Empowering Intuitives, A Tool Kit for the Modern World by Rev. Dr. Michelle-Walker
Thank you NETGALLEY for the Arc. This book took around 1.5hours to read.
It’s interesting that I should be reading this book right after recording a podcast (TheCelestial.Cafe) regarding empaths, navigating the world as an empath, and protecting yourself from taking on the energy of others. The goal of this book is the same: “To help, guide, illuminate, and allow you to gain the knowledge,” from the author’s experiences as an intuitive empath.
The author uses empath and intuitive interchangeably in this book, and I don’t know that I agree with that. Yes, as you become more in-tune to the universe, both these skills are amplified, but they’re vastly different and while one affects emotion (empath), the other is related to signs from the universe that are meant to be emotionless (intuition) – you just /know/. You can be an empath and have no skills with listening to your intuition, just as you can be very intuitive and be so cold that you feel no empathy.
The author of this book has very strong clairvoyance, mostly communing with the spirits of those who have passed. This, in my opinion, deserves a book in and of itself. This is a psychic experience, and people reading this book could become confused if they think being an intuitive empath requires seeing visions. Not all intuitives and empaths have this ability to see, and it doesn’t make their skills any less valid. She seems to associate these two words to that ability.
The author clearly defines the subject matter she speaks to (grounding/earthing, auras, chakras, etc) and acknowledges how they are all intertwined and can have an energetic effect on one another. She stresses maintaining a balance in your chakras is essential for empaths, and I loved that. The chapters also have exercises to help you build a routine and practice with the techniques mentioned including space to journal your thoughts after the practices. This was a lovely touch.
Thankfully, the author eventually dedicates an entire chapter to Psychic Abilities which means she does differentiate them from intuition and being an empath, it’s just weird to have seen them intermingled at the beginning without a clear indication that one is not necessary for the other. Perhaps the intro should be edited slightly to emphasize this. This author is immensely psychically gifted and this would heighten her intuition and empathy skills, which, again, may make some readers feel as though they’re not “doing it right”. While claircognizance (“clear knowing”) can have some overlap with intuition and being an empath, it’s heightened and more clearly defined. It’s important to separate the three. I love that she has exercises dedicated to practicing and perfecting your “clairs” – really cool touch.
All her personal stories are immensely fascinating, but really clarify just how deeply gifted and psychic she really is. For some reason, Spiritual Awakening and Self-Awareness are chapters 4 & 5 when they should really kick off the book (it’s essential for a healthy foundation to your spiritual gifts). I really enjoyed the self-awareness chapter, as it gets you to reflect on how you spend your time, your money, what occupies your mind, and how you display yourself to others. It’s really insightful and has a lot of “ah-ha” moments. Nurturing the Intuitive Soul could have been combined with the Self-Awareness chapter as it gets you to reflect carefully on what you value. It was another chapter I deeply enjoyed.
What’s weird is that this book doesn’t really focus on what it says it intends to do at the very beginning (“To help, guide, illuminate, and allow you to gain the knowledge,” from the author’s experiences as an intuitive empath.). Instead, it touches upon numerous spiritual concepts are very, very briefly speaks on how to handle or protect your sensitivity to energies. It even talks about using a pendulum and using crystals, which I have no problem with, but I think the title of the book ends up being misleading. I would call this a “Spiritual Awakening Manual” as it really gives you a basis for understanding all aspects of the spiritual journey.
This is a book I wish I had when I was first starting out on this path! This would be a great gift to a person who just had their kundalini awakening and is discovering who they spiritually are. It’s really well written and I love the author’s voice, I’m just giving it a four out of five stars because I don’t believe it sticks to its initial purpose and focus, and because I believe the chapters would be better shifted a little differently.
4/5 STARS
seeking celestial grace© 