Empaths can have a very expressive personality, are great listeners and often seen counseling and not just in the professional area, they will always find themselves helping others out and putting their own needs aside to do so. Very often there can be a swing to the opposite end of the spectrum being quiet with a need to withdraw from the outside world to be alone and daydream. Empaths are passionate towards nature, beauty, animals and children. Animals are especially dear to the heart. There is often an attraction to a special kind of animal but empathy towards all animals is a common characteristic. Animals and young children are especially attracted and drawn to the Empath's qualities. There tends to be an immediate connection of sorts.

Empaths make great friends or lovers for life but are literally crushed if the friendship or relationship is abused. They will through many experiences and heartaches become more selective. Though Empaths may have a large circle of friends, they generally only have a few trusted ones. Oftentimes Empaths attract jealousy in others because of their many talents, loving nature and natural ability to get along with and network with so many people. The jealousy will hurt an Empath as they really cannot comprehend this behavior, or lack of compassionate understanding.

Empaths usually achieve in quiet and not one to brag about their talents and interests. They will often promote the talents of others before their own. Accepting compliments are not always easy. Empaths are usually facially expressive as well expressive with their emotions and feelings. Talking openly and honestly on all topics is characteristic of an Empath. Because Empaths are frequently the recipient of listening to others problems they often retreat into the quiet of their minds eye. Oftentimes, the need to block out others is great so that the energy balance is restored.

Empaths tend to be peacemakers, are non aggressive and non violent. In fact, there is an acute sensitivity to violence of any kind on TV, in films and especially in "real life" situations. Any infliction of pain or violence to others, especially animals and children will cause the Empath to feel physically ill and retreat. Oftentimes the memories of those images will replay. Another definition of Empath is that of the Empathic Guru. The Empathic Guru is someone who believes it is their mission in life to do outreach to others and help guide them on their spiritual path to perfection, enlightenment, or infinite peace. In the doing, they willingly set themselves, their needs and wants, aside and sacrifice themselves for others, because this is where their sense of self and self worth rises out of...

DIFFERENT TYPES OF EMPATHS

There are different types of empaths who employ different psychic empathic traits. These are the 10 levels of the empath: Psychometry - the empathic ability to receive energy, information and impressions from objects, photographs or places Telepathy - the empathic ability to read people's thoughts Mediumship - the empathic ability to feel the presence and energies of spirits Physical Healing - the empathic ability to feel other people's physical symptoms in your own body (and often the ability to heal, transform or transmute them)

Emotional Healing - the empathic ability to feel another person's emotions Animal Communication - the empathic ability to hear, feel and communicate with animals Nature - the empathic ability to read, feel and communicate with nature and with plants Geomancy - the empathic ability to read the energy of places and of the land - geomancers can feel the energies of the Earth, such as Ley lines. They can also get headaches, pain or anxiety before earthquakes or other disasters occur anywhere on the planet. Precognition - the empathic ability to feel when something important is about to happen (often this can be a feeling of inexplicable dread or doom)

Claircognizance­ or Knowing - the empathic ability to feel what needs to be done in any given circumstance, often accompanied by a feeling of peace and calm, even in the midst of a crisis

Symptoms of being an Empath: •Acute senses – i.e. sense of smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing etc. •Acute awareness of the feelings of those around them and feeling deeply for those in pain or suffering •Often easily hurt •Avoidance of conflict where possible preferring to keep things harmonious •Easily startled by noise •Easily moved to tears because of deep feeling •Nervous in crowded situations

•People feel safe around them and able to talk to them easily. Even complete strangers will talk to them about personal things without consciously intending to do so •Animals and children love and are attracted to them •Easily affected by the weather •Their greatest gift is to perceive with the heart •They are usually a blessing to be around as they are nurturing and caring •Music and harmony are very important to them. They can lose themselves completely while listening to music that resonates with them. •Water is very beneficial and therapeutic to the empath

Having psychic empathic traits can be extremely challenging, and even painful. The definition of empathic understanding is to be able to feel what another person feels (sometimes both emotionally and physically). Even under normal circumstances, having psychic empathic traits can be confusing and difficult to manage or understand, but in times of global chaos, emotional tidal waves that rip through the collective consciousness can be utterly overwhelming. This is why an empath feels anxiety at these times. Some people consider being an empath to be a paranormal trait, but it is more normal than we realize. Many, many people have psychic empathic traits, but they are usually labeled as being "overly sensitive". Empaths have a heightened sensitivity, and parapsychologis­ts often refer to them as being "Psi Sensitives".

Some of the characteristics­ of an empath include being "moody", or having mood swings for no apparent reason. This is because empaths pick up on the energies and emotions from other people, places, animals, and even things around them. An empath can be feeling fine one moment, then suddenly become depressed or sad or angry, or even develop physical pain and headaches "out of the blue". Many empaths can feel like they are going crazy, especially empathic children who cannot understand what they are feeling or why they are feeling that way. An empath must learn to trace these feelings back to their origin in order to determine what triggered them. First ask yourself, "Is this mine?" - if the answer is no, then determine when and where it started, and who or what was around you at that time.

Some other characteristics­ of an empath can involve extreme shyness, avoidance of public places, or being overweight (especially in children). These are all ways to try to shield and protect oneself from the psychic abilities of being empathic. An empath can absorb and take on the feelings and symptoms of others just by being near them or even by speaking with them on the phone, which is why an empath feels anxiety when faced with crowds of people

1. Knowing: Empaths just know stuff, without being told. It’s a knowing that goes way beyond intuition or gut feelings, even though that is how many would describe the knowing. The more attuned they are the stronger this gift becomes. 2. Being in public places can be overwhelming: Places like shopping malls, supermarkets or stadiums where there are lots of people around can fill the empath with turbulently vexed emotions that are coming from others. 3. Feeling others emotions and taking them on as your own: This is a huge one for empaths. To some they will feel emotions off those near by and with others they will feel emotions from those a vast distance away, or both. The more adept empath will know if someone is having bad thoughts about them, even from great distance.

