Hi Michelle, Thanks for your thought provoking questions! I'll offer my perspective below....

"How can I safely protect myself while at the same time be there in the convo with some1. I'm mentally surrounding myself with protection, drawing my auric field in, handing their issues back to them with love, but I'm still feeling stressed and drained. Limiting contact is not an alternative."

This is a difficult one! Its all about identity. Who are you and what are you being when you're working? What do I mean by this? Bare with me here. Protection is a double edged sword. If there is something in us that fears attack, then we build an identity around that fear. Holding that identity is tiring because in authenticity there is no identity - simply non-identified awareness. When you can be "nothing in it" then there is no effort in setting up a psychic defence. To be "nothing in it" is to understand, confront and release your fear of attack. Probably the best way of doing this is not to resist attack at all! As we are being attacked in some way, we need to feel ourselves being awesomely okay in it watching where tension arises and releasing that; watching our fears and understanding exactly what it is that we fear. If we allow ourselves to go deeply into them without needing the cause of the fear to be removed, then we will have dissolved identity in that kind of attack and it can no longer harm you and neither is it tiring - it just is. So the question then arises "why do we need psychic defence at all if we can be "nothing in it"? The answer is this: in order to act and work authentically, you have to hold consciousness in a particular space and time. In your case, you need to be able to feel the energy of the person you're working with. When we are really skilled at this, we find we become as one with the person we are working with. We actually blend with their energy tasting the fullness of it, darkness, distortions and all. However since our own buttons are no longer being pushed, we don't loose ourselves in the interaction by identifying with the energy. There is always just a "wafer thin slice" of us there in the background which is untouched. I know it sounds a little complex but it comes with practice - by being nothing in it. Then when we can be nothing, this is the time to really put up psychic defence to keep out opposing consciousness. I know it sounds strange but the key to great strength in these matters is first to be able to surrender completely! Second question...

"2. How do I cut off a telepathic connection with some1. This is for their benefit as well as my own, so while I've cut my side, they haven't done the same and are still very aware of my emotions from a distance. Is there more I can do from my side? Or am I unconsciously being a psychic vampire myself? The emotion they always pick up on is when I'm upset, which they feel in their solar plexus. I'm aware that it's actually their need to be connected with me that's stopping them cutting the connection, but how do I help."

The question is are you being upset with them when they feel it? If so, then its likely that in truth you may still be holding some form of energetic connection - some kind of mutual need. Please don't be offended by this, it happens to us all! It just takes profound self honesty in dealing with it. When you're sure you have no neediness of them, then you may cut the tie energetically but it is unlikely to be released until you're sure there is no neediness on your part. So assuming we're not projecting at the person we've just cut the tie with, how best can we help them? Well causing them to be authentic is the very best help we can give and we've already made the first step by proverbially "kicking away their disempowering emotional crutch". It may sound harsh, but the kindest thing we can do to another is cause them to confront reality the way it really is and that means becoming complete and whole. Of course it can be done as gently and compassionately as possible - so for example making them aware of what you're doing and why. You might also feel to give them something energetically - as I did a rose in the example with my mum. Sometimes you may still feel their negativity and this may cause negative or emotional thoughts to arise in you about them. If you are both psychically sensitive then yes they will feel it and most likely in the solar plexus. So what can you do about it? If you suspect that you've projected negative energy at someone (and it can happen quite easily), one thing you might try is this... with your intention visualise and feel all the negative energy being drawn back towards you and gathering in a dense ball in your hand. Then either throw or kick the ball into space (!) and watch is exploding into light in the heavens. Give it a try, its worked wonderfully for me in the past! So to the third question....

"3. How do I carry on my lucid dreaming without taking extra travellers on board. I'm asking this question in this thread as I feel it's connected. My dreamworld is my other reality, I get alot of spiritual work done while I'm asleep but quite often either the dream is taken over by some1 else or I have tag-alongs. I've actually asked some1 before why they were using me and they said "sorry love, I have unfinished business and need you to get it done". Problem is I wake up exhausted and feeling like I've run a marathon. If I close myself off before I fall asleep I don't get the work done that I need to do.

I'd like to ask you here, are you actually aware of what you're doing whilst you're asleep? How is it determined what work you're doing? So to the final question...

"4. Any ideas on how to hand back some1's issues without them noticing and putting up at fight? Since the retreat I've been aware of which issues are my own blocks and which 1s aren't. Am currently handing ppl's issues back to them and while they aren't aware of what I'm doing they are aware that they're not getting the same relief and they're not happy bunnies. This is kind of connected to Qu1 I think.

Yes it is completely related to question 1. I would add that if someone really was projecting at me, I believe I would want to let them know what I was experiencing as a result of their stuff - I'd want to "call them on it" even if gently. So if the person kept confronting me with it, I would make them fully aware of what they're doing. If they don't listen and keep doing it, then when their energy interacts with you, at this point it will help to become completely "as nothing in it". To give you an example of this, I was once called to break off a long standing relationship and the person involved continued to project negative energy at me. It was extremely powerful. What helped me was imagining the energy coming in as bullets (because that's how it felt) but then I imagined the bullets passing straight through me and all the while remained calm. Eventually the person tires of what they're doing and ultimately, because you've taken the target away, may well be caused to realise their own judgmental behaviour and actually might then have the impetus to do something about it. At the end of the day, if we are being profoundly honest with ourselves about our motivations, then that's all we really have responsibility for. Hope this helps! :smile: Love and best wishes