I went to the supermarket last week, wearing gloves, keeping my distance, and trying not to touch anything needlessly. When I got home, I felt awful. Irritable, short-tempered, exhausted, anxious, sad, with a raging headache

At first I was justifying how I felt: "Well of course I'm grouchy, grocery shopping is the worst!" True, but not quite... Then: "Well of course I'm grouchy, there's a global pandemic! People are suffering with no end in sight!" Closer... And then I realized what was going on, and I used an intuitive assessment technique to confirm it.

I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and asked myself this question:

How much of this pain-anxiety-fear-grief is mine?

Without giving it any thought, a number popped into my mind: 40%.

According to healer Jonathan Goldman (who wrote about this technique in his incredible book, Gift of the Body), "The first number that jumps out is, in my experience, an accurate answer."

In effect, I had gone swimming in a murky stew of panic, mistrust, fear, anxiety, and grief and had come home without cleaning off. (Hand sanitizer doesn't touch it!)

I could have gone on feeling bad and radiating bad feelings to my family. These things are contagious. But it has made a big difference in my life to learn to distinguish the emotions and thoughts that are mine — up to me to experience and process — and the "debris" that is floating around and can glom on to any of us. Just awareness of a percentage gives me relief and perspective. What's mine I can deal with. The rest, I know to release.

If you would like guidance on assessing your energy or need help clearing any energetic debris that's "not yours," please get in touch. I have been seeing people experience dramatic relief in a short time.

Energy Hygiene

To keep your energy field clear, prioritize fresh air, time out in nature (around trees and/or running water if possible), and vigorous, intentional breath and movement practices. Epsom salt baths and foot soaks are also great.

Two simple immune-boosting, energy-moving, mood-lifting exercises I highly recommend are shoulder shrugs and Donna Eden's Four Thumps: click here for details. I recommend them when you need to gently unlock your energy, shift your perspective, and recover a sense of peace.

And remember to keep your environment clean and clear also. Here is how I energetically clear space.