30 Traits Of An Empath - How To know If You're An Empath

[Chanlo23]

Posted by heretogrow (here)
Ok so now I will let you know how weird I really am, . Some of us feel like we can communicate with mother earth and the sun as well as her inhabitants. I think I may have mentioned this on another thread a long time ago, but each time I greet the son, I do so with a melodious, Helloooo Gorgeoussss! I know some will say this is my imagination but the sun will actually twinkle or ramp up at this greeting as if to say it acknowledges my admiration. Often times, not always depending on my state of awareness, the earth seems to answer with her wind.

Laugh if you must but both of them have become a part of my everyday life!

Much love,
Julia

I totally believe you as I have experienced it myself. If I address them directly, the sun will "kiss" me on my forehead and the earth blows wind through my hair to let me know they heard.

[Chanlo23]

Posted by Sidney (here)

Posted by Wind (here)
In addtion to being an empath, are you highly sensitive? I know that I am, but most of the time I wish I wasn't. I can relate to the suffering of others as it if was mine. Especially when I see animals being abused it hurts my soul, after all they are our companions. Humans are more responsible because we are free to choose... And wisely we should choose. Pros and cons of being a highly sensitive empath? Well, I can "see" and feel more, like multidimensionally. I see it all. Otherwise, it's a a burden.

In addition, I wonder that how many of us empath's are INFJ's or INFP's? See this.

INFP. I just took it. So far your suspicions are correct.

A very interesting query. I am INFJ.

[BIG CAT]

22 out of 30, I thought everyone felt the same way, although deep down I've always felt a bit different, like I know stuff even though I don't always understand it.
Thanks.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

We added two beavers to Snow White's natural entourage last night.
This empath thing is starting to scare me.

Has anyone else had a baby beaver swim in circles in front of them after calling the animal 20 ft closer to the shore??
lol. Maybe he liked the baby talk??


Or was it something Else..?


p.s. it's sad that even a little beaver has enough "ego" to enjoy attention and nice sounds from another creature.

[blotter]

This is a positive thread, so forgive me, but it's hard for me to imagine an empath eating meat without any second thoughts. The fear hormones that pump out during an animal's last moment and end up in its meat. There's no way to broach this subject without coming off as self-righteous so let me say that I unabashedly ate meat until I started meditating, a few weeks into my practice and I stopped - maybe that's just me

Agree with the poster that said these things can be developed. I wouldn't have identified with too many of these a year ago and now almost all hit home. The ones that don't (fatigue, fear of crowds, addictive personality, weight gain) would probably if not for constant meditation.. maybe I'm addicted to meditation? =)

[Journeyon]

INFP and empathic. Thanks for the great reading everyone.

peace,
Journeyon

[JohnEAngel]

there sure seems to be a lot of empaths in this community. all sentient beings are innately of a psychic nature. our scopes of perception have been narrowed though by developing a mind that reveres itself above all others. psychic awareness then becomes dimmed but may still linger when considering emotional energy. being empathetic can be more of a burden than a blessing. it offers no service in becoming illuminated.

[Carmody]

Another look at sociopathic users:



Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work


Book Description - from the book jacket

Let's say you're about to hire somebody for a position in your company. Your corporation wants someone who's fearless, charismatic, and full of new ideas. Candidate X is charming, smart, and has all the right answers to your questions. Problem solved, right? Maybe not.

We'd like to think that if we met someone who was completely without conscience -- someone who was capable of doing anything at all if it served his or her purposes -- we would recognize it. In popular culture, the image of the psychopath is of someone like Hannibal Lecter or the BTK Killer. But in reality, many psychopaths just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car. Where do these psychopaths go? Often, it's to the corporate world.

Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare have long studied psychopaths. Hare, the author of Without Conscience, is a world-renowned expert on psychopathy, and Babiak is an industrial-organizational psychologist. Recently the two came together to study how psychopaths operate in corporations, and the results were surprising. They found that it's exactly the modern, open, more flexible corporate world, in which high risks can equal high profits, that attracts psychopaths. They may enter as rising stars and corporate saviors, but all too soon they're abusing the trust of colleagues, manipulating supervisors, and leaving the workplace in shambles.

