The HSP Podcast with Julie Bjelland

As HSPs, one of the greatest challenges we face is managing our energy and our thoughts. This can wreak havoc when it comes to our well-being, productivity, and sense of self-value. 

It is often helpful to consider that we are not our minds. Even though our minds can feel so prominent to us as HSPs because of how extensively we are processing. 

The nature of who we are does not reside in our minds and thoughts. The truth of who we are is a much deeper experience. 

In this episode, we consider the pain associated with the false self we tend to identify with at the cost of our real sense of self. We look at the energetics of this. In other words, the energetic sensations we experience in our bodies, our hearts, and intuitive senses. 

We explore how we can learn to gradually shift our awareness back into self-ownership and experience the truth of who we are. A shift that can relieve us of a great deal of difficulty and lead us to a true sense of purpose, belonging, and self.  

Join us as we explore how to help our young HSP adults transition through major milestones such as finishing school, starting college, moving out of home, taking on their first jobs, and navigating the world around them.

Some of the topics discussed include:

The inherent challenges within transitions and their impact on HSPs

What needs young adult HSPs have from their family members during major transitions

What types of support young adult HSPs and/or their family members may need during times of transition

Types of tools that may be helpful during a transition and how to match tools/strategies to the needs of your particular situation

Join our Community

The trait of high sensitivity is becoming more and more widely known in the world these days. We are beginning to understand the advantages as well as learning how to manage our challenges. 

It is most encouraging to know that the trait is genetic and not caused through trauma or conditioning. It is naturally occurring and designed to give the human race an advantage. Our ability to process more deeply allows us to perceive and understand the world differently. It is understood that initially, nature gave us this ability to be aware of more in our surroundings to give us an evolutionary advantage for our survival. 

As we have evolved, so has our ability to utilize these abilities in the world. We are able to see a wider picture of information around us, especially in our own natural area of purpose and competence. 

This week we will look at the various areas of life that benefit greatly from our wider perspective such as schooling, the classroom and education, healthcare and wellbeing, and the corporate world of employees and managers. We also take a look at our role in leadership and supporting those in leadership.

The range of our ability provides new ways of seeing things to continue to promote change and evolution. Empowering each of us to recognize our own area of interest and the role we can play at a personal level.  

The notion of value can mean different things. Yet in the context of personal value, it can mean the difference between a life of struggle and one of meaning and abundance. As HSPs, the value we bring to the world is often connected to our ability to process more deeply. In other words, the way in which we see and perceive the world brings a valuable perspective to our respective arenas of interest. For example, if we work with people, the ability to see and feel more gives us a greater capacity to enthuse, guide and lead. If we work as therapists or coaches, our higher sensory awareness gives us a great advantage in perceiving what is in the way of someone’s well-being or potential.

Our perspective is often where our value lies. Yet, for many of us, the sensitivities that make this possible were not recognized as an advantage during our early development and schooling. Therefore we can sometimes find ourselves walking a path that we are told to or believe we should walk because society dictates. The end result often leads us away from being able to recognize and actualize our value. Join us this week as we explore how all of us, as HSPs, can find our value by recognizing the area of life that matters most to us. The benefits of owning self-value are there for us all, bringing the opportunity of a life of purpose, worth, and significance.

Willow shares: The depth of our relationship with the natural world is often a very important part of who we are as HSPs. Yet for many of us religion and spirituality become tricky areas. Usually because we have been having a powerful spiritual relationship with the world around us ever since we were little. Oftentimes we are told or taught as young people that our world view is supposed to fit into a particular genre or existing framework.

From all of my work with HSPs over the years, the connection we have at a deeper level with the world, is a big part of who we are. The part of us that feels into the truth of things. A deeper experience of reality, both within ourselves and the natural world. Feeling safe to explore this part of who we are, brings a great gift with it. It helps us to understand that our deeper experience of the true nature of things is very much aligned with our purpose and place in the world. That in fact the ability we have to commune with nature, ourselves and others at a deep level, is what gives us our ability to serve in a deep and meaningful way.

We are often referred to as the 'Spiritual Leaders', the 'Guardians of the Inner World' and the 'Spiritual Advisors'. Owning and knowing how to utilise this part of who we are is a wonderful act of self love and self acceptance.

Join me this week as I open the discussion around our high sensory experience from a spiritual point of view. An opportunity to begin to normalise a very important part of who we are. A part that can bring great clarity and meaning to the work we are here to do for both ourselves and humanity.

Climate anxiety and eco-grief are on the rise. Yet the terms are so new that you may not even know that’s what you’re experiencing. According to Dr. Stowe, Executive Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, the most important impact we, as individuals, can have on climate change is by increasing "climate conversations." So let's talk about it!

What I am sharing is non-political, non-judgmental, and not pressuring you to do anything. Quite the opposite. This podcast is for highly sensitive people who feel overwhelmed at the thought of the climate crisis, experience grief, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and/or other complex emotions. You may also feel stuck and unsure where to start or don't believe that you can make a difference. That’s ok because we hurt where we care.

Acknowledging fear and grief is our starting point. Once we accept our discomfort, we can learn tools to manage it. Once we understand the science of what motivates us, we can gain clarity on what we truly care about and what we do best. And once we meet others with similar interests and values, we can move forward with accountability, support and have fun along the way. 

Most importantly, let's give ourselves permission to take a deep breath. Therein lies the source of positive change, for ourselves, for those around us, and for our planet.

Big life changes (even positive ones!) can turn our worlds upside down. For HSPs, being able to put many routines on autopilot can save precious energy and processing time.

So how can we better navigate the big changes that interrupt our finely honed routines?

This event addresses why change impacts HSPs so much, and how we can better prepare for expected changes and bounce back sooner from unexpected ones. Several tools are offered for maneuvering effectively through change using openness, curiosity, and lightness.

