Honoring our rhythm is such an important part of our balance and wellness as highly sensitive people and Empaths. We don’t need to change who we are we just need to change our environment and how we take care of ourselves. Just like how we would create conditions for the orchid flower to bloom Brilliantly so must we create conditions for us to bloom Brilliantly. Give yourself more downtime and alone time to process and rest and restore. Give yourself slower mornings and check in throughout the day about how you’re doing and what you need. Give yourself daily nature time and grounding and meditation. To comment on episodes, leave me a voicemail, and explore all the episodes visit www.HSPpodcast.com Take the free Sensitivity Quiz and get the free guide that teaches a calming technique visit www.JulieBjelland.com

Listeners of The HSP Podcast have left me voice messages asking me questions and this episode plays those messages and I share my answers! To ask me questions visit HSPpodcast.com

"From a young age, we are taught to stifle our tears. We are trained that our tears are a burden to others, a sign of weakness, a useless display. This does us a great disservice! Tears are an amazing tool our body uses to process both joy and grief. So what happens when you remove the stigma and allow tears from yourself and those around you? Amazing healing takes place. Everyone's ability to and need for crying is different, so how do you embrace what is right for you? Today we explore the societal stigmas around tears, the science of how they help us, and how you personally can begin to heal the barriers preventing us from fully utilizing the gifts of our tears. Meditation expert Allie Cartwright struggled with being a highly sensitive person her whole life until she tapped into the power of understanding her energy and caring for herself through meditation and mindfulness. Now she is passionate about helping others tune in to themselves to embrace their true self and align with their best life." www.alliecartwright.com Listen to more episodes of The HSP Podcast at HSPpodcast.com Explore more resources for HSPs and Empaths, including a free Sensitivity Quiz and books and courses for the sensitive at JulieBjelland.com

Protecting our energy is incredibly important, and yet, many of us have not been taught this essential skill.  How do we protect ourselves when we have to be around difficult people or negative energy?  HSP Empaths particularly are more challenged by being around negative energy. Are you an HSP Empath? Those that score 38 or higher on my Sensitivity Quiz might be. We are also more gifted in reading the language of energy which gives us an incredible amount of information, most people miss.  It's essential to know how to harness it, separate it, and protect it or we can be overwhelmed and overcome by it, absorbing everyone's energy, making it difficult to know where ours ends, and another begins. In this episode, Willow and I discuss: The language of Energy Where HSP Empaths fall on the spectrum of sensitivity Grounding techniques that are essential for HSP Empaths The value of being able to connect to Energy Importance of self-care and boundaries for wellness When someone has a hole in their bucket Importance of separating and protecting  your energy and how we do it Connecting to your flow How to read what feels right and what doesn't What you are responsible for and what is not your job description Understanding your value and growing self-love Changing old narratives and reframing Embracing empowerment And More! Please share and review this Podcast to help other HSPs. We love hearing from you in the comments and you can learn more about us at HSPpodcast.com Explore all resources for HSPs at JulieBjelland.com

Wow, this was a powerful event that moved me and several of us to tears. Willow has an extraordinary gift of facilitating a connection of HSPs to their gifts! You are invited to a mastermind with Willow McIntosh showing you how to turn your high sensitivity into high sensory intelligence for service, business and soul fulfillment! Until we witness for ourselves what it is like to see the world as a deep sensory experience, it is very difficult to bring our purpose into action. What is the process? It is a facilitation designed to bring you into ownership with your high sensory intelligence and alignment with your purpose. There will be a presentation about the process with a live facilitation included with the sole focus of empowering you into the recognition of who you are and you are here to serve. The process itself is a guided facilitation using a unique process of deep inquiry based on years of research and experience. It includes: 01. A direct experience of your unique cognitive reality The way in which you see the world through the eyes of high sensory intelligence is unique. It is accurately designed to support the very way in which you are here to serve. This process enables you to witness it for yourself (often for the first time) allowing you to take full ownership. 02. The journey of your life holds the key to your transformation As a high sensory lightworker, life will have been challenging you in a particular area. By seeing this in an entirely new light you will be able to reframe it in such a way that it will reveal your area of expertise. Furthermore, you will get a powerful insight into who your ideal clients are. 03. The cause in your life that is most important to you. Ever since you were a child there will have been a calling that you hold most dear. Everything pivots around the discovery of this from a place of deep acknowledgment. Once this is seen with higher awareness the meaning of your life will take on a whole new perspective. What are the outcomes this is intended to give you? A direct experience of your gifts & purpose A new relationship to your own past A clear strategy for career and business Clarity on who you are born to serve How to benefit from your gifts financially An empowering sense of coming home to yourself, your purpose and meaning in life. If you felt inspired to grow a business out of your calling, you might be interested in Julie's course, How to Grow a Heart-Centered Online Business Watch the video version of this session at HSPblog.com.  Listen to other sessions, learn more about Willow and Julie and leave comments on episodes at HSPpodcast.com 

