Is developing Emotional Intelligence, as described by Daniel Goleman, the same thing as becoming a skilled empath?
Not remotely. Emotional intelligence involves a kind of self-awareness about feelings, plus the ability to understand that other people also have feelings. Although this is a good kind of training, being an empath (real talent as an empath) is an experience of true otherness. To quote from Empowered by Empathy: That means transpersonal knowing, going beyond your usual boundaries to explore a completely different way to be. When you activate empathy by using techniques like those in this book, your gifts pull you out of the box of your personality, pour you into another persons reality, and eventually plonk you safely back home to your everyday energy presence. This journey is a far cry from mouthing schoolroom ideas about showing consideration for others. Mind you, trying to be a nice person is fine as far as it goes; it just doesnt go very deep. Emotional forms of empathy are the easiest to confuse with relatively superficial ideas like good manners. By contrast, true empathy is the c
