Excerpt from Chapter One  - Understanding Yourself As An Empath:

 

Empaths carry the energy of receptivity

in the essence of their being

They hold all arenas of receptivity

in a deeply intensive and interwoven way.

 

Consider empath energy as the capacity to experience connection far beyond the rapport of empathy.  We all carry a capacity for empathy.  We can be receptive, sensitive and intuitive in varying degrees.  Empaths find these qualities amplified in an innate way.  They are led by a strong recognition of the energy that flows between people.  Energy, in these terms, is the core dynamic quality of life, imbued with capacity for action.  It is the current of life that flows through all of us and all things; a vitality that can ebb and flow.  Energy is experienced as feelings and emotions -- your own and others. Energy represents connection -- within yourself, between people, with cultures and places.  Energy vibrates as a sense of affinity and resonance.  Energy is experienced in the physical body, in the realms of the mind and in what is called the heart.  Whatever words are used to describe or point toward it, energy is always felt and recognized.  The vocabulary and concepts of energy are continually evolving and becoming.  In the broadest way, energy exists, is present and will make itself known.

 

Empath energy and awareness is embedded in a broad spiritual perspective that is rooted in the spiritual perspective of the interconnection of all things.  As you explore empath energy, you can also recognize a deeper, innate connection to the All, the vast consciousness of being.  Bringing a spiritual perspective to your inner work allows awareness through more than your conscious mind. 

 

Empaths experience empathy, sensitivity and intuition in a strongly amplified or even accelerated manner.

​Empaths feel very permeable to sensing other people and their energy, especially in large groups or crowds and new situations.  In addition, this sensitivity also results in an amplification of one’s own energy.  Thus, worries and concerns, reactions and responses can be heightened and feel overwhelming or even invasive. 

 

Empaths often do not recognize how the degree of their sensitivity is different from others.  Individuals often struggle for a long time before they are able to recognize that they are more receptive and responsive than others they know. Typically, someone else declares, “You’re too sensitive.  You’re too reactive.  You’re too emotional. You are too…”  This is often the first time people begin to understand that perhaps they are sensitive in a different way.  Thus, your first awareness of yourself as an empath comes as a critique and criticism.  If you are acculturated as most, this difference is negatively internalized and becomes an effective superego, one you agreewith by saying,  “I am too sensitive.  I am too emotional.  I am too much.”  Many people experience difficulty living with this capacity in this world of immense interaction and input.  At the same time you hold qualities of connection that can touch others, building bridges of understanding and compassion.  

 

The customary model of being receptive is reflected in this language of “too much;” implying that one degree of emotion or sensitivity is acceptable, but other degrees of response are not.  Sensitivity is seen only as a byproduct of psychological development or the conditioning of life experience.  Empath sensitivity is an innate quality, neither optional nor a mental choice. The empath system of receptivity and sensitivity is intensely acute; an integral part of the mental, emotional and physical self.  Consider this receptivity as “empath DNA.”  The term highlights that this quality is innate, intertwined and embedded, not something you can just get over, throw out or deny.  When you consider your sensitivity as part of your physicality, you open to a different perspective.

 

Empath nature expands like a sponge;

absorbing into itself all the fluid energy,

contact and content of interaction with others.

 

The difficulty with such a receptive capacity is that there is often confusion about what is in the original "sponge" and that which is filling it.  "Do I feel this way within myself or have I absorbed this from another?"  A further challenge is that most empaths are not aware of the intensity or fullness of their receptive nature until certain events occur that feel interfering or even dangerous to the self.  You find yourself saying, "I did not feel like myself," or others say, "You are not acting like yourself," etc.  Hints come into the conscious mind that something other than the self is interacting in their lives. 

 

It is vital for empaths to consciously

explore, understand and address

the energetic flow in their lives.

 

You begin to learn about empath energy by first recognizing it as a principle -empath energy is an innate capacity for deeply intensive receptivity. From there, you can begin to consciously address and question your receptivity, responsiveness and the actions which flow from them.  Naturally, this amplified receptivity impacts one’s psycho-social-emotional development.  Simple inquiry will lead you to learn your own patterns and eventually bring your attention to working with and managing the flow of input. Begin by wondering, “Does this idea of empath nature speak to me?  Do I sense myself in these descriptions?”  This may lead to asking, “When is this my energy alone?  When am I receiving or responding as an empath?”  You can ask, “If I am receiving in this empath mode and if this feeling is not mine, what am I to do with it?  Can I have clarity as to what this energy is?”  Listen to what arises from such questions and allow yourself to discover and apply what you sense. 

 

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