A shield is a bubble of energy that works like a window screen. It filters the energy that moves through it and defends against other¢s negative energy. It also prevents people with psychic abilities from using them with you. Shields help empaths keep others' emotions separate from their own.

Creation

Begin by clearly thinking through your purpose for the shield. Why do you want a shield? What exactly do you want it to do? Will it keep out all energy, or just bad energy? Will it be temporary, or will it be permanent? Will it only be defensive, or will it attack in response to negative energy? Once you have a clear intent, begin drawing energy and swirling it around you. Picture the energy as anything you wish. Common visualizations are soap bubbles, waterfalls, balls of light, fire, trees/vines, crystals, feathered wings or fur, tank metal, and armor. Choose an image that you enjoy thinking about and that isn¢t cramped or heavy. Swirl the energy around you. When you feel the shield is strong enough, let go. It will maintain itself with whatever purpose you gave it as you created it. If the shield depletes over time. Repeat to add more energy.

Effects

A shield can have many effects, alone or in combination. A shield can keep energy on one side or the other, or act as a filter to allow only certain energy inside. It can convert energy from one form to another so that a filter is unnecessary. Shields help empaths keep out some of the extra emotional energy so they don't feel overwhelmed. Shields also define boundaries in the physical world, which people will usually not to cross. Often they won¢t even realize why they stopped there. The edge of a shield works as a psychic alarm. When someone physically crosses it, the shield gives the owner a psychic warning that someone is nearby. Shields cause any effects you intend them to have when you create them. Just like any psychic ability, energy follows thought. Whatever you think about when you create the shield affects how it is created. Shield effects are not at all limited to what is listed here; anything you can think of, you can do.

Maintenance

Stress sometimes interferes with maintaining a shield. Under normal circumstances, a shield maintains itself for quite a while. However, large amounts of negative energy, attacks, illness, and lack of sleep all weaken a shield.

Daily Stress

Daily stress is the most common difficulty with shielding. While a shield often prevents psychic energy from adding to the stress, eventually the shield weakens. More rest, planned time alone, meditation, and avoiding stress are the best cures. Daily or weekly meditation replenishes a drained shield and helps relax you.

Empathic Overload

Empathic overload is similar to, but can be more intense than, normal stress. Large crowds, schools, and cities are filled with intense emotional energy. Empaths who are particularly sensitive to this learn to build very strong shields to keep other people's emotions separate from their own. The first few days of an emotionally intense environment can be particularly tiring if the empath has not yet made a strong enough shield. Meditation and self-examination are important to protect from the empathic pounding of emotionally intense environments. Meditation helps relieve the stress and emotional energy in a controlled way. It also gives time to identify the difference between empathic emotions and personal emotions. By identifying yourself carefully (especially emotionally), you add an extra layer to the shield which defines "self" and "other." This helps external emotions bounce off harmlessly.