Coming To Terms With Masculine And Feminine

For a long time, I struggled with who I was.  I knew I was a boy (and now a man), yet I was always emotional or sensitive.  In many ways I hate those words because they often pegged me as being weak. In our society, to be considered a weak man is a death sentence

For a long time, I despised my sensitive side.  Yet, it was nearly impossible for me to hide it or ignore it or run from it.  It was there.  It was who I was, but it was a painful part of my existence.

I remember having my head bashed into a wall of a laundromat by a classmate because what I considered to be normal, he took offense to and he was going to teach me a lesson.

I remember having to sit through and watch horrible TV shows and movies with shooting guns and violence in them, while I cringed and hid deep within.

I remember being beaten if I didn't cry enough, and beaten more if I cried too much.  I remember being beaten when my poor little hands would be cold from the Midwest winters and inadequate mittens.  I was expected be strong and brave and courageous and unafraid.

Being a sensitive man (person, human, etc), I've picked up things at maximum levels that most don't even realize, yet there's often been nowhere to go with that.  There's hardly any men that I can talk to and share it.  I can often share it easier with my female friends, but there is a void there.

Being a gay man who is sensitive is like another whack on your head in our society.  The alpha-male dominant screaming and grandstanding individual is what society holds up as some great leader; the man that will say it like it is and go around shooting someone or knocking them down with one punch.  I see life completely different, and this portrayal that is pushed out every day is sickening at best.

For a long time, like I said, I hated that I was sensitive.  I had just as many feminine traits as I had masculine.  I felt like it was a curse!  Why was I created this way?  This was what I constantly asked myself.

It wasn't until I met a couple of influential people in my life that started to help me see that my sensitive side was a good thing.  It was there to help not only myself but others in life.  When these people would share with me that I had a good balance of masculine to feminine, I started to learn what that meant.  I started to see that in fact, it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Yes, growing up, I got beaten hard for not being a man or "not acting like a big boy", but to this day I don't know if I ever remember my dad showing emotions other than anger and rage.  When I brought this up in a letter, I was chastised and ostracized by my family for it.  If his emotional side was ever there, I did not see it.

It is difficult in this world not only being gay, but also dealing with a sensitive side.  I see so much that hurts me deep to the core while others close their eyes.  I'm gay and I see relationships differently than much of the world sees.  I've felt hatred directed at me for who I am and I can tell you that it is painful.  It angers me when I see people who boast how much they love others and yet, they show hatred in their words, actions, tweets, and likes.

I actually think we need more men that rise up and become who they are, not who society says they are.  What most men were taught would not stand up in court, but yet we propagate it over and over, passing it from one generation to another.  We are so unconscious in our thoughts and behaviors that we don't see the pain we are inflicting upon our children and their children.

If we don't embrace all parts of our self including the mind body, soul, spirit, masculine, feminine, and the love in our hearts, we're going to run our society off the cliff.  We have choices each day in what we do and while perfection is too lofty of a goal, we need to move toward a better awareness in  life that leads us to a greater consciousness.

Don't lose hope if you're a man and you struggle with the issues I've described above, because I will be the first to say, you're okay - you're fine, just the way you are.  You don't have to be someone you are not.  To understand who you are is by far a sign of greater strength than all the macho attitudes on display these days.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Being Highly Sensitive and Energetic Boundaries

A friend of mine on twitter asked me a question today and I thought it was something worthy of a blog post.  Sometimes on twitter, 140 characters is not enough to even begin answering anything.

The question was:  "Do you find energetic boundary setting helps with the amount of energy you receive?"

@mindbodythought nice post! Do you find energetic boundary setting helps with the amount of energy you receive (bubble meditation etc)?

— Metaphysicalmusings (@talking2spirits) July 9, 2016

I know many people promote the idea of bathing yourself in white light and making a bubble that surrounds you to keep out unwanted energy.  I believe that is essentially what my friend is asking and so I'll share with you what I do.  By no means am I a master of this because I still struggle with it just like everyone else does.

