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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/27/2007 7:49:43 PM | Oh my goodness Montreal Guy... Thank you... I think I understand weird feelings a little more...
Example: At twelve years old, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent almost 6 months in and out for of the hospital for chemo therapy.
Anyway... I am the oldest and I took care of her in the hospital a lot. (She is still alive today so... It is all good!  )
Buuuuut.... What I will describe is those weird feelings... Here goes...
Now... imagine yourself going up the elevator to the cancer ward. As you go up, imagine someone pinching as they are twisting.... Imagine these twisting pinches all over your body from the inside of your palms to the bottom of your feet to the top of your head and even inside of you... pinching and twisting your heart, lungs, liver... whatever that is in there...
As the pinching is going on, imagine, "feeling" these "sources of energy" going over you, under you, beside you, and THROUGH you... Sort of like you are on the threshold of a very very busy entrance to a mall where hundreds of people want to get out and hundreds want to come in at the same time...
Now... the door of the elevator opens, you look in front of you and mechanically you walk towards the room of the patient knowing that these "feelings" will stay with you the whole time you take care of the person you love.
Funny thing... My mom used to say... "I feel so much better when you come to take care of me."... "You are my ray of sunshine."... I would just smile and I would take care of her.
These visits exhausted me... Completely drained me and every week, someone would pass away it seemed. Every week, I would be introduced to some other women that my mother had made friends with and I swear these energy sources going through me would itensify so much and sure enough, one of my mother's friends had passed away.
I realize many think that it is "bull shit"... Believe me... I too sometimes think I am the one who needs happy pills....
I do not know if it is a gift or a curse... I just can express what I experienced. Boy, am I embarassed because I know some of you will judge harshly...
I do not know if it is a gift or a curse. I just know that I can "feel" in ways that others cannot and it takes so much out of you and sometimes it is extremely difficult to concentrate on mondane tasks...
I realize that I am lining myself up for abuse, but I do feel compelled to have someone out there understand what I am trying to express and even enlighten me.
Believe me... I have seriously thought, (not as much now... It's like I have learned to shut down the gates) that I was "deranged" and perhaps in need of professional help.
Enough for now... It's too difficult to express some more... | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/28/2007 6:55:01 AM |
Nergal.. thanks for the info about the flourescents.. I tried to tell my teachers when I was in grade school that I couldn't concentrate under the lights. That I could "hear" them and they were too distracting.. they thought I was crazy. Or lazy, or lying. I still detest overhead lighting... especially flourescent. I buy the natural daylight bulbs for reading and painting. At night I turn the lights off if I'm watching tv and light candles.
I feel kind of crazy, but I LOVE it when I am at home and the power goes out during a storm. All the electricity is gone...no humming, buzzing appliances. It sounds sooo nice. My kids are going nuts waiting for everything to turn back on, but, I am sitting there relishing it. (except for worrying about the food going bad...or if it is extremely hot out and the house is heating up) This has made me look more and more into moving out in the country as soon as feasible. I have looked online at "homesteading". Not that I would be able to go "all out" with this, but some of the ideas really appeal to me. I want to live without all the noise, processed food...all of this junk. Still need the good ol' American government dollar to do this though.  | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/29/2007 8:04:28 PM |
Funny thing... My mom used to say... "I feel so much better when you come to take care of me."... "You are my ray of sunshine."... I would just smile and I would take care of her.
These visits exhausted me... Completely drained me and every week, someone would pass away it seemed. Every week, I would be introduced to some other women that my mother had made friends with and I swear these energy sources going through me would itensify so much and sure enough, one of my mother's friends had passed away.
This sounds like you are a victim of energy vampires. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/29/2007 11:33:30 PM | I get flashes through my brain - sometimes in the form of a dream and sometimes when I'm awake. They are pre-cognitive pictures but I never understand what they mean at the time and used to try to dismiss it as nonsense.
Sometimes there is a physical sensation too especially if I'm around something electrical where my energy level interferes and causes static.
It's funny that would be so in my case because it's one of Scorpio's supposed traits (my sign rules steel/iron) even though we are a water sign. And that's just how it feels -- like some type of electrical shock or voltage.
I don't freak out anymore when it happens because, for one thing, doing so neither prevents the occurrence or helps me to face it when it does happen.
