Quotes from Judith Orloff

You may also freeze around inauthentic people, which can convey aloofness — but this is clearly a protective device. Some empaths prefer socializing online to keep others at a distance, so there's less of the tendency to absorb their discomfort and stress.

In addition, certain actions are a balm for both body and soul. These include taking quiet alone time, associating with positive people, being in nature, immersing yourself in water to clear negative energy, meditating, exercising, and defining limits with energy vampires.

Practice loving detachment.

A noxious stimulus, such as an angry person, crowds, noise, or bright light, can agitate us because our threshold for sensory overload is extremely low.

our own. It is critical not to feel obliged to inherit something that doesn't belong to us. Or to misread the bond with our loved ones as including their illnesses. Genetics may dictate the transmission of a disease, but we can do much to break our intuitive link to such a process.

To me, egotists seem bloated, flatulent. They watch out for number one, peer down their noses at you, and tend to be jealous or envious. (Still, egotists usually have varying capacities for empathy and love compared to narcissists, who're typically more incapacitated in these areas.)

Pearsall also describes an eight-year-old girl who received the heart of a murdered child. After the transplant, the girl started having nightmares about the man who had killed her donor. Her mother then took her to a therapist. Details she reported in therapy sessions were so precise—time, weapon, the murderer's clothes, crime scene—that they notified the police. Astonishingly, the girl's information led police to the murderer.

Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön warns against what she calls "idiot compassion," using kindness to avoid conflict when a definite no is required. There's a right time to give and a right time to say no.

We can sense subtle energy, which is called shakti or prana in Eastern healing traditions, and we absorb this energy into our own bodies. Highly sensitive people don't typically do that. This capacity allows us to experience the energies around us in extremely deep ways. Since everything is made of subtle energy, including emotions and physical sensations, we energetically internalize the feelings, pain, and various physical sensations of others.

Despite fiery disagreements about who or what God is and how to make contact, all these religions agree that patience is the essence of spirituality and thus grants great strength. Judaism says, "A patient man is better than a warrior." In Buddhism, bodhisattvas train in this practice to become enlightened. Christianity and Islam deem it a sacred virtue. Patience endows you with faith in yourself and your destiny, an illuminated capacity to deal with frustration and disappointments.

There's a wonderful story of two people standing before God. God asks them about their goals in life. One person states, "I'd like to be a saint." God responds, "That's very nice." When the other person says, "I'm just trying to be a good human being," God replies, "You are very ambitious.

As the Buddha says, "Suffering comes from both ignorance and denial." One

Get plenty of sleep and take power naps Sleep is a healing balm for an empath's body and soul. It calms the nervous system. Empaths are more vulnerable to absorbing stress and symptoms when they are tired.

I am grateful for this day and for my health, my connection to Spirit, and my kids and family. Thank you for all these blessings. May I stay calm. May I stay happy. May I be loving.

Eat well. Don't skip meals, and make sure they include protein, which grounds you. Grazing on protein throughout the day keeps my energy and blood sugar stable. Avoid carbohydrates, candy bars, cookies, sodas, and other sugar sources, as well as fast food for a quick fix when you're hungry. Instead, bring healthy snacks and stay well hydrated with water, a green or antioxidant smoothie, and other nourishing drinks.

Empaths have high sensitivities that can make them more intuitive, able to sense people's energy, and open to premonitions, animal communication, and powerful dreams.

the added stimulation that comes with togetherness. This differs from ordinary empathy — say, when we sympathize with a partner's bad day at work — because empaths actually merge with our partner's joy or sadness, as if it were our own. Thus, romantic relationships, particularly live-in ones, test us.

I've actually left a lunch with friends when a man there got enraged with his spouse. His rage hurt me. In situations like that, I am fierce about protecting my energy, so I said to my friends, "Please excuse me. I'm feeling tired," and politely left. It was awkward, but I chose my well-being over "social correctness" and sticking it out.

To paraphrase a Rolling Stones song, you can't always get what you want, but you get what you need.

Identify three obvious differences between you and your patient. A good intellectual way to distance yourself from a patient's emotions and pain after a session is to focus on three clear differences between you. For example, I'm a woman, and he's a man. She's depressed, but I'm not. I'm a vegan, and he eats meat. This lets you appreciate what's you and what's the patient, a boundary that helps prevent you from absorbing unwanted energy.

A healthy connection is when partners are mutually committed to the relationship and both want to open their hearts to each other. In contrast, attachment is when we cling to someone with a death grip, hoping that person will change. Attachments are dangerous because they can keep us linked to unavailable people or toxic relationships. If you are looking for intimacy, search out people who are excited to be with you.

Empaths thrive on consistency, which fosters trust and acceptance.

Highly sensitive men who are famous include Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and Jim Carrey.

Female empaths who are famous include Nicole Kidman, Jewel (her song "Sensitive" is about empaths), Winona Ryder, Alanis Morissette, and Princess Diana.