As HSPs we actually have an advantage when it comes to discovering our purpose. Our ability to process the world at a deeper level allows us particular abilities. These abilities are intended and why the trait naturally occurs in 20% of the population. The way in which we each process the world from a sensory point of view is unique to each of us, yet it is happening for a reason. A reason that is linked to areas of life we each care deeply about. By exploring what matters to us most and considering how we have had particular callings since we were children, helps us to see how our sensory perception is actually designed to serves them. It is through this inquiry that we can begin to reveal innate areas of competence and how we can serve the world in a way that is deeply fulfilling. This in turn is how we can each find our area of interest and how this begins to reveal our purpose. Join us this week as we open the discussion around this exciting topic!

Sarah McCrum has a most intuitive and insightful perspective about money, how money is seen, how it is valued and how it is used.  Her enlightened approach has helped so many people make a real difference in their lives, both personally and professionally.

So much of what is possible for us to accomplish is unwittingly blocked by our own ingrained beliefs, our misalignment with receiving and our focus on worry and limitation.

There is a way forward through all of these challenges. In this refreshing presentation, Sarah will cover the following:

Sarah McCrum is an author, educator and business innovator. She's the Founder of Liberate Humanity, which is a place for learning and sharing the skills for liberation of the human spirit. Sarah has spent more than 20 years teaching and coaching business owners and their families. She's the creator of the innovative program, Thank You Money, based on the principles of her book, Love Money, Money Loves You. Over 10,000 people have completed courses with Sarah, building a relationship with money that's founded in love, abundance, generosity and nature.

Conscious living means paying attention to what supports our mind, body, and soul to help us live fulfilling, healthy lives. As sensitive people, we are exposed to and more affected by stress, environmental concerns, the energy of the people around us, and what we eat!

Overwhelm, anxiety, brain fog, low energy and mood, skin problems, pain, chronic health conditions, etc., can all improve when we make conscious choices about what is right for us and what isn’t.

Sometimes that means we do things out of the box, too, and we want to encourage and support you to pave your own path that works for you.

Mind

Manage stress, set boundaries, and live consciously. What supports you and what doesn’t?

Lowering your stress will have a significant impact on your health.

Body

Food is medicine, and it’s even more true for HSPs! What we put in our body, what is absorbed in our skin (the largest organ), and what we are exposed to daily in our environment can all significantly impact our health and well-being. Are you eating whole, healthy foods?  Processed foods aren’t good for anyone, especially HSPs!  What products are you using on your skin and cleaning with around your home? Are they natural or filled with chemicals that might be hurting you?

-Your body gives you cues about your wellness. With increased insula activation, you are even more conscious of how your body reacts.  Pay attention. Slow down and listen.

Soul

Living in a meaningful way, doing work, hobbies, volunteering, etc. that fulfill you is especially important for HSPs. Spend time every day in nature. It’s a reset button for us and incredibly good for our wellness!

We’ve covered so many topics supporting your wellness we encourage you to explore the episodes at HSPpodcast.com and join our Sensitive Empowerment Community and see how good it feels to be surrounded by kind-hearted HSPs living consciously.

Recommended Groups to Join in the Community

Every little bit helps. There is no such thing as perfection. Start with areas in your life that feel doable. Working on our inner selves with a guide can be so helpful too. Find an HSP coach, healer, or therapist on our HSP Practitioners Directory.

Thousands of people all over the world manage environmental sensitivities every day. While chemical sensitivity, mold sensitivity, and sensitivity to light and noise are more readily understood and accepted, there is still much-needed change around electrical sensitivity (EHS or sensitivity to EMFs). Environmentally sensitive people typically struggle with having these conversations due to the misperceptions, judgment, and negativity surrounding them.

The only way to bring about positive change and remove the stigma often associated with these sensitivities is through open and honest discussion, raising awareness, acceptance, and understanding of the impact environmental exposures have on day-to-day living for those who are sensitive.

Andrea Weber shares the importance of discussing environmental sensitivities with family, friends, and colleagues in this informative presentation and how to do this comfortably and confidently. The information shared is based on Andrea’s experience of what has and has not worked as an environmentally sensitive person.

Making decisions as HSPs can be taxing at the best of times. Our ability to process at a deep level means we can end up in an ever-expanding thought cycle. Things can become quite difficult when coupled with the anxiety of a potentially unwanted outcome. With high levels of intuition and the ability to feel deeply, we have a significant advantage in decision-making. When we allow it, there is a strong sense of knowing that is there to guide us on a day-to-day basis. Yet how can we tap into these abilities more consciously and come to rely on them? In this episode, we look at some tried and tested methods that can be valuable tools in this area. Including what it means to support a decision once it has been made. We will also explore the common sensation of expansion and contraction that many of us experience in our bodies when we ask for guidance. We will also look at the differences between thinking and knowing and the profound relationship many HSPs have with the notion of truth.

Calling all Empaths!  Do you and your children have difficulty discerning which emotions are yours vs. which belong to other people? As a parent, do you sometimes get overwhelmed or into conflict with your sensitive empathic child when they show intense emotions?  This event includes an overview of the energetic anatomy of empathy and an introduction to three energy healing techniques which may support you and your child in managing emotional input and fostering feelings of calm in your relationship.  There is an experiential component in the last 10 minutes during which you will be guided to use the three tools.

Carolina Mariposa, M.S., M.I.M., is a licensed psychotherapist and medical intuitive who specializes in working with highly sensitive children, teens and parents.  She also has the sacred responsibility of being a mother to a strong, sensitive and empathic child.  She is passionate about teaching HSP's to connect with their innate wisdom so that they feel more grounded, joyful, creative and empowered.  While she is endorsed in California as an Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist, she loves supporting children of all ages and collaborating with those who see parenthood as an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth.

During this self-care practice, Sara gently guides us through a series of at-home rituals and sends us healing reiki to help create a clear and clean energetic line. I encourage you to revisit this whenever life gets overwhelming and you desire peace, calm, and focus.

Please add your comments and thank Sara for sharing these beautiful tools with us ❤️

Sara Lopez is an intuitive coach, empath expert, and reiki healer in Vermont, U.S. She is the founder of Empath Magic, a digital community for empaths creating focused transformation.

