Ha! Great sharing. We definitely do not want to be fully open to the thoughts and feelings of others, whether we know it or not. I had an experience similar to yours, but I was hearing the thoughts of others. Not just a sampling, but the crazy dog-chasing-its-tail thoughts we have running through our minds. Yuck!
Our bodies rest in that energetic yuck whether we realize it or not. I've talked with a number of people who work in the medical field who use stones to help absorb that. Those who didn't know stones could be cleared often had stones work until they disintegrated. I met a few people as they looked for replacements.
I wanted to encourage your exploration. I put it out there to join in, so whenever I remember to take somebody, I'll report any results. Anybody else?
I think the first thing that any sensitive person has to do, if they are going to be willing to be aware of the energies that surround us all, is to learn to identify the difference between our own thoughts, emotions, and energies, and those of the people around us. Until we can perceive the line that divides our own energies from those that others around us emit/have left behind, we might start to think that WE are the ones thinking those thoughts, feeling those emotions, and so on. And that can lead to some very uncomfortable moments, particularly if the emotions or thoughts are negative ones.
I posted about running into this issue in February, when I was on jury duty for a day. It turns out that the courtrooms we waited in are CHOCK FULL of every negative emotion and energy that the human race has to offer. Fear, anger, resentment, grief, you name it and it's there. Plus there was a lot of "Don't pick me!" and "I don't want to be here" energy from the other jurors (past and present). That was another day I made a point of dialing down my sensitivity to my environment.
We're always in the middle of the energies that we, and other people, leave behind. But the difference is that some places are strongly imprinted with the negative stuff, largely because one negative thing after another happens there. The courtrooms are filled with crime victims, justly-accused criminals, and incorrectly-accused defendants, etc. And the dentist's office has repeat visits from people who are far from happy to be there, and in particular there are vibes left behind by people with an outright phobia of dental treatment. Those are all things that will knock an energy-sensitive person way off-balance if they're not prepared for it.
So be sure, if you find yourself in situations like this, that you're prepared with some "dial down sensitivity" techniques, as well as some energy-cleansing techniques you can use after you are back in the "normal" world.
In my case, as I have been experimenting heavily with energies of various sound frequencies, I went right to my go-to frequency, 528 Hz (which is easily found on YouTube). Fluorite loves that frequency, and so do I.
And you make a good point about having to cleanse stones occasionally if their job is to filter out or remove negative energies from the environment. All tools benefit from preventive maintenance, and the stones we employ are no different. A cleanse here, a recharge there, and they'll be good as new.
I do remember reading an article from someone who was a proponent of crystal grids, and who had a grid set up to protect her house. She didn't have a spare set of stones ready to go, when she took down her grid to cleanse the crystals, and she started having the same problems with negative energies and mishaps that inspired her to install a grid in the first place.
Now she keeps a working grid up, and a spare set of grid stones ready to replace them when she takes the "used" stones down for cleansing and recharging. Problem solved.
We might want to keep spares on hand if we find ourselves in these negative energy situations on a regular basis, not just for grid purposes but for wearing, protection, etc. That way, we can always have a "fresh" stone or set of stones if needed.
I"m going to make sure that all the stones I had on me -- my Fluorites, my diamond ring, and my Quartz pendant -- get a nice cleanse. I started the process today, but tomorrow I'll make full use of the tuning fork set. That should make me AND my stones energetically happy.