EMPATHY Definition Empathy is the ability to know someone else's emotions psychically, during normal conversation and at a distance. Body language and tone of voice are not empathy, only psychic perceptions. Empathy is a limited type of telepathy, which is easier for most people to learn. It is the most common of all psychic abilities. Spontaneous Use Many people use empathy without realizing it, especially with close friends and family members. This often occurs as a feeling that a friend is hurt or in trouble. The receiver may also feel stressed because a friend is stressed. With practice, you can improve your empathic ability. You can begin using it on cue instead of just spontaneously. You can learn to receive detailed emotions and complex situations. Connecting Create an empathic connection by focusing your thoughts on your chosen target. Create a constant stream of energy connecting you to him or her. Let the connection grow and strengthen, like a web or joined hands holding you together. Emotions flow through the connection in both directions. The target will feel some of your emotions, and you will feel some of the target's emotions. Receiving Be open to receive images, sounds, and feelings through the link. You may feel the emotions as if they were your own, or they may seem like a movie. They may appear as emotional images or as hunches. As you receive information, watch for related details and subtle feelings. Watch how the target reacts to his or her emotions. Ask questions to navigate through related emotions. Notice how the feelings change in response to your questions. To be certain you aren't reading body language, practice when you can not see or hear the target person. Practice at times when you wouldn't otherwise know what mood the person is in. Then ask the person later what his or her mood was at that time, to see if you received feelings accurately. Controlled, useful empathic navigation can take a while to learn, but it is necessary. The telepathy section explains techniques for navigation in more detail. Disconnecting Closing the link is just as important as opening it. When you are ready to close the link, visualize it gently drawing apart and closing cleanly. If you try to remove it too quickly, it may hurt like a suddenly broken relationship. You may even feel it physically near the heart, where empathy connects. Be gentle with empathic links because they represent your relationship with that person. You will both feel what happens to it. Common Problems Question: I don’t feel anything when I try to connect. Am I doing it? What’s happening? Answer: Ground and center. Make sure you are relaxed, not scared, and not feeling defensive. If you are tense or scared, you won’t connect well with people. If you feel defensive, you will hold your energy in and stop it from flowing to the target. Make sure you are comfortable feeling close to the target. Make sure the target is comfortable feeling close to you. Gently add energy and strengthen the connection. Question: I can connect, but I am not receiving anything. Answer: Ask a question and then listen for an answer. If the connection is still quiet, strengthen it and increase the energy flow. Be sure to stay calm and relaxed. Question: Receiving too many emotions is overwhelming me. How do I filter some out? Answer: Ground and center very well. If afterward you still need a filter, create a shield around yourself to block all empathy. Then when you choose to receive empathically, tell the shield exactly what to let through. When you are done, tell it to block everything again. Summary Create a connection to the target Strengthen the connection Receive and navigate Disconnect cleanly Success You can create a link. You can receive accurate emotional information through it. You can close the link gently.