Learning How to Use Empathy Effectively
Empathy is an ability with many different definitions.
They cover a broad spectrum, ranging from caring for other people and having a desire to help them, to experiencing emotions that match another person’s emotions, to knowing what the other person is thinking or feeling.
According to Simple English Wikipedia, empathy is a word that means that someone is able to share or understand the emotions and feelings of another person.
I believe empathy is a gift. However, for some who are awakening to their higher power, their Soul, it can be a challenge.
From reading many recent posts on Social Media, it is clear to me that empathy is rarely understood. Those who are striving to be of help and service to humanity in this powerful time are often unaware of the higher purpose of being an empath and more importantly understand how empathy works.
I wrote this post because,
Learning how to use empathy effectively is an essential part of the process of spiritual awakening.
– Genevieve Gerard
The openness of your energy field to the emotions and pain of others can be very useful when you are trying to heal another person. However, when you are only moving through your life and find yourself feeling the pain and feelings that are not your own, it can be confusing. Part of the process of empathy emerging in your consciousness is for you to learn to identify what comes from your individual consciousness and what is from your expanded consciousness.
There are some truths about empathy that I will explain briefly in this post along with some techniques and practices that can be helpful.
One truth is that spiritual gifts, like empathy, emerge spontaneously. On the other hand, they may be difficult to integrate into modern life in our modern world.
We do not live in a society where spiritual experiences are explored and talked about or explained in daily life as a natural part of life. As more and more individuals are facing the challenges of awakening without the support and guidance of a guide or mentor, confusion, and misunderstandings abound.
One of the advantages is this process of awakening is happening too many and not to only one individual. However, the danger of these phenomena emerging outside of traditional spiritual instruction is the plethora of misunderstanding and misinformation that can be rapidly spread as well-meaning people struggle to teach others beyond what they know.
Recognizing that you know what you know, and recognizing that
you do not know what you do not know — this is knowledge.
– Confucious
For many centuries, the source materials for volumes of spiritual knowledge have been kept secret and behind a veil. In earlier times the Ageless Wisdom was revealed under the guidance of a master who worked with an individual or a group of students in a spiritual community that supported the nurturance and unfolding of their spiritual gifts.
In those times and under those conditions empathy was understood as an evolving part of a spiritual journey.
In our modern society, a spiritual journey is often not only misunderstood but since it is an experience outside of “consensus reality”, it may be labeled, diagnosed and medicated away.
If you are undergoing a process of spiritual awakening, it may be helpful to have a guide to the changes of enlightened awareness that can protect you from the danger of the misuse of your gift which can lead to misery and discomfort.
These risks are unique to our times and the trappings of our modern society. When someone’s empathy gifts are emerging, and they begin to realize they are feeling the pains and emotions of others they most often suffer in silence. When you share what you are experiencing to those who have never had the same experience you stand a good chance of being judged as crazy. Worse still, you may judge yourself as crazy.
Fortunately, the emergence of the concept of empathy into consciousness groups gives some framework with which to begin to understand this strange reality. However, although this loose explanation within social networking groups may be sufficient to provide a label that enables you to realize that you are not crazy, it falls short of teaching you how to use your gift without harming either yourself or those you seek to aid. Knowing that you are not the only person who feels and experiences other people’s pain and emotions, falls short of teaching you how to use your gift for the service and support of others on their life journey.
Likewise, how empathy can be utilized as a dynamic part of your life journey is still missing. What you can do to wield your gift from a centered and calm perspective is rarely addressed. What you can do to protect yourself from the pain and raging emotions of others is a source of much confusion and misinformation.
How you incorporate your empathy into your social relationships is also important. There are both ethical issues and issues of right relationship that you need to consider. Your empathetic gift which has the underlying purpose of enabling you to be of help and healing to people can create harm if not used with compassion and understanding.
Certainly helping is the intention of most of those blessed with empathetic vision. It is doubtful that you would have ever received the spiritual gift of empathy if you wanted it to harm others.
However, in all spiritual endeavors as in all of life, there is always the danger of unintended consequences. It is to avoid those unintended consequences that it is important that you learn to use your empathy to heal, not hurt.
Most importantly, that also means to learn how to be an empath without hurting and harming yourself.
As I read through the hundreds of problems in posts shared on social media, I have become increasingly aware that adjusting to empathy without an underlying understanding and structure of the why and how to use the gift is a problem for many.
Using the gift of empathy effectively identifies some basic principles that are of great importance to understand. Learning to recognize what is coming to you empathetically and then being able to discriminate and differentiate it from your personal thought reactions and feelings is an important first step.