Snakes in Suits is a compelling, frightening, and scientifically sound look at exactly how psychopaths work in the corporate environment: what kind of companies attract them, how they negotiate the hiring process, and how they function day by day. You'll learn how they apply their "instinctive" manipulation techniques -- assessing potential targets, controlling influential victims, and abandoning those no longer useful -- to business processes such as hiring, political command and control, and executive succession, all while hiding within the corporate culture. It's a must read for anyone in the business world, because whatever level you're at, you'll learn the subtle warning signs of psychopathic behavior and be able to protect yourself and your company -- before it's too late.

[Zaya]

Posted by blotter (here)
This is a positive thread, so forgive me, but it's hard for me to imagine an empath eating meat without any second thoughts. The fear hormones that pump out during an animal's last moment and end up in its meat. There's no way to broach this subject without coming off as self-righteous so let me say that I unabashedly ate meat until I started meditating, a few weeks into my practice and I stopped - maybe that's just me

Very very interesting. I stopped eating meat after I started meditating as well! I had always felt extremely guilty about it, but when my mind opened to all this "one-ness" and spirituality, it literally made me feel sick thinking about eating it, so I immediately stopped. I have felt so much better ever since. I am also not saying this to be self-righteous as I was a meat eater all my life despite having a vegetarian dad. Fact is I would probably still be eating meat had I not had my spiritual awakening happen spontaneously. But, it is an interesting thing to ponder...

[blotter]

Posted by Zaya (here)
Very very interesting. I stopped eating meat after I started meditating as well! I had always felt extremely guilty about it, but when my mind opened to all this "one-ness" and spirituality, it literally made me feel sick thinking about eating it, so I immediately stopped. I have felt so much better ever since. I am also not saying this to be self-righteous as I was a meat eater all my life despite having a vegetarian dad. Fact is I would probably still be eating meat had I not had my spiritual awakening happen spontaneously. But, it is an interesting thing to ponder...

very similar experience. I don't claim to understand this issue fully, but it seems like this subject is all but ignored considering how "clear" the answer is given to some upon some degree(s) of awakening. My roommate who has been a practicing buddhist since he was 16 or so was told by his llama to eat meat because he had become self-righteous about his vegetarianism. Apparently the llama said he would take on any of the karmas that he would accrue. I've read that once the solar plexus are open that acts of eating, drinking and even breathing become acts of giving and not taking.. maybe they are enlightened to the point that anything consumed is going to result in a higher re-birth? Honestly, I don't understand it at all. It's pretty obvious (to me) that Jesus and his disciples were vegetarians and there's no mention of what we should eat outside of genesis 1:29 (every seed-bearing tree shall be your meat) for all the obscure rules in the bible. The vedas even seem to contradict themselves at points in regards to eating meat.

Ultimately for me our anatomy is not that of a carnivore and anyone who chooses to consume meat (really any food) would probably be better off for acknowledging the process of how it got to their mouths. All the best

[Wind]

It is funny to consider oneself as an angel, after all most if not all of us are with human faults... But here is one channeling from a source that I trust and according to that many of us are angels in human form, at least metaphorically speaking.

From hypersensitivity to high sensitivity

Becoming the angel that you are

Many people are hypersensitive. They cannot stand the noise, aggression and hasty pace of modern society. Often they suffer from psychosomatic disorders and insomnia. What other folks take for granted, for example going to a family party, is quite a chore for them. Simply doing what other people consider normal often turns out a disaster for them.

As a child they are often misunderstood and under-appreciated. Because it’s hard for them to stand up for themselves and because they easily dream away, school time is tough. Building a career and becoming successful according to society’s standards often doesn’t work for them. They more or less muddle along at the fringes of society. Participating in mainstream activities is experienced as exhausting and draining. Because of all this, their self image isn’t very positive; they often feel insecure and inferior. Their thoughts are gloomy and may repeat themselves endlessly.

