Words for Love: Empathy in the bible

I occasionally come across online discussions that raise the fact that the word "empathy" does not appear in the bible.  I've seen discussions parsing words over what kinds of spiritual gifts are given.  That having the abilities that empaths claim is not possible and one instead may be compassionate, sympathetic, or have a mental illness.

Crying at a Birthday Party?!?

There's no crying in baseball, and who would expect to be teary-eyed at a birthday party?  Well, that was me.  The lights went out, the candles were lit, the group began to sing, and I suddenly realized for the young child's birthday there was no father in attendance.

Sharing empathic experiences

The gift of empathy is often dismissed, misunderstood, or worse - viewed as solely in the realm of the occult.  People that have empathic abilities often find it difficult to find support in their communities.  Online sources on the subject vary vastly in their helpfulness.  With these issues in mind, I'd like to share some of my empathic experiences and invite my readers to do the same or even to just ask questions if you have them.

Play on Words: Empathic vs. Empathetic

I found this article from The Grammarist to be very interesting:

"Empathic is a variant of empathetic, which means characterized by empathy. Some American dictionaries list empathic as the standard word and empathetic as the variant, and the shorter word is older than the longer one. But empathetic has prevailed—probably due to analogy with sympathetic—and is now about five times as common as empathic in news publications from throughout the English-speaking world."

The Soul and the Spirit Part 2

Spirit can be used to mean the spirit given us by God that animates us, houses our inner-motives and emotional expression.

In the New Testament, the spirit "is the realm where relations between God and a human being can take place (Philippians 3:3)."  It is "that aspect of human personality or self through which these relations are possible (http://www.gci.org/spiritual/soulspirit)."

More on Dreams

With all the books and information out on interpretation of dreams, it seems like fun to interpret the symbols in our dreams.  But, if we're looking for something in our dreams that will give us a message or an answer, what we're looking for seems like more of a vision.

The Soul and the Spirit Part 1

I'll not quote the cliche, but I do get a definite sense about a persons eyes.  Most of the time, I just pick up on the degree of clarity which I take as an indicator of overall health, but every so often, I get a really strong sense, usually in the positive.  Those are the times that my impression is of something greater, more along the lines of (I use these terms creatively) a pure or vibrant spirit, a kindred spirit, a young soul or an old soul.  It's unmistakable when it happens, or is shown to me (it doesn't happen at my will).

What is the soul?  Is it separate from the body?  Does it depart the body when we die?