A very wise teacher once cautioned me against trying to limit the energy I picked up or wrapping myself in a bubble or a white light.  Now, I'm sure for those who have been taught to do this, I'm probably contradicting your beliefs and insights.  That's okay with me if you think my way is incorrect.  I have to do what works for me.

For me, I pick up a ton of stuff when I'm around people.  Granted, I try to throttle this down a little, because I don't need to be inundated with things that I can do nothing about or have no way to impact.  For a long time I didn't understand how to do this and I still struggle a little with it, but it is kind of like turning down the volume knob on a radio.  You can still hear the radio, but it is a much lower volume.

When I'm working with someone, I turn it all the way up using my mind to do this.  I want to sense and see and feel everything I can with someone because those inputs usually are my guiding lights to see where I need to go.  Without these inputs, I would be dead in the water.

Often if I'm working on people or with people, its almost like I feel their pain in my body.  I've had countless people surprised and shocked that somehow I know their pain in an area is gone.  It is because I literally feel that pain in my own body and so when it goes away, I know it is gone.  Again, it guides me into the areas I need to focus on.

If I tried to dial all that back and block it by wrapping myself in white light or using a bubble concept, I don't think I would feel and sense all that I needed to in order to help others.  I think it would diminish this greatly.  In fact, I don't just think - I know from experience it does diminish what I sense and feel.

Yes, I know there is negative and bad energy out there.  It is everywhere and these days, you can find it online through social media as much as you can by interacting physically with someone.  The way I deal with this is that I know I am protected and guided by something much greater than myself or the negative energy that is around me.  I feel secure with that knowledge and I always ask for help and guidance.

A very important part of this is that I've done a tremendous amount of work on myself and I continue to do this every day.  I do not settle for where I'm at, but where I can go.  As a result, I've managed to connect with a high vibration that sort of keeps me above the fray, especially when I'm working with others.  It is this intense deep work that has helped me unshackle some of the things that normally hold us down and diminish our vibration.

I just want to be there for all people in the best way that I can and for me, if I hold back or filter out all that could come my way, then I feel like I'm not doing what I need to do.  I personally feel from what I've seen that if I filter things out, I miss some of the clues I need.  I know I'm protected and I embrace this part of me.

If I find I've been triggered or I pick something up, then I have people that I go to who can help balance that back out so I can let it go.  Triggers are a good way for me to go deeper into my own healing and awareness, even if they make things uncomfortable at times.  In these moments, I see opportunities with people because I believe the things we need to grow in life from, are often introduced by the people we come in contact with every day.

A good video on Emotional Fitness is an interview that Jim Fazio did with Dr. Paul Canali.  It is up on YouTube and you can click on the image below to view it.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Protecting Myself From Others

These days I'm in a place where I'm having to be on guard.  I'm having to protect myself from others even though they aren't physically trying to assault me.  Now, this may sound strange, but if I go on to explain, you'll see why I'm protecting myself from others.

I'm one of those highly sensitive people, I take in so much from everyone around me.  It hits me and it bombards me.  It isn't something I choose, it just happens.

Let me explain it this way.  If you go swimming in the lake, can you do it without getting wet?  The answer is no, unless you wear some type of clothing that keeps you dry.  Yet, when you go into the lake, the water is all around you.  You don't choose for it to be there and neither can you control it in the way that it touches your body.

The same goes for me.  When I'm around others and in environments that are toxic and not healthy, it isn't like I can keep it from touching me.  Its all around me.  It touches me whether I want it to or not.

Overwhelmed By All That I Sense

Some days I get really tired of it.  I pick up way too much from others whether it is reading words online or being in close proximity to another person.  I see what isn't written, and I feel what they are feeling.  I see what lies behind the body expressions or the words that are spoken and the sounds I hear.  To me, it is all just a normal part of life I deal with and often exhausts me.

