Empaths and Clairsentients have a lot in common, mostly that they are the “feelers” of this world. They are sensitive to their environments, especially the emotional fluctuations of the environments they are in. This causes them to experience the world through their own lens, but also the lense of other people.
But, is there a difference between an emapth and clairsentient? If so, what is the difference? The difference between an empath and clairsentient is the level of awareness and control they have over feeling other people’s emotions. An empath takes on other people’s thoughts, emotions, and energy and believes that they are their own, but they have no control or awareness over this exchange. A Clairsentient is someone who can sense other people’s feelings and emotions, but has more awareness and control of this energetic exchange and therefore uses this information as psychic knowledge.
The main difference between these two is that empaths actually feel the emotions and have no control or awareness over it, and clairsentients sense the feelings and emotions and have control and awareness over those sensations.
People who are clairsentient usually began as empaths and have learned to refine their energetic space to sense this energetic exchange in order to gain more insight into the deeper spiritual or energetic meaning. However, not all clairsentients are empaths – anyone has the ability to develop this psychic gift if they can learn to turn on and off certain energy centers.
〰️
What is Clairsentience?

Clairsentience is the psychic ability to turn feelings into a sense perception. The word breaks down to mean a “clear sense of feelings.” This could mean sensing other people’s emotions, other people’s pain, or other people’s perspectives on a situation.
This is different than just feeling other people’s emotions or pain. It is a refined psychic ability to have a clear sense of what they are feeling, without confusing that emotion or pain with one’s own.
An experienced clairsentient psychic will not actually feel the emotions or pain, they will be able to experience it energetically without allowing it to affect their physical experience.
Psychics that are trained in this way can shut down their energetic centers that normally take on these emotions, which empaths do not have the ability to do. Instead, they read the energy of the exchange wanting to take place and can gain psychic information from this.
Experienced clairsentient psychics are powerful because so much of our lives are formulated by these energetic exchanges. They can get loads of information from anyone wanting to make an energetic exchange with them, which is the nature of how we interact with each other.
However, their true power comes from being able to discern boundaries and to be more authentically themselves by understanding where their energy ends and other energy begins.
〰️
The Psychic Gifts Of An Empath

Anyone can develop psychic gifts with the proper training, and usually, people are more gifted in a certain area (clairsentient, clairaudient, clairvoyant, claircognizant, mediumship). Empaths usually tend to develop into clairsentient psychics, because managing feelings is what they need the most training in, and what they are naturally gifted at.
What Empaths Need to Overcome
Empaths usually have an issue balancing their 1st, 2nd and 3rd chakras (mostly the 2nd chakra), leaving their upper chakras over stimulated. This results in wanting to escape physical reality and spending too much time lost in daydreams.
They usually have a heightened intuitive perception because their upper chakras have to work overtime. They usually know someone is about to call them before that person calls. They also make intuitively sound decisions, such as taking a new route to work without knowing their normal route had traffic that would make them late.
This also usually results in an abandonment of the physical body, causing the empath to be fatigued, sick, depressed, anxious, fearful, or have insomnia due to bad nightmares. I wrote an article about that here.
Empaths As Psychics
If an empath decides to learn to manage their ability and turn it into a psychic ability, empaths are usually the most powerful psychics. Because they have a strong relationship with their intuition already, they usually have a natural claircognizance (clear knowing), and when they turn their empathic tendencies into a clairsentient psychic ability, they are psychic powerhouses.
〰️
As An Empath How Can You Learn To Be Clairsentient?
The first step to learning how to turn your empathic abilities into clairsentience is to develop a strong meditation practice. I have never met a true psychic that does not have a strong meditation practice. This is especially important for empaths because they need quiet and centered space to sift through their own energy and other people’s energy.
The best way to meditate while increasing your psychic abilities is to do visualization meditation. This means to move your energy through your imagination and 3rd eye psychic vision.
There are many meditations that teach grounding, protection, energy movement, etc. offered online in various places. Just make sure you resonate with the information you are given.
The ideal way to learn how to manage your empathy and refine your clairsentient abilities is to take a class. You may be surprised at the number of psychic classes you’ll find when you set your intention to attract the right class for you. Look online at meetups in your area, and attend metaphysical fairs when they come to your city.
〰️
How To Manage Your Empathy Without Becoming Clairsentient
If you do not want to become clairsentient but want to manage your empathy, there are many ways to manage this gift.
Compassion
One way to do this is to exercise your empathy muscles into compassion. I have heard someone say that empathy is just compassion muscles not exercised. There is a book called Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg that does a great job of helping build compassion in place of empathy.
People who are empathic are usually extremely compassionate to their core but have confused that compassion with a feeling of responsibility for other people’s well-being. Often times, taking on other people’s emotions does not help them, it hurts them. They are not able to learn lessons themselves if you are always trying to heal them.
In this way, the most compassionate thing you can do is send them love, and learn to let them sort out their own energetic issues.
Crystals To Manage Empathy
Another quick way to manage your over-active empathy is to bring crystals into your life. They can offer protection throughout your day so that you do not take on as many external emotions. In my experience, the best crystals to help protect you from outside energy are:
- Black Tourmaline
- Hematite
- Pyrite
- Purple Kyanite
- Shungite
A runner up would be Black Obsidian, however, this stone helps you sort through the emotions you have absorbed which can also kick up a lot of difficult emotions when you are not ready.
〰️
In Summary
There are ways to manage your empathy that do not require you to become clairsentient, however, clairsentience is the best way to know what energy you are taking on and how to set boundaries so that that energy isn’t able to get into your space.
The difference between these two comes down to boundaries, awareness, control and energetic management. As an empath, you can have all of these things without becoming a psychic.
Regardless of your abilities, you are a magnificently powerful being.
〰️