Of course, this image is somewhat of a caricature. Yet many people will (partly) recognize themselves in it. Let us now focus on some of the positive traits of hypersensitive people. They appreciate peace and quiet and long to live in harmony with their fellow humans. They are sensitive to beauty, especially the beauty of nature. They are very empathic and open to the spiritual. They have a rich imagination. To their own surprise, people who are in trouble are naturally drawn to them and come to them for guidance.

What is the matter with these people? The answer is that they are not (just) hypersensitive, they are highly sensitive. In fact, they are angels in disguise.

What is high sensitivity?

Every living being emits a certain vibration or aura: flowers, the sun, people, animals, plants, and also human society at large. You are highly sensitive when your vibration, your aura is more refined and delicate than the vibration of human society.

Imagine a radiant, beautiful angel descending from heaven to be born in a human body in a modern metropolis. The angel has a hard time coping with the noise, the chaos and the ugliness of the world around. Where is the serenity and beauty of nature, where are the flowers? Where is the deep inner knowing, the sense of unity with the cosmos? The angel feels shattered and alienated. The world around does not nurture or acknowledge him (or her*). The angel starts to think that there’s something wrong with him and he becomes sad and depressed. As he does not feel at home here, he withdraws and vaguely longs for another reality. The people around him consider him to be a dreamer who does not want to face the facts of life. The angel’s light diminishes. Whereas he was a high sensitive at first, he has now become a hypersensitive.

You may wonder why this angel incarnated on Earth.

Many angels are incarnate on Earth and every angel has their own motive to be here. There is however one general motive: to help Earth. Through the presence of all of these angels, human society as a whole gains in light and sensitivity. The angelic presence raises the vibration of the world. This happens especially when the angels remember who they are and when their self-confidence is restored. That’s when their light will truly shine.

Now imagine that you are such an angel.

What can you do to become radiant again, to transform your hypersensitivity into high sensitivity?

Step 1 – Realize that you are an angel

Realize that you are an angel and don’t be afraid to show it. Believe in your own light, your creative abilities and overcome your fear to show yourself. This is the first step.

How do you do this? It’s important to connect to the spiritual. See the world from a spiritual perspective, remember the timeless realm of love and beauty that you originate from and to which you belong. You have always been in touch with this subtle, ethereal reality. Now take another leap and really believe it to be there. The moment you connect with it, you also get in touch with your own inner core and start to realize who you really are. You remember that your consciousness is eternal and that it is a magnificent source of light and creativity.

The moment you feel a part of this other realm, which is your true home, the judgment that human society places on you becomes much less of a burden to you. You realize that your stay here is only temporary and that this hectic, chaotic society will disappear one day and make place for a more peaceful, harmonious and happy society. What this current society thinks of you and expects from you is not so important anymore. More important is what you are here to do, how you are going to manifest your light in this world.

By sensing your true origin, you kindle your own light. Light is creative and transformative. You will notice that your environment will start to respond to you differently. Life will flow more easily and people will take you more seriously. You have taken a fundamental first step in the transition from hypersensitivity to high sensitivity.

Step 2 – Become aware of your male energy

You are able to truly give your light to others only if you are also able to not give it. If you cannot say ‘no’ to people, your ‘yes’ has no meaning. Learning to set boundaries and to stand up for yourself is crucial. If you don’t do this, your energy flows into a bottomless pit and you will permanently feel weak and drained.

To prevent this from happening, you need to get in touch with your male energy. Many people who are inclined towards the spiritual, have a negative image of the male energy. It is associated with violence, oppression and aggression and considered to be not spiritual. As a result of this negative attitude towards the male energy, many spiritually inclined and hypersensitive people feel disempowered and unable to stand up for themselves.

The solution is to understand that there’s nothing wrong with the male energy per se; it is the imbalance between the male and the female which causes the problem. By regarding the male energy to be inferior, many people weaken their own strength. This happens particularly in sensitive women. Especially when you go through a process of spiritual growth, it is of prime importance to connect with your male energy.

