Some of you may have heard of Empaths: people who are known for their highly developed ability to sense the emotions and thoughts of the people around them.
You might have heard all the symptoms of being an Empath; finding public places overwhelming, confusing others emotions with your own and absorbing them like an “emotional sponge“, finding films/images of violence or cruelty unbearable, feeling other people’s physical pains, being a great listener, suffering from fatigue, needing solitude to recharge and even experiencing the emotions of loved ones who are far away. But most articles fail to answer why this occurs.
And more intriguingly, Empaths account for about 5% of the population, yet are much more predominant within people who identify with being Old Souls or as a Highly Sensitive Person. How can this be explained?
Understanding Energy Bubbles
Until a few years ago, I had never heard of the word “Empath “.
Growing up, I noticed a strange shift within me whenever I was around other people. I’m naturally very calm and centered, but in the presence of other people, I can empathize with the emotions they are feeling almost immediately.
When I was younger I told this to my Shaman mentor, Don Angel, who explained to me that this was something very useful to possess and had been known for centuries by the Incans. In the Incan way of viewing the world, we believe in a concept known as “Kawsay Pacha“, living energy. To us the world of nature is alive and responsive, and the cosmos is a vibrating field of pure energy frequencies.
Incans once believed they were born into a world that was as conscious of them as they were of it, and that everyone could experience the energy of another living being as if it were their own. These people who could experience the energy of others had a great blessing, as they would find it much easier to cultivate a soulful connection with all living energies in nature and learn to harmonize themselves within their surroundings using “Ayni“, an energetic reciprocity that exists within all living matter.
When two living energies (for example: humans, animals, mountains) first meet, their energy bubbles touch each other, which is known as “Tinkuy“. Once a person encounters another person’s energy bubble, something we call “Tupay” starts to occur, where the two people begin to experience a collision of contrasts and differences between their energies, creating a confusion.
It’s at this point that the successful “Empath”, differentiates the type of energy of the person, whether it is “Yanantin“; a completely opposing energy, or “Masintin“, an energy similar in frequency. That is when you apply “Taqe“, an attempt to harmonize these two encountering living forces.
The Quechua word for an Empath is a “Qawaq” which means “one who sees“. It comes from the verb “Qaway” which means “to see” the living energy.
Old Souls As Empaths
We all experience empathy to some degree. Empaths, however, struggle to distinguish their own emotions from those of others.
Highly Sensitive People are born with a physical sensitivity, that of a brain that is overly sensitive to stimuli of emotions, thoughts or activity. In many cases, HSP’s are so sensitive to subtleties within their environments that it allows them to feel the emotional changes within other people as well. However, not all HSPs are Empaths.
With Old Souls there’s a difference; their sensitivity is not physical in relation to the brain, but is spiritual, or is in relation to their souls. This doesn’t mean that all Old Souls are Empaths, but it does mean that many can easily become spiritually attuned to the living energy around them.
This spiritual attunement experienced by the Old Soul is enhanced by their “Old” energy that has been reborn many times. The more an energy comes into consciousness and then returns back to its origins, the thinner the veil of identity between “I” and “That” is, and the more it is purified.
As our individual egos become less defined, our unconscious intuitive receptors are left open to not only experience our own emotions, but the emotional vibrations of those around us.
The closest I can come to scientifically explain this is that somewhere within the frontal lobe of the brain, there is an area responsible for Echopraxia,which not only allows us to involuntary repeat others actions, but when activated in Empaths, can also allow for emotions from the surrounding environment to be involuntarily received and absorbed. However, there aren’t enough studies conducted to determine any of this conclusively.
Grounding Your Emotional Center
Being an Empath can be a great asset; but only if you learn to center yourself, grounding your emotions within your own being and refraining from shouldering the unhappiness and suffering of the entire “Pachamama“, mother nature. If you don’t learn how to ground yourself, you’ll live like a slave to your emotions, rather than a master of them.
