Empathy

[acd]

I'm sorry if I'm being presumptuous but if you're INFP this would be how empathy would be perceived because of Fi, internal feeling being the main function of choice. My ENFP husband can put himself in everyone's shoes and is very warm because of this. He's warm precisely I think because he intuits what's up (EDIT: external non verbal cues=Ne) and can draw up a memory of his own feelings and thus empathize.
I think Fe is more of a perceiving faculty. Ni driven people have a huge construct of intuitional info, let's say in my case I've come to a point where I draw conclusions that there is an underlying goodness and kindness inherent in the universe, With my Fe I perceive subtle "energy fluctuations" or atmospheres for the want of a better description. When I come accross someone who is secretly anguished (which I feel by feeling similarly anguished myself in their presence)my Ni created structure will steer me to help them and by directing the scene in subtle ways I can sometimes change that feeling to a positive one. That's how I understand it. It's hard to put it into words though.

@Ame
Most art would fall under the category of empathic influence. Artists are often trying to transmit and interpret a mood or a feeling in appropriate symbology or color, texture, sound. That was a really interesting post with all the definitions. Thank you.

No. It is because I have studied some about communication and put a lot of stock into the research on human interaction.

Also, I always thought Fe was about picking up external cues and adapting to them? Attributing that to energy fluctuations seems like a baseless jump.
I think it's safer to say it has to do with reading cues and conforming to social norms. Maybe some people can't be in a crowd because there are too many cues to pick up on and they can't process that much information or discern which info to prioritize? Maybe being around someone who is very upset feels like an assault because Fe doms feel they have to adapt to those feelings and internalize them in some way in order to find a solution? I'd say that's the difference between Fi and Fe.

I think Fe is more apt to merge with others emotional states to try to harmonize, but again, that can be explained without resorting to being pulled into magnetic fields of feeling.

It's an interesting theory--I'm just skeptical that people's emotions emanate from them in magnetic fields that people are able to absorb into themselves. I'm not closed to the idea if there's a convincing argument or if there has been reputable research pointing to this conclusion...

I just wonder, why would we have evolved such a complex (and efficient) means of communication if it is as simple as absorbing someone's emotions from a magnetic energy field?

 

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[MENTION=564]acd[/MENTION]

I think you make a good point. Because I'm a hack scientist I did some Googling and found a website ( http://www.timeenoughforlove.org/Functions.htm )that had a collection of different authors' views on the F function. The website's name is a little snazzy for my tastes but bear with me...:


"Fe is adapting one's interactions with the external world to the moods and feelings of others. Fe is sensitive to events like changes in people's expressions or other such "soft," hard-to-quantify conditions in the environment." Markku Jantunen

And I can see this being true and your point as well, the next might explain why the new agey terminology though, from mine and other's personal experience with with how it feels like doing this type of sensing:

"I stress that the “Feeling” function is generally poorly understood (as is iNtuition). This function is used for judging/reasoning. It is not the same as “emotions”. Instead, it interprets and assigns qualities or values of perceptions on a subjective basis. For example, if you are near an electrical power generation device that emits a large electromagnetic field and you subjectively experienced (feel) a “tingling” in your stomach, the skin and hair on your arms tingles, a light headedness in your brain and you attempted to interpret these sensations and convey them to someone is this “irrational”? Is it an “emotion”? Of course not, it’s simply difficult to describe to others using objective language. This function is used to discern variances in perceptions and to change your point of view. This function is appropriate for use in the area of ethics, musical and artistic expression as well as fictional literature." <----those being the traditional "areas of strenght for INFJs.

"The difference between the Feeling Function and Emotions can be understood more clearly. The Feeling Function is a cortical capacity to recognize the presence or absence of harmony – between colors, tones, or human beings. By contrast, emotions are a limbic capacity to experience delight, anger, fear, grief."
The Physiology of Jung’s Four Functions & Their Organization
By Katherine Benziger, Ph.D.,

 

[acd]

Here are a few links for communication theories to give you an idea of where I'm coming from:
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Interpersonal Communication and Relations/attribution_theory.doc/
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Interpersonal Communication and Relations/Contagion_theories.doc/
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Language Theory and Linguistics/Coordinated_Management_Meaning.doc/index.html

 

[#@&5&49]

Well I found my way here. This is an unexplored area for me. I mean I have some experience in this but I have never looked at this closely as far as what it means, what to call it, or what to do with it. I suppose I have just learned to manage it. Meaning, I really had no choice, it was happening to me and I had to learn to manage it or it can overtake a body.

