EMPATHY

1 As I write, I find I reiterate many thoughts. I do not mean to do this but it is difficult writing of these subject independently as they are all inter related.

2 One subject that comes up is that we feel other people's emotions. We think their thoughts. We may think we are doing our own thinking, but we are not. We feel their pain. We may think we are suffering our own pain, but we are not. This does not mean that we do not get sick because we do. We must take the time to ask yourself if it is your own or belonging to someone else.

3 Also, this is not to say we do not at any time have our own thoughts, which we do. Rather, for the most part, we are shadows/reflections of those around us.

4 If we are feeling an emotion, good or bad, we must stop to think if it is determined by our own thoughts. Or are we picking it from our surroundings. If asked, I can give many instances of this in my own life. I am not here to share my every waking moment. It is your moments that we need to address.

5 If you feel hate for someone, is it your own hate? Do you have hate in you? Is it someone else's hate, anger, love?

6 You may fall in love, become attached to someone to discover at a later time that you have nothing in common with them. They may love you for one reason or another. Since it is imposed on you, it will not last. Love has the habit of waning. It is its nature to fade, although not totally disperse. Think about this.

7 Many people find themselves involved with people they know they have nothing in common with and are swallowed up into a maelstrom and a wasted life. Easily influenced.

8 This is a large subject which would take a good study group to dissect. I say it in passing that we must make sure that our thoughts are our own. Our emotions are our own. Our pain is our own. Our joy is our own. We are victims of those around us. We live in horror not of our own.

9 This is a vital part of finding out who you are. To know which is really you, which is an extension of others. What are our own actions, or not our own.

10 As an example, those who go out of control in the so-called schizophrenic world, may be only reacting to the emotions of someone else near them. Before pills, confinement, one must sit down and sort out where the distress really comes from. I feel deeply about this subject. For example, the wrong person might be taking the pills.

11 Here is a good place to determine the difference between a so-called schizophrenic and a sociopath. The later can control the former. One can be imprisoned for things they did not do in their own minds, thought of by their own thoughts. This can be dangerous ground.

12 It is really a matter of learning how to clear one's self. To purify and be totally who are you. Not being what others are projecting. This principle can not be emphasized enough. We are asked to have empathy, but not to be controlled by others. Take heed to these words.