13 Awesome Characteristics of Highly Sensitive People

Empaths

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a guest blog, but since so many empaths (myself included) often forget the amazing, deeply present and FULL OF LIFE experience they get to have as highly sensitive people, I thought I’d share these reminders (from an incredibly inspiring blog called “The Rebelle Society“).

Here are 13 awesome characteristics of of highly sensitive people (and I’ve added my notes/thoughts about each one):

#1 Intuitive — highly sensitive people tend to be aware of what is happening below the surface, in between the lines and without an articulated reasoning.

My note: (this gives us a multi-dimensional/multi-colorful experience in any situation, and if we allow ourselves to use our intuition to learn, we often have rapid personal growth, too!)

#2 An ability to read the vibe — when entering a room, a conversation, a situation or when coming into contact with another person or group of people. Perhaps you can feel what type of mood or conversation was taking place just before you arrived, even if the people who were there are no longer present.

My note: (this allows us to be preemptive when we need to be, which can be a super power in-and-of itself)

#3 Picking up on the subtle — perhaps you’re able to respond to someone’s needs or questions before they even ask. Perhaps you can even tell when someone is lying to you o hiding something.

My note: (another useful superpower — this one can save you a lot unnecessary BS)

#4 Empathy for what others are feeling — and this goes beyond just the cordial sentiments, but getting as close to being able to walk a mile in a person’s shoes without ever putting their boots on.

My note: (which gives you the benefit of being able to speed up your own evolution process)

#5 Experiencing the extraordinary — perhaps you’re able to experience, feel and see what is beyond the ordinary…a sound, a sense, a color not yet coined — dare I say magic?

My note: (makes life WAY more enchanting — especially when you allow yourself to engage with your entire, sensitive, soulful being)

#6 Mental telepathy — this one is interesting and I’m still working this out, but it seems that highly sensitive people may have the ability to sense when someone is going to call them, send them a text message, stop over for a visit, or can even pick up on personal messages offered from others while engaging in other conversations.

My note: (this is DEFINITELY true. Once we stop believing the BS that our sensitivities make us weak, we can truly begin to open ourselves up to their full potential. In order to do this, however, you have to INCREASE your ability to feel. Most empaths spend their time trying to turn it off. Why would you do that when there is so much AWESOMENESS that can be experienced from it?!)

#7 Storytelling — because of your highly sensitive nature, perhaps you are able to elegantly and graciously use descriptive words to narrate and create the most divine of stories — played, written, painted or through movement.

My note: (again, engaging in life. When empaths come out of hiding and allow themselves to be fully present in their vulnerability and extra-keen senses, magic happens!)

#8 Going solo with confidence — you’re able to be alone without feeling lonely. Sometimes your own company is all you need and want and that’s okay and sometimes even preferred.

My note: (to take this one step further, people who are able to be by themselves are often more intelligent, self-reflective, and creative, because they allow themselves time to be an observer — to consider nuance, subtleties, symbolism, and metaphor. This gives them the advantage of self-actualization, which, is the ultimate goal of life, right? Aren’t we all trying to understand who we are and why we’re here? Empaths, if allowed out of their “protection bubble” have the ability to make their life a stunning work of poetic art).

#9 Above average mindfulness — you’re able to move to the other side of the sidewalk so someone can pass. You’re more than willing to make room for a group of people coming onto the bus or you find yourself making eye contact with a by-passer…all in the name of making it easier for everyone — them and you. Often this trait is default and isn’t something you need to ‘activate’.

My note: (and let’s face it, the world needs more of this!)

#10 Easy to cry — showing our emotions in the form of crying can come easier for us sensitive souls, but it’s also a healthy release of constrictive emotions and thought-patterns — a cleansing of our windows to the soul and our lenses out into the world.

My note: (I could go on-and-on about the benefit of tears, but for now I will just say, WORD. Tears are healing, cleansing, and a powerful way to be fully present in the MOMENT. People who spend years in caves meditating could probably reach enlightenment much quicker if they would allow emotions to be as present as the breath, and let tears lead them into the ultimate purity of nirvana).

