Highly Sensitive Person AND Spiritual – Spiritual HSP?

by Sarah Lawrence | New Energy Psychology

Highly Sensitive Person or HSP

You may have heard of the term Highly Sensitive Person or HSP through the work of Dr Elaine Aaron PhD.  Through more than 15 years of study Dr Aron has discovered that at least 15% of the population are Highly Sensitive (aka HSP).

Some questions to ask yourself to give you an idea about being a Highly Sensitive Person are

• Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?
• Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?
• Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?
• Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?
• Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?
• Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?
• Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
• When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?

(From the HSPerson.com website).

As you can see from the list, a Highly Sensitive Person has some challenges to overcome, as well as the opportunity to enjoy life, art and the business of being alive in an extremely intense way.

As an HSP myself, I can relate

Highly Sensitive People may often be aware of how they feel and how they will feel in any given situation

To give you some hooks to hang this on, I will give you some examples from just one of the above list items.

Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?

For each Highly Sensitive Person I’m quite sure the definition of ‘upsetting or overwhelming situations‘ is different.  I like social gatherings, loud concerts even (I love rock music).  However, I dislike unplanned events and always like to think ahead if I am having friends over for dinner.  I can’t just ‘whip something up’.  That approach would worry me intensely.  I plan which recipes I will choose, probably shop for them 2 days ahead of time and quite often cook things that can be prepared ahead so that I can focus upon people when they arrive.

This is because new energy coming into my house almost blows my mind.  Because I can read people’s energy, fresh energy coming in to my environment as a crowd is like somebody opening a dictionary and saying “Read this while you cook dinner and carry on a conversation”.  I do my best not to open up my energy too much to prevent overwhelm, but it’s quite hard to do when I’m interested in connecting with how others are feeling.  It’s a lot of work for me and a big balancing act!

On the plus side, I can use this awareness to help make people feel extremely comfortable and often I will know when somebody wants something before they have even said so.  In some of my different careers as a business trainer and reflexologist, this ability is seen as supremely useful and is both a talent and a skill when it comes to job performance.

Such is the life of a Highly Sensitive Person.

So what about a Spiritual HSP?

There are people who are Highly Sensitive People.  And then there are people who are Highly Sensitive Spiritual People.  I do believe that much of the online chat about being an Empath is an indicator of people waking up to not only their sensitivities, but their spiritual abilities as a Highly Sensitive Person also.

To give you some examples, let’s review Elaine Aron’s list with the spiritual aspect added in.

• Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby? (HSP).
• Do they seem more significant to you than others within the framework of your perceptions – such as causing you to notice patterns, synchronicity and experience energy downloads?  (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time? (HSP).
• Do you already know that what is being asked of you is impossible to do in the given time frame because of what else is likely to come up in your day – a sense of ‘this is just not going to happen!’.  (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?  (HSP).  Do you find that some violent movies and TV shows need to be avoided because they change the energy in your house and draw unwelcome spiritual visitors to its’ boundaries?  (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?  (HSP).  Do you need time to meditate and perform your given spiritual practice in order just to cope with extra busy situations and demands from others that seem perfectly normal to them? (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?  (HSP).
• Do you often seem to know how to avoid situations that could be difficult or upsetting even days before they occur? (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?  (HSP). 
• Do you find that some works of art, tastes, sounds or scents transport you to other planes of consciousness where deep spiritual messages become apparent?  (Spiritual HSP).
• Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
• Is your inner life a form of meditation for you, where spirit guides and other energies seem to help you on your way? (Spiritual HSP).
• When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?
• When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as “too sensitive”, “unnecessarily shy” and “overly imaginative?”  (Spiritual HSP).

Then you may be a Spiritual Highly Sensitive Person!