I used to be a student, employee, friend, and volunteer for a brilliant Astologer named Robin Armstrong here in Toronto. He's been dead more than 4 years but he'd say the same thing: "knowing doesn't make it any easier". He was right.
He also mentioned the constant energy we project out into the universe that others can hear which a previous poster spoke about. And he said "wait until [my name] finds out her thoughts are alive" to someone in my presence.
I immediately thought "wait until you do, Robin" and he got the strangest look on his face and shut the f^ck up! | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 2:58:55 AM | | Well...All I can say is thank you to those who just described me ((along with themselves)) and I now dont feel like so much a freak anymore. always wondered why didnt like being in crowds in malls or stores and being around alot of people all at once. I guess there is a name for it... | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 3:16:05 AM |
In absolutely no way am I attempting to classify myself as superior to other people. You seem to have a major chip on your shoulder, from the postings I have read from you.
Really? My saying "I have had dealings with self-procliamed 'empaths', and they were universally detrimental" led you to believe I have a "major chip" on my shoulder? Wow! How astute! Must be that "emapthy" thing! 
Don't try to analyze me.
Speaking only for myself, I have spent my entire life being unable to participate fully in the same things that "other" people do with little or no problem.
Really? You mean, like every other human on Earth? People aren't universally able to paratake of every conceivable activity or ceremony. That's not being "gifted", that's being "normal".
I also noticed other things about me that were quite DIFFERENT.
You don't say? I was under the impression every human being was a carbon-copy clone. Huh. Imagine that: you are different than others. Shoots my theory down.
I kept it to myself until other people started talking about these things within themselves. It is perfectly acceptable and OK to do so....to share experiences/knowledge and therefore, to hopefully find out who, what, where, when and why.
Humans are social animals. We live socially, we learn socially. You find a niche in which you feel comfortable enough to speak: good for you. *pat pat*
Does it make you special? Only in the same way every human being is special. Nothing more, nothing less.
You are struggling with this because you are one that doesn't exactly feel the same feelings we do.
No, sorry. There's no struggle. It's a crock, in my opinion. And every experience I have had has verified that claim. As Frog says: some people are good at picking up nonverbal communication. That's not some sort of extrasensory 'gift'. To claim that the reason I don't fawn and bat my eyes and say "OMG ME TOO!" is because I'm not as "special" as you is precisely the pompous, self-aggrandizing nonsense that has led me to the conclusions I have reached. Thank you for reinforcing it.
If you did, you would know where we are coming from with this.
Uh-huh. Right. Afraid to consider the possibility that your 'gift' doesn't make you a vunderhuman, are you? A pity. See, I have absolutely no need or desire for anyone to emulate me: you have- twice in that post- expressed self-aggrandizing and patronizing attitudes. No dice, lady.
If it bothers you so much, look at another board maybe?
Open forum: that means I have as much right to speak as you do. And a single thread being to my dislike is no reason to abandon the whole board. Additionally, someone has to be devil's advocate, otherwise you get a bunch of people posting back and forth with the literary equivalent of "OMG me too!", and that is boring.
Did I mention, "OPEN FORUM"?
Me thinks you are protesting a bit too much.
Methinks in the context you are using it is a single word, first of all. Second, I am not some uneducated troll you can talk down to. Ever think that, perhaps, my experience has differed from yours? And that the opinion I have formed (and stated as "opinion" and not "fact") is as valid as anyone else's?
Methinks you are trying to appear more clever than you actually are. Talk down to me again, I dare you. See what happens.  | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 6:27:49 AM | I have lost count of how many times I have "amazed" my friends and "confounded" my enemies with what they believed were my psychic abilities. After all, I have been able to accurately make 100% right on the money predictions for decades. During a conversation, I can easily discern what you REALLY think about your new boss, how you are doing financially, if you are lying to me or even if you are having an affair ! Do I have any particular "gift" or "talent" ? The answer is a resounding NO !
Since childhood I have suffered hearing loss as well as central auditory processing deficit. In a nutshell, CAPD means that my brain does not process sounds quite as it should. For instance, I cannot "hear" the difference between words such as :
dog/dock..... rice/rise..... sixteen/sixty..... pink/pick/pig..... taste/test..... metal/medal..... dice/dies
Over time, many people with CAPD develop a coping strategy that I call "scroll and edit". We listen very carefully to what is spoken orally and when confronted with something that sounds nonsensical, do a quick silent run through of similar sounding words to hopefully find the one that makes the most sense in the given context.
