An empath is someone who feels the emotions and pain of others as thought they were their own. An empath feeling someone’s emotions or pains is not limited by time and space. The person the empath is feeling may be thousands of miles away from them. Empaths can also feel emotions, pains and sensations from spirits. For example, if an empath is in the presence of a spirit they can feel emotions from the spirit and pains/symptoms related to what caused their death. There is no limit to what an empath can feel. Empaths have reported feeling everything including common emotions, pains, an injury as it happens, medical problems, influences from alcohol and drugs, a person smoking, the effects of medication a person has taken, and more. The list is really endless.
Empaths are often overly affected by movies and television/new programs, large groups exhibiting strong emotions, music, and noise just to mention a few. For example, when I go to my sons karate graduations the energies I feel are so warm, loving and accepting. I am often over-whelmed in a good way almost to tears. Many think that what can be felt most easily are negative emotions, but the reality is that an empath just has to open themselves up more to all there is to be experienced.
How an empath handles their ability is based on whether they are an unskilled/unaware empath or a skilled empath. An empath who is unskilled and/or unaware that they are an empath usually does not realize that the emotions and pain they are feeling are not their own. They often react with the emotions they feel and sometimes end up at the doctor office complaining of symptoms to which test after test run find no sign of a problem with the empath. It is best if you are unsure if a symptom you have is your own or not to seek medical assistance. It is always better for it to be found that there is nothing wrong with you than to risk their being something actually wrong with you and you not getting the help you need in time.
Empaths transmute negative energy. For an empath to transmute negative energy in the world there is nothing that they have to do other than to just exist. Often when feeling someone’s emotions we are not reading them, a connection is established and we take on some of their pain and negative emotions and it is transmuted through us and that is one reason proper grounding is so important to an empath, so that the energies we pickup have a way back out of us down into the earth. It should be no big surprise that empathy resides in the heart chakra and empaths are considered natural healers.
Empaths can not only receive and feel the energy, emotions and pain of others but empaths also have the ability to project energy. I was in a store one time and a manager of the store yelled at my son because he was bouncing a ball. My son was only three but is big for his age. She saw my son but didn’t see that I was standing near and as she was passing the isle thought he was alone. The fact that this woman yelled at my child instead of looking around to find the parent and talking to me about it annoyed me slightly but what I felt was over-whelming frustration and anger that I was picking up from the manager. She was in a bad mood and taking it out most likely on everyone. I left my shopping cart in the isle of the store I had spent so much money in in the past and told my son we were leaving and would not be purchasing anything from that store then or ever again. When I got to the front of the store she was on one of the cash registers and there were two long lines of people waiting. I could still feel her emotions and how angry and frustrated she was. I gave her my opinion, fueled with the energy of what I was empathically feeling from her, on what happened and told her she should never yell at anyone’s child. I turned and walked out the door and as soon as I stepped foot outside I realized I no longer felt her or her strong emotions and thought “Ooops!” What I had done is project right back to her what I had picked up from her. The result? Probably a nasty headache and an even worse mood.
Of course, that situation is one you should avoid. Instead an empath should always use their abilities to send love and warm energies. Just like a super hero, use your abilities for good not on evil store managers.
Empaths can pick up connections to people in various ways such as through emails. Through emails I not only can read but also connect empathically. I use to call it reading between the lines. I read what is there and also pick up the truth besides what is written. Often when reading emails I actually see the word that are not actually written there, hence why I use to refer to it as reading between the lines. Distance makes no difference. Even if the correspondence speaks of someone else I can end up connecting to that other person who is spoken of. In the beginning that is what gave me a lot of trouble because I would pick up connections thinking it had to be someone I had touched (or touching an object that had their energy on it), spoken with, seen a picture of, or read communication from. Knowing more about who and what I could connect to made it easier for me. Many empaths think they connect mainly to people they know however that limitation does not exist.