Once you learn to master these emotions, you will not feel burdened by your empathy, but freed by it. You’ll have the ability to control when you want to feel other people’s emotions in order to purposefully understand them. You’ll also learn when to tune them off, allowing you the space and clarity to act or advise accordingly.
But first, how do we do that?
1. Identify the Origin
The emotions you feel will not always be from other people; they are often your own. It’s easy to think all negative emotions are coming from other people, so in order to get things straight, try to constantly analyze whether there is something that may have caused the negative emotions you’re feeling or not.
2. Apply Mindfulness to Ground Yourself
The emotional energies that you absorb and experience from others are usually processed through your unconscious intuitive receptors. When you focus your attention with mindfulness on a specific action, it forces your unconscious mind to tune out of those emotional frequencies and focus conscious attention on something else instead. Examples of grounding exercises include focusing on your breathing rhythm, visualizing a protective shield around you, or focusing on the spot between your eyes where your “third eye” is located.
3. Seek Solitude and Distance Yourself
After you have grounded yourself using a mindfulness technique, try to leave the area that persons energy bubble might have effected (for instance, leave for a different room or physically distance yourself by a few meters). This will allow you to see whether it really was that person’s emotional energy that was influencing you or not. Afterwards, make some solitary time for yourself which will give you the space to centre yourself again.
The Awakened Empath eBook:
Written for the highly sensitive and empathic people of life, Awakened Empath is a comprehensive map for helping you to develop physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance on every level.
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Being a Qawaq, or Empath has proven to be an invaluable skill in my life which allows me to teach and treat other people. It has helped me to understand what a person wants or needs and what they are afraid or insecure about by attuning myself to their different emotional vibrations.
So now I’d love to know: what are your experiences as an Old Soul with the gift of being an Empath? Please share with me below!
If you would you like to keep reading about empaths, you’re welcome to click on one of our other empath articles below:
- Empowered By Sensitivity: What Type of Empath Are You?
- Can an Empath’s Sensitivity Be Dulled Throughout Life?
Alternatively, check out our empath book for further guidance and clarity.
As much as I love your writing and style, I have to disagree with all HSP are empaths.
I’m an HSP but not an empath.
The following psychic abilities are what I have:
Intuitive discernment
Claircognizant (knowing what people are thinking in a logical way).
Clairsentient (knowing what is happening around me, in the form of mediumship and telepathy).
Clairaudient (able to hear what some devices pick-up in the electromagnetic spectrum, not audible to the human ear).
I’ve wondered what it would be like to be an empath but the more I think about it, I’ve got so many empaths in my life trying to blow past my boundaries I’ve set for friendship (trying to fast track romance with me but I’m an aromantic hetero-demisexual). They get angry, when I rebuff them, and I can sense their displeasure of my answers in a logic way. Not fun for me.
I’m a loner because of this stuff, before it wasn’t a choice, now, it is, as I know my worth. It took me a very long time to get to this point, been lonely my whole life but unwilling to be restrained in a relationship, just to make the other person happy and I’d be in utter Hell, for the remainder of that relationship.
I think I may be an empathic, but I’m not absolutely sure. I have experienced a lot of this before, but not so much anymore. So, I don’t know if it’s been tuned off totally, or I somehow learned to control it too much. But I distinctly remember being at work and not thinking of anything in particular, then suddenly I had these overwhelming emotions crash through my head: anger, confusion, disappointment, hurt, shame, and then I “felt” it had something to do with my friend. So, since I couldn’t call her at the moment, I emailed her (I can’t remember why I couldn’t text her). I asked if she was okay because I had some feelings about her. When she replied, she first sent “Holy shit!” Then the second email explained how she just had an argument with her boyfriend and those were the same emotions she felt and she also mentioned how I sent the email a few minutes after the argument, meaning I was feeling her emotions at the same time SHE was feeling them. She was over 300 miles away.
I haven’t had anything like that happen to me in a long time. But I used to feel my friends emotions from a distance.