Sara’s experience with chronic pelvic pain and severe anxiety in her 20’s finally led her on a journey to overcome overwhelm from high sensitivity. When she learned about highly sensitive people and empaths, she finally understood herself better and learned to navigate the world in a new way.

Her journey led her to teaching in the public schools for 14 years and then to doing an intensive apprenticeship with women’s health experts based in New York City. From there, she coached countless women struggling with pelvic pain.  She found something was missing from the women’s health coaching world: the emotional piece. When she began supporting women to focus on emotional healing, she was amazed to watch them find physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental balance and transformation.

Julie and Willow answer your HSP Questions!

Realizing you have environmental sensitivities to things like chemicals, EMFs or mold can be overwhelming. Many people don't know much about these sensitivities, what to do, where to go for help or how to explain what's happening and this can lead to additional stress and emotional burden on top of what is already being experienced with physical symptoms.

This insightful presentation will cover the following:

- Self-compassion through initial overwhelm
- Gaining perspective and the next steps to take
- Finding a medical practitioner who can help
- Immediate interventions to reduce exposures
- Working through tools for relief and wellbeing
- Planning ahead to minimize triggers
- Thinking about the future in terms of home/work environments

Discovering you have an environmental sensitivity can be an overwhelming and isolating experience with so many questions, emotions, and decisions to make. In this informative presentation, Andrea shares how to navigate your way through this and provides a practical roadmap of important considerations.  It's empowering and reassuring to know that there are things you can do to make a difference and that help and support are available.

We often hear how important it is that we believe in ourselves, yet what if we are struggling to make something happen? It is all too easy to slip into self-doubt and a spiral of negative beliefs. One of the greatest resources we have as HSPs is our commitment to our growth and development. Also, our tenacity to pursue our personal evolution and what is most important to us in the world. When it comes to believing and trusting ourselves there are some very useful tools and techniques we can use that help us to access this in any and all circumstances. For instance, when we allow ourselves to look back over our lives we will see that have evolved and we have grown through many challenges. There is a great deal of evidence of us finding a way and being successful. Even if those examples may not be to the degree we wanted, the evidence is there nonetheless. In this episode, we take a look at why it is important not to be over-critical when we are in transition or doing our best to achieve something important. Instead by recognizing the deeper truth of our ability we can access and develop a reliable source of trust and belief in ourselves.

William writes...“On many occasions, Dr. Elaine Aron has written that Highly Sensitive People were designed by nature to perform an evolutionary function. We are the wise counselors, the cautious advisors, and the thoughtful and empathetic souls who aid the human race.

We are at an important juncture in human history. A form of exploitative and dominance-focused masculinity has been running the planet for millennia. The consequences of this form of masculinity are evidenced in the planet's current state. We as a planet are in a state of imbalance, as we allow this form of distorted masculinity to jeopardize our future.

After getting a degree in Psychology with an eye on doing psychology research, he recalibrated for a career in Information Technology. He found himself in a thirty-year career as an Information Technology manager at Wells Fargo who enjoyed managing highly intelligent, often difficult staff, many of whom were highly sensitive.

As we know it in the West, masculinity is not always inclusive, emotionally expressive, empathetic, intuitive, or nurturing – all qualities that HSPs come by naturally. As a result, HSP men have often been left out of this exclusive club, as have many others identifying as male. This must change not only for men's sake but also for the planet.

It is important to understand that masculinity is by and large a cultural construct and is learned. We can reshape the construct to be less toxic for men, allowing men to become fully human in their ability to be authentic, loving, strong, empathetic, and constructive. Being a male is not the issue. It is about the cloak of masculinity that many men wear, which is hurtful and dangerous. I believe that HSP men and members of the LGBTQ+ community can serve as role models for this new form of masculinity. These two communities share a common goal of recognition and inclusion.”

William Allen is an author with a writer’s heart and researcher’s mind. After getting a degree in Psychology with an eye on doing psychology research, he recalibrated for a career in Information Technology. He found himself in a thirty-year career as an Information Technology manager at Wells Fargo who enjoyed managing highly intelligent, often difficult staff, many of whom were highly sensitive.

He retired early from his corporate job to start his Hypno-coaching and neurofeedback brain training business, BrainPilots, in Bend, Oregon. In late 2016, he began his blog, The Sensitive Man, about his experiences, as a highly sensitive man. The blog became the genesis of his first book, Confessions of a Sensitive Man. His new book, On Being a Sensitive Man, is the follow-up book, which focuses on how to live in the world as a sensitive man.

He feels that HSP males need to take their keen insights and intuition and make them public. He would like to shed more light on highly sensitive males and the much-needed role they need to take in our society.

As HSPs we can often feel like we are in constant battle with ourselves internally. Almost like interference with our own energy and well-being. Whilst this sounds counterintuitive to our own happiness we can often be unaware of how much we are doing it. The cause of this is often as a result of feeling we needed to hide our true feelings as children in order to protect ourselves. The trouble is as adults this no longer serves us and can have a great cost to our health, well-being, and personal success. Some of the signs to look out for are inner tension and a habit of constantly second-guessing what we feel, think and do. The good news is, this habit can be reversed once we take the first step of becoming aware of it. Then we can gradually move towards the promotion of a calm and loving inner experience as we learn to be ourselves again as adults. Join us this week as we look out for the warning signs and the ways in which to bring balance and healing to this most meaningful endeavor.

Guilt and shame tend to be a big problem for HSPs.

For the purposes of this episode, we are going to discuss this in relation to the trait of high sensitivity.

Guilt Culprits: We often try to please people. We don’t want to experience their disappointment. We try to do the right thing. We might feel guilty for setting boundaries, taking alone time, or needing to do things differently.

Shame culprits: Most of us have been told our whole lives that something is wrong with us for being “too sensitive” so we often walk around with shame about who we are.

