Empathy is a quality, a way of being in the world, that is part of the core of psychosynthesis. Empathy has two aspects: empathy for oneself and empathy for others. An empathic relationship means getting to know yourself or someone else as they are; to understand without judgment.

In empathy for oneself, we want to emerge as someone who can hold and guide all our parts, not controlling or dominating, but exercising gentle will, having a respectful relationship with all the parts of ourselves. In psychosynthesis, the whole of the personality contains all the aspects of who we are. Some of these we gladly accept about ourselves; others we may have more trouble accepting, such as our anger or fear. Our goal is cooperation among our diverse parts, accepting all the voices. An empathic connection is not based on changing the part, rather it is about being with it and listening to its wants and needs. It is healthy curiosity.

As we grow up, we experience lack of empathy or empathic breaks, which cause hurt and wounded places in us. When society does not support our wounding, we become non-empathic. We lose touch with our selves. We are told to "grow out of it" or we develop failure consciousness. These keep us from entering into a true relationship with ourselves. When we can be empathic with all of who we are we develop a sense of freedom and peace.

The work is not to get rid of or clear away the voices or troublesome aspects of ourselves, but rather to develop a relationship with those parts as part of the journey, part of the call. The same holds true with our relationships with others. We can have curiosity and space for all the aspects of another, rather than trying to ignore, get rid of, or clear away what we think we don't like. This will encourage that sense of freedom and peace in the other person.

In an empathic connection, another person sees all of our parts and therefore we can experience all of our parts, all of who we are. When we are mirrored in this way we can experience our authentic personality. We need not fear or shut off any aspect of ourselves. We are seen for who we are and who we are meant to be. As children, if we are held by our parents with non-judgmental curiosity about the uniqueness of who we are, we can then grow into our authentic selves, not cutting off precious aspects of who we are.

In counseling or therapy, the therapist can be empathic with the client's reacting part, i.e. anger, which demonstrates for the client how to do it within. Fascination and curiosity about a client's life will bring the therapist and client to core issues. This is a true empathic relationship.

Having a world view that is based on empathy brings about a sense of openness, acceptance, and peace. It also fosters a sense of curiosity and joy.