I am definetly an Empath it is exhausting if frogs or insects got in at my job I had to rescue them and I feel awful if I hit an animal or insect etc while driving. People have called me crazy etc but I can’t help it the thought of someone smashing a frog/bug/plant or any living thing is unbearable. Am I crazy ? Have you ever seen this with Empaths?
My experience as an empath is a bit different than what you explain. You talk of the frontal lobe processing these feelings in my experience these feelings are processed within the vital organs for example I feel emotions like love and hate in my heart and fear is felt and processed through the kidneys. It’s a second brain within our body that processes all the different emotions. My actual brain is what makes me consciously aware of this process. The Practice of Meditation and being in touch with my spirituality helps me to cope with all these emotions.
I detest being both an empath and an old soul. I yearn for my end and for the cycle to cease. Its so difficult as an old soul, when nothing surprises you or excites you in the same way. Nothing is new and that makes me feel worn and used. What’s even worse is that a majority of people fit the stereotypical bubbles and nobody wishes to transcend them. Explaining who we are as empaths more often than not prove to be futile and when you toss in the fact that I am an old soul, conversations can get so dry and dense. It is so hard to appreciate these gifts or curses and to try and surrender and just breathe.
Hi Mateo. Thanks very much for your work and your writings. I have always found the ability to “read” people, but not knowing why or how. I can “sense” what they are thinking. I’ve never told anyone this. I don’t see “auras” or anything, but I do react accordingly to what I’m reading in others, so that harmony is the outcome. I prefer to be alone most of the time. Since I can remember, I’ve always been an observer, rarely speaking up. I still am today, although not to appear odd in public, I don’t stare, and will simply smile – immediately receiving a warm smile in return (from strangers). It’s a nice feeling. I am 60 years old, and finally getting comfortable with myself. Thanks for your insight and help. Keep safe, and keep up the good work please! Thank you.
I really enjoyed reading and it makes alot of sense according to my encounters, i have so much restless nights i need to get advice on something, would you be so kind to just hear me out…on email plz im adenaan thank you
Okay, so I guess the easiest way to explain myself is that I was born just a little extra, and a lot different than other people my age. I’ve just always known things. Felt things. Like emotions, joy and pain, happiness, sadness, and grief of other people. It’s just always been that way. There are things I was born knowing, that I’ve never been taught, but I’ve never doubted or questioned. I’m like some kind of beacon for people on the edge of something. People I’ve never seen or met, or people I literally have just met will seek councel from me. I don’t know why? I’ve never known why? And I don’t remember my life ever NOT being this way. The thing is, I’m pulled or drawn almost like with an invisible but unbreakable tether to help. Help anyone and everyone I can. It feels like my purpose. Nothing is more natural to me. And I’m always confounded and completely stupified when people intentionally hurt or terrorize or cause pain to other people or other living things. I can’t rationalize it. It never makes sense and I feel it on a soul deep level. I wish I knew more about being an empath, and exactly how old my soul is. How many times have I been around this cycle of life?
My soul is certainly old. I never felt energy until I met my twin. I could only feel his. After experiencing the dark night of the soul, learning to love myself, and meditating, I started absorbing energy. I would feel perfectly fine and then I would leave a place and feel completely sick. That’s when I started looking into stones which helped immensely. After stabilizing my energy, I encountered my first energy vampire. This has been a remarkable journey and I look forward to embracing the path the universe has set before me.
I know a lot of people who can do these same things. I believe it is in our nature to do these things, but not be enamored. Balance is key.
On 3 distinct occasions I have felt the life force of animals release from their body at the moment of death. Is that unusual?
As an empath that loves people and wants to be happy, I have found it takes great balance. To be able to contribute to society and still maintain my sanity, it takes a lot of mental preparation. I flourish on a schedule because it gives me time to put my shield up and prepare for the energies that I know that I will encounter. This is especially helpful when it comes to working because I already know what to expect.