Discernment and discrimination are of vital importance to use your gift of empathy in a way that both is of healing help to those around you without creating harm or hurt in your life.
Meditation is a valuable tool in helping you to do this. It is also important to have a way to transcend, transform and transmute those emotions in yourself, and as a healer in others. Part of being an effective healer and efficient as an empath is learning mastery of your emotions. Ponder on this.
Understanding your emotions is a significant step in your spiritual evolution, and it is often a challenge that happens concurrently with the emergence or increase in the spiritual gift of empathy.
Mastering your emotions is a significant life challenge. Taking that mastery to a level where you can work with healing the emotions of others requires a deeper understanding of the nature of the emotional body and how you interact energetically with others.
Feel Free of All Negative Emotions
Understanding emotions are so important that in my body of work I created two different products from the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom to explain emotional transmutation.
The shorter (10 minute) version is called, “I Am Feeling Free.” It allows you to learn to calm strong emotions and transmute fears and doubts. The longer and more technically complex guided training called “Feeling Free” takes about 20 minutes and is a guide to feeling free forever of all negative emotions.
Check out these short guided trainings on Amazon:
I Am Feeling Free:
Learn to Calm Strong Emotions and Transmute Fears and Doubts
Feeling Free:
Guide to Feel Free Forever of All Negative Emotions
Both involve learning to master your emotions and transmute and transform the energy. Feeling Free is especially valuable for an empath because when you do it with the added intention of clearing and raising the emotional energy of everyone in the room it impacts the experience of everyone as a healing event.
Empathy Is A Gift
What is most empowering and significant to understand about being an empath is that not only are you aware of the emotions and hurts of others but that the purpose of that awareness is to empower you to help heal those hurts. That is why empathy is considered a spiritual gift, and not as you may fear it to be a spiritual curse.
Using the universal law that “energy follows thought” makes intention a most powerful tool for an empath. Part of the education of an empath is to enable them to use their empathy as a healing tool for the betterment of others. That is the higher purpose for which the gift is available to Lightworkers and Light-bearers.
It is important to understand that as an Empath when you transmute, transform and transcend your negative emotions you (with intention) have the power to impact the vibration and emotional pain of all who are around you. That is why Empathy is a gift and power you must learn to use wisely with discrimination and discernment.
How to Use Empathy Effectively
Meditating upon these issues is helpful. Clearing your emotional field is essential. Understanding how to do that and incorporating emotional mastery into your life as a healer is also one of the keys.
Compassion and respect are essential elements of using your empathetic gift. Practicing kindness and learning to be non-judgemental are attributes that are important to master.
Recently, as a lifetime student of the Ageless Wisdom, and a lifelong meditator who is also a healer and an empath, I have been feeling directed to offer an opportunity for empaths to learn and grow into how to better understand their gift.
Since I can only explain and write so much in a blog post, I am willing to offer my experience and wisdom as a longtime counselor, life coach, and healer, to teach and train those interested in learning to master their empathic gift through a series of webinars.
I will begin with a general webinar for those who need and desire this information. If you are interested, you are invited!
Please simply join my community email list (I will only send out things occasionally and promise never to flood you with email) if you would like to be notified about the webinar. When the time is right, I will then contact you personally by email to invite you to join the online event.
Out of the first empathy webinar event (and experience) and based on the needs and interest of the participants, I will develop a series of educational webinars on How to Use Empathy Effectively.
I trust the wisdom of the universe to attract to this event those who can grow and learn from it. I encourage you to trust the knowledge of your internal guidance to know if this is something that would benefit you or a close friend.
If you are interested in learning more about how empathy works and how you can master your empathy gift, please opt-in above with your email and I will notify you about the webinar and any further articles I write on empathy.
You, as an empath have been given a powerful ability to having a healing presence and impact on those around you. But you need to learn how to use your gift without taking on the emotions and pains of those you endeavor to help and heal.
To not learn that mastery and the Ancient Wisdom can make empathy a painful journey in a modern world where what you are experiencing is outside of the understanding of the world around you.
As a longtime empath, helping those who are awakening with the gift of empathy to understand it and use it effectively is something I have been directed to do in my meditations. If you wish to learn more about How to Use your Spiritual Gift of Empathy, these webinars are for you.
Namaste,
Genevieve
The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!
Hand-Picked Posts You Might Also Like
Last updated 11-13-2018
Copyright © 2016-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.
I just wanted to say thank you. This was one of the more informative blogs that I read. I appreciate the information and desire to help.
Rachel