4. Watching violence, cruelty or tragedy on the TV is unbearable: The more attuned an empath becomes the worse it is and may make it so they eventually have to stop watching TV and reading newspapers altogether. 5. You know when someone is not being honest: If a friend or a loved one is telling you lies you know it (although many empaths try not to focus on this because knowing a loved one is lying can be painful). Or if someone is saying one thing but feeling/thinking another, you know. 6. Picking up physical symptoms off another: An empath will almost always develop the ailments off another (colds, eye infections, body aches and pains) especially those they’re closest to, somewhat like sympathy pains. 7. Digestive disorders and lower back problems: The solar plexus chakra is based in the centre of the abdomen and it’s known as the seat of emotions. This is where empaths feel the incoming emotion of another, which can weaken the area and eventually lead to anything from stomach ulcers to IBS (too many other conditions to list here). Lower back problems can develop from being ungrounded (amongst other things) and one, who has no knowledge of them being an empath, will almost always be ungrounded.

8. Always looking out for the underdog: Anyone whose suffering, in emotional pain or being bullied draws an empath’s attention and compassion. 9. Others will want to offload their problems on you, even strangers: An empath can become a dumping ground for everyone else’s issues and problems, which, if they’re not careful can end up as their own. 10. Constant fatigue: Empaths often get drained of energy, either from energy vampires or just taking on too much from others, which even sleep will not cure. Many get diagnosed with ME. 11. Addictive personality: Alcohol, drugs, sex, are to name but a few addictions that empaths turn to, to block out the emotions of others. It is a form of self protection in order to hide from someone or something. 12. Drawn to healing, holistic therapies and all things metaphysical: Although many empaths would love to heal others they can end up turning away from being healers (even though they have a natural ability for it), after they’ve studied and qualified, because they take on too much from the one they are trying to heal. Especially if they are unaware of their empathy. Anything of a supernatural nature is of interest to empaths and they don’t surprise or get shocked easily. Even at the revelation of what many others would consider unthinkable, for example, empaths would have known the world was round when others believed it was flat.

13. Creative: From singing, dancing, acting, drawing or writing an empath will have a strong creative streak and a vivid imagination. 14. Love of nature and animals: Being outdoors in nature is a must for empaths and pets are an essential part of their life. 15. Need for solitude: An empath will go stir-crazy if they don’t get quiet time. This is even obvious in empathic children. 16. Gets bored or distracted easily if not stimulated: Work, school and home life has to be kept interesting for an empath or they switch off from it and end up daydreaming or doodling. 17. Finds it impossible to do things they don’t enjoy: As above. Feels like they are living a lie by doing so. To force an empath to do something they dislike through guilt or labelling them as idle will only serve in making them unhappy. It’s for this reason many empaths get labelled as being lazy. 18. Strives for the truth: This becomes more prevalent when an empath discovers his/her gifts and birthright. Anything untruthful feels plain wrong.

19. Always looking for the answers and knowledge: To have unanswered questions can be frustrating for an empath and they will endeavour to find an explanation. If they have a knowing about something they will look for confirmation. The downside to this is an information overload. 20. Likes adventure, freedom and travel: Empaths are free spirits. 21. Abhors clutter: It makes an empath feel weighed down and blocks the flow of energy. 22. Loves to daydream: An empath can stare into space for hours, in a world of their own and blissfully happy. 23. Finds routine, rules or control, imprisoning: Anything that takes away their freedom is debilitating to an empath even poisoning. 24. Prone to carry weight without necessarily overeating: The excess weight is a form of protection to stop the negative incoming energies having as much impact. 25. Excellent listener: An empath won’t talk about themselves much unless it’s to someone they really trust. They love to learn and know about others and genuinely care.

26. Intolerance to narcissism: Although kind and often very tolerant of others, empaths do not like to be around overly egotistical people, who put themselves first and refuse to consider another’s feelings or points of view other than their own. 27. The ability to feel the days of the week: An empath will get the ‘Friday Feeling’ if they work Fridays or not. They pick up on how the collective are feeling. The first couple of days of a long, bank holiday weekend (Easter for example) can feel, to them, like the world is smiling, calm and relaxed. Sunday evenings, Mondays and Tuesdays, of a working week, have a very heavy feeling. 28. Will not choose to buy antiques, vintage or second-hand: Anything that’s been pre-owned carries the energy of the previous owner. An empath will even prefer to have a brand new car or house (if they are in the financial situation to do so) with no residual energy.

29. Sense the energy of food: Many empaths don’t like to eat meat or poultry because they can feel the vibrations of the animal (especially if the animal suffered), even if they like the taste. 30. Can appear moody, shy, aloof, disconnected: Depending on how an empath is feeling will depend on what face they show to the world. They can be prone to mood swings and if they’ve taken on too much negative will appear quiet and unsociable, even miserable. An empath detests having to pretend to be happy when they’re sad, this only adds to their load (makes working in the service industry, when it’s service with a smile, very challenging) and can make them feel like scuttling under a stone. If you can say yes to most or all of the above then you are most definitely an empath Empaths are having a particularly difficult time at the present time, picking up on all the negative emotions that are being emantated into the world from the populace.