As we have seen, boundaries are a huge topic. So are close relationships. Thus, I will stick to those in “romantic” relationships, new or long-standing, and not talk about close friends and family members. Even with these limits, this grew to be very long. I had to limit myself a bit with dating, but most […]
Graceful Boundaries, Part III – Controlling your Boundaries is all about Volume
Being kind yet clear, compassionate yet self-protective, honest yet discreet—it really does require grace. But to be clear: There’s nothing graceful about having no control over your boundaries. We HSPs like to consider the needs of others and the situation before we pursue our own wishes. “I wonder what the rest of you are needing […]
Graceful Boundaries – Part II
To sum up Graceful Boundaries Part I, when needing to say no, of course it is important, especially to us, to be graceful by being polite, but without sounding weak. I also said that we do have innately somewhat thin boundaries, which is part of what gives us our depth of processing and empathy. But like […]
Graceful Boundaries – Part I
While working on the movie Sensitive and in Love, I was looking at the book Highly Sensitive People in Love and noticed I never discussed boundaries directly, although the subject was there often. Many people now are writing about HSPs and boundaries, so I think I will chime in, first with the basics, then something […]
Time and Transitions
We just completed a weekend workshop for parents, teachers, and counselors of highly sensitive children (HSCs) at 1440 Multiversity in Santa Cruz. They said it was much needed and appreciated. (This will repeat at Kripalu on the East Coast September 28-30—please let parents of HSCs know). A theme was the need to give HSCs time […]
Introversion, Extroversion and the Highly Sensitive Person
Guest Blog By: Jacquelyn Strickland, LPC According to the documentary Sensitive: The Untold Story, there are 1.4 billion highly sensitive people (HSPs) in the world (15-20% of the population). As Elaine Aron’s research has shown, 30% of that 15-20% of the HSP population are sensitive extroverts – or approximately 420 million HSPs. Unfortunately, due in great part […]
The Power of Inner Silence for HSPs
Last year I was asked by a Korean publisher to write what I would say if I were giving my “last lecture.” This was for a Korean-language anthology, in which many authors (most you would recognize) were offering their answer. For me the subject was easy–inner silence. You as an HSP understand my choice intuitively, […]
About High Sensitivity, Autism, and Neurodiversity
Dear Readers, I am writing this to tell you about a new perspective, neurodiversity, as a way to think about both high sensitivity and autism (otherwise quite different). The perspective applies to other brain differences as well, but it is especially appropriate to focus on autism because April is Autism Awareness Month. The neurodiversity viewpoint […]
Eight Ways to Take Care of Yourself, Please, While I’m Gone (and Beyond)
For about two years I have been planning a six-month sabbatical beginning this summer, a good space of time completely “off the grid.” Some serious downtime. I am enjoying excellent health so it has nothing to do with that. It is simply that some shifts in my life and my husband’s have allowed this for […]
A Different, Highly Sensitive Approach to the Holidays: Leading by Example
I would like to suggest a revolutionary approach to the holidays, although I hope some of you are already doing it. That would be to reduce or cut out the outer activities, and use more of the holidays for rest (yes!). Then in that rested state, you might reflect on the meaning of this time […]