Yes, I'm learning how to dial it down, but I still feel the energy and feelings that surround me.  It is like everyone walks around with this big bubble of stuff on the outside and in that it is filled with so much information about them.  That's the part I pick up constantly.  It is no different for me, then looking at someone and seeing what color hair they have, or the colors they are wearing or any other thing you may notice in someone.

Living As A Highly Sensitive Person

For those who aren't in touch with their emotions, this may or may not mean much to you.  However, I would hope that you will read this so you can understand more what highly sensitive people deal with in a day.  Everyone interacts with sensitive people each day of their life.  The more you know about how they operate, the more you can function more effectively in this world.

As I have written before, I am one of these highly sensitive people.  I sense, pick up, and connect with so much that I even have a difficult time making sense of it.  In fact, I am sometimes not even aware of all that I pick up, but I feel it all the way to my bone.  Some days it helps me greatly and other days it is pure hell to deal with in life.

For instance, when I walk into a building and/or office, I can sense an energy or a feel to the place.  Within moments, I get a generalized sense of many characteristics of that building and/or office.  It isn't just the decor or interior decorating.  It isn't just the pleasantness of the receptionist or the cold hard stares.  It is much more than that and I base all of my reactions in regards to what my senses tell me.

Another case where this comes into play is in a sense of knowing that certain events may take place.  I'm not talking about being psychic here, although many may claim it is and they may be right.  I'm talking about a sense of knowing that things aren't going to go the way everyone intends or that things aren't quite right.  Recently, I went to a potential job site the night before so I could make sure I would be able to find the building.  When I arrived at the building, I instantly knew that this was not the place for the job, but had no way to verify it.  Sure enough, the next day my intuition and gut sense feeling was spot on.

I Am A Highly Sensitive Man

This blog post was inspired by Rick Beldon in an article he wrote for the Good Men Project.  Like this blog post, his article was titled "I Am A Highly Sensitive Man".  While I have written somewhat on this subject, I think it is one that never gets enough attention.  I liked what Rick wrote on his article, and I thought I could pay no greater respect than writing about it myself.  Thank you Rick for opening up your life and sharing this because I can see from the comments, it has helped many people.

For most of my life, I knew I was a very sensitive person.  From the time I was a young boy until now, I always knew that I got emotional at the drop of a pin.  Unfortunately I grew up in a home and a society where this was not welcomed.  As a boy, I was whipped for crying and told to grow up and be a man.  Yet, my little eyes witnessed some horrific acts that were hard for me to not feel sensitive about in my life.

From the little animals I saw killed, crushed, or mutilated to how I saw other people treated, I felt their pain.  At the time I don't' think I realized just how much pain I picked up, but I do know that I would go to bed at night and cry into my pillow.  You dare didn't let anyone see you cry because that was just inviting trouble and probing questions that did not end well.

Your Issues Don't Belong To Me

I’m an extremely sensitive. I pick up so much in others and people all around me including plants, buildings, the collective consciousness and energy of the world, etc. I pick it up and I do it in a very intense way. It doesn’t shut off unless I put up walls and hide myself from the world.

So what I’m learning is to identify what issues are my stuff and what issues don’t belong to me. If I feel triggered by them, I’m starting to look at them and see what it is that I need to learn in my life or what opportunity is being presented to me. Triggers aren't fun, but if we allow them the opportunity, they can teach us great things about our life.

I’m just trying not to take all these things that I pick up on and hold them in my mind, body, and spirit or in my energy field. I’m recognizing them for who owns them and giving them back to whoever they belong to. I'm learning to release and let them go, rather than holding them as tight and endearing as a teddy bear. It isn’t always easy but as a wise healer told me recently – if you can do it 51% of the time – you’re on the right path and if you can do it 100% of the time – write the book to teach everyone else.

Bothered By Insensitive Comments and People

Oh, how I would just love to be like all the other people in the world and function normally.  You know, where you've got a skin thick as nails and could care less what other people say or do.  Wait, that's what I wish I was like.  Maybe I should rethink that statement.

