you always remember that miracles begin within and that the light you seek has been shining inside you all along.

With love and gratitude,

Joy Kauf


About Joy Kauf
Joy Kauf is an Intuitive Spiritual Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, Galactic Healing Master Teacher, and Business Consultant for the Metaphysical Community. Through readings, healings, workshops, and guided meditations, Joy helps others reconnect with their own inner wisdom and Divine Light.

​

Continue Your Journey

• 🌟 Book a Reading
• 💜 Experience a Healing Session
• 🎧 Coming Soon: The Golden Ray Chakra Healing Meditation
• 📚 Explore Workshops & Certifications

I sat down with Patti Negri on The Witching Hour Podcast, and one of the first things she asked me about was energy clearing — how to do it, why it matters, and how often. It's one of the questions I get asked most, whether I'm with a private client, teaching a Galactic Healing® class, or just chatting with someone at Miracles of Joy. So I wanted to bring the conversation here too, for anyone who couldn't catch the episode live.

Here's the truth: you are not just carrying your own energy around with you. Every conversation, every crowded room, every scroll through the news, every person who unloads their stress on you — it all leaves a residue. Empaths and intuitives feel this most acutely, but honestly, everyone does. You know the feeling. You walk into your house after a long day and you just feel heavier, foggier, off. That's not just tiredness. That's energy that isn't yours, sitting in your field.

The good news is that clearing it doesn't have to be complicated, and it doesn't require years of training. It requires intention, a few minutes, and a little consistency.

Why Clearing Matters
In more than two decades of doing this work, I've come to think of your energy field the way I once thought about a balance sheet back in my corporate days — yes, really. Everything that comes in needs to be accounted for, and what no longer serves you needs to come off the books. When you skip that step, the field gets cluttered. You feel anxious without knowing why. You feel exhausted after being around certain people. You feel like your intuition has gone quiet, when really it's just buried under noise that isn't yours.

Clearing isn't about becoming a different person or detaching from the world. It's about making sure what you're feeling, thinking, and carrying actually belongs to you.

A Simple Practice You Can Start Today

This is close to what I shared with Patti and her listeners — a short practice you can do in the morning, before bed, or anytime you feel "off."

First, ground yourself. Sit or stand with both feet flat on the floor and take three slow breaths. Picture roots growing from the soles of your feet down into the earth. This single step matters more than people realize — you cannot clear effectively from a scattered, ungrounded state.

Next, set your intention out loud or silently. Something as simple as, "I release any energy that is not mine, with love and gratitude," is enough. Your intention is what directs the work — energy follows attention.

Then, visualize. I like to imagine a column of white or gold light moving from above my head down through my body and out through my feet, gently sweeping away anything heavy, dense, or not in alignment with my highest good. Let it move slowly. There's no rush.

Finally, seal your field. Once you feel lighter, picture a soft layer of light surrounding your body like a second skin. This isn't about building a wall to keep life out — it's about protecting your peace while you stay open to genuine connection.

That's it. Five minutes, no tools required, though if you enjoy them, a few drops of an essential oil blend, a smudge of sage or palo santo, or simply running your hands under cool water can support the process.

Building It Into Your Life

The people I work with who feel the biggest shift are the ones who do this consistently, not perfectly. I always tell my students in Galactic Healing® training: you don't need a forty-five minute ritual every day. You need a practice you'll actually do. For some of you that's the five-minute version above each morning. For others, it's pausing in the car before you walk into the house after work. For others still, it's a longer Reiki or energy-healing session with a practitioner once a month to go deeper than you can on your own.

If you've been feeling foggy, anxious, or simply not like yourself, energy clearing is often the missing piece — not because something is wrong with you, but because you've been absorbing more than your system was built to hold onto. Give yourself permission to set it down.

If you'd like support going deeper — whether that's a private session, a Reiki attunement, or learning Galactic Healing® for yourself — I'd love to help. You can reach out anytime through Miracles of Joy or book a session directly with me.

And if you want to hear the full conversation with Patti Negri, including the stories that didn't make it into this post, you can find it on The Witching Hour Podcast.

So I thought I would share with you a few thoughts.  This year has been a big year for awakenings.  What does Awakening mean?  It means that everyone is starting to sense energy and spirit in their everyday lives. 

At the beginning of this year I noticed we could not keep sage on the shelves.  More and more people are becoming aware of energy around them.  We all have labels for this energy.  Ghost, Spirits, Negative Feelings, Negative emotions, and everything in between.  What if Humanity is evolving.   We are moving forward as a species, and expanding and evolving makes us more sensitive to energy, to the other, because we are all one consciousness.   It is thrilling that we are evolving and connecting with each other. 

Our next step is to know we are all the ONE.

You can use sage to clear your home, did you know you can use it to clear your energy field as well.  Follow these steps:

1. Light the white sage stick.
2. Take a deep breath and agree to release anything that does not suit your higher purpose.
3. Allow the smoke to move over your head and move it all around your body and under your feet.
4. Place the sage into a mug upside down until it goes out.
5. Breathe.
6. It is this simple to let negative energy go.