SO I'M AN EMPATH, WHAT'S THAT?
Article By: John Scardina
Photo Credit: Chanelle Sladics
So I'm an Empath...
The word “Empath” has become popular in the last few years. I hear it all the time outside of my circle of friends, mostly at events, gatherings and alike around those who do not know about my background in energy work. Almost of these people have just heard the word empath or have been labeled an empath or a sensitive and just accept this label with little or no knowledge of what they are accepting. It’s new, everyone is talking about it, so let’s just agree that we are all empath’s and just join the newest club. This troubles me a great deal as an energy worker and a lifelong empath. “We are all sensitive to something fully or at least during one point in our lives”. “Not everyone is and Empath”. “Being an Empath does need to be a curse, as many today claim”. And yes, “There are those who possess Empathic abilities full on 24/7”.
Empathy, much different from sympathy is the energy or feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions. The ability to share someone else’s feelings, whether or not you want to! Empaths feel more deeply on a physical, spiritual, and emotional level for good or bad. An empath takes on these events as their own.
A few traits of a true empath (I’m not going to cover all of them here) are as follows:
1. Knowing: Empaths just know stuff, without being told. It’s a knowing that goes way beyond intuition or gut feelings. The more attuned you are, the stronger this knowing becomes.
2. Being in public places can be overwhelming: Places like shopping malls, supermarkets or stadiums where there are large groups of people will provide an extreme amount of emotions that an empath will take on as their own.
3. Watching violence, cruelty or tragedy on the TV is unbearable. Sometimes this will progress in no longer watching TV or reading newspapers.
Empath’s have many more traits that all play a large part in who they are. There are several things that only empath’s will understand. Being an empath is not just a generalized statement, there are many types or combinations of types of empath’s. The top three types of empaths are:
Telepathy: the empathic ability to read other people’s thoughts.
Mediumship: the empathic ability to feel the presence and energies of spirits.
Physical Healing: the empathic ability to feel other people’s physical symptoms in their own body.
Empath’s unknowingly make the best healers or light workers. Knowing this information and having worked with empathic abilities is where my concerns arise when I hear people talk about these events. There is so much more to it than just being labeled an empath, and it is an amazing gift once you know who you are individually! I have been working with clients that possess empathic abilities for over two years and nothing is more rewarding than helping those who possess these abilities to thrive and become attuned to their own healing energy. You are not “just an empath”!
As Entrepreneurs, Visionaries and Holistic Change Makers, we are bombarded with messages that we need to put ourselves out there, to come out of hiding, to express our “genuine” selves. While this is encouraged, what is oftentimes overlooked is our need for private sacred space. We need time to dream our grandest dreams, space o discover our deepest knowing, space to learn about ourselves, space to grow in private.