Guilt and shame are exhausting and drain our energy. If we take alone time to restore but we feel guilty when we do it then we don’t restore. It even zaps us of our energy!

If we feel shame about who we are we have a hard time putting ourselves out into the world and deeply connecting to who we really are and finding our life purpose.

Ways to intentionally let go of guilt and shame

1. Acknowledge, normalize and validate your experiences

2. Learn about your positive gifts within this trait of high sensitivity.

3. Practice self-compassion for the hard feelings as it helps us feel more resilient too

4. Set boundaries. Redirect to internal focus. Remind yourself why you had to set that boundary or say no and remember your inner child’s needs.

5. Know that when we give up our needs we don’t thrive and that’s not good for anyone. Your needs are not less important than other people's needs.

6. Shift your mindset. It’s not possible to “please” anyone. That’s not our job, that’s their job.

7. Surround yourself with people who support you and limit or let go of those that don’t. Know that this community supports you! ❤️

8. Be intentional and give time to consciously shift

9. Seek out support from an HSP Psychotherapist who can be a great source of support to guide us through the deep parts. Check out the HSP Practitioners Directory!

10. Keep practicing! The more you practice the easier it is to release the guilt and shame. 

From Martina: "ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF BEING AN HSP IS FINDING IT HARD TO IDENTIFY AND LISTEN TO YOUR INNER GPS SYSTEM, YOUR INTUITIVE GUIDANCE. THESE MESSAGES ARE OVERSHADOWED BY YOUR NATURAL EMPATHY AND ABILITY TO FEEL WHAT SOMEONE ELSE FEELS. ADDITIONALLY, SOCIETY GIVINGS YOU FALSE MESSAGES, TELLING YOU HOW YOU "SHOULD" BE. IN ORDER TO TRULY UNDERSTAND AND BE ABLE TO STAND IN YOUR STRENGTHS, YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP THE COURAGE TO TRUST YOURSELF."

Blockages in our energy systems can make it challenging to achieve a sense of calm. Learn how to clear and recharge your chakras to feel calm and clear and increase your flow.

As a percentage of the population nature has given us an ability to process sensory information more deeply. Our amazing trait is intended. Just as the role we are here to play in the world is intended. For many of us as HSPs, we have had to work out our place for ourselves. Learning how to find self-love and acceptance without guidance. Yet for many of us we are aware that beneath the challenges we often face, there is something we are good at. Something aligned with an area of life that fascinates us. So many of us as HSPs assume that everyone has these abilities. Yet nature has given us an ability to process more information for a reason. The truth is that not everyone can interpret the world in the way we can. Not everyone can feel as deeply as we can and not everyone has that secret little awareness that surprises us time and time again. When we assume that everyone can do what we do, we devalue this gift we have been given. Which in turn means we are devaluing ourselves and the responsibility we have to own the role that was intended for us. Join us this week as we consider the importance of exploring and developing what might seem normal to us, yet in fact, could well be abilities that are here to create a powerful impact on the world...

In this unique and inspirational event, Andrea will discuss the following:

People can find fulfillment and wellbeing with the challenges of managing environmental sensitivity.  Practical tools, renewed perspective, acceptance, and self-empowered management can all help to achieve this.

Quick Definition: Sensory overload is when our senses take in more information than our brain can keep up with processing.

In this episode:

We take in more data than the majority.  When our brain is overwhelmed by this input, it enters the fight/flight/freeze mode making us want to flee or fight or we might shut down. Once that is activated everything changes!

Imagine that happening every day and what impact that might have on our health! Sensory overload is really hard sometimes and this is just a portion of our experience.

Solutions:

Further Recommended Resources from Julie and Willow

My goal for this conversation with Sarah is that we open minds to the possibility that sometimes what’s been traditionally taught to us might not work for us and that we are free to explore what does! I want to normalize that doing things differently is OK! I want to normalize that doing things that work for us is a good thing!

I spent many years forcing myself into the boxes that were given to me that never quite fit and it’s my mission to help HSPs hear the messages that it’s ok to do something non-traditional.

For example, I think many HSPs want to have separate sleeping spaces or live separately and I’ll share some of my personal experiences with that with the hope to normalize it and show that there are many different ways to be in relationships that can sometimes work better for HSPs. You don’t even have to be in a relationship either! Many HSP Empaths especially find it feels better being single. Our goal is to normalize what feels best to you.

Sarah shares her personal experiences with polyamory and ethical non-monogamous relationships in hopes that we open minds to the fact that there are many different ways to be in relationships.

I personally love the idea of no labels, no boxes, no “shoulds” and creating our own way based on what intuitively feels right for us.

Part of empowerment for me means freedom to live in the way that works for us and acceptance and openness to many different ways of doing things!

Sarah is a marriage and family therapist practicing in Minneapolis, MN and specializes in highly sensitive individuals, relationships, and sexuality. She is bisexual and polyamorous and believes there are many ways to have fulfilling, healthy, and thriving relationships.

Sarah Mathews MA, LMFT

SarahMathewsLMFT.com

#612-399-6133

The way we think as HSPs is powerful and unique. We are deeply caring people and we are able to process key perspectives in life from many interesting angles. The way we see the world around us brings a great many insights to parenting, the workplace, movements, and also thought leadership as a whole. If you have thought about writing a book, starting a blog, or just making your unique perspective better known, this episode will be for you. This is a chance to explore your natural thought leadership abilities and how you can bring your unique perspective as an HSP into the world in a way that is meaningful and potent to support change. Join us this week as we continue to explore the important roles we play in leadership as HSPs in the world.

In this episode, we talk about…

From the Sensitive Empowerment Community here were qualities that HSPs named about Traditional Leadership vs Sensitive Leadership…

Traditional Leadership

Sensitive Leadership

Challenges to become a leader as expressed by HSPs we spoke with…

Solutions

As an HSP we have a series of natural abilities. Abilities that we sometimes overlook and assume that everyone has. Heightened levels of intuition, creativity, and empathy can be incredibly useful for a range of purposes. These gifts can help us to guide others, to facilitate situations and also give us important information. Sometimes we can take for granted the advantages these can give us and even gloss over how powerful they can be. In fact it is these abilities that makes us stand out, especially in terms of our own self recognition. Join us this week as we explore the intelligence these skills give us and how we can best use them for our own development and in order to be of the best service we can be for others.