I don't know if I would call it psychic phenomenon, although for me it has at times reached past the physical reality. That's a bit of a mind blower. I didn't know it was possible to project emotions on to dead people, but hey, after everything I've been through, I'm willing to listen to just about anything. Also, psychic phenomenon seems to have become somewhat diluted into a catchall phrase, meaning anything we don't understand we group into that category, kind of like dark matter.

It is difficult to distinguish the difference between empathy and projection, that is a fine line to walk and entails knowing oneself and being willing and open to knowing oneself. Sometimes I think I am picking up on the feelings of another when in reality it was a projection of some of my own emotions. I mean it's about healing everyone involved, not just the other person. This is my understanding anyway.

As far as groups of people. That's tough too. It's like swimming in a sea of emotions. I don't think it is humanly possible to feel all of those emotions at one time, so there is definitely something going on beyond just what we understand to be people empathizing with one another. I just said this in another thread, but one has to develop a different set of empathic boundaries, so to speak, in addition to the "regular" boundaries we set between ourselves and others. It's like imagining Star Trek shields; groups of people and a sea of emotions - shields up, people whose insides are screaming at you - shields up, etc.

I am in no way knowledgeable about this subject. However I would like to become more knowledgeable. This is something I have grappled with my entire life and I have had numerous people tell me I should take this to another level, meaning healing other people besides just myself and those close to me. I suppose there was a lot of other stuff I had to learn first. Well, at least I got here, better late than never. Fascinating stuff. I truly appreciate everyone's thoughts on this subject. Kind of a condensed learning experience for me - thank you.

 

[James]

I've wondered many times whether or not I was an intj or infj as I've always had a strong interest in science and maths and always tried to act in a logical and practical way. Eventually though I've felt that I was an infj though the feeling preference is not strong.

I've always picked up others feelings especially when they're distressed. I know it can be difficult in crowds when feelings can be almost overwhelming, but I've been to sports events when there were thousands and sometimes that can be amazing, provided your team wins !

I think infjs can pick up a good vibe, just as much as the bad feelings, which is why I think we can even come across as extroverts at times, when the feeling preference drives us to link with others.

Intriguing theory on the magnetism, it would explain a lot. There was an excellent Horizon programme on BBC the other day looking at how we use our senses. In one part they tested a man who was blind in one eye, but who could still detect simple up/down movement with the eye.

 

[Untitled]

Here are a few links for communication theories to give you an idea of where I'm coming from:
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Interpersonal Communication and Relations/attribution_theory.doc/
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Interpersonal Communication and Relations/Contagion_theories.doc/
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Language Theory and Linguistics/Coordinated_Management_Meaning.doc/index.html

It took me some time to get back here to check the links out because I was making dinner and have two babies running around making mischief...I'm trying to focus a bit more on what you were talking about.
I see where you're coming and I can share my views on how I perceive these things. I'm no expert, but I'm glad to offer my 2 cents.

No. It is because I have studied some about communication and put a lot of stock into the research on human interaction.

Also, I always thought Fe was about picking up external cues and adapting to them? Attributing that to energy fluctuations seems like a baseless jump.

In my experience there is a definite difference between reading non verbal and contextual clues, which you can do and the experience some INFJs share when talking about the emotions they pick up. I can't remember who it was who said that they experienced anger in another persona as a metallic taste in their mouth. I recognize this because I get that taste in my mouth too when I meet someone who has anger issues. It's not like scanning the scene: Ok...T-shirt with a skull on it+frown+twitch in eye+tension in shoulder+out at the wrong hour+hesitant poise+tension in voice=anger Lets say there were three of these hypothetical people there in a row looking alike but one with anger issues: The experience for me is I go there and see the one who's angry and I get a yucky thick gross foggy feeling in my chest and a metallic taste in my mouth. That's what I get. Then I may in my mind suddenly realize that they have issues with women. It can be instant before hellos have been exchanged. I cannot explain it. I'm open to the thought I'm taking in subliminal information, much more subtle and nuanced than is currently known and some part of the experience manifests in physical sensations. Science doesn't measure qualities that way. It's an inner language of analogy in some respect. I'm not cold reading people. You can deduct a lot from just subtle facts but for subtle qualities there is no language for.