We gain so much internal strength when we practice grounding and protecting our energy with love.  Enjoy this special grounding episode that I did with my Sensitive Empowerment Community.   I'm in the community every day and we do live events together every week. I hope you will join our global Sensitive Empowerment Community. Get the link to join us and explore all my resources for HSPs at JulieBjelland.com

For HSPs, the energy from the field is overwhelming right now as global and community fears are high. We not only need a new level of self-care, but a paradigm shift in our relationship to that energy to keep ourselves from being totally overwhelmed. Jodi Aman shares the secrets to doing this. Jodi wants to teach us how to protect and empower ourselves right now. Embracing our sensitivity so it serves us instead of hurting us. As a Family Therapist for over 20 years, Jodi empowers people to become their own healer. As an anxiety survivor and a mom of teens, Jodi totally gets it. Her TEDxWilmington talk, “Calm Anxious Kids,” and her new book, Anxiety…I'm So Done with You! are changing the way we understand the current mental health crisis.  jodiaman.com Leave comments, and share episodes at www.HSPpodcast.com 

We started out with a beautiful grounding technique followed by answering questions from HSPs! “Tips for staying calm no matter what the outcome of the US election!”☺️ “I am amazed at how little I know about my own emotions. I am now using emotions wheels to help me identify emotions when they occur. I thought (assumed!) that I knew what emotions were when they occurred. Thanks to you I am listening and learning so much.” “What is the connection with Sensitives and overeating for comfort? Especially as I get older I’d like to be good to my body with healthful eating.” "I'm new to this community and so excited to be here. I have recently started working in non profit work as a mental health counselor, love the work, but means back-to-back clients, never-ending paperwork, and being on the short road to burnout! I want to accrue enough hours to get licensed so this job is where I'll likely stay for the next 2 years but I end the day feeling so wired and tired, anxious, flushed, my sleep's suffering... As a fellow therapist, any advice for newbie therapists? Thanks!" "What are your favorite resources for HSPs who are also empaths?" "My dog is having seizures, how do you recommend I handle this situation emotionally at the time he is having his seizures?" "Is being skeptical a trait of being HSP? I find especially more lately that I am very skeptical of people & their motives?" "I had some friendship trauma in my teens and early 20s which made me feel afraid to develop new friendships for years….I want to be open and honest about my past traumas when appropriate, but I have a fear of judgment around friendships. Do you have any advice on how I could share my experience of friendships in an empowered way?" Share comments and explore all episodes at HSPpodcast.com Explore all my resources for HSPs, including books, courses, The HSP Blog, and how to join my Sensitive Empowerment Community at JulieBjelland.com

HSPs tend to be over-givers and toxic people tend to be over-takers. This dynamic has been played out for many of us either in our families, friendships, romantic relationships, or even with work colleagues. Types of toxic relationships included in this discussion: Family Romantic Friendships Work Relationship stages Honeymoon stage (6 months-brain on drugs) Conflict stage (seek therapy early!) Deeper love Here are some pieces discussed: Do internal growth and empowerment work (A big Red flag can be we are not healthy, balanced ourselves) this is first priority Be comfortable to be yourself and feel good around them, you feel accepted for who you are, they can compromise and be understanding. Recognizing Red Flags in Toxic Relationships They might be very self-absorbed, not attentive, and have a sense of entitlement, and require excessive admiration They put you down,  you don’t feel good about yourself when with them Monopolize conversations or look down on people Ignore your needs Take advantage of others to get what they want Not willing to compromise or recognize the needs and feelings of others Become impatient or angry when they don't get what they want or receive special treatment Have significant problems in their relationships and easily feel slighted React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior A few questions answered If you can't cut out the toxic person and need to negotiate, how to protect your energies as an HSP? I’ve had to create some really strong boundaries with a parent, but I struggle with guilt and feel judged.  Any tips for working with the guilt and “shoulds”? I go in waves of feeling empowered or feeling “bad” or selfish? Someone wanted us to cover how to balance not overgiving and how to avoid toxic people. “I want to be open to friendships and relationships but have trouble knowing if someone is genuine and a good person. I used to be too trusting and now I’ve gone to the other spectrum of not trusting anyone because I’ve been so hurt in the past.” Please share this episode and review the podcast to help us help more HSPs!  What was modeled in our childhood can impact how we view relationships and perceive what is ok and what isn’t. Seek therapy if you had a lot of dysfunction or abuse in your childhood or past relationships to shift patterns and learn what is ok and what isn’t. If you are experiencing abuse in your relationship, please reach out for support and visit the national domestic violence hotline that offers free, confidential support and many resources to help too at https://www.thehotline.org/ or Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) If dangerous, create a safety plan Visit HSPpodcast.com to leave comments on this episode and see our bios. Join the Sensitive Empowerment community, take the free Sensitivity quiz,  check out the HSP Practitioners Directory, and explore more resources for HSPs  juliebjelland.com

Slow down and give yourself the gift of meditation. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and let me guide you to a state of self-love and self-honoring. You will find yourself becoming more conscious of your internal world and making choices that make you feel good. Listen to more meditations at HSPpodcast.com Join my Sensitive Empowerment Community and take the Free Sensitivity Quiz at juliebjelland.com