I do not believe I am erroneous in saying that, because of my CAPD, it is highly probable that I pay greater attention to and concentrate harder on discerning spoken words than any of my family, friends and acquaintances. And herein lies the explanation for my supposed "psychic gifts".
People such as myself who have to diligently "attend" to the spoken word also tend to develop an acute ability to register what is "not said" and what is left unspoken more often than not, tells volumes. In other words, someone who only processes what they hear is often only getting half the story ~ but someone who is processing both what they heard AND did not hear is actually getting a LOT more info....
I could also proffer tons of anecdotal evidence that I am also an "empath", but while I may convince others of this, I choose to keep it simple and think of my "abilities" as just plain being aware.
I am neither psychic nor empathic.... but I will sure as hell pay attention to what you tell me verbally, what you choose not to disclose verbally as well as the subtlest of cues you offer via your body language....
I'm with trippy and FrogO on this one.... | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 6:30:53 AM | | trippy hare, this post of yours, and others like it, all over these boards, show to me that you are doing exactly what you accuse us of doing: trying to get attention by being "special". Your way of being "special" is being different from everyone by disagreeing with most posters. Personally, I have not seen any posts where you agree with a thing written. It is your mechanism for feeling different and above others. Again, you are showing that chip on your shoulder when you stated that you were not some uneducated troll that I can talk down to. Never once did I write to you in such a way. Where are you getting this impression, in your own mind? "Methinks" was a way of attempting to use humor....you might try it sometime and lighten up. You are certainly entitled to your opinions, I just ask you to consider question within yourself why you seem to be so antagonistic on these boards. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 7:23:15 AM | Additionally, someone has to be devil's advocate, otherwise you get a bunch of people posting back and forth with the literary equivalent of "OMG me too!", and that is boring.
God forbid that someone might be able to talk about their experiences without it being called
a crock
Not everyone considers a conversation without a countering opinion boring. Life is not a giant debate. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 8:34:19 AM |
I believe they are the attributes of a healer.. in a more calm society, say Native American or African Bushmen, they are most likely recognized at an early age and encouraged. In our society the overwhelming amount of people and stimuli probably causes this ability to shut down. I have noticed that most people who identify with these things are usually creative, and sympathetic types.... I think more women identify because having empathy is almost mandatory for caring for pre-verbal children. Whether women have it more often or are conditioned by society to accept it more is a very good question. I do know that sometimes it is not a matter of observation.. I have felt these things before I have ever seen the person "transmitting" the emotions. Good point Ravenstar. I think that as a man, such awareness is actually discouraged. It's proved quite a problem for me, because it is so innate to me, that trying to suppress it, just made it come out in other ways. I find I have to relax and let it just pass through me, or I pick up on the emotions, and hold onto them.
I can just seem to appear in the middle of everybody when I arrive at my destination. That actually happened to me once. I was lost in thought, and I was walking down the sidewalk near my house. A friend of mine, who had worked with me for eight years, was walking the other direction towards me. He could see me coming easily, and yet when I was about five feet away he suddenly realized it was me, with a start.
Its easy in a way. First think about where you are going, and set the route in your head so you can do it on autopilot. Then set some really deep train of thought going. It doesnt matter what it is, just lose yourself in your thoughts so you dont even notice the journey. I usually do it on plane trips and long train journeys. So THAT'S how it's done, Nergal. I used to do that all the time, because I would think all the time, and would plot my routes on autopilot. Now, I know, I'll use that in future.
One kind of odd place that I cannot go to, is a strip bar. I feel the desperation of some of the patrons, there spending their hard earned cash on the closest thing to sex they may ever get. I feel the emotions of some of the dancers; who wish they could be anywhere else but there; doing something else for a living. They aren't there because the like it, they are there because it's a paycheque. I feel the same way when I see a stripper doing a strip for someone, or a whore. I don't think "she's hot". I just want to ask if the money is as good as they say.