#11 Work excellent in a team setting — due to our ability to pick-up on how people are feeling, we’re able to respond to the team’s needs to help them work in the most optimal way.

My note: (people just like you more — ha ha)

#12 Hard working — you tend to be a deep thinker and perhaps a little bit of a perfectionist. Highly sensitive people tend to put everything and a little more into tasks at hands especially projects that others will witness and be involved in.

My note: (feeling deeply in-and-of-itself is hard work. Never let yourself feel lazy if you’re a deep feeler — you’re doing the work, honey — believe me!)

#13 Easily moved by artistic expression — and if there’s anything that keeps the world’s artists inspired and creativity in full rebellion is having those who are moved by it — and show it.

My note: (nothing worth creating would be possible without those who can respond, emotionally. When it comes to truly engaging with and enjoying life, logic is incredibly overrated).

I hope this list helped you remember how amazingly badass, powerful, expressive, artistic, wise, and special you are.

Thank you for being on the planet. This world would be a robotic nightmare without you!

4 Ways to Transmute Difficult Emotions

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Check out the article I wrote for ModBod:

Emotions can be overwhelming. Feelings like sadness, anger, grief, and loneliness can seem unbearable, especially when we live in a society ill-equipped in understanding the purpose and function of human emotion.

The typical formula is suppression, repression, denial, or some form of intellectual or spiritual bypass. We’d just assume not have any emotion, than to feel the painful ones.

Unfortunately, we need our emotions to function optimally as a human. Emotions are an integral part of our internal guidance system, and when we ignore or suppress them, we cause major damage not only to our mental health, but our physical health as well.

Here are 4 tips to deal with difficult emotions:

1. Allow yourself to feel: The reason difficult emotions feels so…well…difficult, is because we resist them. We want to feel good, and when emotions arise that conflict with what we want, we typically suppress, repress, or bypass. The resistance between what we feel and what we want to feel causes immense intensity in the emotional body — this is because the emotions are being held back. When we release into the emotion, the pressure eases.

Emotions are meant to be felt. They are our vibrational indicators and are necessary for our survival and happiness in this life. Emotions let you know where you are (vibrationally) in relation to where you want to be. When we resist how we feel, our guidance system has to resort to other measures to get our attention (like sickness in the body). Give yourself permission to feel what you feel. Feeling is not failing.

2. Validate how you feel: Once we allow ourselves to feel what we feel, validation is crucial. Often we feel as if our emotions are out of context: perhaps we feel we are overreacting, or maybe we’ve been told we’re just “too sensitive.” But emotions are always valid. We feel what we feel for a reason. The intensity of what we feel may not be directly related to what is occurring at the moment, but the emotions come from somewhere, and they matter, nonetheless. For true healing to take place, the emotional body must be trusted. You don’t have to act on the emotion for validation, simply tell yourself “What I feel is okay.”

3. Release the emotion: Now that our emotions have been felt and validated, it’s time to let them go. Emotions, once felt, must be released. Release is not the same as suppressing or bypassing. It’s not forcing yourself to feel differently or ignoring the pain. Release is about allowing our emotional body to run efficiently. Emotions are meant to flow. When we block the flow, it causes imbalances in the body and (as noted above), sometimes illness. If you’re having a hard time releasing an emotion, it probably has not been fully validated. Go back to step 2 and take time to validate how you feel. Deep trauma takes time to heal.

4. Direct your focus toward relief: Relief goes hand-in-hand with releasing emotion. Once you’ve let an emotion go, ask yourself what you need and give attention and focus to the feeling of relief. Your internal guidance always knows what it needs, and it’s always speaking to you. You may have to practice listening, but it will communicate. What do you need? Maybe it’s a hot bath, a walk in nature, or dinner with a friend. Don’t hesitate to pamper yourself after the release of a difficult emotion. Taking care of your emotional needs is how you develop trust with yourself and build a strong emotional body.