At one time, I didn't let it show and I didn't let it bother me what most people said or wrote to me, let alone how they treated me.  I just didn't care and if I did, it was treated like most everything else in my life where I internalized it.  Now, I'm at a point though where my body is waking up and I no longer store everything internally.  As a result, I'm much more sensitive about everything than ever before.

All my life I have been an extremely sensitive person.  In fact, they label my type of people as highly sensitive people.  I'm not sure I want that badge or the sensitivity at times because it seems to just make life harder.  Trying to find my way through it is like trying to sprint through a thorn patch.  It doesn't feel good, nor is it something you desire to do.

Emotions Of Food Allergies

Yesterday, I wrote about "Garlic Makes Me Sick" and today, I will expand upon the two items that really turn my body upside down. At one time in my life, I really loved onions and to a lesser degree garlic. In fact, I love the taste of them but the reactions I get from them are ones that I try to avoid at all costs.

Onions
Let's start out with onions because that is the one that will get my blood pumping quickly! Eating small quantities will make me sick or give me severe stomach discomfort. Just the smell or even the hint of an aroma will bring out a severe display of anger.

I'll give you an example of what I mean. I was laying down one afternoon enjoying a nap when someone in the house was microwaving some food that had onions in it. My nose picked the slight scent up all the way upstairs and the next thing I witnessed was not pretty. Keep in mind that I don't think I was fully conscious in this episode. I raced downstairs yelling and screaming, what in the blankety blank are you cooking!

Helpful Tips For Fainting

For background information, you may want to read the following blog posts before reading this one. The blog posts are "Fainting At The Sight Of Needles" and "Fainting From More Than Needles".

If you are like me, don’t feel alone! There are many of us out there. In my case, I know I’m a highly sensitive person (see blog post 01/20/11) and this adds to the situation.

Here are some tips that may help you in dealing with this situation but most of all, don’t beat yourself up for it! Keep looking for ways that will help you overcome and deal with this situation.

If you have helpful tips to share, please feel free to leave them in a comment so you can help others.


Tips To Manage Fainting:

1. Let the person or office know where the medical procedure is being done that you easily faint. Many times this will help you feel a little more comfortable and safe plus it helps alert them to be a little more gentle and careful with you.

2. Try not to think about or look away from what is being done to you. Think about a song or something you want to do. Talk to someone that you trust about anything other than what is going on. Do anything you can do to get your mind off of what is going on.

3. Close your eyes so you can’t see any of the needles or medical instruments.
4. If you have a close and trusted friend that can go with you, sometimes that is a big comfort to you as long as they are able to function in that situation.

5. Insist that you lie down when things are being done. There have been many times that medical staff feels this is a waste of time and I usually just let them know that either they can let me lie down or they can pick me up off the floor. Most of the time, that conversation is enough to convince them.

6. Trying to focus on your breathing can be very helpful but even I know that when I get in this situation, that is like trying to drain the ocean with a single gulp. It does help but for me, the fear and anxiety often take over before I can get myself focusing on breathing.

7. Doing intense healing work on yourself is helpful but not always easy. Going into the pain head on can be liberating in the end but often we shy away from this because we are too afraid to do it.

8. Try to limit yourself in eating a lot of sugar or caffeine or other stimulants before having any of these medical procedures done. It just adds fuel to the fire. The more you can relax before something is done, the better the chance of you making it through without fainting.

Further Reading:
1) Afraid Of Needles? Why Some Faint At The Very Sight (MSNBC)
2) Fainting At The Sight Of Needles (June 9, 2011)
3) Fainting From More Than Needles (June 10, 2011)
4) Fear Of The Dentist (July 6, 2010)
5) Living As A Highly Sensitive Person (Jan 20, 2011)


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Letting Go Of Painful Moments

It seems like there are so many times in our life where we suffer through loss, disappointment, neglect and hurt at the hands of other people. If you are highly sensitive like I am, these moments can almost be devastating to deal with. I wish I was like others at times that seem to just let these moments wash off their back. Unfortunately, my highly sensitive nature makes it much more difficult.