There's precisely what I'm talking about: "special" definitions and conditions that only apply to "empaths"? Specific traits and abilities that are inherent in self-aware species, but are somehow "heightened" in empaths? Groups of people who consider themselves so very special as to believe that uncomfortable situations (crowds, hospitals) are somehow only difficult for them? trippy_hare, I think there is nothing special about it. You could do it too. But it's just like if your dad is a mechanic, or you are that way inclined, it's much easier for you to do mechanics, and even if you've never studied it or ever worked on a car yourself, you'll naturally have much better understanding of what is wrong with a car, than someone else. For many people, such abilities only start to emerge after a difficult situation, or several.
I don't have a problem with hospitals or crowds. But I get an overwhelming sense of sadness when I go to a memorial. If I go to a graveyard, and I see a funeral happen, I want to join in, because I can remember my dad's funeral, and I would like someone else to feel what I felt to have someone else in silent support.
But I have 2 issues that spring to mind: one is when I am walking on the road, and there are others nearby, because I find I feel what the other people also walking feel. I also have a problem when someone is feeling angry or sad or frustrated and keeping it in, because they look happy, but I suddenly feel their inner pain.
I agree with Frogo_O_Eyes that it is not ESP, because I think that everyone is capable of perception beyond collision-based detection. However, one thing mystifies me: people say my ability to handle Mathematical fomulas is extraordinary. I cannot see why everyone can't handle Maths that way. For me, it seems natural. But others seem to take it for granted that such an ability is special. Perhaps this is similar?
Sometimes there is a physical sensation too especially if I'm around something electrical where my energy level interferes and causes static.
It's funny that would be so in my case because it's one of Scorpio's supposed traits (my sign rules steel/iron) even though we are a water sign. And that's just how it feels -- like some type of electrical shock or voltage. So THAT's why I do it. I'm a Scorp too. I stop Checkouts working, DVD players and Digital boxes sometimes go on the fritz if I'm excited or emotional. Even used to screw up the electric doors on buses for a while, although it's been a while since I did that one. Only things that work is to put quite a few feet between me and the device, or to get real calm, real quick.
Since childhood I have suffered hearing loss as well as central auditory processing deficit. In a nutshell, CAPD means that my brain does not process sounds quite as it should. Kinda freaky that you write this, Rainsands. I have had a hearing problem since a major ear infection as an infant, that was only diagnosed at 6 months, and was never confirmed that it was cured. Got tested at 23, and one ear is borderline deaf, and the other is just above borderline.
This checklist of common features of CAPD might lead you to consider such a possibility for yourself, a co-worker, or a friend or relative, if several items apply:
- Talks or likes T. V. louder than normal.
- Interprets words too literally.
- Often needs remarks repeated.
- Difficulty sounding out words.
- "Ignores" people, especially if engrossed.
- Unusually sensitive to sounds.
- Asks many extra informational questions.
- Confuses similar-sounding words.
- Difficulty following directions in a series.
- Speech developed late or unclearly.
- Poor "communicator" (terse, telegraphic).
- Memorizes poorly.
- Hears better when watching the speaker.
- Problems with rapid speech. http://www.iser.com/caparticle.html
I do everything except the memory. I can make myself memorise lots of things, as long as they are a formula, or a poem. But the rest is all me. Annoys the heck out of people. Especially when I have to ask someone to repeat the same sentence 6 or 7 times, which I've done so many times, it's ridiculous.
What really freaks people out, though, is when I'm very relaxed, and just say what's in my head, and it's EXACTLY how they feel, and often EXACTLY what they have been going through. But I'm usually worried that I'm wrong, so I keep it to myself. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 11:00:33 AM |
So THAT's why I do it. I'm a Scorp too. I stop Checkouts working, DVD players and Digital boxes sometimes go on the fritz if I'm excited or emotional. Even used to screw up the electric doors on buses for a while, although it's been a while since I did that one. Only things that work is to put quite a few feet between me and the device, or to get real calm, real quick.
Yeah, it's strange isn't it? The first few times (or even numerous times) that it happened I tried to use logic and remember that just because events occur one after another it is not an indication of cause and effect.
That was until I tried stopping it. I have my own personal means of stopping it that is more of a spiritual thing that I don't want to post in case it's interpreted as preaching or outreach for a particular group.
There's all kinds of ways to calm oneself that are valid including the most simple method I've ever heard of which a friend of mine used to use on her five-year-old twins. She'd just sternly tell them to calm themselves and, taken aback by their mom's words, they would.
