Sensitivity

What Are Your Gifts? I recently read an article where a reader had commented that he was sick of people who categorise themselves as ‘empaths’ and ‘introverts’ believing they were more special than ‘normal’ people.  He commented that everyone has the capacity for empathy and compassion, and that we make a choice whether or not to demonstrate care for others. He also stated that people who demonstrate empathy for others are just doing what humans are meant to do, therefore there is nothing special about it. I agree that having high levels of empathy doesn’t make a person more valuable than anyone else, but I don’t agree that everyone can feel empathy, or that everyone is even meant to. Empathy, like all traits,...

Step Out Of The Scapegoat Role Did you know the word ‘scapegoat’ came originally from a ceremonial practice where a goat was sacrificed for the sins of the people, and another goat was then loaded up symbolically with these sins and sent out into the wilderness alone to perish. The goats themselves were considered pure, and the shame and sin of the people were transferred on to these innocent creatures to carry. There are many innocents who carry the blame for others. It allows groups of people, families or whole nations to project their own prejudices and aggression away from themselves. It’s a very painful role to play, however family therapists believe the scapegoat is often the healthiest family member because they aren’t complicit in...

You Are Not Invisible For much of my life I felt invisible. It seemed like people didn’t hear me, couldn’t see me, and didn’t remember me. They talked over the top of me, left me out of things, and forgot my name. When they did see me, they saw something different to the person I knew myself to be. I began to be frightened of mirrors. I could look at my reflection when I was alone and be satisfied with what I saw, then when I was with people minutes later, the reflection in the mirror would distort. I couldn’t believe I was walking around in public looking like that. When I was about 10 or 11, my mother decided to ignore me for an entire week. She would pass me in the corridor and look through me. She wouldn’t respond when I spoke to...

Healing From The Inside Out We all know that person, we might have even been her. The one who’s going to quit her job and travel the world, the one who’s going to open her own shop, go back to university, or finally write that book…but somehow it never actually happens.  Some of you might remember the Joshua Kadison song that was on the radio way back in 1994 called “Picture Postcards from LA”. It tells the story of Rachel, a singer who wants to move to Los Angeles and make it big: “She’ll even buy a ticket and pack her things to leaveThough we all know the story, we pretend that we believeBut something always comes up, something always makes her stayAnd still no picture postcards from LA.” Rachel isn’t a...

An Empath’s Survival Guide Many empaths, especially those who don’t know they are empaths, feel drained and lethargic much of the time. They assume it’s because they lack energy, when in fact they probably have too much…of other people’s energy. The popular method of protecting yourself from sponging up all the negativity and pain around you is to shield yourself – often with crystals that repel negative energy, visualising a barrier of light around you, or spending time alone where possible. However Heidi, the empath who spoke at the recent Mind Body Spirit festival, doesn’t agree with this. She believes that empaths are here to absorb negative energy, that’s their job. The key, she said, is grounding. Grounding...

Could You Be An Empath? When I was in my first year at school, the teacher gathered us together one day and started reading the story of Peter Rabbit. I loved stories and I loved animals, so I loved this…until the point when Peter Rabbit was almost captured by the farmer. Tears welled up and I started to shake – I was terrified for him. The teacher was either oblivious or didn’t care because she just kept reading, while my 5 year old classmates tried to reassure me Peter would be ok. But the shaking didn’t stop until Peter was safely home with Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail once again. I have occasionally referred to myself as an ‘empath’ but never fully understood what it was, just that it might be a handy way to justify being...