Healing Begins With You as You Reclaim the Energy That Is Truly Yours

Written by Faye Lao, Integrative Wellness Practitioner | Certified Grief Educator | Corporate Trainer

Faye Lao is an Integrative Wellness Practitioner, Certified Grief Educator and Transformational Coach who blends intuitive guidance, spiritual insight, and energy healing to support deep renewal. She shares sacred space for healing through Faye Inspired Healing and News for the Soul Radio.

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What if healing wasn’t about fixing yourself, but about letting go of what was never yours to begin with? In this powerful follow-up piece, Integrative Wellness Practitioner Faye Lao reconnects with energy healer Joel Hipps to explore how reclaiming your own energy can lead to profound transformation. Whether you're an empath feeling overwhelmed or simply seeking clarity, this conversation offers a path back to your true self.

You were never broken – you’ve just been carrying other people’s energy

Feeling off balance? Maybe you’re just an empath in a world that is off kilter! In this insightful conversation, Faye Lao reconnects with Joel Hipps, Founder of the Southern California Psychic Institute, to explore how energy healing isn’t about fixing you – it’s about finding you. Together, they reveal how easily we absorb the emotions, chaos, and clutter of others until we forget what our energy even feels like. True healing, as it turns out, is about letting go of what was never yours… and reclaiming the radiant self that always was.

Your spirit called – it wants you back

What happens when something as gentle as energy healing becomes the powerful doorway to everything you’ve been seeking?

In my previous Brainz Magazine article, "From Skeptic to Believer: How One Healing Session Changed Everything," I shared the story of how a single session at the Southern California Psychic Institute opened the door to my own awakening.

In this follow-up, I had the privilege of reconnecting with Joel Hipps, the gifted healer and visionary founder of the Southern California Psychic Institute, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. As my guest on News for the Soul Radio, Joel shares his wisdom on the deeper meaning of energy healing, the unique challenges empaths often face, and why reclaiming our own energy is not just helpful but essential for living with clarity, authenticity, and a sense of wholeness.

Related: Joel Hipps Interview in News for the Soul Radio

Your energy called – Please plug me in

Joel, who has spent over 30 years guiding people through intuitive training, described healing this way: "A healing helps the person that gets the healing to release energy or blocks that they're willing to release… and the net result is that you become more yourself."

Most of us walk through life clouded by emotional fog, a mix of stress, stories, and life debris we absorb from others. And because it’s familiar, we assume it’s us. But healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about dropping what was never yours and returning to your original shine.

Confessions of an out-of-control healer

One of Joel's witty signature lines is: "Hi, my name is Joel. I'm an out-of-control healer."

He described it this way: "Basically, a healer is someone who gives. If somebody is in discomfort, you want to help them. The extreme of this is the person who, if there's somebody having a hard time that you don't even know, will stop everything they're doing to try to help them or comfort them."

This highlights the basic difference between healers and those operating from self-serving energy –the “givers and the takers.” Without boundaries, healers become drained and tangled in others' pain. Joel reminds us that true healing comes with conscious giving and energetic clarity.

Through training at the Institute, I learned to clear what wasn’t mine, call my energy back, and reclaim my space, again and again.

Related: Protection Strategies for Empaths

You’re not the problem – you’re just an out of control empath

Joel shared, “The problem is… we’ve been sitting in the middle of everybody’s energy for so long, we start to think that it’s us.” When we absorb emotions from family, work, or the news, we often mistake the noise for our own truth. And let’s be honest, there’s no shortage of global chaos right now. For sensitive souls, it can feel like trying to stand still in a tidal wave, while everyone else is shouting.

From tense conversations to crowded rooms to that 24/7 news scroll, if you’re energetically open but unprotected, no wonder you may feel tired, frazzled, or mysteriously moody by noon.

But sensitivity isn’t weakness, it’s high-definition awareness. The key is knowing what’s yours and letting the rest go. Think of it as energetic housecleaning: clear the clutter, call your energy back, and maybe light a candle while you're at it.

Joel reminds us, “You can’t control everything out there. But you can reclaim your space inside of it. And when you do, you stop being a sponge and start becoming a lighthouse.”

Energetic clean-up for the soul

Energy healing can feel like a daily shower, or detoxing our bodies from time to time. Just as we rinse away physical dirt, or do an interior cleanse, we also need to release the energy debris we pick up from the world. Spiritual maintenance is essential for us to find our energetic space of our true selves.

Where are you? Do you want to go find you?

Ever feel like you're just… not quite in your own skin? Maybe you’ve disconnected from the version of yourself that feels clear and alive? That’s your signal. Your inner self might be waving a little flag saying, “Hey, I’m still here, come find me!”

You were never broken. You were just stuck

If you’re feeling a little stuck, Joel reminds us that: “Healing, from my point of view, is really just a matter of getting flowing, and you have a physical body, and you operate on a very special fuel called you.” 

You don’t need someone else’s energy to feel better. You don’t need to be fixed. Your healing comes from reconnecting with your own vital force. When you clear the energetic noise and come back into alignment, that unique fuel source, your essence, can flow freely again.

Real healing or just a feel-good buzz?

As energy work gains popularity, Joel made a key distinction. Many modalities involve a practitioner channeling their own energy into someone else. But at the Institute, the focus is different: it’s about helping people release what’s not theirs so they can return to their own natural flow.

"What works for you is your own energy... What works for you is your own wonderfulness," Joel explained. "Even though you are wonderful, your wonderfulness in me doesn’t work."

In other words, true healing isn't about someone adding something to you; it’s about creating space so your original energy can return. 

That was exactly what I experienced in my first session with Joel. He didn’t give me anything new. He helped me let go of what I wasn’t, and it worked wonders! 

To learn more about Joel Hipps and the Southern California Psychic Institute, visit here.

Related: The Science Behind Energy Healing

What about you?

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, in grief, or out of sync? You may be carrying energy that isn’t even yours.

Whether through a one-on-one coaching session, guided meditation, or learning to clear your own space, I invite you to explore what’s possible.

If this message resonates with you, I invite you to stay in touch. Connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or visit my website or email at fayeinspiredhealing@outlook.com to explore more resources and reflections. Let’s continue the journey together. 

Read more from Faye Lao

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Faye Lao, Integrative Wellness Practitioner | Certified Grief Educator | Corporate Trainer

Faye Lao a lifelong student of spirituality and energy healing, was called to the healing path after experiencing profound personal loss. With years of study in spirituality, metaphysics and human consciousness, she blends intuitive healing, mediumship and transformational coaching to create supportive spaces for those navigating lilfe's challenges. Through her practice, Faye Inspired Healing, she guides clients toward clarity, peace, and renewed joy--supporting them in reconnecting with their authentic selves.