Book excerpt: Empathy is one of the most important tools you have for connecting with others. It supports the mutual exchange of love and nurturance, and it helps foster community, cooperation, belonging, and a sense of spiritual vitality. But sometimes empathy can present challenges, especially for people who experience too much empathy. Difficulty can also arise for those who feel too little empathy or twist their sense of empathy to manipulate others. Llewellyn's Little Book of Empathy shares effective solutions for working through your under- or over-empathic tendencies, and it shows how you can process the underlying issues that lead to manipulation. You will also learn about the different kinds of empathy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Popular author and long-time intuitive counselor Cyndi Dale shares dozens of exercises and quick tips to prevent empathic downsides and support the positives of this ability, including: Increased ability to set and achieve financial and lifestyle goals Improved physical and emotional health Boosted creativity and passion for life Ease in separating others' feelings from your own Increased ability to give and receive compassion Stronger and more loving relationships Bolstered self-esteem and self-confidence Effective ways to establish appropriate empathic boundaries An acute ability to problem-solve Intensified capacity for perceiving and making the best choices A level-headed approach to dealing with toxic people and their beliefs Enhanced connections to spiritual guides Heightening of powers needed to reject negative people and spirits