Cultivating Sensitivity
Some of you have heard it all your lives. Or maybe you’ve said it to others, “Oh, you’re just too sensitive!” If you’re one who hears it, I have good news for you. It turns out that sensitivity is an indication that you are really tuned in to your inner guidance system.
Inner guidance system–what’s that?
Some call it intuition, others “gut instinct” and still others refer to it as their soul. Whatever you call your Inner Guide doesn’t matter. Paying attention to what it’s trying to tell you does.
The Law of Attraction says, “You get more of what you focus on.” This is great to know but challenging to apply on a minute-by-minute basis. Fortunately, your Inner Guide helps by sending you signals about where your focus is at any given moment. The way it signals you is through your emotions. Even though there’s a long list of names for emotions—from despair—to joy, there are really only two emotions: negative and positive. The names we apply to them has to do with their level of intensity—contentment versus joy, for example.
When you are focused on something that will lead you toward what you want, your Inner Guide reassures you that you are on the right track by filling you with positive emotion. When you are moving away from what you want, the signal comes in the form of negative emotion. The more intensely you are on track or off, the more intense the emotion.
Passion, for example, which feels great, translates into, “I really want what I am focused on and I truly believe I can have it.” Cynicism, on the other hand is an indicator of, “I really want what I am focused on and I really believe I cannot have it.” Intensely believing you can have what you want creates passion. Intensely believing you cannot have what you want breeds cynicism. They are opposite sides of the same coin.
If you are highly sensitive then you are keenly attuned to your emotional guidance system. It is a gift you were born with, similar to the perfect pitch of some singers and the truth is we were all born with it although some of us have buried it under lots of scar tissue. High sensitivity, long maligned as some sort of weakness is necessary for a satisfying life. Rather than trying to cure it, it should be uncovered and cultivated.
If you live in an earthquake area, as I do, you wouldn’t complain that seismographs are “too sensitive;” you’d want them to be as sensitive as possible in order to detect any oncoming danger. It would serve you well to be equally sensitive. When you are sensitive to your emotional signals you more quickly attain what we are all looking for: a happy, fulfilling life. And you can quickly avoid danger that is headed down the path.
It is important to honor your sensitivity, whether it is highly-tuned or you’re considered “thick skinned.” How? Start paying attention to what upsets you and look for solutions:
• If reading the news makes you mad or discouraged, don’t do it.
• If books, movies or TV shows with certain story lines upset you,
don’t subject yourself.
• Avoid being around people who annoy you. If you can’t avoid them,
then do whatever you can to ignore what they’re doing
More important than avoiding those things that trigger a negative state is doing everything possible to embrace people, places and things that put you into a positive state. Make a list of those things that are guaranteed to make you feel good and keep it as handy as you keep your keys or your wallet. Whenever you find yourself slipping into negativity, grab that list and do something on it that will pull you on a positive path.
The more sensitive you become, the more people will begin to call you “lucky” because you will possess an uncanny ability to avoid problems and to attract your heart’s desire. There actually is no such thing as being “too sensitive” when you are smart enough to use it in the way it was intended.
