Do you feel what others feel? Or do answers simply land in you? Let’s explore the difference between being empathic, clairsentient, and claircognizant.

🎧 Listen to the episode above, or read on.

In Episode 76, we explored seeing and hearing intuitively. Today, in part two of this series, we’re diving into clairsentience (clear feeling) and claircognizance (clear knowing), plus a question I get all the time: what’s the difference between being empathic and being clairsentient?

🌊 Empathic vs. Clairsentient

[2:27] A great question from a student
Remember, clair is French for “clear.” When we put it in front of an intuitive gift, it means you’re not only receiving information, you’re able to interpret it.

[3:27] Being empathic
When you’re empathic, you pick up the feelings of a person or a room. Joy, sadness, and fear each carry a different frequency, and you translate those frequencies into emotions you recognize. You understand what someone feels, but not yet the where, why, past, present, or future of it.

[4:55] Being clairsentient
Clairsentience takes it a step further. You still feel, but you can also tune in intuitively and understand why, and then communicate it. Medical and emotional intuitives are often highly clairsentient.

[5:39] The waterfall practice
If you’re highly empathic, feelings can hit so densely they almost take you over. Here’s what I teach: picture a waterfall of your own energy pouring over the top of your head, down the front of your body, and into the earth, where it’s continually renewed. You still sense what’s there. You just let it wash away instead of taking it in.

[8:12] Why blocking doesn’t work
Many sensitive people start putting up energetic walls in front of their heart and solar plexus to protect themselves. Over time, those blocks create stuck energy and dim the very gifts of compassion and understanding they carry. The goal isn’t to block. It’s to sense, then release.

[12:29] The day I felt a client faint
I once worked with a woman who’d been having fainting spells. She was frightened and struggling to explain what was happening. As I tuned in, I felt the energy rise up through my own body, into my head, almost to the point of blacking out. Because I physically felt it, I could explain it to her, and we could work on rebalancing her energy. Then I used my waterfall to let it all wash into the earth, so I didn’t carry it home.

[15:28] Feeling overwhelmed?
Early in my training, I felt overwhelmed too. But with practice, these sensations become tremendous gifts of knowledge, for yourself and others.

[16:44] Are you taking home other people’s pain?
Years ago, as a massage therapist, my clients would leave feeling wonderful... and I’d get home with the same aches I’d helped them with all day. This happens in healing work, at the office, and in families. If you come home emotionally raw or up and down, check in: Am I picking up other people’s emotions?

[19:04] Do you dismiss your gift?
When a gift comes naturally, we often brush it off: “I’ve always felt people’s emotions, it’s no big deal.” But that may be exactly why you feel so tired.

[19:49] You can care without carrying
Many Feelers hear, “I always feel so much better after seeing you!” while quietly feeling drained themselves. You can still show up fully for someone without taking on their emotional frequency.

✨ Claircognizance: Clear Knowing

[22:50] You just know
Claircognizance is knowing, without logic or explanation. If this is your gift, you may not realize how intuitive you are, because knowing is just... normal for you.

[23:34] The doubt trap
Because you can’t explain how you know, others may question you, and you may start doubting yourself. Then later: “I knew that!” That’s okay. That’s learning.

[24:23] It drops in all at once
For me, it often happens while driving. It’s not a movie, one scene after another. It’s the whole picture at once, often the end result, without the steps to get there.

[25:01] Knowing people
Knowers often sense right away whether someone is honest, what they’re like, or the role they’ll play in your life. If you hire people, you may just know someone isn’t the right fit, even with a perfect resume.

[26:17] Relaxed is when it lands
In the shower, driving, doing something fun... that’s when knowing drops in most easily. The more you acknowledge and follow these knowings, the more often they come.

[27:11] You have intuitive gifts
When you learn to tune into your strongest gifts, your choices and opportunities change. You start living from your own inner guidance, and that is true freedom.

 What’s your intuitive gift?

Are you a Feeler, Knower, Seer, or Hearer?

[Take the 2-minute quiz] and discover how your intuition speaks to you.

Missed part one? Listen to Episode 76: Are You a Seer or a Hearer?