Dr. Judith Orloff shares: 

"As a psychiatrist and an empath, I am fascinated by how the phenomenon of empathy works. I feel passionately that empathy is the medicine the world needs right now. Empathy will be the deciding factor between war and peace, between hatred and tolerance. We need to grow larger than our smaller selves and egos to be empathic in our lives. Empathy is the game-changer. It is the trait that will ultimately save the world.

I feel passionately that empathy is the medicine the world needs right now. Empathy will be the deciding factor between war and peace, between hatred and tolerance. Empathy is the game changer. It is the trait that will ultimately save the world.

There is a powerful connection between your emotions, intuition, and empathy. The magic comes when you learn how to tap into each of them to fully access your sensitivities without going on overload or becoming drained. 

In this talk Dr. Orloff answers these questions:

Join us for a generative discussion on how we can leverage the power of music in our everyday lives to help us feel, heal, and thrive. This special session will include an immersive sound bath meditation to experience the power of sound healing in practice.

As highly sensitive people, we feel the world more acutely than others. And yet, we live in a culture that fears emotion. Often, we deny, repress, and hide our emotions, feeling like there is something wrong with us when we experience anger, anxiety, frustration, insecurity, overwhelm, and more. Left unexpressed, our emotions can accumulate into dis-ease, physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. But the truth is, we must feel in order to heal. Music is a powerfully under-utilized resource to help us regulate and process our emotions so that we can increase our resilience for uncomfortable feelings and life stressors, release pent up and painful emotional energy, and ultimately calm our nervous systems to regain internal balance. Join us to experience it for yourself!

We want all HSP's to know that this powerful resource of music and sound healing can be used regularly to help them cultivate emotional resilience and nervous system regulation in their lives. AND that it can help us to tap more deeply into our superpowers for empathy, intuition, and creativity so that we can share our gifts more fully with the world.

Lena Laki

Lena Laki is a German-born indie-folk singer/songwriter based in Athens.

Her Debut EP "Take Me With" has received radio play on radio stations such as BBC Radio, and acclaim from international media. Gigslutz (UK) made her the 'Discovery of the Week', hailing Lena as “One of those ultimately talented musicians it is essential to appreciate“, while Love is Pop (US) declared Lena’s material as "Magical music... nothing short of gorgeous."

Her music can be described as dark and dreamy indie folk with a hint of jazz.

Influences range from Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake to Radiohead and Goldfrapp.

"Dream folk with a hint of gold to soothe your soul." (Phoenix Session, UK)

Have you ever wondered how what you eat can impact brain structure and function? Are you curious to know what, if any role diet plays in mood? Research shows that factors such as our blood sugar levels, nutrient deficiencies, and gut microbiome imbalances can all play pivotal roles in our experience of mental health. Join us to learn about the nutrients that are essential to keeping the brain and the nervous system happy, as well as how to balance neurotransmitters. You'll also learn how to stabilize blood sugar levels to prevent symptoms of anxiety and low mood, as well as covering the fascinating link between the gut and the brain and what to eat to optimize digestion.

About Anastasia:

As Highly Sensitive People it’s easy to believe we’re bad, broken, or otherwise ill-equipped for this noisy, busy, and messy world. We often feel not quite enough. But as we deepen our roots of self-awareness and self-compassion and learn to take imperfect action toward building a life and world we want to live in, our inner critic grows quieter, we become rooted and resilient, and we realize that as HSP’s we are gifted, needed, and very much on-purpose.

Your body gives you intake within your intuition every day.

It gives you extra important information,  helps with making decisions, knowing what’s right for you, if you can trust someone, and gives you cues about what you need for your health and well-being.

What body cues do you observe when something isn't quite right?

What does your intuition feel like when something is right for you?

In what ways does your intuition help you?

Intuitive healing energy can be powerful in HSPs. Believe in healing and stay open to receiving it.

We have an extra level of conscious awareness and stronger intuition, giving us additional information and a deeper understanding.

4 main types of intuition

How to strengthen and tap into your intuition

We don't help the world by taking on its pain.

Gently detoxify the body and mind with ancient tools of Ayurveda.  Our body is like a magnificent machine that benefits much like a car does when it gets an oil change and a tune-up.  Feel more energy, improve your digestion, and feel cellular bliss! Ancient Ayurveda detoxification therapies for HSP's is gentle and doable.

Rose shares: HSP's can really benefit from a seasonal cleanse, and that it does not have to be a harsh cleanse, that the effectiveness of the cleanse does not have to difficult, it can be blissful and gentle to get the desired results.

How we overcome the inner battles we face and what fuels our strength to show up in our own unique way.

We can remember and honor the Black leaders before us and we can also honor the new and upcoming leaders during Black History Month.  Black HSP's can struggle more than others with the inner dialogue of who we should be in the world and deeply feel the turmoil and injustice in the world.  Both of our generation and generations before us.   We all want to find our own path and can be faced with family or authorities telling us who we should be, cannot be or will never be.   I want to have a conversation with other Black HSP's who struggle with choosing to become the leader they are meant to be or settling into the identity that others put upon you.  We are all whole and complete as we are and have the power to heal old wounds and beliefs to become the leader we were meant to be within and without.

Unique challenges and benefits of being a highly sensitive person when it comes to sex and sexuality. Additional information on relationship styles, sexual identity, and sexual preferences.

Sarah shares,  "It is ok to be the HSP you are with the sexual preferences that you have!"