Empaths Versus Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP)
HSP (Highly sensitive person) and Empaths are not the same although both could be considered sensitive. Empathy is genetic so either you are born an empath or you or not. Empaths are less common than HSP. 1 in 20 people are empaths whereas 1 in 5 people are HSP. Empaths, unlike HSP, also have at least one other skill that can be further developed, such as one of the Clair’s. The way I think about it is that as a HSP you can SENSE many things whereas an as an Empath you can not just sense things but feel the energy of things and people as though you are feeling them through you and not separate from you. Think of it this way, HSP experiences in a way that is from the outside looking in and Empaths experience as though they were on the inside looking out.
You will notice that many don’t even get that there is a clear difference between the two. I have read many peoples description of themselves when they are promoting themselves as a psychic or healer and see that they call themselves both HSP and an Empath. No, you are one, the other or neither.
Now, of course I may appear to family and friends to be highly sensitive. That is what my father has been saying to me all my life every time my feelings are hurt or I cry about something. “Oh! You are just soooo sensitive!” I never get too tired of hearing that! As an empath you have probably heard that all your life, but if you are an empath you know it. You have this way of knowing and understanding that is very unique, as though you are that person or thing. You go far beyond being sympathetic and aware of things and people.
As far as relating to people and situations there is a difference. Relating to someone is more sympathetic than empathetic. Sometimes you can sympathize because you have walked in that persons shoes and have gone through that same experience. Empathically speaking whether you have or not you experience that person’s feelings, pains, emotions, etc. in the moment as though it is happening now. For example, often when I am speaking to someone I have a tendency to say “I feel…” and very rarely begin with “I think…” I am not in my head, I am often experiencing from my heart. My heart chakra and not from a place that related to a memory of a past event or experience.
Becoming A Skilled Empath
First and foremost remember to always ground and protect first. There are two different ways to connect. Before practicing it is best if you clearly understand how to disconnect.
When I connect to anything I visualize in my minds eye and imagine myself merging with the person or object. Think of something you might see on Star Trek. You can either see yourself merging into the person or object or the object or person merging into you. Once you are connected you should be able to feel that you are. Now this is very important, if you don’t know 100% how you feel you will have a hard time knowing when you are connected and feeling someone else. So before you say I did it and I don’t know if it worked or not, know that unless you have gotten to the point where you can discern what is yours and what is not you will have a hard time knowing when and if you are connected. You will only learn to feel the difference by continually trying. Don’t give up because it is hard. If you keep trying I assure you it will get easier and easier to feel what is and is not yours.
Disconnecting is actually very easy. The actual ‘how to’ is simple. It is a matter of visualization and those who are great at visualizing or day dreaming will find it easier. Not to worry though, the more you visualize the better and easier it will get.
Before disconnecting ground and protect yourself. The reason I am saying to do this before disconnecting is not because that is a canned answer for everything, but because much of what is picked up empathically could be grounded out and also once you disconnect if you are using protection then the connection will not be able to re-establish.
To disconnect from someone visualize seeing them a few feet away from you and a cord or stream of energy from you to them. You can imagine that you have a sword and you cut the cord. As you cut the cord you see the other person surrounded in a bubble of light floating up and away from you. Another method is to visualize that you see yourself pulling/yanking the cord out of them and it retracting back into you and still seeing them afterwards surrounded by a bubble of white light floating up and away from you.
As you are disconnected pay attention to what you feel. When you have finally disconnected you should feel lightness or a lifting of the affects of the connections. Do a check! How do you feel? Do you still feel them? Are you aware of them and how they feel at all?
Should you have trouble disconnecting from someone ASK FOR HELP! Ask your guide or higher self for help. Ask them to sever the connection for you. Let’s say for example you connect to someone who has a migraine headache and you have trouble disconnecting. You may be feeling there pain and unable to focus enough to break the connection. Do you think you should ask for help? Hint: The answer is YES! But because of free will your guides can’t help you unless you ask. So don’t forget to ask for help and don’t make the mistake of waiting to long before you do because the worse case scenario is not feeling a headache but connecting to someone who inadvertently drains your energy to the point of you feeling very ill. So don’t be too humble to ask for help.
