Sometimes “selfishness” is a really good thing
Are you selfish to think of yourself first? I don't think so. In fact, if you are sensitive, your health and happiness depend on your answer to this question. On Saturday mornings, my partner and I eat eggs and toast for breakfast. Then we drink tea, plan our meals...
“How much should I share?”
If you have a much going on in your mind all the time as I do, you too may have asked yourself, "How much should I share?" Here are some (not all!) of my thoughts on this important topic... I think about things. A lot. Being a sensitive person means having a brain...
Finding your rhythm….and next Inner Bonding Buddy Course starts January 24
This comes with my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who read The Listening Post, and it comes with my best wishes for a wonderful, healthy 2019. Happy New Year! I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I prefer New Year’s observations—a leisurely chance to look back...
The “blood oath” that caused my “HSP nervous breakdown”…and a look at my new logo
During our trip to India in October, we hired an auto rickshaw to take us up the hill to the Chamundeshwari Temple outside Mysore. The mid-day sun was beating down, and our driver advised us not to attempt the traditional pilgrimage climb of a thousand steps, but to...
I left work behind for 16 days in India. Was I irresponsible…or inspired?
I just returned from a 16-day trip to India. That I went at all is a minor miracle: my partner Duke had been asking me for years to go with him, but until now I had always said “no.” I had not been able to get my highly sensitive (HSP) brain around the 30 hours of...
How I try to stay calm in the face of current events
An earlier version of this post appeared on December 12, 2017. As I wrote it, I was deeply shaken. I had just learned 14 people had been killed when a gunman opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, in an act characterized as homegrown violent...
Why HSPs need to hang out with other HSPs
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The 35th HSP Gathering Retreat is coming up soon in the Catskill Mountains of New York, September 30 to October 4, 2018, and I'm honored to be one of Gathering founder Jacquelyn Strickland's co-hosts along with Jadzia Jagiellowiz. I've shared...
How to avoid getting in over your head
I’ve been surprisingly stressed for the past several months. I say “surprisingly” because I generally keep myself well-fed, watered, exercised, and rested, and I’m lucky to have a happy life. I’ve been busy, but that's nothing new. And while challenges have come up,...
Overstimulated and running out of gas? try my favorite luxurious rest strategy
I can't believe I made it through last week: I taught two classes and completed two major projects on top of my usual client sessions—in addition to making time to hang out with my daughter who is home from college. I'm definitely tired, but my fatigue level...
Feeling low? It’s time to scrutinize your mental wallpaper.
I almost got to live in a mansion once. My then-husband and I had spotted a 2000-square-foot apartment in the “for rent” ads. The rent was so low, it seemed too good to be true...and as we found out later, it was. But we didn’t know that yet, and as we pulled in to...