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?
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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, which can create distress.
When I was younger, I eventually learned 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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
Alternatively, check out our empath book for further guidance and clarity.
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im alone is sea of emotion 10% mine I have more problems that just being an empath im a medium too
not
only feel people that are close I feel it from a far I am cursed
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London, United Kingdom
im alone is sea of emotion I have more problems that just being an empath im a medium too
not
only feel people that are close I feel it from a far I am cursed I
have found wood is a good grounding conduit but its getting harder to
ground myself
Like · Reply · Just now
Anonamist
im alone is sea of emotion I have more problems that just being an empath im a medium too
not
only feel people that are close I feel it from a far I am cursed I
have found wood is a good grounding conduit but its getting harder to
ground myself
Like · Reply · Just now
I see dreams that comes to past often in news etc and feel energy of people plants
Great article, thank you!
I think that determining whether or not a negative energy frequency is yours comes with self-awareness more so than physically distancing yourself. With enough intent, people can direct energy at you from long distances, hence the concept of psychic attacks. Grounding, like you said, and blocking are great ways to protect yourself… I also carry Jet and Amethyst for strength and positivity. Being an empath is a heavy responsibility :) But we have the capability to harness our gift and use it for the greater good. Stay Strong!
Hi Mateo Thank you so much for your article. I’m 47 and I’ve suffered all my life as an empath but didn’t know this was the case till recently. As a young child I always felt the emotions of my parents who were alcoholics and my childhood was very traumatic. I was so torn between fear of my parents and sadness at what was happening inside them. I also felt extremely protective of my younger sisters and would not sleep some nights to be ready when I sensed my parents violent explosions, and I would gather my sisters and hide. I developed so much conflict internally in hating and loving my parents and feeling I couldn’t run away as I felt so responsible for my little sisters. As a child I sensed the emotions of my friends too and found large groups painful and consequently I liked to be alone but people were drawn to my happy outlook I also had dreams and premonitions of events and the deaths of people. I could feel them passing away and their energy once they left. This has caused me immense internal pain and confusion as often I don’t know how I really… Read more »
Hey Mateo, gosh I would love some tips on how to be the master of my emotions and not the other way around. I’m 26 and have always felt that I’ve been an emotional sponge around others, absorbing their emotions and when they are negative, I feel exhausted, frustrated, irritable and depressed. I’ve also always been very self-reflective and I can usually differentiate, when given some time to process, which emotions are and were mine and which weren’t, however I have not mastered controlling them. Sometimes when the emotion is strong, I start feeling physically affected as well and my thoughts start to follow the negativity, like a cycle. Sometimes I can’t shake it for awhile. Would appreciate any advice you may have for me
My parents always call me an old soul, I just never considered it as a concept. I went to psychologist, doctors, I even tried meditation. No one understood me ever. I tried to talk to anyone who would show me any kind of interest, I tried to connect, seek a piece of advice, but I never could because I always kept to myself. Listening to people always gossip about their lives kept draining my energy. And I was a stranger to them, an odd person. I don’t have any interest in this material life. Maybe because I don’t have my life. All I do is observe and feel theirs as if I have lived them personally. Every single day feels like years have passed by, and so much experience without any physical connection. Okay, about five years ago, I dropped out of college and I left all of my friends and groups of people, even deleted all my blogs and pages, I totally focused on myself, on my psyche, because I didn’t have any other choice. What I could feel from other people were so intangible and meaningless to me, it began creating a huge weight on my mind and… Read more »
I have found solace among trees, rivers, the moon and stars. People say I’m a magnet to others but I feel a great anxiety when I’m in a large crowd. I don’t feel fear but the energy is overwhelming at times. Entering homes and businesses makes my heart beat fast because I’m not sure what kind of energy awaits. Some good, others not so good. I often feel very old and out of place with others my own age. There are times when I will say something and the person next to me would be scared or confused and ask how or where I received that informatIon. I’m a massage therapist and able to block transference while I’m working. I have difficulty when I’m out and about out of my work zone. I was always called a weirdo when I was a young child because no one wanted to be around a girl who “knew” things. I would love to learn more about empaths and others like me.
Thank you for this article. I’ve been struggling lately with separating my emotions from others. A couple weeks ago a close friend was going through some issues and although he wouldn’t say what they were exactly I felt his heartache and actually shed a tear whilst communicating with him. I hate going to shops, I’ve found online shopping is the way to go :) I absolutely love being around people with positive energy and avoid the energy vampires if possible. In earlier years I often got very sick with a high temp the night before a loved one passed and I think from a young age I knew I was different. I could see images in my mind when talking to people about their loved ones and various problems but have tried my best to block the images out as I feel it is sometimes an invasion of privacy. Recently I spoke to a stranger and instantly recognised his soul as he did mine. The feeling of knowing him without actually having met him in this lifetime. This was a very strange occurrence and flashes of ballrooms and writing letters with quills went through my mind. I’m very excited about… Read more »