Consciously Feeling
Now that you are connected, be still. Here is where meditating will help you. Through meditation you have learned to still and quiet your mind. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” Ah ha! How many of you have heard that bible verse said? Key…“BE STILL!” Quiet your mind and allow yourself to feel. Question yourself in your head and ask “What do I feel? How does this person feel? How does this tree feel?”, etc. Some times it helps to talk out loud and just describe anything at all that you feel to get the ball rolling.
It is a good idea to keep a note book or journal on your computer to note your experiences and what you feel specifically because often you feel things you don’t quite know what you are feeling. If you are connecting to your best friend and you feel something strange you have never felt before in your jaw area and then later she/he tells you they had a bad toothache or just had wisdom teeth pulled, you can then connect the feeling and know for future reference what that feels like. This is not easy. Do not assume that you will know what it is that you are feeling exactly. It takes time to learn what various things feel like whether it comes to physical feelings or emotions. Sometimes you just know because you have felt the feeling before and you can tie it to something from your past experiences. Yes, life experience comes in handy again. Like for example, you may feel someone’s emotions and think to yourself “Oh I remember feeling this way when I was young and had to move away from my best friend.” The more experiences you have had in life the easier it is to discern what you are feeling.
Another way to connect is through your chakras. For example, when connecting to a person you visualize that a stream of energy that is cord like is going out from your charkas and connecting to the other person’s chakras. So root chakra to root chakra, third eye to third eye, crown to crown, etc. When it comes to telepathy it is similar, so if you have taken any courses in telepathy such as “SANANDA COURSE IN TELEPATHY” this will be familiar to you.
Keep in mind that when you have a connection to someone or something it is a two way street. There is not just energy flowing one way but both ways.
The Power of Thought
People innocently may be thinking about you, of course thinking that there is no harm in thinking of someone. But maybe your best friend is mad at you because you cancelled on her for a day of shopping. As she is thinking of you and sending out negative energy filled with anger. Guess where that energy is going? That’s right, it is going to the person she is focused on – YOU!
This energy you are receiving in this way is powerful because anger and frustration are very powerful emotions energy wise. As an empath if you do nothing to ward of this negative energy and do not protect yourself from it then it can quickly make you so sick that within hours you are laying down in pain feeling almost unable to move. Possibly your head may feel like someone is stabbing it sharply or squeezing it to the point of a dizzying effect. Then you may also feel nauseous from the overwhelming amount of negative energy. Not to mention that if the person thinking of you also has other issues like a headache, toothache, etc. you are going to possibly feel those pains as well.
Unfortunately many times people don’t let go of the past that easily. They don’t just easily say “Okay, I am over that now.” and then move on quickly. No, many stay angry all day and all night and then they get angry all over again every time they think about you or see you. For an empath this seems like never ending torture that may end one day but starts right back over again the next.
For those who are not empaths you may think they are getting off easy, but they are not. To send negative energy to someone it has to come through you to be sent to them even if you are not consciously doing it. So the person unconsciously sending out the negative energy is going to in the end be even more affected by it than the empath. Once the empath blocks the negative energy they are safe and secure within that protection, however the person sending out the negative energy is affected by it and then has to deal with the law of cause and effect. That which you send out into the universe is coming back at you. Notice that many people who send out a lot of negative energy (although on the surface they seem just fine) suffer from illnesses, ulcers, heart problems, and unexplainable medical problems due to the affect the energy is having on their aura.
Shutting Down Empathy
Many unskilled empaths have a desire to find a way to shut down their empathic skills. There is no way to completely shut off empathic abilities. The reason for that is because what is really happening with empathy has to do with brain function and genetics. The best option is to learn to ground, protect, and sever connections. Even though many who would rather shut down their empathy can’t understand why they would want to develop their empathy, it is actually the best idea since becoming a skilled empath gives you control over your empathy.
