I’m currently discerning between what is considered an ‘Empath’ and what a highly-sensitive person is. To me it’s semantics, so I’ll refer to them in the same breath. Empathy is the connection between people, and the self. The word ’empathy’ derives from the Greek ‘pathos’ which means feeling. It is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, and put yourself in their shoes, rather than your own. On the other hand, sympathy is a feeling of pity for someone else’s misfortune. They’re not the same.

According to the American Psychological Assocation, in 2022, 70% of Americans expressed that they don’t think the government cares for them, and 64% of Americans felt that their rights were under attack.

From Oxfam International, it’s also known that as wealth increases for an individual, their level of empathy and compassion declines. In the last two years, the richest 1% inherited two thirds of the $42 trillion that was created since 2020, which is almost twice as much as the ‘bottom’ 99%, at $16 trillion.

However, 87% of CEO’s believe a company’s financial performance is tied to empathy, but at the same time 92% of employees believe their workplace undervalues empathy. There’s a huge discrepancy.

The World Bank says we are seeing the biggest increase in global inequality and poverty since World War 2. We’re at a tipping point where the world wants to tax the uber wealthy, who are earning and holding wealth. This coincides with thinking about climate change, which costs a fortune to solve.

As I think about the solution, I think about empathy.

Ironically, the United States is numbed out. I’ll spare you the statistics but drugs, alcohol, consuming, movies & tv, video games, and anything else that allows us to escape our feelings. If you do the research, and add it up, I’m sure you’ll be surprised.

What happens within the individual, is a mirror of what’s happening within the collective.

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According to Dr. Elaine Aron, 15-20% of the population is highly sensitive. A highly sensitive person is someone who has a nervous system that picks up on physical, emotional, and social stimuli much more than the average individual. Their mirror neurons are hyper responsive. Empaths can mimic the postures, mannerisms, and facial expressions due to a neural relay system in the brain. This allows them to bond more deeply to others, as what people think and feel, is received more profoundly.

Everyone has empathy, though it lives on a spectrum. Empathy has been proven on a genetic basis, and has an evolutionary advantage, promoting altruism and other prosocial behaviors. Though it’s still something that can be taught and exercised, like a muscle.

The mechanisms of empathy aren’t fully understood, but both the brain, and the heart generate electromagnetic fields that transmit information about people’s thoughts and emotions. This information is transmitted through ‘the field’ effecting everything. According to Heartmath, the heart has an electrical field that is 60 times greater than the mind, and a magnetic field that is 100 times greater. This field has a bidirectional communication with everything around us. It picks up on the energy through wavelengths and frequency, and simultaneously sends out an energy frequency based on our current state of emotions.

These emotions are communicated in the language of patterns. Everything in Nature is done through patterns and rhythms. As hormones are secreted within our bodies at differing intervals, corresponding to different emotions, it creates a wavelength frequency that is than radiated outwards into the collective field. It’s through this toroidal field, and mirror-neurons within our mind, that we produce empathy and pick up on the feelings, emotions, and states of everyone around us.

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I believe there’s a huge relationship on Earth between our level of Empathy, climate change, wealth inequality, healthcare, and purpose. Our ability to feel, our emotional intelligence, is our ability to harmonize with ourselves, our environment, and our community. It’s our ability to understand each other, our needs, and to meet those needs. When this is done en masse, we’ll achieve a (somewhat) enlightened society.

An example, is that working towards the well-being of others, impacts our mental health drastically. Studies show that it’s one of the primary drivers of happiness, and anti-depression.

Another example, the Harvard Business Review states that companies ranking in the top 10 for empathy generate 50% more revenue than those ranking in the bottom 10, and increase in value at more than twice the rate. In these cases, customers, employees, and shareholders feel more connected to each other, and the missions of the companies.

Given the problems currently going on in the world, empathy (and the depth of processing it requires) is what’s required to step outside of ourselves, and understand each other and the world around us. It leads to a greater sense of awareness of others, allowing us to think outside of ourselves and meet the needs of the time.

So when I say the future lives in our hearts, it’s very literal.

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With love,

Broderick