I've found silent self-talk like that works too. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 11:46:07 AM | | I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts on this subject. It is rellay cool to know that you are not alone, or crazy, or at least if we are crazy, we are crazy together. LOL One thing that struck me was the mention of actually feeling nothing in relation to a person. I don't tune into everyone and I always figured it was because I wasn't the person that could offer the right words or a smile or simple acknowledgement. I take comfort in believing there are higher powers driving us to one another for comfort and understanding. It is something I have done as a small child only when I was younger it was much more chaotic. One Sunday school teacher I had explained to me that we all are given spiritual gifts and mine was the gift of mercy. Even though I don't walk the straight and narrow path of Christianity any longer, that has always stayed with me. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/30/2007 4:15:36 PM |
So THAT's why I do it. I'm a Scorp too. I stop Checkouts working, DVD players and Digital boxes sometimes go on the fritz if I'm excited or emotional. Even used to screw up the electric doors on buses for a while, although it's been a while since I did that one. Only things that work is to put quite a few feet between me and the device, or to get real calm, real quick.
Another Scorpio here too.  | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/31/2007 10:33:47 AM | Everyone is naturally empathic, likewise everyone is naturally telepathic. It's nothing special nor is it some great mystery.
All we are doing when we "claim to know how another is feeling" is projecting our story/experience of said feeling onto the other person.
There is no way, we can actually know how another is truly feeling!
Unless, of course, we can occupy their mind/body/spirit for awhile, which I don't believe is possible but the idea is kinda fun! 
It's all a projection folks! May you all enjoy your show! I know I'm enjoying mine!
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 12/31/2007 1:38:48 PM | old soul,
Thanks for sharing your story. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone.
Have a Happy New Year. | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 1/1/2008 11:28:58 PM | I told myself to play nice. I told myself that anyone, even an egotistical crazy, is entitled to their opinion. But there's something I have to address. And I'm not going to be nice about it. At all.
I would simply send this as an email to the members in question, but since they have established filters prohibiting people of my age/gender/whatever from mailing them, this will suffice.
trippy hare, this post of yours, and others like it, all over these boards, show to me that you are doing exactly what you accuse us of doing: trying to get attention by being "special".
Yet, you addressing me directly, on the forums (which is against the rules) to tell me that my opinion is WRONG is perfectly acceptable? Where did I say that your opinion was wrong? Where did I say that you were a delusional moron? NOWHERE. I stated my OPINION and you atrtacked it: yet, somehow, I am in the wrong. Whatever you say. Next time, I'll just answer every personal accusation with this:
I have no opinion
Better?
And 'attention-seeking'? Really. If you want to accuse me of something, you can do better than that. Claiming to have some mystical power to feel other people's emotions sounds a lot more "attention-seeking" than simply having a difference of opinion. I stated both my view on the topic, and my reason for holding said view. Not my fault if you are so enamored with yourself that you cannot handle someone expressing disagreement.
Your way of being "special" is being different from everyone by disagreeing with most posters.
You know what's funny? Not everyone on Earth agrees with everyone else. I'm not going to apologize because [ i]you[ /i] can't cope with having someone disagree with you. I stated several times that I was only giving my opinion: and like it or not lady, EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion. Even me. Don't like it? Well, that's really too damn bad, isn't it?
Personally, I have not seen any posts where you agree with a thing written.
Yay, I apparently have a forum-stalker! :D
A shame it's not a very goodforum stalker. I've been posting on these boards for years now, and some forum n00b comes waltzing in and declares me an antagonist. How many of my posts have you read? Two? You know there are other threads, right?
It is your mechanism for feeling different and above others. Again, you are showing that chip on your shoulder when you stated that you were not some uneducated troll that I can talk down to.
Well, let's see: for one, I [ i]am[ /i] different. As are you. As is every single human on the face of the planet. Number two: I stated a fact there: I am [ i]not[ /i] some uneducated troll you can talk down to. And yet again, since you seemed to have missed it every other time I have said it: every experience I have had with a person claiming to be an empath was detrimental, because the supposed 'empath' thought himself/herself to be 'better' or 'more gifted' than other people, and this led to said 'empath' acting like- well, you.
Never once did I write to you in such a way.
Except in the first post you wrote specifically to me. And this post I'm quoting now. Pretty much every time I have quoted a post of yours. See it yet?
No?
Hmmm. Some [ i]gift[/ i] you have.
Where are you getting this impression, in your own mind?