Recently, I've felt the neglect and hurt in my life as some either seemed to have abused and used me or they just felt that I wasn't worth their time anymore. Talk about a knife being stabbed into the heart, that is what it felt like. It hurts more than I want to let on at times and there are moments where I just want to cry forever.

Through all of this, I've dealt with anxiety, nervousness, tension and depression. I don't let go easily and when the pain comes along, I hurt all the way through every muscle fiber of my body. Yet, somehow, I keep going. I don't know how, but I do. That is most likely a good thing because if I acted upon the despair, it would not be pretty.

The one thing I have learned though, is to just let myself feel the pain, the hurt, and all the other emotions that are coming up. If I try to stop them or alter them in any way, they just find another way to show up. The more I just allow myself to be in the moment, feeling all that is going on in my heart, the more I know I'll come through this. Yes, it gets dicey at times to feel this, but somehow, I seem to find the strength to go on.

While forgiveness is not an easy concept for me, I do find that the more I focus on forgiving the person(s) for what they did to me, the more I can let go. Yet, to let go, I have to feel all the emotions and that is the difficult part. I wish it was easier but then if I felt nothing in all of this, would I be human?

I can't help but think of Oriah Mountain Dreamer's poem, "The Invitation" which means so much to me. The following part of her poem is the one that speaks the loudest right now during this time. I'll leave you with this quote from her book.

From Page 2, The Invitation (by Oriah Mountain Dreamer)
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

Further Reading:
1) Holding On And Not Letting Go
2) Get Over It


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Living As A Highly Sensitive Person

Often times, it is not easy being a highly sensitive person. I am one of those people! You know, the HSP - highly sensitive persons. At one time I just thought it was a curse but now I'm learning that it does have a positive side.

When I talk about being sensitive, I mean really SENSITIVE and EMOTIONAL about things that may seem little and insignificant to most are like floods of input to me. There are many examples of just how sensitive I get. It may range from feeling like something such as a pet rock or plant is just as alive and full of emotion as a human to picking up the emotions of people I know or meet or walk past in the store. It does include my sensitivity to things around me that most cannot see like the angelic or spirit world. It is much more than that of course because the little things that seem insignificant and go unnoticed in a day are big things to me.

Some days I pick up so much that it can get overwhelming. When it gets overwhelming, I am like a turtle that just wants to crawl back into its shell and hide for the next thousand eons. When that happens, I want nothing to do with anyone except my cats and other inanimate objects or nature. Anyone that pushes me to be with them or to function in their world is just driving me deeper into my turtle shell.

Fortunately though, I am learning more how to deal with these things. I've learned that I can release the little things that build up within me through my practice of the Unified Therapy techniques I have learned. Also, I know more how to manage myself by taking time away and just spending time in nature. Nature is one of my renewal techniques that seems to put everything back into perspective and balance. It realigns me in ways that so much other stuff cannot. The sunshine is a wonderful companion to me and energizing in so many ways.

I remember growing up where it would get so overwhelming and I would run into my room crying that no one cared about me and no one loved me. It was moments where I could take no more and my sensitivity was at an all time high. I remember my mom coming in and holding me and just letting me know she loved me. Of course, my father would try to act sensitive but then after my experiences on a daily basis with him, he seemed inauthentic. Other members of my family were like foreign monsters to me at times because the world I lived in was completely different than the world they lived in.

For others around me, I'm sure it is difficult to live with me because when the sensitive side begins to take over, I'm done until I emerge back into a normal life. Some understand it more than others but in those times, I just need to know that others love and care about me but allow me to just be in that moment. Normally I pull through these rough moments but they do get intense.

While I really hated this side of me for a long time, I began to learn in life that it has positive aspects. In one way, I use this to help me in my healing work that I do because I truly sense and pick up some very deep things in people just as if they may be experiencing them in the moment. It also helps me in my creative work because I am a highly creative person in writing such as this blog, my book, music and just my approach to life. It also helps me to see a different side of the world where people who are busy screaming and looking out for themselves do not usually see. If there weren't people like us highly sensitive people in the world, the earth would tip off of its axis and fall into space.

