Are You an Empath?

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,Than are dreamt of in your philosophy--Shakespeare

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In response to my sharing about the “journey” I was taking through the United States, two people including my very talented and dear friend, Teresa, recently suggested that I was an empath. I was startled by her announcement and what it meant. Actually, I really wasn’t sure what it meant. I had never thought of such a thing. So, in my curiosity about what empathy and empathic is, I searched my favorite place: google. Among some gems of information, I stumbled upon this really neat quiz, What Kind of Empath Are You? on Quizfarm, a quiz site by pangelic.

Naturally, I took it and here are the results (cool, eh?):

I scored as a Artist Empath (funny, that):

"You are an Artist Empath, one who creates their own reality and infuses the realities of others with your energy & emotions. You are poetic and sensitive. You turn your feelings into creations and share them with the world. Everything you touch turns to song and is freed by the color of your eyes. Your spirit dances with the winds and paints delight in the evening sky. (from the "Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Empaths/)"

Artist ............................................................90%
Judge .....................................................80%
Universal ........................................70%
Healer............................................70%
Precog ..........................................65%
Traveler .................................55%
Shaman ..............................50%
Fallen Angel ...........35%

Are you an empath, and if so, what kind? You can take the quiz here and please leave me a comment.

Gary over at Psi-Zone defines an empath as:

“…someone who picks up on the emotions and/or feelings around them. It may be the feelings of someone they are close to. It might be the general feelings in a room or even when there is a very strong emotion around the world, such as fear.” He goes further to add, “I believe that we are all empaths at some level, but it seems the majority are so low level that they aren’t aware of any other feelings but their own. They might be considered the lucky ones.” Gary describes ‘grounded’ vs. ‘ungrounded’ empaths, (psi calls them high-level empaths) who tend to act as ‘psychic sponges’ that tune into, and are often swayed by, the feelings and emotions of those around them. Grounded empaths are seldom affected by these even though they sense them. High-level empaths are also prone to depression and to taking on the pain and problems of others, especially a close friend or partner. Gary further contends that when two empaths get together, this can either be an incredible thing (if they can control their abilities) or a disaster, particularly if both get caught in a downward spiral of sensing each other’s distress and getting, in turn, more distressed.

Mysilentecho.com describes an empath as “an intuitive personality type, usually hypersensitive, especially to the emotions and conditions of other people. Empaths are also prone to extrasensory perception and strong intuitive reactions.”

I like how author Christel Broedeflow describes an empath:

“Empaths are often poets in motion. They are the born writers, singers, and artists with a high degree of creativity and imagination. They are known for many talents as their interests are varied, broad and continual, loving, loyal and humorous. They often have interests in many cultures and view them with a broad-minded perspective.” Christel describes empaths as passionate about nature (drawn to nature as a form of release) with a natural love (and understanding) of animals. She goes on to say that “people of all walks of life and animals are attracted to …empaths…[who] are like beacons of light. Even complete strangers find it easy to talk to empaths about the most personal things, and before they know it, they have poured out their hearts and souls without intending to do so consciously. It is as though on a sub-conscious level that person knows instinctively that empaths would listen with compassionate understanding. [Empaths] are the listeners of life. They are often problem solvers, thinkers, and studiers of many things. As far as empaths are concerned, where a problem is, so too is the answer. They often will search until they find one--if only for peace of mind.”

Jad Alexander, author of the Book of Storms says that “Empaths are highly intuitive which means they tend to do things by feeling, by sensing, by reacting to proprioceptive queues, and by following ‘hunches, gut-feelings,’ etc. This includes critical decision making, reacting, and acting upon influences in their own lives predominately from intuitive queues.” He adds that “Empaths identify with many forms of nature and frequently feel affinity towards storms.”

So, does this describe you?

And how does all this fit into science, you might ask? Well, it doesn’t… yet. As a scientist, I should look at it all askance, some of you might contend. This falls more into the realm of metaphysics (a branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science) or esotericism or the occultism even.

Occultism was conceived of as the study of the inner nature of things, as opposed to the outer characteristics that are studied by science. The German Kantian philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer suggested that science and mathematics are unable to penetrate beyond the relationship between one thing and another in order to explain the 'inner nature' of the thing itself, independent of any external causal relationships with other 'things'. Schopenhauer also pointed towards this inherently relativistic nature of mathematics and conventional science in his formulation of the 'World as Will'. By defining a thing solely in terms of its external relationships or effects we only find its external, or explicit nature, he contended. Occultism, on the other hand, is concerned with the nature of the 'thing-in-itself', often accomplished through direct perceptual awareness, known as mysticism.

Isaac Newton was accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when he postulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances.

Imagination is more important than knowledge--Albert Einstein

References:
ABC News: What's Behind Hollywood's Fascination with Kabbalah?
Bardon, Franz (1971). Initiation into Hermetics. Wuppertal: Ruggeberg.Fortune, Dion (2000). The Mystical Qabala. Weiser Books. ISBN 1578631505
Edelglass et al., Matter and Mind, ISBN 0940262452. p. 54Newton's Dark Secrets.Schopenhauer, Arthur. 1819. The World as Will and Representation
Underhill, E. (1974). Mysticism, Meridian, New York

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.