Are you an Empath? - Cancer & Pisces Ascendant - or a strong Neptune/Moon.

Gracey

I usually get an error page most times I try to email someone from CureZone. So, since I can't use your email link, I hope folks will forgive me for a rather long post! lol

I think it's fantastic that you used to pick up messages! That means you still have that ability, you just need to re-find it and polish it off. I'm even more sure now that you're an empath - at the least!

Actually, almost everyone has *some* empathic abilities. It's what helps us to comfort people during bad times and what makes us all feel up and excited over sharing good times. However, an "empath" is someone with that ability on a much higher or deeper scale. Like telepath means someone who can pick up on thoughts, empath means someone who can pick up on emotions. Empaths "feel" what people around us feel, usually face to face, but sometimes just being in the same room or even just reading what they write!

A lot of people are more comfortable using the word "sensitive" instead of empath, so you often don't hear about it. Although empaths (or sensitives) aren't all that common, they are *much* more common than telepaths. I believe it's because our emotions come from a more basic level and that we are all tied together somewhat on that level. It's a lot easier for us to share emotions than the thoughts of the more conscious mind and some people (empaths) just find it even easier than others. Many empaths don't even know they *are* empaths!

Oh, yes! I use it in real life! So can you! The main "trick" to it is recognizing you have it! For instance, between being an empath and using my intuition, it is almost impossible for anyone to lie to me face to face. (My mom calls it "smelling a lie." Drives my youngest son nuts! lol)

Also, I often use it to "scan" an area before walking in or as soon as I enter.
"Scanning" is just pausing your thoughts for a second to see how you feel and to see how things around you feel. If it doesn't "feel" right, I leave. It helps me to avoid things like huge emotional outbursts and also things like "bad" areas that look perfectly ok. Many, many times I've later found out that a huge argument or fight broke out, or something similarly "bad" happened very shortly afterwards that I would have been caught in had I stayed.

I also find I can "scan" and pick up really good "vibes" from a place before ever walking in the door and have often stepped into minor celebrations of total strangers, like a winning team celebrating or a happy birthday dinner at a restuarant. Just be-bopping along the sidewalk and feeling like "hey, I think I'll drop in here" with no apparent reason. Not like I could hear or see a party from outside, it just "felt" good.

My friends and husband have learned to listen to me when I say it's good to stay or time to leave. Some friends know I'm an empath, others just think I have a good intuition. (Some just think it's "my way" and joke about it, but they tend to listen to my "feelings" about things just the same! lol)

Have you ever had people just start telling you their secrets or problems with little or no encouragement from you? Many times people just feel more comfortable telling that stuff to empaths and often neither side knows why! I've had people tell me I'm a good listener when they haven't actually *said* much of anything, I just responded to the emotions behind what words they used.

Interestingly enough, the more empathic someone is, sometimes the harder it is to actually find "words" to speak, so we feel awkward or unqualified to handle it. We get stuck feeling like we don't know what to say. It's actually ok, though, as most empaths help more by simply being there, absorbing some of the emotional overflow and taking some of the burden off the sufferer without ever even saying a word. So there's another way you can use your gift!

Have you ever walked in a room and immediately felt that something big was happening, good or bad, without any visual cues? Like someone has their back to you or is around the corner on the phone getting great news and hasn't even announced it yet, but you *knew* beforehand that something just felt really good? Or all of a sudden, you start feeling sad or down or angry for no reason then have someone come in the room and you find out later that they just got some bad news? If so, you're likely a good empathic "receiver."

As far as always needing to be wrapped in a shield - oh, No! Not at all! I actually rarely "shield" myself. Instead, I use it like any other inter-personal tool and only throw up a "shield" when necessary. I find myself shielding others from my emotions more often than me shielding from theirs.

You can also learn to "send" emotions. I'm also a natural sender, meaning, if I'm not careful or I'm overly emotional about something, I can "send" those emotions out very strongly to be picked up by people who aren't empaths. I've had cubemates who couldn't see me, couldn't hear me, suddenly pop up with funny looks and ask what's wrong. I've even made total strangers very uncomfortable and even leave my area when I was angry. They would keep looking over in my area, sometimes almost obsessively, then get fidgety and finally just get up and leave very quickly with very odd looks on their faces. (I have an excellent poker face and can keep my emotions from "showing" extremely well, so it wasn't my look they responded to.)

An example of sending on purpose: If I can *feel* the checkout person is having a rotten day, I'll purposely dig down and think really happy thoughts while I stand in line and "project" or radiate my good mood out around me. Sort of like thinking "I'm in *such* a good mood and I want the world to share it!" but with the emotions tied in with it. Whereas a smile can help, if you add that feeling behind it, it almost *always* works! By the time I get to the checker, they're smiling and seem really happy to see me. I've even had a few mention it was funny, they were just in the worst mood but all of a sudden they feel so much better! One guy even said that the sun must have come out or something because everything just changed. ;)

One caution, however, "projecting" feelings like that can be very, very tiring. It seems to take a lot out of you. Although it may sound selfish, if I'm tired or hungry, it's much easier to just throw up a shield. Mainly because if I'm really tired, I can't project as well and I end up absorbing their mood instead and end up tired and cranky too boot! Ughh! lol

I mentioned in my earlier post that meditation helps in handling it and in learning to shield. My best information on that is gathered up in text on my computer and not online anymore, so I don't have any links. If you'd like more information on that, ask over on the Consciousness and Awareness forum and I'll see what I can dig up. May take me a little time, but I'll answer, and I'm sure others may step up with suggestions to boot!


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