According to Elaine Aron who wrote the book, The Highly Sensitive Person, 15-20% of the population is considered to be a highly sensitive person. She states that in the book that it is a normal trait for those of us who are HSP (Highly Sensitive Persons) and that it is biological. A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is more aware of subtleties (just like I was sharing about myself) and is more easily overwhelmed.

So if you are one of these people that others may look at and think you are just way too sensitive, fear not, for you are normal. Learning about the trait and learning how to embrace it, live with it and deal with it can be a challenge. However, the more you learn to embrace it, the more it provides for you in many aspects of your life. Often a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is misunderstood but just know that you are normal and you're not the only one out there! At one time, I would never have admitted this either but I'm at a point now in my life where I'm not ashamed to say that I am a HSP!

If you know you are a highly sensitive person or you know someone that is, I urge you to read the following book, The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron.






For Further Reading
1) Blog Post on Highly Sensitive People And Angels
2) The Highly Sensitive Person
3) Importance Of Introverts





Blog Post & Images (c) 1/19/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only

Curse Of Being Sensitive

Some people observe others who are happy, sad, depressed, or angry. For me personally, I not only observe this in others but then I feel all of their happy, sad, depressed, or angry feelings. I can feel these things in others from a distance. I can feel these things as a collective feeling of the environment around me. It is as if I'm watching scene after scene in a movie. It is no more difficult than that for me to pick up.

Of course, there is much more to it than my simple description above. It is highly involved. Often I fear that I pick up more than each individual actually realizes is going on within their own mind and body. Most likely, if people actually knew all that I picked up, they would run away from me in a frightened state of panic. I choose to keep this to myself in many ways as a result.

I do realize I am one of those highly sensitive people. Some days, I consider this to be a curse. Even though I know it is helpful to me in life in many different ways, being so sensitive is a heavy responsibility and load that I carry. My interaction with people are not just hello and goodbye. If it were only that easy, I would rejoice. My interactions are much more than this. I would not know what it meant, to be around others and not pick anything up.

While I do not ask for this and some days I curse it, I know it is who I am. I realize that many days I do not fully realize all that I pick up from others. It feels like a flood of information gushing from a giant hose. If I searched for a valve to stop it, I would not find one. Even after living with this all of my life, I still do not understand it. It scares and frightens me. Some days I have no rest from it.

I have been told that being sensitive is a good thing. Yet, at times in life, I feel tormented by it. When I was a young child, I grew up in an atmosphere that did not welcome it. My sensitivity did not fit in. Often, I was overwhelmed by all the insensitivity I lived around. My body felt all that was going on, while my eyes witnessed the events and my ears heard the cries. There were never enough silent tears of anguish for me to shed.

To this day and moment, I feel from such a distance to all that is going on around me. I am not even certain what all it is that I am picking up. It feels like information overload. I seek moments of peace far away from the lights, sounds, actions, movements and people. As I wrote in a poem that when I feel bombs bursting, I seek safety in the ground.

This world and this life is not an easy one to be a highly sensitive person. I have no idea if there is an easy way to live with this or if it will always be this difficult. I have no idea the shape or dimensions this side of me will take as I grow in life. Will it become clearer to me or will it disappear completely?

I would like to believe that with time, I will begin to understand more the ability that I possess. I would like to know that it would be there when it was most beneficial and would give me peace when it was not necessary. I would enjoy finding more moments of peace within my day even if this sensitivity remains on high alert. This is my hope.


(Above Picture - (c) 08/19/10)

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Highly Sensitive People and Angels

Reading the book, The Highly Sensitive Person, by Elaine N. Aron, I found a section that really hit home to me. There are many facets to people who are highly sensitive and this section I'm quoting here is just one part of what highly sensitive people are about.

