In a time when there’s much conflict between people, empathy can be our hope. “Empathy” is feeling another person’s condition. When we truly have empathy, we don’t view another person as the Other. The other person’s pain or happiness feels like our own. And, when we have empathy for the whole, we see the pain of the world as our pain.
When we feel the difficulty of another person’s situation, we automatically develop an understanding and desire to help them. We cheer for their successes without jealousy, and we make choices that are beneficial to both.
Our empathy drops precipitously, however, when we’re mired in emotion. When we get consumed by emotion, we’re only thinking of our own feelings because they seem the most important. We may then blame all of our problems on the people and situations around us, and may develop anger and resentment while losing gratitude.
In a competition-oriented society, emotion grows fiercer, which weakens our empathy considerably. Even members of one family living in the same home may think and see things differently, and the emotions that result may clash with each other. So families and societies become unhappy through such confrontations between emotions. Getting caught up in our emotions and forgetting empathy is the clear answer to the question, “Why does society have problems?”
It’s hard to escape from our emotions once we’re stuck in them though. Emotions are self-centered. For example, when a person is angry, he can’t properly read the minds and emotions of others because his own emotions are dominant.
The good news is that we can break free of our emotions and have more empathy. Empathy can actually be developed and practiced until we find ourselves having it all the time.
Try these five steps for developing more empathy:
- Clear your emotions.
Emotions are energy and can be cleared with energy changing exercises. When our thoughts and emotions are calmer, it’s easier for our heart and mind to be open. - Become sensitive to energy.
Everything is made of energy, and we have an innate ability to sense the energy in ourselves and the world around us. By using relaxed focus to feel the energy in our bodies, we not only help our emotions to clear, we also feel connected to nature and life itself. - Restore your connection to yourself.
Feeling disconnected with others often stems from feeling disconnected with our true selves. When we can feel our deep, inner self, we become less entranced by our emotions, and our natural qualities of love, oneness, joy, gratitude, and forgiveness can be experienced. - Have sympathy for yourself.
Once you are connected with yourself, look at everything inside you and accept all of it. - Feel that you and others are the same—one.
This is not simply the knowledge that everyone is one with each other, but the genuine feeling of oneness that occurs when our thoughts and emotions are calmer and we can be our true self in the moment.
Two exercises that can help us with these steps: Belly Button Healing and Jigam (Energy Meditation). They can clear emotions, sensitize us to energy, and restore our connection to ourselves.
Energetically, emotions are held in the organs of our chest and abdomen. The health of our intestines also affects our emotional health. Belly Button Healing relaxes the chest and abdomen and facilitates energy and blood circulation throughout the body. It brings our attention inside us and helps us feel and strengthen our inner core. It also can clear our mind and make it more positive so it can feel energy and empathy more easily.
Learn how to do Belly Button Healing here.
Jigam, which means, “stop emotion,” uses sensing energy with the hands to calm the mind. It also clears emotional energy from around your heart. With this exercise, we can more easily feel the oneness of our true selves with all life.
Learn how to do Jigam here.
As our empathy grows through these exercises, we’ll naturally become happier and more peaceful. Love and trust will flow freely because we feel that we are one with all people. This is the heart of peace and the hope for humanity.
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