I think it's safer to say it has to do with reading cues and conforming to social norms. Maybe some people can't be in a crowd because there are too many cues to pick up on and they can't process that much information or discern which info to prioritize? Maybe being around someone who is very upset feels like an assault because Fe doms feel they have to adapt to those feelings and internalize them in some way in order to find a solution? I'd say that's the difference between Fi and Fe.

I think ESTPs read social interaction cues well, atleast the ones I know. They certainly use complimenting etc to elict a positive response. It's like they have internalized Leary's model and play these interaction responses like the violin in the social sphere.


For me it's very different: I read the cues in the fashion I described before. Crowds feel different. They have different qualities: Some could be described airy, yellow, light...some are seedy... some have a thick antsy atmosphere like a thunder cloud before lightning and rain...they feel very oppressive like you're walking through fog. There is no language for this so don't take it literally. I'm describing a quality. I'm a musician and I "read" the crowd when I step in the venue. They are like different clouds in the sky. I feel my body respond to it. I might get excited or feel like I have a ton of bricks on my chest. When I used to perform I would respond to the crowd's energy and with my own energy or subtle communication and (obviously verbal too)I could direct the general mood to humorous or sad or elated. That's why INFJs faces are so responsive because certain expressions and gestures, like notes or words in a poem convey feelings than can cause change. I don't subscribe to conforming because that sounds like some flabby goo that molds itself to external bumps and angles. I don't change my self and socially conform. I respond in a way that allows me to function most efficiently but I'm still me all the way.

I think Fe is more apt to merge with others emotional states to try to harmonize, but again, that can be explained without resorting to being pulled into magnetic fields of feeling.

It's an interesting theory--I'm just skeptical that people's emotions emanate from them in magnetic fields that people are able to absorb into themselves. I'm not closed to the idea if there's a convincing argument or if there has been reputable research pointing to this conclusion...

I just wonder, why would we have evolved such a complex (and efficient) means of communication if it is as simple as absorbing someone's emotions from a magnetic energy field?

I would say that there may be an even more subtle form of communication which is not understood yet, at least I haven't heard of any theory explaining the type of experience I've had all my life.
Most people use other forms of information intake.

In Waldorf education which was developed by Rudolf Steiner based on many of goethe's theories the emphasis of learning is on differentiating qualities.

There is a tradition of studying qualities with analogies and it's called magic (with a k). ;D Many INFJs have a knack for this language because it tends to speak in a way that is understandable, focusing on qualities and speaking in analogy as far as I've understood (mars-aggression-iron-red-9)...That's why occult forums are inhabited mainly with INFJs and INFPs. go peak at their MBTI test threads.

We talk here within the MBTI context in MBTI language. And as for what "empathy" as experienced by myself I can't find it contained within the parameters of the descriptions you sent links for. Maybe someday there will be one...

 

[#@&5&49]

In my experience there is a definite difference between reading non verbal and contextual clues, which you can do and the experience some INFJs share when talking about the emotions they pick up. I can't remember who it was who said that they experienced anger in another persona as a metallic taste in their mouth. I recognize this because I get that taste in my mouth too when I meet someone who has anger issues. It's not like scanning the scene: Ok...T-shirt with a skull on it+frown+twitch in eye+tension in shoulder+out at the wrong hour+hesitant poise+tension in voice=anger Lets say there were three of these hypothetical people there in a row looking alike but one with anger issues: The experience for me is I go there and see the one who's angry and I get a yucky thick gross foggy feeling in my chest and a metallic taste in my mouth. That's what I get. Then I may in my mind suddenly realize that they have issues with women. It can be instant before hellos have been exchanged. I cannot explain it. I'm open to the thought I'm taking in subliminal information, much more subtle and nuanced than is currently known and some part of the experience manifests in physical sensations. Science doesn't measure qualities that way. It's an inner language of analogy in some respect. I'm not cold reading people. You can deduct a lot from just subtle facts but for subtle qualities there is no language for.

I think ESTPs read social interaction cues well, atleast the ones I know. They certainly use complimenting etc to elict a positive response. It's like they have internalized Leary's model and play these interaction responses like the violin in the social sphere.

For me it's very different: I read the cues in the fashion I described before. Crowds feel different. They have different qualities: Some could be described airy, yellow, light...some are seedy... some have a thick antsy atmosphere like a thunder cloud before lightning and rain...they feel very oppressive like you're walking through fog. There is no language for this so don't take it literally. I'm describing a quality. I'm a musician and I "read" the crowd when I step in the venue. They are like different clouds in the sky. I feel my body respond to it. I might get excited or feel like I have a ton of bricks on my chest. When I used to perform I would respond to the crowd's energy and with my own energy or subtle communication and (obviously verbal too)I could direct the general mood to humorous or sad or elated. That's why INFJs faces are so responsive because certain expressions and gestures, like notes or words in a poem convey feelings than can cause change. I don't subscribe to conforming because that sounds like some flabby goo that molds itself to external bumps and angles. I don't change my self and socially conform. I respond in a way that allows me to function most efficiently but I'm still me all the way.