Are you ignoring everything I say on purpose, or is it just [i ]coincidence[/ i] that I have already explained myself several times, and yet you still ask? Here, let me [ b]bold[/ b] it, as I am getting tired of repeating myself.
IN MY EXPERIENCE, EVERYONE CLAIMING TO BE AN EMPATH THOUGHT THEMSELVES TO BE 'GIFTED', AND THUS FELT JUSTIFIED IN TREATING OTHER PEOPLE AS SUBSERVIENT.
There. PERSONAL. EXPERIENCE. Are you going to be so outrageously arrogant as to tell me my own personal experience must be wrong?! And that you alone are right?! Gee, what a [i ]great example[/ i] to set for other supposed 'empaths'! And you have the nerve to feign surprise when I express disbelief and disdain for people who claim to have "mystical feely powers".
"Methinks" was a way of attempting to use humor....you might try it sometime and lighten up.
Nope. It served to illustrate that you are not as clever as you think you are, for one. It also served to bait you into doing the same thing all over again, and thus proving yourself to be both (a) so overly enamored with your 'gift' as to treat anyone that doesn't acquiesce to it as though they were ignorant or stupid; and (b)highlight your own insecurity about this same 'gift'.
Really, if you are so sure of your own ability, why do you try so hard to defend it- over the internet- against someone else's opinion derived from their own experience? Is it that you are so in love with the idea of having "mystical feely powers" that you've put yourself on a pedestal above people who don't? Or is it that you're afraid you don't actually have "mystical feely powers", and you don't like having someone voice that possibility? I vote the latter, personally. But again, that is my OPINION.
But it seemed to have worked: you took the bait, and responded pretty much like I suspected you would. Hmm, maybe I'm am empath, too! :D
You are certainly entitled to your opinions,
First you deride my opinion and insult my intellect, then act as if nothing happened. Sorry, no dice. If you truly mean that, I'd like an apology. If you would like to know what, specifically, I would like an apology for, here's a brief synopsis:
You seem to have a major chip on your shoulder, from the postings I have read from you.
Despite that in my first post in this thread I stated that all of my claims were opinion only, you still saw fit to not only declare them as inaccurate, but make a character judgment. Never mind that I could be the world's biggest arse in every single other thread and it would have absolutely no bearing on this one. Or the rules prohibiting addressing posters instead of the topic. So there's one.
You are struggling with this because you are one that doesn't exactly feel the same feelings we do.
Insinuating that the only reason I could possibly disagree is because I am somehow inferior, less mature, or less understanding than your special little group. No, I based my opinion on personal experience and research, as well as observations and (albeit informal) study.
If you did, you would know where we are coming from with this.
Again, insinuating that it is my own shortcomings in some area that causes my disagreements, thereby deriding any other possible causes for said disagreement. Again: I came to my opinion via experience and observation, and it is not your place to tell me that my experiences or observations aren't worth as much as you "mystical feely powers".
I just ask you to consider question within yourself why you seem to be so antagonistic on these boards.
Seeing as how I'm not, I see no reason to question something that is nothing more than your opinion of me. If I disagree with someone, that doesn't make me an antagonist. And I'm not going to sugarcoat everything I say just so nobody gets offended: it's a tough old world out there: there are far meaner people than I. If you can't even handle me, then you have other issues that ought to be addressed.
But because you think I was disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing, let's take a look back. Here's the OP. I will bold the portions relevant to this discussion:
I have heard the term empath thrown out lately by a couple of women. What does that mean? What is the difference between that and being psychic? I know people have talked about psychic abilities on this forum. I am more familiar with telepathy and prophetic abilities, but not being an empath.... Your thoughts would be appreciated..
And here is my first post. Again, I will bold the relevant portions.
I have had dealings with empaths in the past, most of which ended catastrophically (empath + bipolar = OMGWTF?!). As far as my understanding goes, empathy is sensing the emotional state of another person: which can be done by anyone who is sufficiently talented at reading people's gestures/body language/nonverbal cues/etc.
My main issue with empaths is when people think themselves somehow superior because of it: this has come up in every encounter I've had with empaths in the past: they believed it to be the result of being "highborn" (actual term used), while normal people were "lowborn".
People are people. Those with a gift of empathy are no better and no worse than others. It is not psychic, it is merely observing others without their being aware of just how many things they say without opening their mouths. Talented fortune-tellers do the same thing.
