yup.

I read the post and thought I was an empath based on the criteria. I then realized that it was not me feeling these connections.. it was my neighbor across the street. It was such a let down.
;-)
BooM

Lots of questions here Paul. I'll answer as best I can. I'm choosing to answer this spur of the moment, so I haven't thought these answers through deeply. Please be gentle with me. Here we go...

>Have you been building and expanding your second sight abilities?

Yes, although I didn't do it intentionally. I had a clearing experience based on forgiving my murderer in a previous life [this happened a couple of months ago], some suggest that this experience may have been a Kundalini awakening. I don't know for sure perhaps it's all related. The point is that I was already empathic and my empathic abilities increased approximately two fold after this cleansing/clearing I speak of. I now choose to explore and learn about these abilities and how to best serve god's will as I interpret it with them.

> How far DO YOU look?

It's not a vision thing for me, so look is the wrong word for this question for me. How far do I sense? I've been working on that question. At least for some of the types of sensations I receive it does seem to be related to physical distance, i.e. the farther away the less I'm likely to feel from a given person. It also appears to be related to emotional distance, i.e. I'm more likely to notice a sensation that I receive from someone I'm emotionally close to (family, friend, lover, etc.). Also the physical distance limit appears to increase as the emotion distance decreases. There are sensations I receive that I can NOT identify where they come from, only that they are external to my various bodies (physical, mental, emotional, etheric). I've not learned yet how to consciously choose where I'm sensing and focus those abilities.

>1- Do you just FEEL what others feel?

Yes, physical sensations in various parts of the body including headaches, stomachaches, hunger, thirst. Emotional sensations such as lust, pain, joy, hate, and fear. Sometimes, I know whom is feeling this and I can then do something about it, like relieve the fear, or feed the hunger, or quench the thrist. Other times I have no idea and therefore am left helpless to change what is being felt. In the past week I've been able to get some relief from that via a shielding technique that has been shared with me and appears to be working better for me than any other technique I have so far tried. Within the past two weeks I discovered that my younger sister is also an empath [it is thanks to her that I have this new shielding technique]. It boggles my mind that I didn't know that she is an empath. Yet I'm very happy to have someone close emotionally to discuss this aspect of existence with.

> Do emotions SWEEP over you, like a sunny day or a bad storm?

Not really, it's more like they hit me, and usually hard. By that description you would think that it is ALWAYS OBVIOUS to me that a feeling/sensation is not mine.... Unfortunately it's not, I'm working on it. As I also have my own emotional/physical issues this can end up in a kind of feed back loop that just spirals out of control (this can happen with either negative or positive emotions, I haven't noticed this feedback happen with physical sensations).

> Like a boat at sea, looking and waiting for a safe harbor?

There's a safe harbor somewhere?

>2- Do you SENSE what people are thinking?

Sometimes. I've been known to finish sentences for those close to me. And at least for a few of them in my life, they have been able to finish mine.
I've also been known to scare people "to death" by knowing things about what they were up to that NOBODY else knew (and I wasn't suppose to).

> You KNOW without a doubt what they think of YOU.

Usually, yes. How they feel about me (or at least about how they percieve me) as well.

> Do you SEE and KNOW things about them that they themselves don't even realize?

Often.


>3- Do you LOOK at their sexual energy?

Hadn't really thought about this. Again it's not visual for me so look is the wrong word. Do I sense sexual energy in others. Well this is certainly true for me with my wife. I know very much when her sexual energy rises and falls (especially the closer we are phyically). I've not really experimented with this sense with others yet so I don't really know.

> Are they carrying a LOT of magnetism?

I can certainly tell when someone is attracting others (including myself) and I usually know/sense why.

> Are they hot?

Not sure how this relates to empathy exactly.

> Single or married?

Not sure how this is related to empathy either.

> Can you TELL just by looking at their sexiness or lack of it, what kind of relationship they're in?

Not really.

>4- Do you LOOK at the state of their physical body?

Certainly, there are physical signs that can be seen with the eyes, such as posture, color of skin/teeth/hair. A radiantly healthy body simply looks different than a healthy one and this is true of all bodies from plants to humans.

