Empathy

To me, empathy is an interesting word. Traditionally, it is the ability to sense, feel and sometimes react to another’s emotions or inner circumstance. All people have empathy, but the level ranges considerably. Many high level empaths do not know how to process many of their feelings received from others, resulting in adoptive behavior, strange reactions or just confusion.
Empathy is often confused with clairsention (The ability to clearly experience the physical sensations of another beyond ones own feelings). Empathy is a sense beyond the five senses, and generally deals with emotive feelings and thoughts.
One noticeable relationship an empath will discover is the ability to perceive the clairvoyance of a psychic, or group of psychics, particularly if they have not developed their own psychic ability.
An empathetic sense is generally a gift, but can be developed. In order to channel these vibrations effectively, it is important to meditate into a personal neutral zone in order to ground oneself and divorce any empathic relationship with one's ego. With further development, an individual can learn how to process these energies effectively in order to understand and interact correctly with others. Being an empath, as well as being able to process vibrations effectively, provide an important aspect in truly helping others.
However, much depends upon the type of vibrations between an empath and another in order to process and determine their circumstance.
The reason I'm rambling on about empathy, is because I experience a fairly high degree of this energy. Although I don't connect with very many people, when I do it's rather strong. Just this past week, I've had quite strong perceptions and awareness of a neighbor who is 94 years old and is having some medical problems.
In an Astrology birth chart, people who have the planet Neptune sixty or so degrees away from the Ascendant tend to exhibit strong levels of empathy--which I have.
As I'm in a period where I need to relax more than usual, I found the following song on Google Video. It's a beautiful Welsh lullabye (called Suo Gan) and the translation is below: 

To my lullaby surrender
Warm and tender is my breast
Mother’s arms with love caressing
Lay their blessing on your rest
Nothing shall tonight alarm you
None shall harm you, have no fear
Lie contented, calmly slumber
On your mother’s breast, my dear

Here tonight I tightly hold you
And enfold you while you sleep
Why, I wonder, are you smiling
Smiling in your slumber deep?
Are the angels on you smiling
And beguiling you with charm
While you also smile, my blossom
In my bosom soft and warm?

Have no fear now, leaves are knocking
Gently knocking at our door
Have no fear now, waves are beating
Gently beating on the shore
Sleep, my darling, none shall harm you
Nor alarm you, never cry
In my bosom sweetly smiling
And beguiling those on high

When I watched the movie "Empire of the Sun" I was so drained from the audience reaction, I’ve never been to a movie theater since. Strangely, I worked with a guy once whose experience closely matched the young boy in this movie. My mother, who is now on the other side, sang this song when she was a child.