Just as it is good to wash hands after handling germy things it is good to clear one's energy. Just as it is wise to wear a coat when it is freezing out, unless you are one of those storied monks who can melt ice meditating, it is good to reinforce the aura's natural boundary with a coating of good vibes when facing potentially harsh energies. I am more holey than holy so I shield and ground daily. Some can let the crud just wash through them automatically or it bounces off like a nerf ball with no harm done. me being around a seething rwinger or anyone generic rage-o-holic is like standing in front of a sandblaster w/out protection. some have called me paranoid but it is simple practicality. I don't panic at the thought of being around bad vibes, I just do at least a quickie visulization so I don't feel like crap because I have someone else's headache. :shrug:
Work with whomever *YOU* feel comfortable with, your higher/innerself, a personofication of the divine, or something else. I am comfortable working eclectically with a hodge podge of beings but that is me. I use myself as an example because I know what works for me and sometimes it suits others and others it hopefully helps them find something else that suits them. My favorite book on this topic is The Witch's Shield by Wiccan & Reiki master Christopher Penczak (Anyone intersted can read most of the book here for free:
http://books.google.com/books?id=xkUxEaO1J2MC ) as he isn't into fear mongering but suggestion a variety of practical tools that can be changed and adapted. I am a do it myself new agey none of the abover when it comes to religion but was still comfortable with his book. The probably are other good books out there but after buying several books of which only his did me any good I decided to save my $. If Penczak isn't your cup of tea hopefully some others here can share their favorite books and websites which might be right for you.
The hate and paranoid fear fox and the like spew is horrible. Just looking at things from a psychology view point it is toxic. The more you are around it the more it exacerbates any existing issues in that area. Add in knowledge of how psychic energy works and you can see how it works on that level as well. Fear and hate thoughtforms and yes some entities who feed on negative emotion ick. There are family thoughtforms, cultural group thoughtforms, religious thoughtforms 0 how many of those RW relgious who think they saw Jesus actually ran into a thoughtform instead of the actual Prince of peace! and personal monkies on the back. People with Sight can see the suckers. Glad I can't. I just know sometimes when working on someone there is something there, sometimes what it is (arrow from past life, energy picked up from another) and how to remove it. I have been focusing more on getting my own act fully together lately but have worked a bit to see if there is someway to help transmute some of the big nasties aka thoughtforms of War, Fear the People Who Aren't Our Kind, Endtimer crap. I visulize disconnecting any possible connections from thoughtforms of fear even of legit concerns so my bit of emotion is not fuel for those fires. I could *feel* the day after 9/11 the pull to watch the news as much as possible and started getting paranoid expect attacks in a small town grocery store. I knew then I had to turn it off and only read in small bits online stopping when I felt that pull heading towards compulsion. I felt guilty like somehow I owed to those who died to pay every iota of attention possible which I suspect was the thoughtform trying to get fed again. In the end in any case it didn't do anyone any good if I let myself develop a new set of phobias and compulsions. Maybe I thwarted a harmful thoughtform just
that much by not getting sucked in, maybe not.
re: OCD - I am sorry you have experience this and for so long. I wish I knew something to suggest but I am still working out how to treat me with other issues more pressing. It took me must have been a year to make serious progress on the negative self talk, maybe longer. Everytime I did it I Reikied myself at least 2-3 deep breaths, longer if I could. Reiki to the brain to clear that thought program and reiki to the area(s) of the body I felt the emotion of the thoughts as well. Much nice than snapping elastics a gazillion times a day and less conspicious. Before my attunement I would breath light in whatever color felt right into the brain and body. I relate to thinking of the brain as being like an organic computer so I thought of deleting the bad programming and replacing it with acceptance of my humanness which means I will screw up at least some of the time so I might as well at least intellectually accept it, leaving me with that much more energy to devote to correcting the situation.
Sorry to blab on so. :blush: esp. for the bad english. Never did good at it and writing at school, would rather read other's stuff. & the 'net wasn't around then so I never figured to be a writer even this much :p