What is an ‘Empath’?
An Empath is someone who has what could be a called a ‘gift’ for being able to understand the emotional state of another person. There are many kinds of empaths. Just as other gifts are used and exhibited, in many different ways, so there are different types of Empaths with certain abilities and talents.
Then there are the Heyokas.
Heyoka is a Native American term meaning “sacred clown” or “fool”. Seems an odd terminology for what we now consider to be the most powerful type of Empath.
The translation of heyoka gives us little clue into the true meaning the Native Americans tried to put behind the word. In English, it would be more appropriate to describe a Heyoka Empath as someone who sees the world differently and acts in a way that is the opposite of normal.
The Spirit of a Heyoka Empath
When you meet a Heyoka in person, they act as a great emotional mirror. What you see in them will show you what you must work on to grow and evolve spiritually. Connecting with a heyoka can be an emotional experience. You may leave feeling angry or leave feeling an incredible sense of love.
As an emotional mirror, whenever a Heyoka senses an emotional reaction in you, they use it as a guide of what to reflect back to you that will help you most on your journey.
Sometimes they do this unconsciously.
Say you leave a Heyoka feeling irritated and angry because of their ‘arrogance’. In reality, this is the Heyoka’s way of showing you your need to be humble.
Maybe you leave a Heyoka filled with a sense of love. The Heyoka may be trying to convey to you the importance of self-love and acceptance.
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The guidance will be individualized to each person a Heyoka meets. This is what makes them so powerful. Your ability to understand what they are trying to teach you will depend on how ‘open’ your eyes are and whether or not you are tuned into your intuition.
Traits of a Heyoka Empath
How can you know a Heyoka when you meet one? Is it possible that YOU are one?
The traits of a Heyoka Empath vary but there are some signs that are common, including:
- being born breach (entering the world backwards)
- developing some traits slower than normal people and other traits incredibly fast
- being dyslexic
- being emotionally unpredictable
- doing things backwards
- outside of the box thinking
- appearing younger than their age
A true Heyoka will never claim to be one. It is a knowledge they carry inside of them as sacred, private and unique. A heyoka can recognize another heyoka when they feel their energy. They are deeply sensitive to another’s energy (like other Empaths) and can see how emotions of various people play out and affect each other on a large scale.
In Native American tribes where Heyokas were respected and revered for their abilities, Heyokas would be the ones to open people’s eyes to new possibilities and different angles of a situation. They also had the ability to shift the energy of a group through their understanding of emotions.
In our modern society, a Heyoka may be a peacemaker or someone who is particularly good at working with people and keeping energy in a group balanced.
The gift of the Heyoka
Heyokas help people who are stuck to see that there is more than one path in life. They are able to look at a situation and see the backwards way. They have an inept ability to change people’s lives in a single meeting by bringing them outside of society’s one-track way of thinking.
Some people say they hold the medicine for chaos.
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Feeling the energy of an Empath can be both a powerful and a potentially unsettling experience. However, this disruption will never be one meant to harm or destroy, but to give us hope for growth and enlightenment.
In the eyes of a Heyoka, we will be able to see a mirror of truth and, if we are humble enough to see it, see ourself as we truly are.