Skeptic Spirit

This article is hopefully not complete, but it is what I know at this point. In the first part I will try to explain how the empathy works in order to create some kind of understanding of how to use it. In the second part I will get into details about online reading, but the whole article can be used for real life readings as well. 

Online vs. IRL readings: 

In reality, there is no difference between reading online and reading IRL in terms of the empathy. But the conditions within each type of reading are different. In an online reading there are no facial expressions or body language to help you in your interpretation. On the other hand, there are no misleading types of information either, which is a risk when you are able to see the person you want to read. Reading online can minimize the background noise, since there is only you, the client/test person and your internet connection. There is also an element of feeling safe behind a computer, whereas sitting in front of someone tends to make us withdraw a little. 

I would like to say, that the impressions through a computer are less precise than the real life impressions, because it seems “logical”. But I haven’t experienced any significant differences between the two “channels” of impressions. The bodily impressions are somewhat stronger on an IRL reading, which makes vague impressions easier to identify, but the same impressions get through on an online reading as well. 

How to get impressions: 

Getting impressions is not difficult. The empathy works in many ways just like the hearing sense, and there is noise everywhere so we get impressions all of the time, whether we want to or not. There is the background noise from classrooms, institutions, the train, even when walking on the street, where ever there is noise, there are emotions affecting an empath in the exact same way. 

But exactly as with noise, it is possible to close your mind to it. You can still hear it, if you pay attention, but you can also choose not to pay attention by focusing on specific sounds instead. I recommend focusing on your own “voice” or rather the “feeling of self”. 

Reading someone intentionally is done the exact same way as if you were to listen to what that person is about to say. You just pay attention to that person, but with the extra element, that you have to “listen” with your entire body and mind. There is nothing meditative, trancelike or spiritual about it, the impressions come all by themselves, you just have to pay attention. And that is the great challenge! 

Sound and Noise, a clear signal: 

As with sound, there is much noise on the line, which can make it difficult to know exactly what to pay attention to. There is the sound you want to hear, without knowing what to listen to. There is also your own voice, which you have to oppress in order not to confuse matters. The client has different sounds as well, and not all of them are intentionally transmitted. One is the emotional bubble that you want to read on, another is the clients current state of mind, and also the possible interest/dislike of being read. All of this is transmitted at the same time, and a simple thing like the client looking at an image unrelated to the reading can create disturbing “sounds”. 

Differentiating between these sounds is rather difficult. But there are some emotions, you can be aware of prior to the reading, so you don’t express them as being part of the reading of the client. 

For example: 

Yesterday I became aware of the fact, that every time I read someone, my hands shake. I have always expressed it, but this was the first time, it was dismissed (getting into feedback later). That is when I realized, that it is just part of my own bodily reaction towards reading someone. So the next time I do a reading, I will know that this particular experience is supposed to be there and is not part of the impressions. Knowing how you feel prior to the reading is also important. It is impossible to rule yourself completely out of the reading, so this way you can at least identify some of the noise as being you and not the impression. It is also a good idea to acknowledge how you would feel, if the reading takes an unexpected turn. 

For example: 

I was half drunk in a bar, when I baldly asked a friend of mine, if I could do a reading on him. This was at the time when I had just found out I could do it, and I did a lot of stupid things on that account. But anyway… I tried to read him, but didn’t think I could feel anything, so I just turned disappointed towards him saying I didn’t get anything out of it. But the fact is, that he had been thinking about a very disappointing experience. And I did catch that impression – I just hadn’t decided how I would react to anything going wrong, therefore I took the impression as part of my own feelings, and gave them thoughts. 

Interpretations and Thoughts: 

We want things to have meaning. Interpreting the impressions without activating the imagination is something you have to fight. I guess it is a natural human reaction to try at explain emotions, or to connect them in some way to something. It happens subconsciously, and all of a sudden I have created an entire situation based on very few impressions. That almost always leads me on the wrong track. Sometimes because I express the situation, that my imagination has provided me with. Other times the reading gets derailed because my focus changes to something other that what the client is focused on. That means, the impressions probably are correct, but not relevant for the reading I’m making and there for not correct for the event or memory I am reading on. 

Pre-knowledge: 

Another danger of getting derailed is if you know a lot about the client. Because that gives you the ability to do qualified guessing based on few emotions. It gives you an immediate confidence in being “right”, that you stop paying attention to the actual event. And is almost always wrong as well. 

A simple way of putting it… 

• Know as much as you can about your current feelings. 
• Know as little as possible about your client. 
• Decide not to want it to have meaning, until after the reading. 
• Accept and expect yourself to make a lot of mistakes. 

Developing the Accuracy: 

Make your client pick a situation/event/memory, you should read on. That way it is easier to give proper feedback, because it will be more clear to the client which emotions he/she actually had at the time of the event, as opposed to a general reading, where the emotions are less clear. 

Also be aware, that a “new” experience gives a weaker impression on the empath than an “old” experience. You can compare it to singing a song you’ve only just begun to learn, as opposed to a song you’ve known since childhood. If you know it really well you sing it louder. I am quite sure there is a different explanation, but old memories are much stronger than current events in their impression. 

Make sure always to get feedback on what was correct and what was incorrect. Take a moment of glory with the things you got spot on, try to recap how those feelings felt like so you can recognize “being right” another day. 

Keep a record of the part of the reading you did not get right. This is the important part! As I said, the impressions comes by themselves. So in order to do a good reading, you must find out, why and where you got off track.

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I am just a novice in this area, and there is much to explore! Feel free to comment or suggest, empath or non-empath! There is great use for knowledge and experiences.