Sometimes I feel like a robot because I am not able to be my real self. I have to keep conversations very general and basic. It can be very daunting but I have learned that I am too deep and speak the Truth to easily that it makes people uncomfortable. When I do have conversations like this I already read the person and can tell if this is too much for them or they will have a good remark back to keep the conversation going. I still struggle to find people that I can do this with regularly instead of those random times that I happen to be at the right place at the right time to find a person that can have these types of conversations.
Even though I long to find like minded people, I get drained easily and have to limit my social gatherings. I have learned (with much mental preparation beforehand) to be able to enter into social gatherings and give everyone my energy of love and peace. The only thing with this is that everyone is drawn to me and then I take on a lot of their junk. You know we make great counselors ; ). I do shield some of this by using my words and affirming their decisions or give them advice. Believe me, after spending the whole time doing this, I am so done. This is when I have to go into my hermit mode.
Depending on the amount of gatherings I have been to will determine how long I need my solitude. I NEED this time to reenergize. This when I process the energies that I encountered. This helps me determine what is mine and what is theirs. It can be a long process but whenever I see any of these people again they are always happy to see me and have better energy.
Thank you so much for all the great work and insight you’re offering. It helps a lot to know that there are so many more people experiencing the struggle of staying true to yourself while feeling so much (that the majority doesn’t). I am on my journey to manage better every day and besides focusing on my breathing, I found it helpful to give up the resistance to all emotions that overcome me and just accept that it is the way it is now and focusing on the next best thing that makes me feel better or good. My children are the best reset of attention. It’s almost like raising the white flag and totally accepting what is, while resistance is given up, the flow just comes right back to me. Love and Happiness to all the gentle souls out there!
I have an old soul just trying to understand what’s going on with my life
I can feel others vibrations positive or negative I love to help people but at times I need to be alone to recharge I am fatigue by over thinking (mentally tired)
I sleep alot
I like being by myself don’t care for crowds or drama intense situations
A lot people come to me for spiritual guidance and uplifting I can break down scriptures easily I surprise myself at times because I be like how did I do that my grandmother always read the Bible to me and I would ask questions I have a thirst for righteousness and spirituality I’m a writer I write poetry that inspires and uplift
Its my way of venting I write a lot from pain and also I’m inspired by other people
(Look me up Google plus under
Ronald D Barnes) I write movies music. I’m a visionary but sometimes I feel like I’m not living just existing its frustrating because I feel cheated out of life what can I do to feel happy I believe I’m in a very toxic energy draining relationship but I can’t seem to break free people use me alot and I get upset you don’t have to use me I’m willing to help you already any advice I would appreciate
More articles of this type please!
Very reassuring to read this article. I’ve been fighting this “beast” all my life. I never saw it as a gift but a huge burden. I’ve recently began dreaming about future events that have come to pass. Very scary stuff to deal with on your own. I absorb emotions and energies all the time. It’s exhausting. I’m just starting to understand this. Thought I was crazy!! I would like to understand the connection to my deceased grandfather. I feel his presence constantly. I don’t understand my connection to him but it’s powerful.
Thank you Robin,
It’s an immense comfort knowing we’re not alone in this struggle, the important part is learning to make this gift a useful asset and nor a burden for us. I’ll make a note of writing something on the topic of communicating with the collective unconscious Spirit realm.
This is a relief to read. I am so overwhelmed and stuck in I struggle to find a way to start again. From this inf I am an old soul empathy and highly sensitive. 11 years ago my daughter was a victim of a murder suicide. I was diagnosed with PTSD and became a virtual recluse. This last two yrs I lived with my daughter and family to help with daycare so she could finish school. So chaotic. Recently I moved into my own apt. I crave solitude. Instead I am surrounded by more people with more problems. I am searching for a way to have myself for me for awhile and still live in this environment. I do believe this information is exactly what I am searching for. Before Missy died I studied everything spiritually. I stopped at that moment in my life and have been unable to open that door. I have a close friend to thank for this information and am so grateful to have it. Thank you.