It may be that there’s the teeniest, tiniest tinge of frustration behind this title.

I’m throwing my hands up in the air as I write.

As a psychotherapist, energy worker and empath—one who’s served a long apprenticeship, learned the ropes, and is now teaching other empaths to do the same—I reckon that “The World” could do with a bit of a shaking up of all the assumptions it makes.

The world makes a lot of assumptions about those that it chooses—often with a bit of an eye roll and a barely disguised sneer—to call empaths.

See, we empaths never did choose that word, “The World” did—kind of like it used to call wise women with gifts of healing “witches” in years gone by.

Does that seem a preposterous comparison? Oh, but I’m deadly serious here. Don’t get my empath’s hackles up too much or I might just turn you into a frog!

The other day, I read a piece by someone who said they felt like throwing up every time they read the word “empath” in the title of any article. Wow, strong words. Strong reaction. Hey, I wonder, do we have another group of people being discriminated against here? A subtle undercover bit of scapegoating going on?

See, that’s how it starts, discrimination. We start to rubbish, to mock, to think it’s okay to diminish and ignore. To ridicule. To make a certain kind of person a figure of fun.

We stop listening. Instead, we put our hands over our ears and go blah blah blah. And, in that way that we unconsciously scapegoat those who are different to us, we then start to make assumptions instead. We stop being open to what they have to say.

Once you’ve made someone ridiculous, it’s a bit of a slippery slope after that.

So I’m here to try to right the balance a bit. I’m here to say to anyone who feels that way about those the world calls “empaths” that they’re missing the point.

And I want to tell you why.

As a psychotherapist, I can say without any shadow of a doubt that the one thing that we all need—yes, the ‘N’ word, “need”—is to be listened to and understood. For someone to really get what we’re feeling. Note: feeling. Those of us who are more comfortable living in our heads rather than our hearts don’t like the ‘N’ word very much. It makes us feel weak, vulnerable. And we don’t like vulnerable. We feel way more in control with “strong.”

But we do, of-course, secretly envy those who can let themselves actually be vulnerable. Scapegoating is always double-edged!

That, of course, is part of what we don’t like about empaths: they do feelings. Whoa, how scary is that! They make us face what we’re frightened of.

Those bits of us we don’t go near. Ever!

The other reason Empaths scare us is because they see stuff. They see into us and through us. You can’t pull the wool over an Empath’s eyes.

They know it straight away. Witches all over again, right?

Okay, okay, I know we can be irritating at times, and over-sensitive, some of us are unbearably self-pitying, even, before we learn the ropes. Sure, we have lots to work out and learn. Mostly, how to hold, contain and transmute low vibrational energy into that of a higher vibration.

And we can become amazingly, awesomely good at that!

I get fed up just as much as the next person when I read articles that tell empaths to stay away from people and take to their bed every time there’s a full moon! But these people aren’t empaths yet: they’re what I’d call “Identifiers.” They’re busy soaking everything up as if it belongs to them, when actually most of it belongs to everyone else!

But once we empaths have done the work, we’re unstoppable! Trust me! We’re utterly mind-blowing!

So bear with me just a while? Let me explain a few things that only empaths start out knowing. Things that would make the world a far easier place for us all to exist in if only everyone else could try learning them too.

Can I give it a go?

First, we know that this is an emotional Universe, one that feels. You can’t talk about a loving Universe in one breath, and then talk about a Universe that responds purely to thoughts. It’s a contradiction.

And if you don’t see why it’s a contradiction, that’s why the world needs empaths!

Let me say it again. This is an emotional Universe. A Universe which responds to the vibration of emotion. Emotion which emanates from our unconscious feelings and beliefs. Why else do you think we have ended up living in a reality where everyone’s busy trying hard to think and project the “right thoughts” yet we have managed to create a reality that reflects anything but!

Ever stop to think about that one? We’re so caught up in thoughts and thinking here if the West, busy rationalizing and intellectualizing everything, we tend to forget that important fact. Why is it that the planet doesn’t particularly reflect the positive thoughts and intentions that people reckon they’re putting out there?

I’ll tell you why: it’s because it isn’t about our thoughts. It’s about what we’re projecting out there that we’re often completely unaware of.

By the way, know who can help with that? Best of all?

The empath that the world reckons deserves to be ridiculed for being over-sensitive!

See, empaths pick up everyone else’s stuff. The stuff that everyone else is busy trying to deny and push away? Know where it gets pushed? Into empaths.

Yep!

And then the world blames them for it. All the while, that empath is actually doing what everyone else could helpfully be taking responsibility for doing: tuning in properly to what’s really going on!

Starting to hear any of this yet? Let’s push on.

Let’s consider a bit further what the world could learn from empaths if it could get past its iron-clad defences against feelings.

The world could try to do what empaths have no choice about:

1) It could start understanding that to be fully conscious is to feel, not just think.

2) It could start taking responsibility for working through its own feelings instead of making empaths carry them.

3) It could start living more in the Heart instead of in the Head.

4) It could re-instate empaths as being worthy of respect and appreciation—after all, they’ve carried the world’s disavowed mess for a long time.

5) It could learn how to be mindful and aware, open and emotionally intelligent.

And if only the world would start taking its personal responsibility more seriously, it might free up empaths to do what they’re really good at!

How does that sound? How about we all give it a go?

Who knows…it could even make the world a better place!

Relephant: 

An Open Letter to Those Who Call Themselves Empaths.

Author: Janny Juddley

Editor: Renée Picard

Image: Jordan Sanchez/Unsplash