Some of what we discussed during this episode:

HSPs are often rated as some of the best employees in businesses and organizations. With the way we work undergoing so many changes around the world, a wonderful opportunity emerges to bring new awareness to the workplace. The way things are at the moment our needs can often be left unmet as we try to fit into environments and schedules that are not suited to us. We have a chance to consider new ways that best support HSP productivity and present them to our managers in readiness for the return to work. Or as managers and business owners to address the needs of our HSP employees. Join us this week as we focus on the ways in which we can improve our work lives. To become more aligned to our needs as employees and self-employed business owners.

From Sydney, "Being a Highly Sensitive Person has its own unique set of challenges and beautiful moments. When we factor in the added worldview of being a person of color, it changes the way in which we identify and relate to our sensitivities and sometimes we may not give ourselves permission to show up authentically. Join the discussion in identifying what may be hindering you from acceptance of your sensitive trait and tips on navigating the world as a highly sensitive person while black.

I want my HSP audience to receive the message that they don't have to align with the narrative that sensitivity means weakness and can embrace that side of themselves if it's there."

As many of us didn’t receive the right training we needed as children in order to really understand our trait as HSPs, we can often take for granted the gifts it gives us. This can mean that we tend to focus on the challenges rather than the advantages. Since the trait enables us to process sensory data more deeply the way this actualizes as higher sensory abilities can be very rewarding. Whilst we may be aware of these abilities to an extent we often gloss over them in the way they were when we were children. In reality, these abilities are deeply aligned with our gifts, what’s most important to us and what makes us great at what we do. When we find the right language to share them it’s much easier to bring them into service for our benefit and the benefit of others. Join us this week as we continue the conversation about learning to normalize the high sensory abilities we are born with and how to bring them into conscious ownership.

HSPs are more intuitive, empathic, creative, and have extra special abilities. Recognize your value and embrace and honor your gifts! 

Roger has a heart-centered holistic approach to recovery that I think is incredibly valuable and that HSPs will appreciate.  He shares 4 Keys to resilient recovery in this episode. Uncovering the big guideposts of knowledge and action that help support a person who desires serenity and growth while abstaining from mind altering substances.

Roger L'Hereault

- Addiction Recovery Educator and founder of Courage Recovery, a self-help digital course provider

-Addiction recovery professional since 2002

-Has taught clients ages 12 to 88 how to adapt and thrive in their recovery from mind-altering substances

Answering live HSPquestions! Some of the Questions Covered...

"From a young age, we are taught to stifle our tears. We are trained that our tears are a burden to others, a sign of weakness, a useless display. This does us a great disservice! Tears are an amazing tool our body uses to process both joy and grief. So what happens when you remove the stigma and allow tears from yourself and those around you? Amazing healing takes place.

Everyone's ability to and need for crying is different, so how do you embrace what is right for you? Today we explore the societal stigmas around tears, the science of how they help us, and how you personally can begin to heal the barriers preventing us from fully utilizing the gifts of our tears.

Protecting our energy is incredibly important, and yet, many of us have not been taught this essential skill.  How do we protect ourselves when we have to be around difficult people or negative energy?  HSP Empaths particularly are more challenged by being around negative energy.

Wow, this was a powerful event that moved me and several of us to tears. Willow has an extraordinary gift of facilitating a connection of HSPs to their gifts!

You are invited to a mastermind with Willow McIntosh showing you how to turn your high sensitivity into high sensory intelligence for service, business and soul fulfillment!

Until we witness for ourselves what it is like to see the world as a deep sensory experience, it is very difficult to bring our purpose into action.

What is the process?

It is a facilitation designed to bring you into ownership with your high sensory intelligence and alignment with your purpose.

There will be a presentation about the process with a live facilitation included with the sole focus of empowering you into the recognition of who you are and you are here to serve.

The process itself is a guided facilitation using a unique process of deep inquiry based on years of research and experience.

It includes:

01. A direct experience of your unique cognitive reality

The way in which you see the world through the eyes of high sensory intelligence is unique. It is accurately designed to support the very way in which you are here to serve. This process enables you to witness it for yourself (often for the first time) allowing you to take full ownership.

02. The journey of your life holds the key to your transformation

As a high sensory lightworker, life will have been challenging you in a particular area. By seeing this in an entirely new light you will be able to reframe it in such a way that it will reveal your area of expertise. Furthermore, you will get a powerful insight into who your ideal clients are.

03. The cause in your life that is most important to you.

Ever since you were a child there will have been a calling that you hold most dear. Everything pivots around the discovery of this from a place of deep acknowledgment. Once this is seen with higher awareness the meaning of your life will take on a whole new perspective.

What are the outcomes this is intended to give you?

For HSPs, the energy from the field is overwhelming right now as global and community fears are high. We not only need a new level of self-care, but a paradigm shift in our relationship to that energy to keep ourselves from being totally overwhelmed. Jodi Aman shares the secrets to doing this.

Jodi wants to teach us how to protect and empower ourselves right now. Embracing our sensitivity so it serves us instead of hurting us.

We started out with a beautiful grounding technique followed by answering questions from HSPs!

“Tips for staying calm no matter what the outcome of the US election!”☺️

“I am amazed at how little I know about my own emotions. I am now using emotions wheels to help me identify emotions when they occur. I thought (assumed!) that I knew what emotions were when they occurred. Thanks to you I am listening and learning so much.”

“What is the connection with Sensitives and overeating for comfort? Especially as I get older I’d like to be good to my body with healthful eating.”

"I'm new to this community and so excited to be here. I have recently started working in non profit work as a mental health counselor, love the work, but means back-to-back clients, never-ending paperwork, and being on the short road to burnout! I want to accrue enough hours to get licensed so this job is where I'll likely stay for the next 2 years but I end the day feeling so wired and tired, anxious, flushed, my sleep's suffering... As a fellow therapist, any advice for newbie therapists? Thanks!"

"What are your favorite resources for HSPs who are also empaths?"

"My dog is having seizures, how do you recommend I handle this situation emotionally at the time he is having his seizures?"

"Is being skeptical a trait of being HSP? I find especially more lately that I am very skeptical of people & their motives?"