As soon as you take step 1 and become more aware of who you really are, you will distinguish yourself energetically from your environment. Your light will be noticed. This will attract to you what I call energy leeches. These are people or other entities, for instance the organization you work in, who will feed themselves with your energy. They deprive you of energy without giving something back to you. If you’re not able to protect yourself in such an environment, you get stuck.

At this point, you need to use your male strength. Embrace the male part of you, your inner man, and trust him. Let him take the shape of a sword in your hand which severs the bonds between you and everything that deprives you of energy.

A common pitfall in using the sword of your male energy proficiently is the notion of equality. “We are all equal and therefore I should not distinguish myself from others, and share what I have with them.” The idea of equality is right to some extent. At the level of the soul we are equal. At the level of manifestation however we are not. Some people are more able to let their inner light shine through than others. By not acknowledging this, we give energy leeches free range. Especially people who radiate much light and who have much to give, should protect themselves. Be aware of who or what you give your energy to. Not everyone is ready to receive what you have to offer. Do not let your most precious gift be dragged down by people or organizations who do not match your vibration. Use your male energy for this purpose.

Step 3 – Realize that mother Earth is your friend

Many hypersensitive people feel resistance towards living on Earth. This resistance is partly due to the fact that they do not feel at home in modern western society. The energy of society does not match their own and they feel alienated by it. They want to leave; they subconsciously remember their spiritual heritage and long to be ‘home’ again. They want to go back to the peace and harmony of the heavenly realms, which contrast so sharply with the noise, fear, aggression and anonymity of present day human society.

Apart from this reason for feeling resistance towards living on Earth, sensitive people also have intuitions about what happened in their past lives on Earth. Often they carry memories within of war, persecution and other forms of aggression. They remember trying to be and do good on Earth and being violently rejected for it.

To overcome your resistance to being here, it’s important to distinguish between the energy of human society and the energy of Earth itself. To do so, find a beautiful spot in nature. Go there on a weekday when it’s quiet. Feel the energy there, the serenity and peace. Open your heart to this place in nature and feel all the energies present there. Apart from you there are nature spirits such as fairies and leprechauns, who work closely together with Earth. Now feel Earth itself. This is the Earth you came for, the Earth who reaches out to you and who wishes to support you. Open your heart to her energy and love.

By entering into this connection with Earth, you are able to truly take your place and shine your light in this world. You are able to change the world and make it more beautiful. There’s a place for you on Earth where you feel at home. This place will become a beacon of light that transforms the world around you.

Hypersensitive people hide for the world. Highly sensitive people radiate their light freely into it.

Step 4 – Use your female energy to become even more sensitive

Your female energy can make the difference between fearing someone and loving someone. It enables you to look behind the mask that someone’s putting on and see their vulnerability. In our hearts we are all good. God is in everyone’s heart. You can use the female energy within to become even more sensitive, to use your empathy to really understand what it’s like to be in the other person’s shoes. Understanding the other from within can help you put into perspective their hurtful remarks or offensive behavior. It may help you let go of it.

This becomes possible when the male energy inside is strong enough to protect your female side. When we are hurt by what another person says to us, we are often not hurt by the words themselves, but by our own oversensitive interpretation of those words. Often people are not out to get us, it’s more that they blurt out something which isn’t aimed at you personally. Your male energy can help you to not take things personally. Your female energy helps you feel what is really going on in the other person. By using the female gift of sensitivity, we now see a lot of lights in this dark world around us. Becoming even more sensitive, we take a step towards the heart of our fellow humans, which is often warmer and brighter than we thought. By noticing the light in the heart of the other, this light will burn stronger.

Becoming even more sensitive works in two directions: not only do you get a deeper sense of who the other person is, they also get to know you better. They feel something sensitive, warm and beautiful in you that they had not noticed before; by acknowledging the other person, they acknowledge you. This is how you start to feel at home on Earth.

