Bring4th

I have been observing the phenomena of 'sensitives' and 'empaths' for quite some time; or at least people who describe themselves as such.

I think I have come to some sort of understanding of the phenomena, and how there might be 2 categorizations of 'empaths'.

in the first class, I would describe the majority of people who consider themselves as 'sensitives' or 'empaths' as a case of Projected Empathy. This happens when such individuals see or hear about an emotionally charged situation (such as floods, or wars, or poverty), and then those individuals Project their feelings onto the event, and then, in a mistaken manner, claim to 'feel' what the other person is feeling. But at heart, it is just their own feelings that are being projected onto the external situation, although this is not recognised.

the second class of individuals, whom I regard as the 'true empaths' or 'sensitives' have cleared their own emotional blockages, and so really are able to 'feel' or understand what another individual is going through.


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the hallmark here is in the difference between the feelings evoked by the two types of 'empaths'

1) Projected Empaths will usually feel despair and hopelessness at the situation, and that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. That is because what is being projected is their own blockages, and so the sense of powerlessness is just their own feeling of being unable to deal with their own situation, which is the feelings that are being projected.

2) True Empaths, on the other hand, will usually feel a sense of greater hopefulness; because even though they are 'tuning into' the pain and difficulty of the other individual, they have cleared those pains and difficulties in the past, so they know (and have experienced) the possible resolutions to the pain and difficulty of the other individual. They 'know' that the situation can be cleared and resolved; if for a little advice, and perhaps being able to see things in a different light.

So indeed, while the other person maybe suffering and going through some distress, the true empath, who has cleared their own blockages, knows that the situation is NOT dire, and NOT unresolvable. There is a solution. There is a possible change. And that knowledge (and also prior experience) yields the reaction of joy, rather than hopelessness in the case of the Projected Empath above.

that is by no means joy at the other persons suffering lol.

the True Empath will absolutely know what the other person is going through, because they have been there themselves.

but they also know that things can change, and more importantly, just how to change it. And that is very much the opposite to the pain and despair of the Projected Empath.

It's common to see delusional mixes where both negative and positive elements of the shadow are projected on incidents, framing them "just so", as transparent personal allegory, to reveal non-integrated unconscious. Both hope and fear equally serve as distancing aids.

There are therapists who have been trained in empathy (to have deep understanding of the other's experience, both cognitively and emotionally). Might have natural aptitude for this level of deep understanding of others. They tend to be excellent listeners who are able to pick up very subtle cues, who are highly psychologically minded (understand human psychology e.g., human needs), done their own emotional work, etc. A person that uses high level of empathy will be able to express the other's words and to express the other's emotional experiences in an accurate way. By doing so, it somehow nudges the other to go deeper and be more authentic about what is really happening inside. For example, a person is angry and you reflect the deeper meaning and emotional experience that they are trying to relay to you but not overtly saying (bc not so conscious of their authentic feelings yet)... the angry person will most likely cry and shift their focus on more painful things than being angry at something. It's a skill bc if you tell people things they are not ready to hear, other could shut person down (it's too much for them) or other will deny/become defensive about it. So empaths are expert at timing and very skilled at assessing the other person's needs. It's an art-form.

Empaths can hear what's not been said yet. They can intuitively and rationally sense what the shadow is about. They are aware of erroneous projection and also able to set aside their own stuff to really listen/tune into others.

They don't say what the other wants to hear... they can deepen the experience towards more authenticity and self-acceptance bc they tend to be accepting and honest w/ themselves too. This is my own observation of empathy.

(12-24-2013, 08:17 PM)rie Wrote: [ -> ]There are therapists who have been trained in empathy (to have deep understanding of the other's experience, both cognitively and emotionally). Might have natural aptitude for this level of deep understanding of others. They tend to be excellent listeners who are able to pick up very subtle cues, who are highly psychologically minded (understand human psychology e.g., human needs), done their own emotional work, etc. A person that uses high level of empathy will be able to express the other's words and to express the other's emotional experiences in an accurate way. By doing so, it somehow nudges the other to go deeper and be more authentic about what is really happening inside. For example, a person is angry and you reflect the deeper meaning and emotional experience that they are trying to relay to you but not overtly saying (bc not so conscious of their authentic feelings yet)... the angry person will most likely cry and shift their focus on more painful things than being angry at something. It's a skill bc if you tell people things they are not ready to hear, other could shut person down (it's too much for them) or other will deny/become defensive about it. So empaths are expert at timing and very skilled at assessing the other person's needs. It's an art-form.

Empaths can hear what's not been said yet. They can intuitively and rationally sense what the shadow is about. They are aware of erroneous projection and also able to set aside their own stuff to really listen/tune into others.

They don't say what the other wants to hear... they can deepen the experience towards more authenticity and self-acceptance bc they tend to be accepting and honest w/ themselves too. This is my own observation of empathy.

My psychologist that I used to go to (that reminds me, I need to make another appointment just to chat) was excellent at this. He would barely say much of anything except key questions that would delve into the actual issues rather than the emotion being expressed at that given moment. He was such a great teacher. I must go thank him.