"Some of you are wondering when I will talk about your own most significant spiritual experiences -- of visions, voices, or miracles, and of intimate personal relationships with God, angels, saints, or spirit guides." (page 224)

She goes on to state that people who are highly sensitive (HSP = Highly Sensitive Person) often have these spiritual experiences in abundance. While receptivity to these events seems to open up at different times in a person's life, HSP's are very open to these experiences. They sense things differently than most people and HSP's are just aware of things that most people do not even pick up on.

In the book, she goes on to share some specific, real life examples of how other HSP's have noticed these things and the experiences they have had. The book is worth reading especially if you are an HSP. It will help you realize that some of these things that you shun in life are actually blessings and gifts to your life. You will see that you aren't alone and if you are a very sensitive person, than this book will have an impact on your life. Being a highly sensitive person is much more than just being an emotional person that struggles to deal with all the energies around you in any given day. Our society often does not understand that being a highly sensitive person is a good thing and helps to balance out our society.

For a long time, I thought being highly sensitive was a curse. I knew I picked up on so much that often I was overwhelmed by so much in life. I would avoid people and crowd and usually I was very shy and kept to myself. In many ways, I still do that but I have learned more, how to be in the world, but not necessarily be overwhelmed by it. Although, I still do get overwhelmed from time to time.

Before I read this book, I was already learning that it was okay to be a highly sensitive person. I was learning that these parts of me that I had cursed all my life were actually blessings in how I would help others heal areas of their life. It took me a long time to understand any of that and see it as anything but a curse.

The book helped me understand that there were many others out there and that it was okay to be a highly sensitive person. While I'm not sure it shed much light for me, just knowing that I'm not alone, made a difference. The part at the end of the book that I quoted above was the most inspiring part to me. I've known for years that I pick up subtle energies and I know my angels are around me. What I didn't know was that this is normal for an HSP. It just helps reading that section above. It has made a big difference for me to know this.




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Book List

I just ordered these books the other day and am anxious to get them. They cover some topics that I'm very interested in and so I thought I would share them with everybody. Sometimes I don't find books that interest me and then lately, these just sort of jumped off the shelf at me. It is usually when this happens that the books really impact me a lot. Please feel free to browse through these and let me know if there are books you are reading that I might like as well. I'm always on the lookout for good books.



The Highly Sensitive Person
by Elaine N. Aron

From Amazon Review: Are you an HSP? Are you easily overwhelmed by stimuli? Affected by other people's moods? Easily startled? Do you need to
withdraw during busy times to a private, quiet place? Do you get nervous or shaky if someone is observing you or competing with you? HSP, shorthand for "highly sensitive person," describes 15 to 20 percent of the population. Being sensitive is a normal trait--nothing defective about it. But you may not realize that, because society rewards the outgoing personality and treats shyness and sensitivity as something to be overcome.






Lessons From the Light:
In-Sights From a Journey to the Other Side
by Sandi Rogers

The personal story of a woman who, in a near-death experience, caught a glimpse of the afterlife, presents the lessons learned by Rogers about human emotions, fears, and problems.

When Sandi Rogers attempted suicide, she had no idea that the experience would provide her with an unlimited capacity for living, learning, and loving. Now Sandi shares lessons everyone can use to promote understanding, love, compassion and the basic goodness of the Golden Rule. Foreword by Betty Eadie, author of Embraced by the Light.






You Are the Answer:
Discovering and Fulfilling Your Soul's Purpose
by Michael J Tamura

World-renowned spiritual teacher, healer, and clairvoyant, Michael J. Tamura shares his wisdom in this inspirational guide to true spiritual empowerment. You Are the Answer brings us profound spiritual lessons, highlighted by the author's powerful true stories. Discover how to use your intuition, make room for spirit in your life, and respond--instead of react--to everyday experiences. As you build a temple of the soul, you'll learn to recognize truth, create miracles in your own life, and find your purpose for living!

