The Empathic Intuitive

Empathic feelers have acute mental or emotional sensibilities, and as children, want to be responsive to other people’s feelings. Yet, at times, their sensitivity threshold is low. They are often told, “You are too sensitive,” rather than being recognized for their gifts.

What a delight when a child is recognized for his gift of empathy! Our friend, Minette, shared that when her sensitive son Conner was five years old and entered kindergarten, she went to work in launching a local parenting newspaper. One week of every month was pressure filled with newspaper deadlines, and Conner’s response was to feel his mom’s stress and become distressed.

He ended up getting into trouble at school for pushing another child into a locker. The teacher was clear that he was provoked but expressed concern that Conner, a normally happy, relaxed child, should react aggressively. After a lengthy discussion about what was going on at home, Minette realized that Conner would react to her stress at work by acting out at school.

She learned to help Conner through these stressful times by giving him plenty of advance notice about the timing of her busy-ness. She would tell Conner, “I won’t be home much this week” or “You won’t see me as often this week, but once we get to Saturday, I will have the whole weekend to spend with you.” By managing her own stress and preparing Conner, she gave him language and a way to healthfully express his distress at not seeing her enough during that week of the month.

Join us on this intuitive journey to learn more about the power of intuition in the next post.

How Intuition Looks In Childhood

If intuitives receive support and interest from their environments as a preschooler, then they progress well into their childhood years. Their intuition might be creativity, artistic inspiration, enjoying people or seeing into the beyond.

Linear thinking, moving into cognition or intellectual development happens around ages six and seven. At this time intuitive intelligence can take a back seat. Psychic gifts, if not utilized or supported, extinguish themselves.

If psychic gifts are supported and children are still empathic, creative or interacting with the world beyond, then the child has words to explain why the ghost is visiting and even what the colors around your body are.

Children who are especially empathic with animals might communicate with them in pictures and feel bonded to them strongly.

If nature calls to your child, your intuitive might see fairies around flowers or that mountains appear as giant angels because they feel strongly connected to the Earth.

By this time, creative intuitive children are finding a love for an art form like dancing, music, drama, painting or gymnastics.

Children with emotional empathy may find these years more difficult. They want to keep their sensitivity, yet they may believe other intellectual children or teachers who tell them it is time to put their imagination away and get on with life. They could feel pulled between their rich emotional life and their intellectual common sense. In our book Raising Intuitive Children, you’ll find specific activities about how empathic children can balance their head and heart to make good decisions.

Childhood years are about cognitive development. It is an opportune time for telepathy to increase. However, interactions with the nonphysical world or spiritual world will either cease or come into harmony as the child can grasp how it works and why he has a talent and what to do with it.

Emotionally sensitive and empathic children can become more volatile as new cognition and discovery vie for importance. Now is the time to model (if you haven’t already) self-management tools presented in later posts. Mostly, you have to do the exercises with your child for a while if they are to believe them important or helpful. If you do not value them for yourself, neither will they.

A Spiritual Intuitive

Children with strong spiritual intelligence understand that they have a purpose in life. Their learning and interests revolve around discovering this purposeful pursuit. They also describe an inner connection that brings them peace or confidence. Nurturing their intuitive intelligence strengthens their connection and broadens their empathy and creativity.

All children ask early in life about the spiritual mystery. Where did my dog go when he died? Why is grandpa in heaven? Can I touch the stars? Children with spiritual intelligence, however, seem never to stop asking such questions. Their wonder and deeper understanding of the world continues to unfold as they mature.

These children seem to be the “old souls” we refer to when we hear their wisdom and ponder their goodness. The children with spiritual intelligence don’t turn it on and off. Their compassion is ingrained. Their connection to animals, nature and to the hearts of people is real and consistent.

Children with high intuitive intelligence can be perceptive and psychic. Psychic gifts like the ability to hear inner direction, see into the nonphysical worlds or sense and feel another’s emotions are gifts of intuitive intelligence, but are not necessarily spiritual. A child can see ghosts without a sense of unity; they may be fearful and not equipped to handle the situation. Visions of the nonphysical world leave children at a loss of direction. Prediction of perceived dire future events may frighten them, causing withdrawal.

A child with spiritual intelligence can be better equipped from their inner connection to deal with the ghost. Intuitive children attuned to the nonphysical worlds may be distracted by it. A spiritual child attuned to the nonphysical worlds with intuition can find purpose within it. For example, ACPI Intuitive Parenting classes teach parents how to value, recognize, and mentor intuitive abilities in their children.

Deepak Chopra describes intuition as an attribute of our mind, the ability to understand the subtler mechanics, while spiritual intelligence encompasses the attributes of the heart.

Intuition is the interpreter of the qualities of spiritual intelligence.

Continue your learning about intuitive children and parents in our next post.