"I had some friendship trauma in my teens and early 20s which made me feel afraid to develop new friendships for years….I want to be open and honest about my past traumas when appropriate, but I have a fear of judgment around friendships. Do you have any advice on how I could share my experience of friendships in an empowered way?"

HSPs tend to be over-givers and toxic people tend to be over-takers. This dynamic has been played out for many of us either in our families, friendships, romantic relationships, or even with work colleagues.

Types of toxic relationships included in this discussion:

Relationship stages

Here are some pieces discussed:

Recognizing Red Flags in Toxic Relationships

A few questions answered

Please share this episode and review the podcast to help us help more HSPs! 

What was modeled in our childhood can impact how we view relationships and perceive what is ok and what isn’t.

Seek therapy if you had a lot of dysfunction or abuse in your childhood or past relationships to shift patterns and learn what is ok and what isn’t.

Slow down and give yourself the gift of meditation. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and let me guide you to a state of self-love and self-honoring. You will find yourself becoming more conscious of your internal world and making choices that make you feel good.

Michael shares: “I share my process of allowing my higher self to guide me on my journey of healing and transformation. You have an innate guidance system that will help you navigate difficult times and reveal paths to grow and transform into your greatest self.

Finding a balance between empathy, healthy boundaries and personal power can help you live a freeing life of joy, empowerment, and a sense of peacefulness.”

Have you ever been asked the question, what is your reality? Or how do you see the world? One of the greatest tools we have as an HSP is the way in which our cognitive perception works. We get so used to how we experience sensory information we forget that it is actually different from non-HSPs. Yet,  why is it important to know this? The way in which we perceive the world around us is in fact in direct correlation to our gifts, abilities, and purpose. In fact, when we consider this more deeply we come to realize that the way we think and see the world is often due to a particular focus we have. A fascination and slant on life that has been with us since we were children. When we identify this and learn to trust it, we are often led into a deeper understanding of ourselves and the way in which we are born to serve. Join us this week where we will discuss how this occurs, how to reveal the gifts it holds for you, and how you can learn to bring it into alignment with the work you love to do.

Today we celebrate our 100th Episode on World HSP Day! Yay!  I'm answering HSP questions!

Here are the questions HSPs asked from my Sensitive Empowerment Community!

I do live events in my Sensitive Empowerment Community every week and I'm there every day offering support.   Hope you join our beautiful HSP family!

Current times are challenging. Several months into a pandemic with no known end in sight, dividing families, economic crisis, racial unrest, political divide, climate crisis, etc. Families are struggling. It’s easy for fear to take over in all this uncertainty and when you combine the intensity of emotion we experience as HSPs it can be overwhelming. In survival mode, we just try to get through the day but there is something different about those listening right now. You are taking a step toward empowerment by choosing to listen to this podcast. Those of you attending live have taken several steps to join our Sensitive Empowerment Community and that’s taking intentional action toward change and that is exciting! You are open to a shift away from inaction to action and a shift in mindset. Consider this...

When you lift heavy weights it tears down muscle tissue. But when you feed your body the right nutrition afterward, the muscles repair themselves and become even stronger than before. If we think of challenges in the same way we might be torn down from them but with the right care and balance, we can be even stronger. Just as a muscle is stronger after the repair, so are we!

You might have noticed that in our own stories and in the HSP guests we’ve had that most of the HSPs rising up into their potential, helping others in some way, started out of a challenge. How can we become stronger in this current challenge?

Know that your purpose can be found within this challenge. What calls out to you? Are you listening? Let’s discuss it!

Come join us in the Sensitive Empowerment community! 

Members receive:

We will learn how the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can help HSPs deal with overwhelm or feelings of stress, anxiety, or shyness, or can help them excavate and identify feelings they’ve lost touch with and we will go through a round or two of EFT so we can be comfortable using it on ourselves.

Terry wants us to know that the power to feel better, calmer, less overwhelmed, and clearer is literally in our own hands.

She shares: "I will offer tips and information about how Emotional Freedom Techniques can help calm the nervous system, facilitate clarity, and eliminate unhelpful beliefs (i.e., “If I say no, they won’t like me... .”

Joy! What does it look and feel like to be truly happy as an HSP? What is it exactly we are striving for? Are we often comparing our happiness to what it looks like in non HSPs? The pursuit of happiness is a huge topic in itself and is often referred to as being only attained through the acceptance that we can’t be happy all the time! However it goes deeper and research indicates that happiness means the pursuit of meaning, service and authentic social relationships. Whilst there is certainly a need for meaning, service and authentic relationships for us, how should we be pursuing this as HSPs? What do these things really look like for us? What do we value as most important in our lives as HSPs that perhaps is not being acknowledged when we compare to the happiness of non HSPs? Are we truly recognising and honouring our needs? Are we being honest about what truly makes us feel a sense of contentment, achievement and happiness? Where might we be over processing or over complicating what happiness really means to us? Join us this week as we consider the importance of recognizing whether we are on the right path in the pursuit of our own individual happiness as an HSP. 

Dreams are a powerful tool for deep self-knowledge and inner guidance. Why dreams matter,  the different kinds of dreams, dream interpretation, dream retention.

Loved the power of this conversation so much!  Enjoy the meditation she does at the end too! 

Emotional integration ( the mindfulness of feeling) is a unique technique that everyone can learn to create a healthy and positive relationship with their emotions especially for those of us that are highly sensitive people.

Lucia shares: "I would love to talk about the importance of normalizing feeling our emotions, and how to do that. For us HSP we feel so much, that it's easy to get overwhelmed and shut down. Emotional Integration and meditation have transformed the lives of many people and I would love to talk about how it offers a new tool and hope for those that need it."

Here are the questions submitted from my Sensitive Empowerment community.

What are some effective ways I can practice to try to quiet or tune out the words that others have said to me so that I can focus on taking care of myself?

