altruism—choosing to alleviate the suffering of another simply because it’s the right thing to do; compassion in action
anxiety—a sense of dread, unease, or foreboding
asperger’s syndrome—a subcategory of autism
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd)—a condition characterized by poor impulse control and short attention spans
auric field—an energy structure surrounding the body that facilitates receiving and sending energy
auric layers—layers of the auric field; each layer protects us and filters different types of information while transmitting particular data to the world around us
autism spectrum disorder (asd)—a complex brain disorder that presents as difficulties in social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication challenges
bipolar disorder (also called manic depression)—mood swings that range between unbelievable highs and depressive lows
chakras—a set of energetic bodies, seven of which are based in the physical body, each linked with a specific endocrine gland and section of the spine, with an additional five outside the physical body; unrestricted by space or time, they transfer physical or sensory energy into spiritual energy, and vice versa
clairaudience—the spiritual gift of clear hearing
claircognizance—the spiritual gift of clear knowing
clairempathy—the spiritual gift of clear feeling (also called clairsentience)
clairgustance—the spiritual gift of clear tasting
clairs—a shorthand term for all the spiritual gifts
clairscent—the spiritual gift of clear smelling
clairsentience—the spiritual gift of clear sensing
clairtangency—the spiritual gift of clear touching
clairvoyance—the spiritual gift of clear seeing
compassion—the inner call to ease another’s pain
compathy—the shared (“com-”) feelings (“pathy”) of physical empathy
depression—persistent, debilitating sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
electromagnetic field (emf)—the electrical and magnetic energies emanating from the atoms, molecules, cells, and organs that make up your physical self
emotional contagion—getting caught up in the emotional energy of a group; one of the empathy impostors
emotional empathy—feeling another’s feelings as if they were your own
emotional intelligence—the ability to reason about emotions and use feelings to enhance higher thinking
empathic gifts—the psychic, energetic abilities that facilitate the subtle-body experience of empathy
empathic style—one of six modes of experiencing empathy that utilize the spiritual gifts; the modes are physical, emotional, mental, natural, spiritual, and shamanic
empathy—the capacity to share and understand others’ emotions and needs as if they were our own
empathy deficit disorder (edd)—the inability to step outside ourselves and tune in to others’ experiences, especially those who differ from us in feeling and belief
endocrine glands—secreting organs distributed throughout the body; part of the bodily matrix (including mirror neurons and the brain) that invites empathy and compassion
five steps to compassionate empathy—one of the three tools for safely developing empathic gifts (see Chapter 5)
healing streams of grace—beams or strands of unconditional divine love; one of the three tools for safely developing empathic gifts (see Chapter 5)
hyperoptimism—acting happy to make a sad person feel better; one of the empathy impostors
imagination—conceptualized empathy, including make-believe empathic behaviors such as crying with someone or sighing at their pain; one of the empathy imposters
impaired empathy—difficulty with empathy, which can manifest along a continuum from being too empathic to being closed off to empathy
mental empathy—receiving information and data from the outside world and seeming to simply “know” what someone else knows
mental maladjustment—using the empathic process in a maladjusted or manipulative way in order to meet one’s own needs; one of the empathy impostors
meridians—rivers or channels of energy that flow through the body delivering subtle energy to all parts of it (similar to nadis)
mirror neurons (empathy neurons)—nerves that allow us to mirror others’ activities and reflect sensations and feelings; part of the bodily matrix (including the brain and the endocrine system) that invites empathy and compassion
mood disorder—a disturbance in which an individual’s moods become problematic; two major categories are depression and bipolar disorder
nadis—rivers or channels of energy that flow through the body delivering subtle energy to all parts of it (similar to meridians)
narcissism—a mental condition in which people inflate their own importance because of an exaggerated need to be admired
natural empathy—relating to nature-based forces and creatures
personality disorders—mental conditions involving abnormal patterns of inner experience and behavior harmful to oneself or others; examples are paranoia, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
personalizing—not experiencing the other’s issues at all, but instead feeling our own feelings, needs, issues, and reactions; one of the empathy impostors
physical empathy—the capacity for sensing another’s physicality in your own body
pity—feeling sorry for someone, which can apply to ourselves as well; one of the empathy impostors
post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)—a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma
primary cell theory—the theory that at a certain stage of embryonic development we develop a primary cell that embodies our full consciousness, chakras, meridians, and mind
quantum entanglement—the phenomenon in which two particles, people, or objects, once connected, are forever linked
radiant empathy—the energetic transmission of empathy
shamanic empathy—the empathic style that includes all other styles as well as the ability to contact other dimensions and time periods
soul fragmentation—the theory that illnesses, including emotional and mental ones, can be caused by a split or fragmentation of the soul
spirit-to-spirit—one of the three tools for safely developing empathic gifts (see Chapter 5)
spiritual empathy—sensing the heart of the Divine and having the ability to determine what the Divine wants or does not want for self or other; intuitively feeling another person’s level of honesty or dishonesty
spiritual gifts—innate psychic abilities, the terms for which begin with clair: clairvoyance, claircognizance, etc.
subtle energy—energy is information that moves; subtle energy is information in motion that cannot be perceived with the five physical senses
sympathy/enmeshment—entering another’s subjective reality and becoming so entangled that it’s hard to tell where you end and someone or something else begins; one of the empathy impostors
wounded self—the part of us that carries the energetic impressions of past pain, anger, or shame