emotion
Is Mirror-Touch Synesthesia Your Empath Superpower?
Science is catching up with the empath, literally.
Recently I came across a fascinating book titles Mirror Touch by Dr. Joel Salinas, a Harvard trained researcher and neurologist at Massachusetts General. It explores the phenomenon of mirror-touch synesthesia (MTS): a rare neurological trait that causes someone to feel the emotional and physical experiences of other people.
Synesthesia is “mixed perception,” or to blend the five senses. Science recognizes over 80 types of synesthesia.
Because of Dr. Salinas and other brave professionals, science is sitting up and taking notice and actually exploring the brain and how it functions in individuals with these traits.
Dr. Salinas uses his ability of feeling the emotional and physical pain of his patients to treat their symptoms, as if they were his own. The experience for him and others like him is challenging and draining.
Scientists now believe that MTS is linked to the neurons located in the brain responsible for transmitting electrical signals through our body.
These signals flow from the brain through the body and communicate what we are feeling and sensing. With MTS the neurons specifically are those linked to the premotor cortex. Interestingly, this is the part of our brain that is responsible for planning future action.
The Healing Power Of Movement
In my earliest years of life, I was severely shy, fearful of anyone I didn’t know, and acutely anxious of being separated from my mother. Any time we were out, or in the presence of others, I clung to her tightly and hid in silence behind her.
My mom soon received many recommendations to enroll me in dance lessons, to help me come out of my shell. She did, and I emerged. That was my first experience of the healing power of movement.
It continued into my ‘terribly turbulent’ teens, during which ballet became my only safe haven and sanctuary.
In the ballet studio I could pour out every feeling. From the barre to the stage, every move was an opportunity to express what I needed to release, and to find the solace I needed.
A decade later, I found myself bedridden with chronic fatigue. Yet, visions of ballet spontaneously continued to dance across the screen of my mind’s eye – almost every moment of every day. I could feel the movement in my body, even though my body was unable to move.
I know now it was a premonition of a life-changing return to dance, that ultimately remedied my illness and opened the way to reveal my gift of intuitive healing dance.
The power of movement is a beautiful thing. It can literally shift, shape, and reform energy. Energy itself comes in many forms and functions. Emotion, if you think about it, is energy in motion: e-motion. Everything, including you and I, are an emanation of energy from the Absolute Truth and Personality of Godhead.
Why Love Feels Different Around Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a romantic time of flowers and gifts, candlelit dinners, and declarations of love for many people.
But beyond the red hearts and love language gestures, many also feel a curious shift in their emotional state during this time. For many people love feels more intense, more revealing, or even more confusing this time of the year.
Why does this happen?
From a spiritual and astrological perspective, February carries unique energetic patterns that directly influence our emotional awareness and relationships. While Valentine’s Day shines a spotlight on romantic love, the entire month operates like a cosmic mirror, quietly revealing the truths beneath our connections.
It’s not just about Cupid’s arrow, it’s about clarity, emotional timing, and spiritual alignment.
Valentine’s Day did not begin as a holiday celebrating modern romance. Historically, February 14th was observed as a Christian feast day honoring Saint Valentine, who was associated with devotion and commitment in early traditions.
Over time, the day became associated with romantic love in medieval European culture. Writers helped solidify the notion of Valentine’s Day as a day for expressing affection and making heartfelt promises to a loved one.
The Wise Whispers Of Sentient Animals
Domesticated animals have been a source of comfort and joy for us humans for thousands of years. Their companionship has brought us balance, healing and unconditional love. Our pets become family and even take the place of people missing in our life.
What humans too often forget is that animals are also sentient beings. They experience feelings and emotions, just like we do.
I know this as an animal communicator and pet psychic. But you don’t have to take my word for it, because evidence for it has also repeatedly been found in scientific studies.
For example, Helen Proctor and her colleagues at the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) did a systematic review of more than 2,500 articles on animal sentience and concluded that evidence of animal sentience is everywhere.
Animals feel pain, frustration, sadness, neglect, abandonment and fear. They also feel joy, happiness and contentment, just like humans. Their unconditional love is natural and without judgment.