Emotions can be powerful tools, but terrible masters. Treat them with respect but don’t fear them. They are your friends and comrades in this life experience. Welcome them in.

Magic Makes Everything Better!

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Lately I’ve been feeling so BLAH. Uninspired. Pointless, even.

As this particular brand of “low” has lingered longer than I care to entertain, I figured I might as well make the best of its visit. So I decided to pull up cozy chair, pour some hot tea, and gather a list of some of my favorite things (to add a note of enchantment to the misty fog and heavy rain that seems to have taken up residence in all the shadowy places of my being).

Thought maybe you’d all get something out of it to:

Trees. They just make me happy. Especially these enchanted ones:

Water. The perfect element to evoke when having tea with sadness (or any emotion, really).

The Sun. Ah the clearing, restorative, empowering energy of sunlight. Bon appetit!

(This first one, I took last fall in Utah, the second I took at a nature park in Sacramento, the third one I found on google images):

Magic stuff. Always helps me feel more alive (all from google images):.

Now I’m off to write about magical worlds — at winter time. Gotta work with where I’m at.

Happy Monday!

What Are Emotions?

Empaths

Emotions are power.

I’ve always known this, but the more inner child/shadow work I do, the more I realize the brilliance of their function.To understand what an emotion is, it’s important to be still and allow yourself to empath the nuance and subtly of what the moment FEELS like. When I do this, even if I’m sad or angry, I realize the feelings themselves are not painful — they are beautiful, enchanted movements of energy that act more like paint than solidified, unmovable road blocks.

Emotions create our auric landscape — the screen around us by which we allow our physical bodies to either feel safe and soothed, or nervous and inflamed (which is what it looks like in the body when we resist where we are and ignore, bypass, or judge our emotions).

Tuning-in to the emotional body, for me, feels like a beautiful underwater enchantment. The waves of emotional vibration are completely fluid, which means if we FLOW with the vibrations, we can move through them with ease and grace. This is part of opening the heart chakra and learning self-trust. It’s an aspect of emotional mastery. It’s our power.

What does it feel like when you tune-in to your emotional body?

If you were to simply feel, without judging any emotion that may arise, what kind of picture would your emotions paint around you? Tuning-in to the emotional body is one of the fastest ways to tune-in to your power. It’s an excellent way to get an idea of how energy is moving around you and what you are in the process of creating and attracting into your experience.

But remember: emotions are not YOU. They are simply vibrational indicators. Emotions make the moment what it is, helping you know where you are so you can flow to where you want to be. No emotion is wrong. You don’t have to feel happy all the time. It’s not only unrealistic but it’s unhealthy. Emotions helps us flow through dense realities and contrast, and are there for us to move energy in-and-out of our bodies. It’s difficult to shift from feeling anger to joy, but possible to flow from anger to relief if we allow our emotions to move naturally and don’t stop their flow with unnecessary judgement.

Emotions are magic like that. Always moving, if we allow them to.The problem is, we get addicted to certain emotions and demonize others. This will never work if we want to flow in a balanced/harmonized way with this life experience.

Every emotion is valid. We don’t have to base our actions solely on feeling, but we can allow ourselves to move THROUGH emotion by first accepting all of them as equally beneficial for our journey and growth. Emotions are here to teach, not control. And it’s important to release resistance to them in order to receive the power of their function.

Lately I’ve had a lot of questions about this topic. The New Age movement, with all it’s focus on positivity, has left many in a chronic state of spiritual bypass, and it’s starting to catch-up with us. Denying how you feel will never lead to true peace because peace implies authenticity.

Remember: it’s okay to feel. Emotions are our vibrational language and suppressing or denying them only limits our ability to communicate.

Let it flow.

Hope you are all having a fantastic Sunday!

Much love!

Amanda

PS. I go into a lot of detail about emotions (and how they work) in my “Creating with Emotions online class.” It’s a good place to start if you’re one of those readers who wants to go deeper.