I would say that there may be an even more subtle form of communication which is not understood yet, at least I haven't heard of any theory explaining the type of experience I've had all my life.

In Waldorf education which was developed by Rudolf Steiner based on many of goethe's theories the emphasis of learning is on differentiating qualities.

There is a tradition of studying qualities with analogies and it's called magic (with a k). ;D Many INFJs have a knack for this language because it tends to speak in a way that is understandable, focusing on qualities and speaking in analogy as far as I've understood (mars-aggression-iron-red-9)...That's why occult forums are inhabited mainly with INFJs and INFPs. go peak at their MBTI test threads.

I just want to thank you for posting your experiences. A metallic taste, that is fascinating. That makes perfect sense. I mean to sense emotions with all of ones senses. I had not considered that before, but I certainly will now. I get visuals, pictures; calm scenes like relaxing at the beach, or some horrid destructive tornado, etc., etc., you get the idea. And yes, I believe/feel there are types of communication beyond what can currently be explained. What it is, I have no idea, but I have definitely experienced it.

 

[#@&5&49]

Empathy is one of the most powerful tools I use in teaching. Students feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to complete assignments when they feel that you understand who they are and acknowledge how they feel, understand, or interact. When you express such understanding and acceptance, they sometimes tend to be more responsive. It doesn't always work as it's very easy to take advantage of someone who is too empathetic or sympathetic. So, it's a fine line.

Are you familiar with the book Empathic Teaching: Education for Life by Jeffrey Berman? It was written in 2004 so it's a little dated. Ten years ago when I was exploring this with my students it was pretty controversial. I have not read this book, but was wondering if maybe you had, and what you thought of it. I was doing a little research about the relationship between teaching and empathy as a result of your post. Here's a brief review of the book.
http://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/empathic-teaching

 

[Pegasuswh]

People often (way to often) call me oversensitive. I am not sure why I don't hear a lot of the opposite. Why don't they call the insensitive out on a daily basis? Because the insensitive wouldn't "care" that someone called them insensitive, I guess. lol So they pick on me. Anyway, I tell them I am over intuitive. I am only now starting to understand why I never liked to think of myself as psychic. It's never been a voice or anything supernatural, but "it" has always been something. I always KNOW things. Not in the know it all way. In the way that my daughter couldn't stand in growing up. Because she knew I knew, even if she suckered everyone else she knew I knew. I wanted to believe her lies occasional. I know what the animals are thinking or what they are going to do next. I have been doing animal rescue for over 20 years and i do it all by reading the situation. from start to finish. Which cat needs to go get trapped first and which last and which one I can just grab. What they need from me, when they need it. I just could never explain it without people thinking I meant i was clairvoyant. I read things. Perceive things. Just the other night my husband tried to lie to me. Just a small things. One of those "No I have no problem with you going there" When I knew he had a problem with me going there. He insisted he had no problem with me going and that I believe that. I told him I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't because it wasn't the truth. He said I was wrong. I said I might be wrong, but "it" isn't. "It" being the feelings/perceptions I get. I used to call "it" the gift/curse up until last week. I can say I believe it ,if he wants to pretend believe a lie, sure it's not that big of a deal. But if he is asking me to believe a lie, he has to admit it is a lie, just like I would do for him. I started laughing so hard, because I kind of thought it was funny, he didn't, he went to bed mad. oops. "It" causes problems all the time. I often want to believe the lie. There have been times I would have given up an arm to believe the lie (no lie) I was so desperate not to know the truth when I wasn't ready to. But the more I fight knowing it, the more I start to read. So I finally just recently started searching for some way to fine tune "it", because "it" doesn't turn down, not even a little bit. <sigh>

 

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[MENTION=5234]Pegasuswh[/MENTION]
Oversensitive sounds very familiar ;D The old "Oh I know something is up (and it's this one thing in particular) is quite difficult to deal with. It always makes me feel like the kid in that story about the emperor's new clothes... It's particularly bad when it happens in a work environment. I guess the way I'm going at it is just trying to judge wether things can be changed and the rest of the time just letting it go and letting things take their natural course. It's harder to not pick at it the closer you are to people. If someone has good advice on this I would love to hear it too...

