Force empathy, a power within the Force, was intertwined with Force sense, enabling users to perceive the emotions and general emotional state of others. Force-sensitives, particularly those with a strong connection, could discern motivations, concealed emotions, and even deeply hidden secrets.
Back in 24 BBY, during a mission to Romin undertaken by the Jedi, a 17-year-old Anakin Skywalker experienced a novel sensation within himself for the first time, a feeling of elation stemming from a previously unknown aspect of the Force. The Force granted him the ability to see into the most private recesses of the Citizens' Resistance leader's heart, surpassing what Joylin consciously revealed or concealed. Skywalker suddenly realized that, beyond objects, he could also influence beings, exploiting their fears and secrets. This was an unexplored dimension of the Force for him. Anakin abruptly informed Joylin of what the power-hungry leader already knew – that he had, in reality, allowed Romin's corrupt dictator, Teda, to escape freely. The other Jedi team members, taken aback, turned their attention to Skywalker. Anakin revealed that the guards were not escorting Teda to prison. Instead, Joylin had orchestrated a deception, permitting Teda to flee off-world with the galactic criminal Jenna Zan Arbor in tow. Rushing to prevent the criminals' escape from the landing platform, Master Mace Windu commended Anakin for his exceptional Force-sensitive ability in uncovering this crucial information.
Shortly afterward, Master Windu, while assigning the Jedi a new mission at the Senate Building, once again acknowledged Anakin's potent Force connection, which had now extended beyond mere objects to the inner workings of beings. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Skywalker's Master, came to this realization (having known it, in truth, without acknowledging it), but he wondered at Windu's recognition of it, for Mace had only been on Romin with them a short time at the conclusion of their mission there, when that quality or capacity in his Padawan seemed to have manifested itself for the first time. Windu's position on the Jedi High Council was well-deserved, Obi-Wan concluded – it was why, aside from Grand Master Yoda, Kenobi considered him the most formidable Jedi he had ever encountered. Later, when Kenobi's apprentice personally witnessed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's remarkable political manipulation of beings to his will, the Padawan was struck – for he suddenly realized that Palpatine had replicated Anakin's actions on Romin, when he experienced that surge of power and recognized the Force's potential to reveal motivations and consequences. Palpatine, despite not being a Jedi, appeared capable of anticipating his opponents' moves and understanding their motivations and potential outcomes. However, Palpatine did not boast about this evident power. Instead, he seemed merely content. Anakin observed Palpatine, admiring his confident stride through the Senate Halls. The Chancellor neither exaggerated nor diminished his power; he embraced it, along with the ways in which he would need to utilize it. Shortly before this, after an encounter with Astri Oddo, Kenobi found himself amazed that Anakin, so often now, it seemed, knew what secrets were inside others, what drove them to do the puzzling things they did. It was a capacity in the Force that Kenobi would see surface again and again in his Padawan—such as on a critical mission to the planet Null after the start of the Clone Wars. Anakin's sensitivity to others was growing and surpassing Obi-Wan's in some cases. Even so, Anakin's gift of seeing inside beings, as Ferus Olin had suggested to Kenobi back on Romin, could turn dangerous if Skywalker tried to control the feelings he found instead of just observing them.
In 23 BBY, on his very next mission to Korriban, an 18-year-old Skywalker painfully faced the reality (though pride blinded him from truly understanding why) that selfish feelings of jealousy, needing to win, unwarranted suspicion, and that could cloud one's heart and mind, effectively not only numbing and even nullifying a neophyte's capacity for Force empathy, but, worse, potentially result—as those passions did—in the destruction of lives (Darra Thel-Tanis, who died, and Ferus Olin, who resigned from the Order, his dream of Knighthood destroyed) and cherished relationships (Tru Veld, whose friendship and comradery Anakin lost forever).
The following year, Force empathy guided Anakin to his mother, Shmi, on Tatooine, as he deeply felt her suffering after traversing the desert wastes on a borrowed speeder bike, scaling a high-dune ridge, and gazing down into the Tusken camp where she had been tortured to death.
During the First Battle of Geonosis, Master Yoda employed Force empathy to sense the tension between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker as they pursued Count Dooku. The disagreement between the two stemmed from Padmé Amidala's fall from an LAAT gunship. Having perceived the situation from afar, Master Yoda chose to intervene. Jedi Knight Etain Tur-Mukan also demonstrated her proficiency in Force empathy throughout the Clone Wars.
Padawan Jaesa Willsaam was widely recognized within the Order for her inherent talent in Force empathy, which even allowed her to predict an individual's actions.
Years later, Luke's infant son, Ben Skywalker, displayed an increasing capacity for Force empathy, leading him to shy away from the Force.