I often find that I am responding to what's going on outside of me, and in particular, what others are thinking about me, instead of responding to what is going on inside of me. In doing so, I lose touch with myself and don't get my needs met a lot of the time.

Although EHS (electromagnetic sensitivity) has very physical symptoms, I'm wondering about the emotional connection, have you noticed these types of physical-emotional connections, and do people benefit if they are able to work through these things as well as the physical symptoms?

I know many HSPs suffer from chronic illnesses, and I'm wondering if there are any particular kinds of illnesses we tend to suffer from more than others?

I’m trying to figure out “healthy helping” and could use some insight on this. Most recommendations of putting your oxygen mask on first etc make sense but I think my deeply caring side struggles so much with thinking others are suffering.

I think us HSPs are natural helpers and so others often come to us for support. But how to balance being there for others with our own needs for rest, self-care, etc. and not to get overwhelmed?

I suffer a great deal with injustice to humanity. It paralyzes me. It could be at any level and it affects me. There are times I can't listen or read the news because it hurts so much. I know what happens out there is greater than myself and there is so much one can do, but if it wouldn't bother me so much maybe I could do things about it. That's one of my goals now that I joined this group, to focus and be creative about it. But, I would like to know if you have some suggestions to manage those strong feelings about injustice.

I love to learn, I am always learning something and it is a great joy for me, but I could be in the middle of learning something (and writing at the same time) and I get so happy about what I am learning that I have to stop and process it for a while before returning to what I was learning/writing/developing ideas, etc, but in that process, I interrupt ideas and let them go, which disappoints me, need suggestions.

I would like some advice on how to believe more in myself. Especially when it comes to my creative work. There always seems to be part of me that panics when I think about showing my art, my stories, etc. Where I see other writers and think "they are so much better than me", how to collect braveness in my personal creativity. For writing and painting. There I wobble so much more and find myself burying myself in anxiety, "not good enough", etc. Any suggestions?

I would be really curious to hear any suggestions or ideas you may have about how to slow down to get the rest you need when life does not slow down with you.

I’m wondering about how to set boundaries with friends. I really need social time but I get exhausted. I love sharing and talking with friends about our experiences and inner lives but some of my friends tell very detailed stories and I just can’t listen for that long. I know I need to say something but I’m not sure what to say or how it might look.

Have a question for me? Connect to me directly in my beautiful Sensitive Empowerment community. I'm there every day offering support and we do weekly live events that support our growth and empowerment. You can also explore our incredible HSP Library of all our events!  

Discussing honoring sensitivity, LGBTQ equality, equal rights, educating ourselves about how to heal systemic racism and how we can support black, indigenous people of color  (BIPOC)

Our ancestors who lived in tribes honored the sensitive in the group because of our natural gifts. We were the highly valued and respected healers, guides, and leaders of the tribe because of our unique gifts. This high sensitivity trait evolved for the particular survival of the population because of our unique gifts and their importance to the world.

Somewhere along the way, society got too busy and started giving us messages that who we are and how we experience the world is different and wrong in some way. I say it’s time to change that message back into a place of honoring who we are and embracing diversity in general.

Why is there such a push to have everyone be the same? Differences are needed and beautiful and valuable.  With differences comes important perspective, creativity, details, and information!  It’s time to embrace and honor differences!

Let’s be the change the world needs and cherish authenticity and a loving acceptance of everyone.  Let’s honor the sensitive. Let’s embrace the fluidity and spectrum of sexuality and gender.  Let’s cherish Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.  I truly believe it is HSPs that care so deeply for others that can be part of the change.

Let’s open to, embrace, honor, and celebrate the superpowers of the sensitive and the beauty of diversity.

HSPs typically fall into two categories when we fall out of sync with ourselves. We become either the ‘pusher’ or the ‘hider’. These two shadow sides of our character cause us to either force ourselves to try to get what we need or we go the other way and hide altogether. Neither are effective strategies to function and are a clear indicator we are out of the flow and out of sync with ourselves. Living in this way can lead to burn out, stress, and depression. Join us this week as we discuss the importance of recognizing we achieve in different ways to the 80% born without the trait. Learning to trust our feelings and intuition and be in sync with the natural flow of things can be life-changing in terms of up-leveling our self-care and learning to live in ease and alignment.

Reiki, a form of energy healing which originated in Japan about 100 years ago, allows recipients to drop into a place of deep healing and relaxation. HSPs can benefit from energy work especially, as they are more likely than others to pick up energy around them and might need help with releasing it. During my sessions with clients, I incorporate visualizations and techniques for grounding and moving energy, which can be so helpful for HSPs!

Emily shares..."I would love for them to hear about the healing and grounding that Reiki can offer. It can be a great self-healing tool too!"

Emily Souder is a licensed therapist, intuitive guide, and Reiki master practitioner in Maryland. She has written multiple books, most recently having released Sparks: Inspiration for Extinguishing the Power of Fear and Igniting Amusement, Knowing, and Trust. Emily is often found exploring the outdoors as she homeschools her two children, knowing that she is learning as much as, if not more than, they are.

At some point in the highly sensitive person's life, someone said they were "too sensitive." It makes you doubt yourself and ignore your needs. How to use journaling to honor your sensitive needs and set boundaries. Especially with people who don't honor your boundaries.

Mai Oliphant helps people use journaling for healing and growth.

I had a beautiful, heartfelt conversation with author and speaker Michael Arterberry about his journey from hardship, trauma, and growing up in dysfunction to being able to break the cycle and now help others! I am so inspired by his story of strength and resilience and believe you will love it too! Michael now uses those experiences to speak to and inspire teens and adults all over the world. He's such a great example of empowerment. It is people who have overcome tremendous obstacles that can teach us so much.  I really love his inspiring resilience! 

His message: “I help people to use what they have gone through to get to their breakthrough. I walk my audience through the effects of their past and present trauma, including the most recent impact of society's imbalance.”

Michael Arterberry is the author of the book, Be Encouraged!!! 250 Days of Motivation and Encouragement.  He has received several awards such as the