 

[Pegasuswh]

[MENTION=5234]Pegasuswh[/MENTION]
Oversensitive sounds very familiar ;D The old "Oh I know something is up (and it's this one thing in particular) is quite difficult to deal with. It always makes me feel like the kid in that story about the emperor's new clothes... It's particularly bad when it happens in a work environment. I guess the way I'm going at it is just trying to judge wether things can be changed and the rest of the time just letting it go and letting things take their natural course. It's harder to not pick at it the closer you are to people. If someone has good advice on this I would love to hear it too...

Totally!! And you get used to people saying:"I don't know what your talking about , or maybe you are just being oversensitive. Maybe that voodoo doll in their house with Pegasuswh on it has nothing to do with you" And you get patient, cause you know eventually it is going to be proven. But then when it is, people, most people anyway( my best friend gets me) never say.. OMG you were right, that doll was made in your image, I am sorry I ever doubted you. How are those pin holes healing up? Then the next time my hair on the back of my neck stands up about someone, and I mention it to someone else they go what are you talking about, they would believe their dog or cat.. but not me. I have that same instinct about the ones who need to be growled at, early in the relationship. Most either get the welcome matt, the show me who you are you got 20 minutes, or the... oh wait just a minute buddy/miss, what is it about you, that makes me wanna say, hey wait a minute buddy/miss. Then some will lie, and say" nothing, is wrong I like you just fine,I got you back." Thats the last time I turn my back on that one.

 

[Pegasuswh]

Sometimes a feeling of disappointment washes over me, like this feeling of sheer let down, when someone who should be a trusted someone, deceives me big, and I am in ignorant bliss until something just goes... holy fuck, no way? Really? Oh come on can I have just another day .. of maybe your wrong (my senses) and I (ignorant bliss) is right THIS time? Please just one more hour to have hope that I am right. But the senses never budge, ever. In fact if I piss them off enough they turn it up. Say something like: "Really? Are you questioning me? because now I am going to have to tell you thats the best part of what I have to tell you. I was trying to be easy on you " And yes it ALWAYS has to tell me. It will chime the verse: "There is none so blind as those who refuse to see" That is my senses favorite verse, ever.

 

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@ Pegasuswh
I find the one's I initially have a bad feeling about are the ones who have that "Voodoo doll" in the end. I'm usually as upset with myself as I am with them.
However...I read this great book Buddhism With An Attitude/Wallace (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149241.Buddhism_with_an_Attitude) where the author describes an enemy as a person who wants something negative to happen to you. So that's an enemy. Now If they do tarnish your reputation, do things behind your back to set you for a fall etc. you can reverse it by thanking them for aiding your growth as a person, because if we never encountered any hardship we'd be less likely to expand our understanding. Nothing gets you going like a little fire under your butt. When you learn from these experiences you begin to not take these negative things get into your core and kind of stand back and observe.
It's funny...the intent is key: I've had people pull the craziest stunts on me but I won't hold it against them because I know it wasn't with malicious intent but when someone does the slightest slight with malicious intent I draw the line very quickly. It's completely different. That I think confuses people. "How can you forgive this one huge thing and not the small slight?" Well...cause they are as different to me as night and day. I don't think people are good at telling the difference between the two in general.

 

[Pegasuswh]

@ Pegasuswh
I find the one's I initially have a bad feeling about are the ones who have that "Voodoo doll" in the end. I'm usually as upset with myself as I am with them.
However...I read this great book Buddhism With An Attitude/Wallace (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149241.Buddhism_with_an_Attitude) where the author describes an enemy as a person who wants something negative to happen to you. So that's an enemy. Now If they do tarnish your reputation, do things behind your back to set you for a fall etc. you can reverse it by thanking them for aiding your growth as a person, because if we never encountered any hardship we'd be less likely to expand our understanding. Nothing gets you going like a little fire under your butt. When you learn from these experiences you begin to not take these negative things get into your core and kind of stand back and observe.
It's funny...the intent is key: I've had people pull the craziest stunts on me but I won't hold it against them because I know it wasn't with malicious intent but when someone does the slightest slight with malicious intent I draw the line very quickly. It's completely different. That I think confuses people. "How can you forgive this one huge thing and not the small slight?" Well...cause they are as different to me as night and day. I don't think people are good at telling the difference between the two in general.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atBg9zLI2bA I love this song. I am a firm believer in karma. Mine and others. I try my hardest to let karma do all my paying back. karma is so much better than I could ever be.

