Sensitivity is actually something beautiful and natural. It shows the connection that exists between people. It shows that in reality we are not separate but connected with each other.
Exercises to shield yourself
There are many exercises that help you shield yourself from such a situation. Like visualizing a mirror, shield, or line in the sand around you holding back energies from outside. These exercises ensure that the information from outside temporarily comes in less or not at all and that you can better stay with yourself. And those exercises work (provided you are well-grounded )!
Another way to deal with your sensitivity
In this article, I would like to show you an alternative. Something you can grow towards, even if your sensitivity is still bothering you a lot at the moment.
When you shut yourself off, you can cause you to temporarily feel less or no energy or emotions from others. This is useful in an emergency situation: for example if you are in a group and suddenly the atmosphere changes out of the blue. At that moment you can shield yourself so that you have the peace and space to reconnect with yourself.
But if you do this often or for longer periods, something else happens. Then you are actually going against your nature. You are disconnected. You try to hide your sensitivity instead of accepting it.
The beauty of your sensitivity
Sensitivity is actually something beautiful and natural. It shows the connection that exists between people. It shows that in reality, we are not separate but connected with each other. And I believe your sensitivity has a reason. And that you can do something with it in a positive way.
You have it for a reason. But that is only possible if you learn to stay very connected with yourself while you are connected with others. Because if you are well connected with yourself, what you feel about others is basically no longer a problem. You can notice it, leave it with the other person and let it go. You don’t have to take it over and it doesn’t have to stick around. Notice, accept, let go. Notice, accept, let go.
That way you can connect with others in a very empathetic way, with compassion for the people you meet. As long as you remain in your own center, connected to yourself.
The key to your sensitivity
The key to using your sensitivity in a positive way lies in staying connected to yourself, not protecting yourself from what you’re feeling.
And you can learn to stay connected with yourself! It does take some practice, especially if you’re used to constantly monitoring your environment and being aware of how others are feeling and behaving.
Try turning it around: connect with yourself first. That’s where your safety is. That is where your stability, firmness and balance are. And from there you can connect with the outside world: other people, nature, everything that happens around you.
Tips to strengthen the connection with yourself:
- Every morning before you head out the door, take a few minutes to feel your body. Do a short body scan or simply take a few deep breaths imagining your breath moving throughout your body. You can also do a grounding meditation (read these great tips for grounding too!).
- Make a conscious connection with yourself on a regular basis: for example, place a hand on your stomach and ask yourself: how do I feel now? Just observe. No judgment. It is what it is. Take a deep breath and continue what you were doing. Try to do this as often as possible in a day.
- There are apps and mindfulness timers available online that can give you a signal every so often. You can use that to go to your breathing at those moments or to observe how your body feels right now.
- Remind yourself that what you feel about others is not your own. You don’t need it and you can’t fix it for them (even if you wanted to). Accept that you feel it, and then imagine it simply flowing through your body into the earth. It’s not yours, so you can and may let it go.