> Can you SEE whether or not they are physically active?

Usually a physically active person's body is much more likely to be radiant in it's look.

> In good health?

Again this is usually apparent in the way they carry themselves and in the radiance coming from the body.

> Do you SEE blockages in their energy and potential areas of illness.

Sometimes. It's more likely that I'll literally feel the blockage or area of illness in my own body. If someone is carrying a headache, I'll get hit with it, if a stomache, I'll have that suddenly. Having my own health issues, it becomes very difficult to distinguish between what is a blockage in my body because of some part of my decisions in life and what is a blockage due to RECIEVING that blockage/ill health from another. I don't know that I'm communicating this very well.

>5- Do you LOOK back at their medical and health history?

I might engage them in conversation and ask questions such as those, or I might let them go, or I might try to focus on whatever is immediately at hand. This depends on where I'm at within myself and what I can offer. I almost always try to get people to laugh as that is usually a brief respite or relief from current difficulty regardless of history.

> Can you SEE the ravages of trauma and age?

Many physical one's are apparent such as scars, and unhealthy skin, poor body posture, etc. The emotional one's are usually not visually apparent. However I often sense the emotional pain within other's, the fear they feel, the rage, the grief. As I actually feel it too, I'm motivated to attempt to "heal" or "fix" it which is not necessarily the easiest thing to do, maybe not even the "right" thing to do.

> Or DO you SEE the beauty and clarity of perseverance?

Sometimes. This is confused for me as there is a difference between what I might feel from someone and what image they may be portraying. I'm finding it hard to not generalize this question.

> Do the lines on their face TELL you a story?

Of course there is a story there, whether I can interpret it in any significant way is another question.

> Do you SEE pain, joy or indifference carved into their soul?

Can't say as I usually see it, however I do often feel these things.

>6- Do you LOOK at their relationships. Do you SEE how each close >relationship they have is a distinct energy they carry in every moment? Do >you SEE them being oppressed by some unknown energy? Or do you SEE >them as the oppressor?

I have seen/felt certain individuals as oppresors either of myself or of others around me.

I've even on occasion found myself to BE the oppresor (there's an immediate feedback loop on that one for me, as I directly feel (when they do) the emotional reactions within the other that I have treated "badly")

I've also seen/felt individuals choose to be victims of others when they have the power to step out of that.

> Can you recognize an angel?

I hope so ;)

> Do you KNOW when they have a special gift or lesson for YOU?

Yes, I usually do, and I usually know when I have a special gift or lesson for them. I'm not always (there's a part of me that screams not usually here) allowed to give the gifts I have to give. I do my best to stay open to receive the gifts that are given to me.

>7- Do you ever... DARE to look into their future?

Often, although with individuals I generally only look at the future of those emotionally close to me and me to them [i.e. within the context of an emotional relationship] and I am much more likely to look at general trends then specifics, I believe that's just a limiting choice that I'm making. I'm usually right in as far as what I do "see". I don't like usually being right when that carries consequences that feel "bad". I can "see" paths on many levels, including logical, physical, emotional.

> Is it as clear as their past?

Future stuff is probably a little clearer than the past stuff. And I'm not always right on either. I don't usually focus on individuals with future stuff, it's more general trends about what's happening within a part of society. I'm usually about 3-5 years ahead of the curve so to speak.

> Do you SEE the milestone events and decisions that lie ahead?

I don't generally focus like that so I don't know if I would see these things or not. It seems I'm more focused on helping people know what their options are when making a decision then on what those milestone events and decisions may or may not be.

> Will these irrecoverably change their life, for better or worse?

Sometimes, I believe/feel that the decisions being made will and I do my best to communicate that belief/feeling when I have it to those involved in making the decisions.

> Are you content to let them find their own way

Sometimes I am, sometimes I am not. I'm sure it depends on how much their decisions directly affect my own life. Whether I am content or not I always allow them to choose their way.

> or do you drop subtle comments, hoping to save them some time.

I would not say that subtlety is one of my strong points.

===============
Well there's my attempt to answer these questions. Do you have answers for yourself that you are willing to share here, Paul?

I look forward to the discussion this is likely to engender.