Animals don’t care how successful, attractive or fashionable we are. They simply care about us for who we are, and all they ask in return is to be treated with some kindness and consideration.
I have the blessed gift of being able to communicate with the animals, and through the years of working with many animals, especially dogs, cats, and horses, they have taught me so much. They have shared with me many wisdoms, truths, fears, concerns, and also their confusion about some humans. At times it breaks my heart.
Tune Into The Guidance Of Your Emotions
I believe our emotions are an additional ‘sense’ we use as a means of interpreting our life experiences, in the same way the normal five senses enable us to perceive and understand the world around us. Our ‘emotional sense’ help us make decisions about our preferences all the time.
For example, I love chocolate. My sense of taste tells me that chocolate is for me! It’s a very clear and obvious signal from my taste buds to my brain. We receive and process stimuli all the time and our senses help us to ‘make sense’ of that input.
Your emotions are also giving you information about your preferences and if we listen and pay attention, we can gain a lot of guidance from it. Our emotions don’t just come from nowhere. They arise in direct response to stimuli or input, just like our senses do.
I have also heard emotions described as an internal guidance system, or our inner compass, which helps us decide what we want to create more of, and less of, in our life. We sometimes get confused though, because just like the other senses, we have different preferences.
For example, some people love coconut desserts, but I detest then. Not thanks, keep your coconut out of my chocolate! The thing is, I’m not confused about the fact that I don’t like coconut. I also don’t feel I have to change my preference because other people love coconut. And I also don’t force myself to eat it, just to make other people happy.
When one of our five physical senses tells us something we tend to listen, because it’s visceral. We feel it undeniably in the body. Emotions are no different!
Spiritual Strategies For A Loving Relationship
Over the years I have worked with many clients who either want to improve an existing relationship or manifest a new relationship.
In my readings, I have seen that most of us carry patterns, energy blocks, or emotional knots that quietly affect our love lives. Many people describe the same inner cycle: a longing for deeper connection followed by fear, self-doubt, and frustration.
Depending on the needs to the particular individual or couple, I often recommend a few simple yet powerful practices that can shift the romantic energy field and open the heart.
These practices are gentle and effective, working not just on the emotional level but on the spiritual and energetic levels as well. They help clients reconnect with their inner wisdom and realign with love.
We tend to overthink our love lives. We analyze our relationships from every angle, hoping to find the answers in logic.
But love is not a puzzle to be solved. It is a frequency to be attuned to. And when we work with spiritual tools, we allow ourselves to rise above the clutter of thought and enter a state of clarity and openness.
I have found that the following practices, when done consistently, create a soft and supportive foundation for emotional healing and soulful connection. They do not require dramatic effort or complex rituals. They are simple shifts in intention and awareness that can lead to powerful outcomes.
The Difference Between Emotion And Intuition
Clients sometimes tell me during psychic readings, “I just have this gut feeling,” or “I don’t know, but something about this seems off.” I love when people say things like this. It means they are noticing the whispers of their inner guidance system. They may not yet have the confidence to fully trust it, but they’ve taken the first step to becoming more aware of whispers of their highers self, asking to be heard.
The challenge comes when we try to sort out whether that “feeling” we have is an actual intuitive nudge or just an emotion bubbling up from our human experience. From a spiritual perspective, emotions and intuitions are not the same thing. Both are important, but they function very differently.
When you can tell them apart, you can make decisions with greater clarity, avoid unnecessary drama, and walk more confidently along your spiritual path.
Emotions and intuitions may seem similar because they both arise within us without a clear explanation. However, emotions are usually connected to our human reactions. They can be triggered by what’s happening around us, our personal beliefs, or our physical state. As any expert drama queen can confirm, they can sometimes be big, loud, colorful, and full of urgency!
Intuition, on the other hand, is usually quiet, calm, and strangely neutral. Even the most powerful intuitive messages can be completely free of emotion. They carry a simple clarity that doesn’t shout or demand, but simply is. In fact, these emotion-free intuitive hits are often the most accurate and meaningful, because they’re not wrapped up in temporary moods and personal biases.