Picture yourself as a child, no more than 5 years old. You walk into your grandparent’s home where they are having a big party. You look around and you see a crowd of people inside. It’s a circus of light and energy.
You sense the movement of feet, of bodies, of emotions whirling around you. You feel a clash of emotion in your body: excitement, frustration, joy, fear, angst all mixed together. You start to feel dizzy and numb.
There is too much going on here. There is too much different energy here for you to feel.
Now if you can, I want you to imagine if this experience is one you have encountered or resonates at all?
What I have just described, is a typical experience for an empathic person on a daily basis. An empath is one who can actually feel and experience another’s emotions as their own. They have the ability to assimilate or mold completely to the sensations of others which make them very compassionate, warm and insightful people. However, on the other hand, this also means they are prone to becoming lost in other people’s emotional vortexes and when left unmanaged this can result in a chronically drained or overwhelmed feeling, sometimes resulting in chronic depression.
What are a few questions to define if you are an empath?
You tend to absorb the emotional energy of others?
You find it unbearable to watch any form of violence cruelty or torture because it causes your intense pain or discomfort
You feel a deep connection to nature and animals
You are drawn to the metaphysical or spiritual side of life
You are a skilled listener
I grew up as the youngest of 3 kids in San Mateo, about 20 min south of San Francisco. My mother was the daughter of a wealthy businessman from Iran and my father was the son of doctor. They fled the Iranian Revolution of 79 with just their suitcases, despite having had privileged upbringings. In my house, as an empathic child, I experienced many volatile energies.
Through the adversity comes the growth. As an empath, constantly overwhelmed by my emotions and my inability to be an individual without absorbing another’s emotions – I felt doomed to be a fly on the wall. And then I met the love of my life. Miguel.
We began a journey of sitting together in nature. Rich green grasses and redwood trees – meditating together. He taught me that my thoughts were not me. That they were just chatter. I began the journey of meditation, then moved to yoga every day which calmed and grounded the sensitive 5-year-old empath in me and I think him too.
I learned to use my senses instead of letting them use and drain me. Love set the empath in me free. Miguel shined light on the dark, turned negatives into positives and showed me that I have the power to observe – not absorb when I choose to. That we all have this power.
“Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness.” Keep your hearts soft and eyes open. For the greatest treasures lie in the most unlikely places. Only for those who have the eyes and open hearts to see them.
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