"Empowered Empaths"?

So I was reading Freja's journal and followed a link to meetup.com (which I'd heard of but never used). I found a group called "Empowered Empaths" in my area. Their description says:

The Empowered Empath Group is here for you if…

• You are seeking more information on what it means to be Empathic

• You are looking to receive support and new coping skills within a nurturing environment

• You are open to healing experiences that will help you be more in charge of your own energy instead of just soaking up everyone else's!

Being Empathic can be a beautiful gift rather than a curse (we feel that way sometimes right?). This group will help you to become an EMPOWERED EMPATH…Join us!

10 common traits of an Empath…

And, NO…these are not the only traits, these are just a few!

1. Empaths are quiet achievers but expressive in areas of emotional connection. They find that talking about emotional issues is a great outlet that aids in understanding themselves and others.

2. Some empaths can be the opposite of what an empath 'should' be because they are overwhelmed or unable to handle emotion and what they feel in the world around them so they block their feelings.

3. Empaths are emotionally sensitive to violence and general chaos.

4. Empaths are sensitive to loud noise and television. In particular, television programs that depict emotional drama like the news and police shows.

6. They struggle to comprehend acts of cruelty and crime that involves hurting others.

7. Are often found working as volunteers, with people, animals or the environment.

8. They often have the ability to draw others to them. This includes children and animals as they have a warmth and compassion that is beyond normal. You may find that strangers always talk to you if you are an empath.

9. They can be good listeners as they generally have an interest in other people.

10. They are likely to have had, other paranormal experiences in their life. This could be astral projection, psychic ability or a variety of other experiences.

Do any of these traits sound like you? Time to join this group and breathe a great sigh of relief because you ARE NOT alone!

With the exception of #10, this is 100% me. Can anyone else relate to this? The thing that really sealed it for me was the mention of the television. When I visit my mother she has her TV on and it is almost invariably playing some movie scene with screaming, shouting, crying, someone in audible pain... I can't even walk into the room or focus on anything until she turns it down because I just get completely consumed by what that person is feeling. I've never been able to have anyone understand what I'm saying with this... and it isn't a panic attack or PTSD or something, and telling myself that it's just an actor doesn't help. And the mention of strangers always talking to you. Holy cow is that accurate. I thought it was because I always look like an employee wherever I go, but seeing this... maybe not.

So the question is, what to do with this. Please understand that this is a heavily edited list just to include the activities, but the group says, among other things, that some of their activities are "Stress Relief · Self Exploration · Energy Healing · Meditation · Spirituality · Empath and Psychic Development · Reiki Classes · Psychic & Spiritual Matters". The last few meetups were "Soul Connection Chakra Meditation & Painting Class", "Meditation Immersion", "Whale Song Healing and Reiki", "Create Your Crystal Bundle Talisman", "Path of Light - A Divinely Channeled Gathering" and "Energy Clearing, DNA Activation, & Messages". All of which sound pretty eyebrow raising to me.

Am I considering a path that might make me one of those strange, long-skirted women at community fairs that wears too many jingly bracelets and talks about your aura?

Does anyone else have any experience with being an "empath"? Is this just something they made up to explain what everyone experiences? Is there a way to explore it without it getting strange?

In the Netherlands we have a saying,"Keep your head in the clouds but your feet firmly on the ground", try it , taste it , and if it does not feel right ...leave it , if you never try to do something you think you can't , you will never achieve more than what you have now

Snowy Aftermath wrote: Does anyone else have any experience with being an "empath"? Is this just something they made up to explain what everyone experiences? Is there a way to explore it without it getting strange?

Hey Snowy! I actually relate to pretty much all of those points, and have for my entire life. I made a post considering some odd 'ability' I seem to possess a few months ago, check it out here if you're interested.

But otherwise, yes, that all lines up with my experience. I too have never really had the chance / felt safe in exploring it at all, until I came to the temple. Still, barely scratched the surface though.

If it sounds interesting though, give it a shot! As long as it's a safe group, and seem legit, nothing wrong with attending a meeting. If you ever wanted to talk about your experiences, I'm sure we can swap stories!

Snowy Aftermath wrote: Am I considering a path that might make me one of those strange, long-skirted women at community fairs that wears too many jingly bracelets and talks about your aura?