**The preceding was [u]My Own Opinion (tm), and is the sole intellectual property of myself[/u].
Maybe you ought to question yourself in why you feel the need to try to justify whatever ability you claim to have. If you think you can read people's emotions, dandy. But that doesn't make you better than them. Perhaps you ought to examine why you behave as though your opinion were factual and any differing opinions were slander.
Moving on. I'm quite finished with you. If you have anything else to say, say it to my inbox. All this qualifies as "addressing the poster, not the topic" and is a violation of forum rules.
[ quote][ quote]Additionally, someone has to be devil's advocate, otherwise you get a bunch of people posting back and forth with the literary equivalent of "OMG me too!", and that is boring.[ /quote]
God forbid that someone might be able to talk about their experiences without it being called a crock.[/ quote]
MY. OPINION.
Want me to say it again?
MY. OPINION.
Did it sink in yet?
MY. OPINION.
How about now? Are you still so enamored of yourself that you want everyone else's opinions to mirror your own? Well, for your sake, I hope not. You would be waiting a very long time if you were.
[ quote]Not everyone considers a conversation without a countering opinion boring. Life is not a giant debate.[ /quote]
Devil's Advocate Thing = me using humor. Didn't find it funny, I take it?
You are right: not everything [ i]is[ /i] a debate. But guess where you are? Want me to tell you?
A. PUBLIC. FORUM.
Anybody with an opinion is welcome to post on any thread provided they stay on-topic. I even included several "this is my opinion only" disclaimers, thus it is NOT exclusivity of truth, as I acknowledge that my statements are my opinion only. I already quoted the OP as well as my response to it: it was on-topic, and did not slander anybody here, nor did I claim all empaths were pompous asses. However, in my experience, I have not met one who wasn't. So if you are trying to prove my opinion incorrect out of some pathological need to feel justified, you might want to consider not making the same mistake others have made that led to the foregone conclusion I have mentioned. Which, let me remind you, was as follows:
Those with a gift of empathy are no better and no worse than others. It is not psychic, it is merely observing others without their being aware of just how many things they say without opening their mouths.
Did I say empathy was a crock? No. Did I say it is possible for a person to sense the emotional state of another? Yes. I just specified that in my opinion, this was not the result of "mystical feely powers".
And people wonder why I dislike self-proclaimed empaths. Thanks to both of you for reinforcing the conclusions I have already reached.
Don't like what I have to say? TELL IT TO MY INBOX. This thread has already been hijacked enough.
Oh, and guess what? I'm a Scorpio too.
DISCLAIMER: In order to avoid an influx of hate-mail, let me specify yet again. I am not saying empathy does not exist. I am not saying empathy isn't real. I do not mean to insult any of the level-headed users on the boards who know better than to jump to conclusions about what my posts mean. For any of you who feel offended by my use of the term "mystical feely powers" to describe empathy, I apologize. I use this term in order to illustrate the absurdity of some of the assumptions made about me. In short: I am not trying to make anyone feel stupid or inferior or left-out. I'll leave that to the two new antagonists I've collected here. :-P | |
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| Empathy, Telepapthy etc...
Posted: 1/2/2008 2:22:38 PM | | Got to say, I'm all over that! I believe we're all gifted, if you will. It's the way we communicate on a deeper level and we are all capable of it. Some people tend to shy away from their empathic abilities ( getting to really know someone), because it can, at times be painful. Some of us radiate raw emotion and if you're tuning in at point blank range...well you know what I'm saying. I think others kinda tune it out because being empathetic can and will allow you to see elements of yourself in others. That's not always pleasing and hard to accept for some, but as long as you're cool with who you are and you're coming with honesty than it's all good. When you're self aware you know fairly quickly who your going to vibe with. Personally I think opening up to others allows them to be comfortable in your presence, which means they'll say and do things that they might hide from others. In those relationships (freinds/co-workers/family) you get a good sense of who that person is, and you can identify with them on that deeper level. I'm not saying there's no spiritual/supernatural content to being empathetic. I am saying that it's easier to develope and more prevalent than most believe. Being a telepath is a whole other ball of wax, and I pray that no one is, and I certainly do not want to be. Here's a thought...Do you think physicics know before their going to investigated for fraud? I'm just askin'. | |
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