 

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[MENTION=5234]Pegasuswh[/MENTION] It still makes me sad nonetheless, just though it may be that we reap what we sow. It's still a tragedy.

 

[AKM]

I don't know a lot about empathy, and I have a hard time concentrating on things I don't understand, so the articles and such are out of my grasp at the moment. I do know a bit about magnetism though. I tend to have a more electric/magnetic body than most. I first figured this out when I would wear a wind-up style watch. They would always stop shortly after I'd put them on. Even a new watch professionally wound by a jeweler would stop. I get a static charge more easily than most people I know also. I think this comes into play when I'm oriented a certain way in a room. I feel weird, like the bed should be a different orientation (in a hotel room or guest bedroom) even if the layout of the room is the same, perhaps the direction I'm facing is different. Just an anecdotal comment...I have no proof or anything, just my experience.

 

[JGirl]

I ask because I think many people become confused about what the root emotion is they are expressing/feeling. Like talking with someone and they are all focused on how "sad" they are but you really know they are angry. Or how how "happy" they are but you feel they are anxious. In a way a good shrink will ferret this stuff out but I don't think they get such a strong sense of knowing they got it right unlike someone who is relatively sure they know what you are feeling.

yes exactly!
no wonder these people find it impossible to get through situations and learn from their experiences. they are thinking with their hearts instead of their heads
silly puppies

 

[jyrffw54]

What if they feel invalidated, because the "empath" is projecting their interpretation of the situation onto the speaker?

Someone may understand the psychological element of emotions, but you can't say what someone else's feelings actually feel like to them. You may be able to pick up cues based on your own experience or previous feedback of a similar situation.. Most people know what denial looks and sounds like.

I'm not a big fan of the whole, "I feel your feelings and I know what you are feeling better than you do" thing. Too presumptuous.

When I empathize with someone it is based on a commonality. I can imagine how I would feel in such and such a situation, or I've been through it... But even then, I wouldn't say that what I feel is exactly to the degree of what the other feels, and/or that it carries the same undertones of other emotions.


Also, maybe I'm daft, but I'm not understanding how magnetosensing translates into catching feelings. Are you suggesting that feelings and thoughts are like magnetic fields that emanate from people and empaths are more susceptible to intercepting and interpreting these?

I think it's safest to assume for now, that empathy is based off of commonality and non-verbal communication. It is natural in non-verbal communication for people to mirror one another... so it makes sense that certain body language, tone, and expression would evoke a similar response in others.. but that has more to do with the social and communal nature of people.

It makes sense that humans, like other animals, would have an innate magnetosensing ability..but I don't see any reason to believe that a person's personal thoughts and feelings radiate outside of their head like radio waves that only certain people 'tuned' in can interpret.

You would be surprised at the things a Reiki healer can pick up from scanning one's auric field. I was practicing on someone, and around their throat chakra, I could feel a tightness and she was also swallowing enough, which I interpreted as her holding back a feeling with increasing difficulty to do so. By the time I got to her heart chakra, I felt a surge of energy "punching my hand" and I was on the verge of tears, as I realized that she was still dealing with the death of her husband, and she has been trying to cover up that grief through being there for others as much as she could, counseling them. I confirmed this with her, being careful not to pry, and she and I were able to restore balance to that energy center.

A reiki master working on me, was able to pick up the lower back pain I was feeling and connected it to me having menstrual issues (which was true)...

Your thoughts, feelings, emotions, even how you are physically feeling will manifest itself in some way in your aura, your energy field.

 

[Kgal]

Also, maybe I'm daft, but I'm not understanding how magnetosensing translates into catching feelings.

Are you suggesting that feelings and thoughts are like magnetic fields that emanate from people and empaths are more susceptible to intercepting and interpreting these?

....
It makes sense that humans, like other animals, would have an innate magnetosensing ability..but I don't see any reason to believe that a person's personal thoughts and feelings radiate outside of their head like radio waves that only certain people 'tuned' in can interpret.

Yes.

This site has years of research. http://www.heartmath.org/research/research-library/research-library.html

There are other institutes pursuing this as well such as Noetic Science.

 

[acd]

Yes.

This site has years of research. http://www.heartmath.org/research/research-library/research-library.html

There are other institutes pursuing this as well such as Noetic Science.

I'll check it out.