Hahaha! I even worry about this with the Jedi path sometimes just because it does overlap with so many of these sorts of things. I get talking about the energy throughout the universe and start to worry myself. Whenever either my fiance (who's a yogi) or myself (a Jedi) starts to talk too much like that the other will usually say "Fine, be murky" in reference to Pheobe in the first episode of Friends when she's cleansing Ross's aura. :laugh:

It's not bad to be one of those people though, so long as you keep you feet on the ground like Marta said. I have a friend who does reiki and a bunch of other stuff that people might call "hippie-dippie" but she can also interact with just about anyone in any situation without coming across as...well some people might call it strange I guess. I guess just don't try to cleanse strangers' auras and you'll be fine. :laugh:

I am an empath...highly empathic...I can't be around anything dead without feeling the hollowness left behind, it's like looking into the void of a black hole...total nothingness...I can be overwhelmed by the emotions of others if not ready for it, and can very easily be lured into violence if not prepared ...I take precautions to ensure that I'm shielded, not just for myself, but for the safety of others...most of the time this gives the impression that i'm devoid of emotion....it's a necessity that I remain distant like that...

To answer the question of becoming "a long skirted woman wearing too many jingly things", does it matter? Be who you are, not who others want you to be...embrace the madness within and make yourself whole.

I"ve always viewed it as emerging from the subconscious as a result of non-verbal communication signals which are processed in part within our own visceral architecture. So then 'sensitive' people, or people who do spiritual work on compassion and develop that sensitivity, can find it confronting and endure it as a form of information overload - so much that they feel like they are losing themselves momentarily sometimes.... lost in the noise, which can unleash inner instincts like anger/fight, freezing, and running away/flight.

I think its a valuable thing for a Jedi to go through, but it can be very confronting!?

Sometimes it can even manifest as a sensation of reading someone, and even carried on to perceive thoughts in the absence of conventional communication. In those cases I"m not convinced it's actual reading but highly informed imagination from all those non-verbal signals plus biological mimicry, ones own experiences and the entire surrounding context. I tend to think introverts suffer this a bit, but I'm not sure its a defining characteristic or excludes extroverts... behaviour might be more complex then that and certainly social skills can be learnt as well (apparently, LOL).

Definitely not alone.

I have had number 8 happen a lot I seem to get along with most animals even when they usually don't like people and I have strangers talk to me all the time

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A funny aspect is that people tell me things that I shouldn't know. At work everyone tells me everything be for its supposed to be public knowledge. I don't pry or ask and people go out of their way to fill me in. My whole life had been the same.

i know im a bit late

i think that

1. it is ok to be strange if your strangeness represents your authentic experience, and as long as you stay honest with yourself and keep your eyes open about what youre doing, whatever you "turn into" will be great

id put dollars to donuts that at least 90% of the people you meet are going to be silly space cadets, but my reiki teacher could often be found in groups like those and she was truly one of the most wonderful people i have ever known

2. if you want to discover you have to explore

if you feel there may be something in this for you then i personally would encourage you to check it out and see, you never know!

even if you dont get something specific from it, just doing new things and exploring new ideas (even silly ones) can be a beneficial experience

also i want to respond to this:

When I visit my mother she has her TV on and it is almost invariably playing some movie scene with screaming, shouting, crying, someone in audible pain... I can't even walk into the room or focus on anything until she turns it down because I just get completely consumed by what that person is feeling.

ah but is that what that person is actually feeling, or is it only what they are pretending to feel?

most of us are empathic to some degree, but someone whose empathic streak was "psychic" level would be more likely to perceive the actual emotions of the other person

for instance, in a situation where someone is PRETENDING to be in a lot of pain, and they know that their act is good, the empath might actually feel a bit giddy, and have to stifle a giggle

because they would be picking up on the inner feelings of the actor, who is actually having a great time

what you are describing imo - and i admt that its just an opinion - is a kind of emotional fluidity, an ability to quickly shift into an emotional state, if you have the proper direction, and once you get going in a direction, you can really go hard

which is very useful aptitude for people who are aware that they have it and know how to direct it deliberately, and can sustain it over long periods

but tends to cause a lot of problems for people who dont realize whats going on

i hope there was something useful in this, best wishes