Sunday, October 2, 2011

Empath-Fact or Fiction?

I'm in a quandary. As I work on my current wip, I've come up with a new slant for one of my protagonists. The problem is, because I've shown empathic tendencies throughout my life, some of it comes eerily close to real experiences. It's only recently that I realized my life has been so affected by this 'power'. Some of you will no doubt scoff at my claim. I accept that; in fact, there are times when I wish I didn't have it.
But it's there. It's been there forever, as far as I can remember. Now, for what I need from you, my readers. If you've ever experienced the strange notion that you know something is going to happen before there's any indication of it, how did you handle it? Or, if you know exactly what someone is going to say before they open their mouth, did you try to short-circuit the conversation by going on to the next phase of the discussion?
Are there other manifestations of empathy you've experienced? I really want to expand this conversation to include any and all who've had such experiences, as well as those who've written empathic scenes in their novels. For those of you who do not believe such powers exist, I'll also welcome your pov. I can only say that my life has been enhanced and sometimes debilitated because I've responded without realizing what is happening until too late. I could give examples but they are embarrassingly personal.
On the other hand, I have to say it is reassuring to know that I can, almost without fail, know what is in another person's heart when they talk to me. If you have no clue what the heck I'm talking about here, let me know and I'll try to explain it. LOL
I'm declaring this EMPATH DAY on Pat's Plethora. Here's a call to all EMPATHS, come out, come out, whoever you are. I want to play.
Happy mindreading day!
Pat Dale








6 comments:

  1. Pat, I don't consider myself an empath any more than anyone who tries to be sensitive to others. Precognition, now? That's a different story. I just cannot account for some of the things that have happened to me except by believing they were due to precognition, and it's no welcome talent, believe me (as I'm sure you know). Perhaps some day we will understand its nature.

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  2. My latest novel, Connection of the Minds is about this very thing. Rebecca Brennan experiences someone's life - his feelings of contentment, passion, fear and even pain. I've had times where I know something is going to happen. Intuition? ESP? not sure what it is and I've often finished my sisters and my husband's sentences. Sometimes it's downright scary. I've had premonitions that something bad was going to happen. Before my dad passed, I smelled roses. I was the only one who did.

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  3. Dear Pat,

    For reasons which I hope will be immediately transparent I have just sent you a private e-mail on this topic!
    Regards
    Paul McDermott

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  4. thanks for sharing with me. Yes, this can be scary stuff. For me, the hair-raising part is when I'm in communication with someone who wishes me ill. Every time this happens, I know what's coming and the knowing modifies my response. I tried for years to ignore these inner feelings I get, but have now turned to trying to understand where they're coming from. Mixed results to date. LOL
    PD

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  5. I firmly believe that empaths exist, and I believe just as firmly that I am not one of them. My mother, however, was, I believe -- and moreover, she, too, experienced the eerie "I know it's going to happen" stuff. I wrote mind speech and empaths into my sci fi novel, Relocated, forthcoming from MuseItUp publishing in July, 2012.

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  6. Hey, MCMaggie, I'll look forward to reading your book when it debuts. I hear you on eerie, too. Don't know how many times I've startled folks by answering a question they'd thought but hadn't expressed. Almost always puts you in a ticklish spot, puts the others off, and can be a real conversation stopper. thanks for your input.
    PD

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