Having come from the putting green at Rancho Park golf course in the heart of LA, I headed for the little diner inside to enjoy a meal when I came across Whole Person, a free magazine devoted to spirituality. Dr. Judith Orloff, a well-known psychiatrist and psychic/intuitive, is on the cover of the July 2014 edition. Drawn intuitively to her article I read in fascination as her perspective on love, life, and business resonated deeply with my own. She describes herself as an Empath. I too describe myself that way having opened to my intuitive, heart-based side years ago. The downside of such sensitivity to the energy of others is that sometimes we take it on. Working with angry and negative clients can literally make me feel sick at the end of a day. read more

I have spent quite a lot of time with both the rich and the poor in my life. As a psychologist, especially in training, I worked in residential treatment centers and hospital settings with the homeless mentally ill and others of few means. I also worked with poor children at a Head Start program and taught in an inner city college environment. Being an identical twin to a Wall Street guy and having lived and worked in an affluent community for the past 17 years, I have a fair amount of exposure to the wealthy including many affluent friends and clients. In general, I agree with Mr. Goleman’s perspective that the wealthy and more powerful tend to “pay less attention to us than we do to them,” a prerequisite for empathy! Less empathy means less caring. I just read another article in the New York Times business section about the CEO of Bloomingdales who values empathy, caring, and listening a great deal. I loved reading about Mr. Gould and hope others in positions of power and authority will emulate him! read more