To be an angel is to be balanced

Every human being gives and receives. To stay spiritually and physically healthy, we need to be in equilibrium with our environment. The flow of giving and the flow of receiving need to be balanced. The moment we radiate more of our light, make the transition from hypersensitivity to high sensitivity and become the angel that we are, the flow of giving increases. We exude a creative and beautiful light and share it with our environment, often without knowing it. The energy we put out into the world wants to come back to us in the form of (physical) abundance.

This causes problems in many sensitives. Hypersensitive people often do not believe that life can be beautiful, rich and abundant for hem. They feel it would not be right, that they are not worth it and so they block the flow of receiving that wants to come to them. Religious traditions which teach you that it’s better to give than to receive, or that it is sinful to enjoy yourself, support this line of thought. Fear and doubt keep out the natural abundance that wants to come your way.

Be attentive of this. Check for yourself if you are really open to what the universe would like to give to you, to all the love that is there for you. As long as you do not say ‘yes’ to what the universe wants to send your way, you have not truly said ‘yes’ to yourself. Say a loud and loving yes to yourself, to all of you. Accepting the flow of receiving in your life will then become natural for you.

[Zaya]

Wind, that take is extremely interesting. I relate to quite a bit of it -- the isolation and overwhelming sensory issues, the insomnia, the feeling completely out of place, etc.

However, I think she may be using the world "angel" just because there may not be another word to use. I don't think she uses the word angel in the same way the bible does, for instance. Right? I guess it is weird to me consider that I could be "angel" in the biblical sense. I'm wondering if it isn't possible that what she actually means is a being that has resided in the higher dimension and been "enlightened" for some time, but chose to come back to earth to help those who had not?

[Wind]

Yeah, the angel is more like a metaphor (even though I believe in angels) for older or advanced souls who have descended from higher planes of existence to this dense and physical dimension... It is the path of of the bodhisattva, the price for helping this Earth is that we will first forget who and what we are due to the veil of forgetfulness, but in time we will remember again if we stay in our true path.

When the soul first begins it's journey it tends to be close God and it is more "light", but as it time processes it becomes more grounded to physical reality and eventually it will once again become physically a being of light. That is the future of man, but it might take some time. Have you ever heard of Law of One and wanderers? Many of us here are them.

[Zaya]

Posted by Wind (here)

When the soul first begins it's journey it tends to be close God and it is more "light", but as it time processes it becomes more grounded to physical reality and eventually it will once again become physically a being of light. That is the future of man, but it might take some time. Have you ever heard of Law of One and wanderers? Many of us here are them.

I have heard of the Law of One (I downloaded all of the books from a link I saw here at some point), but I have not read them. I have not heard of the wanderers though. I do know that I am different, but I think I am still discovering in what ways. I did not know what those books were about. But now that you mention them to me in this context, seems like I should bump them up on the priority reading list.

[Wind]

Posted by Zaya (here)
I have heard of the Law of One (I downloaded all of the books from a link I saw here at some point), but I have not read them. I have not heard of the wanderers though. I do know that I am different, but I think I am still discovering in what ways. I did not know what those books were about. But now that you mention them to me in this context, seems like I should bump them up on the priority reading list.

The Law of One texts can be sometimes somewhat hard to understand, but Carla L. Rueckert's book A Wanderer's Handbook is very good.

[Zaya]

Wind, I have been reading the text you linked me to. I undoubtedly associate with the feelings of a wanderer outlined in the text. As a matter of fact, I have been dealing with a lot of depression this year because I feel so alienated from the rest of the world and feel so out of place sometimes. Thanks for the information.

On another note, I am wondering if those who have been on this thread might entertain me with a response to a curious question I have....

For those of you who associate yourselves as a wanderer or an empath or both: Do you seem to have a lot more trouble waking up and re-aligning your mind and body than most?

Just curious if this may be another trait we may share...

