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Many of us live with a particular kind of push pull.

One part of you wants more life, more colour, more newness, new people, new places, new ideas, new experiences. And another part of you needs quiet, space, simplicity. Time alone to come back to yourself.

For a long time, from my HSP and neurotypical perspective, I misunderstood some autistic people as lacking cognitive empathy.

By cognitive empathy, I mean the ability to imagine or understand another person’s perspective. Not feeling with someone. Not caring. Not compassion. That is affective empathy, and it is something different.

You are used to being a fast learner. You were the first one finished the math assignment and then you had to wait for the other seven-year-olds to catch up. You finished Charlotte’s Web when the other students were still on chapter one.

I recently returned from a pilgrimage in Gujarat, India, led by Priyal Shah, who guides the spiritual dimension of our work with HSPs.

We visited temples and sacred sites where people had come for generations with flowers, prayers and longing, and I found myself deeply moved by the felt sense that these places had become alive through centuries of devotion.

Joy available in the smallest places. In nature, which keeps offering itself without needing to perform. In the alchemy that happens when two people meet in safety. In a single moment where the body realises there is nothing to solve right now.

Perhaps sensitivity is as much about receiving goodness as it is about coping with intensity.

That’s what I want to explore with you in this article.

Ayurveda is one of the oldest continuous systems of healing in the world. Originating in India more than 5,000 years ago, its name comes from the Sanskrit words Ayur, meaning life, and Veda, meaning knowledge. Ayurveda is not simply a medical system but a sacred science of living, concerned with how human beings remain in right relationship with their bodies, their minds, the natural world and consciousness itself.

The holidays can stir more in us than we expect. One sharp comment, one old family dynamic, and suddenly your whole system is on alert. The good news is that your body already knows how to settle itself with a simple 90 second practice. This short piece shows you how to come back to yourself when everything feels too much.

James Drewett on HSPconnect has written another beautiful poem and he’s kindly allowed me share it with you.

James says, “The poem was inspired by a comment on one of the How to Hold Space training sessions on HSPconnect where someone said how, in going “deep” in conversations, they would meet their own soul. The image stuck with me, so thanks for the inspiration!”

I was invited to speak with Kimberly Marsh recently, the host of The Happy HSP podcast. I’d love to know your reflections on this.
We talked about the ache of loneliness and longing for deeper connection as highly sensitive people, and how we can find belonging in community with other HSPs as this gives us the courage and validation to be our authentic selves.

There is a moment in every human life when words fall short. When we can no longer explain or fix or fully understand the world’s pain, but only feel it. And alongside that pain, if we’re still enough, we also feel its beauty