Empathy is about listening quietly so you may gauge the extent of the other person’s grief. Telling them to be strong or that they are overreacting is the worst form of empathy. In fact, even worse is when we say something like, “That’s nothing. Listen to what happened to me the other day.” The most important thing to remember about all the virtues is that they are not merely emotions, they are behaviour. We don’t always have to feel compassionate or empathic to show those emotions. A good meditator inching towards divinity can adopt a behaviour that shows compassion and empathy.
You don’t have to feel a certain way to act a certain way. The reverse is more practical and effective; start acting a certain way and you’ll start feeling that way. Empathy is an act before it becomes an emotion. It is, however, not possible to develop a sense of empathy without being sensitive towards other around us. In fact, it’s hard to practice any virtue without having a degree of sensitivity. If you observe those who act most selfishly, often you’ll discover that it’s not that they are bad or ignoble, they just lack sensitivity.
You can’t be a giving person unless you develop sensitivity. You can give someone grief or you can give them joy, it all depends on how sensitive you are towards them, their loves, their needs. So often, we take the presence of others in our life for granted. We joke around, we make fun, we share laughter. All of which is okay but when we do do insensitively, we don’t just hurt them but we hurt our own existence too. The spiritual being in us takes a hit when we choose to be insensitive.
A good meditator is always mindful of his throats, actions and words. One of the most beautiful rewards of meditation is that it makes you more sensitive. It’s a natural by-product. You feel what others are feeling around you. The more spiritual you are, the more sensitive you will be. Empathy, love, compassion and charity come naturally to a sensitive person. Sensitivity is knowing the difference between being emphatic and being empathic. As they say, resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these.
Reference : A Million thoughts. Om Swami.
Be Inspired..!! 
Empathy creates a more beautiful space where love and compassion can flow easier. Love this. 🤗👌
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Glad you liked the post Kendi. Empathy is everything is today’s world. So important.
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Wow!
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Glad you liked it !!
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Absolutely! Well said. If we cannot feel each other’s pain, we will always think we are alone in ours. Pain, fear, anger, love: these emotions all feel the same to me regardless of who is feeling them. They are universal. Great post! Gave me a lot to think about.
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Whether it’s watching a friend get a paper cut or staring at a photo of a child refugee, observing someone else’s suffering can evoke a deep sense of distress and sadness — almost as if it’s happening to us. In the past, this might have been explained simply as empathy, the ability to experience the feelings of others, but over the last 20 years, neuroscientists have been able to pinpoint some of the specific regions of the brain responsible for this sense of interconnectedness. Five scientists discussed the neuroscience behind how we process the feelings of others during an Integrative Science Symposium chaired by APS Fellow Piotr Winkielman (University of California, San Diego) at the 2017 International Convention of Psychological Science in Vienna.
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A very great post indeed. I’m not trying to make this about me or oh woe is me, story. But I feel pain deep and I never forget any of them, it’s like 10 millions thoughts in my mind every min of every day. I can’t call them out or speak them verbally but I know that I am thinking of all of them in the same instant. Even if an animal is suffering. However for the most part I agree with what you said except that I know I’m alone in mine and people wouldn’t get it if I told them.
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When we start studying systems thinking we likely get to a point where we assume the easy answer to changing anything is to simply think differently. We see the flaws in our thinking. We see when we make shortsighted decisions that hurt us in the long term. The mental models emerge to give us insight into how we think about the world. Through this, we will start to see ways that we habitually think that actually hurt us in some way. It could be that it sets us up for failure. It could be that we give in to instant gratification too often. It could be that give up as the first sign of challenge. It could be that we mentally beat ourselves up at each perceived failure. We see that our mental models are creating the thoughts that cause us to miss our goals. The logical next step is to change our thinking.
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I completely understand that it feels this way for you, but we are all connected. Your pain is my pain is his pain is the pain that surges through every living thing. Your joy is my joy is her joy…emotions and vibes are all the same regardless of who is feeling them. You are not alone, my friend. The ability to deeply feel is a gift. Love and light!
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🙌🏼🙌🏼
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I agree, I have the same spritual bond.
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Wonderful
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Hang in there. I didn’t know anything myself when I started of. But I kept writing because that’s why I started. Honestly I still don’t know a lot of things. Just keep doing what you love..which is writing. The more you use WordPress, you will learn more!
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