[blotter]

It takes me a long while to re-align, waking up really isn't a problem. Trying to figure that one out, as I don't like the idea of accumulating karmas during sleep

So far the only thing that somewhat helps for me is the Ayurvedic practice of rubbing sesame oil on my feet before bed

[Lone Bean]

Wow! I guess I was supposed to come here and read all this. Wow. This really has helped a lot. I've downloaded the wanderer's handbook and will read it as I can. I seem to always get distracted by someone or something right when I need to do something important for myself like sitting quietly and absorbing this book. This is a weird thought, but I have been wondering for a long time if my husband is here to distract me or keep me from fully accomplishing what it is I am trying to do. He's a nice enough guy, but he is so tightly bound to this society we live in and gets upset when I step outside of it. And now he's chronically irritated with me since I'm always just outside of it and rarely, if ever, partake in it's offerings (which I loathe).

[Zaya]

Posted by Lone Bean (here)
Wow! I guess I was supposed to come here and read all this. Wow. This really has helped a lot. I've downloaded the wanderer's handbook and will read it as I can. I seem to always get distracted by someone or something right when I need to do something important for myself like sitting quietly and absorbing this book. This is a weird thought, but I have been wondering for a long time if my husband is here to distract me or keep me from fully accomplishing what it is I am trying to do. He's a nice enough guy, but he is so tightly bound to this society we live in and gets upset when I step outside of it. And now he's chronically irritated with me since I'm always just outside of it and rarely, if ever, partake in it's offerings (which I loathe).

Lone Bean, may I offer one small piece of (not advice) musing?

Perhaps you shouldn't get too caught up in whether he "meant to be' a distraction to you or not. Just follow your heart. I can't decide whether I believe in "meant to" or not. Don't we define our own meaning? Besides, there is always the possibility that YOU were meant to influence him and wake him up (if we are meant to do stuff!).

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Wind (here)
It is funny to consider oneself as an angel, after all most if not all of us are with human faults... But here is one channeling from a source that I trust and according to that many of us are angels in human form, at least metaphorically speaking.

From hypersensitivity to high sensitivity

Becoming the angel that you are

Many people are hypersensitive. They cannot stand the noise, aggression and hasty pace of modern society. Often they suffer from psychosomatic disorders and insomnia. What other folks take for granted, for example going to a family party, is quite a chore for them. Simply doing what other people consider normal often turns out a disaster for them.

I resonate with this article. The reason why I even post about this today is because it was only yesterday, out of the blue that I recalled three events that were days apart in 2008. So, I asked my higher self for confirmation which most often comes through synchronicity. (Thank you, Wind.)

I had strange pains on my shoulder blades. I explained it away with doing a lot of hard style Tai Chi. Then at the bookstore, I came across a book on Earth Angels. (books say, “Pick me. Pick me.”) It listed characteristics. It was the first time I felt like I understood ‘the why’s’ in my life.

A couple of days later, after giving Reiki to the grandmother, I asked her five year old granddaughter if she’d like to see how it feels. We connected and chatted while she sat on the massage chair. The little girl asked if she could Reiki me. So we switched places. As soon as she placed her hands on my shoulder blades, she whispered, “Ohhhh,” and stayed on the same spot. I waited in hopes for feedback. Finally, I asked if she felt something. She whispered, “Angel wings.” There was no prior conversation about angels to either of them. The analytical part of me asked myself, "Was it a leading question?”

Later that night, I stood in the bathroom mirror with the lights off, door closed, and no window. Once my eyes adjust to the dark, sure enough, I saw wings. I read the technique in the Earth Angel book.

What was different was that I was prepared to see them outstretched. What I saw was rounded tops and along my sides, and there was enough of glow to see feather-like markings. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Since, I’ve tried a couple of times, but had no success.

In this moment, it’s easy for me to dismiss the experience as implanted mind program, or an archetype energetic, or an egoic trap, or that I don’t want it (the label) to get in the way of what I’m here to do. My thought is that many, many of us are angels, guardians or any name that fits. We’re here to participate in the next step of evolution.

RunningDeer <3