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The Highly Sensitive Person

I've known for years that I'm extremely sensitive - hyper sensitive as I always called it. When I was a kid, I would cry at the smallest things. One example I love to use is if a rock got kicked around (especially if it was my pet rock), I would cry or feel extremely sad. While most people hardly see this as something of significance, many things around me in nature and the world have always taken on a different meaning and significance to me.

Friends have nicknamed me "space cowboy" because I just picked up on things and sensed things. At first, I wasn't too happy about the nickname but then I began to look at all that I do pick up. Often times, I could not verbally tell you in detail what that is but I truly sense and feel so much. For such a long time, I thought everyone could do that but I am learning that most people are not even aware of it. And I pick all kinds of things up around me in all kinds of different ways.

For example, if I walk into a building, I can tell the "energy" or "mood" of the building. It is usually instant for me and has a lot to do with the people in the building but sometimes it seems like it is the building itself. If I'm around people especially in close proximity to them, I pick up their mood, their attitudes and its almost like I feel like I'm feeling or sensing or living through what they are in their lives. Sometimes I hear sounds that are so faint, no one around me hears. I'll hear delivery trucks or people walking on the street when I'm so far removed from them it would be difficult for ears to pick up. I sometimes smell the slightest scents from a distance and sometimes I can smell individual scents as well.

LOUD NOISES
One of the things for me though is I cannot take much loud music at all. Even what some would consider to be a normal level is often way to loud for me. It gets in the way of all that I hear and pick up and just causes confusion as well as me feeling overwhelmed. I look for quiet places and enjoy the quiet surroundings. Just hearing the sounds of nature can be more than enough for me and better than any symphony that could be performed.

SOLITUDE
While I enjoy being around people, I have to have my down time away from everyone. I need my space and I need my quiet peaceful moments. Being around too many people especially in close proximity can be very overwhelming for me and the only way I can do this is to find a quiet place to retreat. While I can talk to people, I do tend to be on the shy side until I get to know someone. Actually more often than not, I am more content watching people in crowds or social situations and their interactions than to have the desire of really wanting to interact with them. I do keep my distance from people.

PHYSICAL AILMENTS OF OTHERS
There are many times that I've been in study or discussion groups and picked up stomach problems, headaches, pains and different physical conditions. Often there is much more that I pick up and the more I go through my own healing in my life, the more this intensifies.

ANIMALS
Animals are one thing I've always been connected to and sometimes, I feel as if I pick up what they are feeling, thinking or experiencing. It feels to me that I can almost talk to them and listen to them. It is like they understand me and I understand them. Often in life, I've felt more at home with animals than people and much more understood by animals than people.

BRIGHT LIGHTS
Bright lights or intense sounds or flashing lights affect me in a big way. In my vehicle, I have a rear view mirror that auto dims at night when bright lights are behind me. Actually I had this added on to the vehicle when I bought it because otherwise, driving at night is just too difficult for me. Flashing strobe lights on TV or even with an emergency vehicle are almost painful for me to view. They almost hurt my eyes and I try to avoid looking at them.

WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO
I just became aware of a website and a book about Highly Sensitive People and I've got to read this book. For years, it has felt like a curse to be so sensitive and to take in all that I do. Some days, it is too much and I long to just escape all of it. Some days, I almost have to shut down just to deal with it and to be honest, it is frightening at times. I don't completely understand it or why I am the way I am. I know that trauma in my past has had a lot to do with how my brain developed but being sensitive in our world is not always regarded as positive.


SELF TEST
If you want to take a self test, the link is www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm


EXAMPLES OF BEHAVIORS
Here's a few things that Elaine Aron shares on her website, hsperson.com

--Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?

--Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?

--Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?

--Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?

--Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?

--Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?

--Do you have a rich and complex inner life?

--When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?


THE HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON by Elaine Aron
Here's the link to one of the books that Elaine Aron has written that I'm ordering and going to read. I'll keep you updated on the book as I read it.

Please feel free to comment or leave me a message if you're a highly sensitive person. I'd love to know that I'm not the only one out there.

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog