The logical answer would be... through "experience," right?
But let us consider this "logical" answer just a bit! Although this seemingly "logical" answer seems correct, there is a subtle aspect to this answer that we human beings rarely awaken to because the "subtle aspect" is not part of the brain, and thus, not something we can know or experience by simply "thinking".
Few people realize that the Whole Human Being, or WHB, includes an invisible MIND, and an invisible Soul. And your MIND is composed of what we think of as emotional energy. And your Soul is composed of an Energy I refer to as "NSgy," which stands for "Neutral Spiritual Energy," which is an Energy that sustains the entire Creation... and I believe this is also the Energy of God... which Christ spoke of as the "Word," and other mystics speak of as "Shabd," "Sound Current," or various other terms.
So, the term "Empathy" is defined as:
Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. It involves actively sharing in the emotional state of the other person. Learn the difference between empathy and sympathy,
The "key" term in the above definition is the term "vicariously". This refers to the experience aspect of which I am focusing upon in this blog. I believe the "only" way to acquire "empathetic understanding" is to have actually "experienced" the exact same elements another is undergoing "within" him or herself.
So, when I see a child overwhelmed with sorrow, crying, and perhaps acting out his or her level of pain emotionally... I am not just "seeing" this; I am actually experiencing..."Within myself"... the emotionalism of that child. And so, I have empathy with and for that child. And as a retired Gestalt Psychotherapist, I cannot help but be drawn to an awareness of the impact this experience of that child will have upon that child throughout the rest of his or her life. Because... once some trauma is stored "Within" a person's MIND, that Trauma remains "Within" that person's MIND until it is emotionally re-visited and released from oneself via a deep-seated therapeutic catharsis.
- Catharsis is a noun that means purification or purgation of the emotions, especially through art, or elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness. Learn the word history, examples, and medical definition of catharsis from Merriam-Webster.So, if you are particularly moved by observing a child caught-up in and obviously experiencing substantial emotion... then your MIND is relating to that child based on what is hidden "Within" your own MIND... and this is called "empathetic understanding". So, we acquire "empathetic understanding" by having personally experienced the same emotional elements "Within" ourselves. And depending upon how "clear of your own repressed emotions you are"... you will intellectually condemn that child's "behavior"... or, if you are relatively clear of your own repressed emotions... will experience "empathetic understanding" of what that child is experiencing, and you will forgive that child for having to go though the experience.Life on this physical plane of existence is often quite painful. Both to experience and to observe.Peace, 1 Brother James
No comments:
Post a Comment