Michael shares: “I share my process of allowing my higher self to guide me on my journey of healing and transformation. You have an innate guidance system that will help you navigate difficult times and reveal paths to grow and transform into your greatest self. Finding a balance between empathy, healthy boundaries and personal power can help you live a freeing life of joy, empowerment, and a sense of peacefulness.” Michael is on a mission to teach the world that we are all capable of intrinsic healing and transformation. If we start with foundational health, we can build upon this foundation to create the life we want to live. Michael overcame, healed, and transformed from having Tourette syndrome, severe asthma, ADHD, obesity, and an eating addiction. He is a US Marine, a Holistic health practitioner, and health strategy coach. www.michaelacoles.com  To take Julie's free Sensitivity Quiz, explore more podcast episodes, and her HSP resources, including her books and courses for HSPs, visit www.juliebjelland.com 

Have you ever been asked the question, what is your reality? Or how do you see the world? One of the greatest tools we have as an HSP is the way in which our cognitive perception works. We get so used to how we experience sensory information we forget that it is actually different from non-HSPs. Yet,  why is it important to know this? The way in which we perceive the world around us is in fact in direct correlation to our gifts, abilities, and purpose. In fact, when we consider this more deeply we come to realize that the way we think and see the world is often due to a particular focus we have. A fascination and slant on life that has been with us since we were children. When we identify this and learn to trust it, we are often led into a deeper understanding of ourselves and the way in which we are born to serve. Join us this week where we will discuss how this occurs, how to reveal the gifts it holds for you, and how you can learn to bring it into alignment with the work you love to do. Comment on episodes, read show notes, and our bios at www.HSPpodcast.com Join the Sensitive Empowerment community, take the free Sensitivity Quiz, and explore all the supportive resources for HSPs at www.juliebjelland.com

Today we celebrate our 100th Episode on World HSP Day! Yay!  I'm answering HSP questions! Here are the questions HSPs asked from my Sensitive Empowerment Community! I would like to understand the difference between the two terms Processing time vs Restorative time a little better. how to help ourselves when we experience feelings of disappointment. In the brain training course, we learn that when we are in fight/flight mode and this reaches a certain point of overwhelm with emotions and stress that we can get stuck in our emotional brain and can't access the logical brain at that point. Would this be the same for physical symptoms that are triggered? Is the brain training course for HSPs suitable for teenagers around 16-17 years or is it mainly a program for adults? Why is it so hard to deal with making a mistake? Even when it’s not my mistake & the mistake of a loved one, I feel so responsible. I'm new here and in Week 3 of Brain Training for HSP's. My question is: what can I say to myself when I have a poor night(s) of sleep (mainly due to peri-menopause) and I need to go to work and do my best to get through the day..? :) Thank you! Do you have any grounding or shielding exercises that you recommend to help HSPs during these intense times? I want to stay informed but COVID, wildfires, US election, racism, etc can all be overwhelming. The amount of stuff going on is hard to process. Thank you! What is the proper use of alcohol for HSPs? Less? None? Hi Julie you recommend 1-2 hrs of alone, unstructured time per day but I am wondering if that has to be consecutive. I tend to prioritize sleep but that leaves me little time for much else. I was wondering, where and what is triggered in HSP's regarding an aversion by some of us to scary movies and or violence and also where or what is triggered in us that makes us more empathetic? I do live events in my Sensitive Empowerment Community every week and I'm there every day offering support.   Hope you join our beautiful HSP family! To take my free Sensitivity Quiz, join my online Sensitive Empowerment Community, and explore all my resources for HSPs visit www.juliebjelland.com To explore all the HSP Podcast episodes visit www.HSPpodcast.com To sign up for my free newsletter for HSPs, visit www.HSPblog.com 

Current times are challenging. Several months into a pandemic with no known end in sight, dividing families, economic crisis, racial unrest, political divide, climate crisis, etc. Families are struggling. It’s easy for fear to take over in all this uncertainty and when you combine the intensity of emotion we experience as HSPs it can be overwhelming. In survival mode, we just try to get through the day but there is something different about those listening right now. You are taking a step toward empowerment by choosing to listen to this podcast. Those of you attending live have taken several steps to join our Sensitive Empowerment Community and that’s taking intentional action toward change and that is exciting! You are open to a shift away from inaction to action and a shift in mindset. Consider this... When you lift heavy weights it tears down muscle tissue. But when you feed your body the right nutrition afterward, the muscles repair themselves and become even stronger than before. If we think of challenges in the same way we might be torn down from them but with the right care and balance, we can be even stronger. Just as a muscle is stronger after the repair, so are we! You might have noticed that in our own stories and in the HSP guests we’ve had that most of the HSPs rising up into their potential, helping others in some way, started out of a challenge. How can we become stronger in this current challenge? Learn about trait Understand that self-care for HSPs is different than the majority Learn how to honor and advocate for your needs Spend time with other HSPs, like in our Sensitive Empowerment Community to normalize and validate your experience Learn tools created for HSPs to balance your sensitive nervous system Grow self-compassion and self-love Take intentional action to move toward change Find meaning and do what fulfills you Know your value Live consciously instead of unconsciously Know that your purpose can be found within this challenge. What calls out to you? Are you listening? Let’s discuss it! Come join us in the Sensitive Empowerment community!  Members receive: Ask me questions directly about the trait of high sensitivity and how to thrive Ask me and Willow questions about your website and growing your online business! Access to join weekly HSP live events free Get your questions answered and join an amazing group of HSPs dedicated to growth and empowerment Normalize and validate your experience by being with us who also experience life in the same ways Learn more about how to join the online Sensitive Empowerment community, explore resources for HSPs and take the free Sensitivy Quiz at www.juliebjelland.com 

We are experiencing extreme challenges in the world right now and some moments are really difficult. I share some tools that help me during hard moments. Explore resources for HSPs, including a free Sensitivity Quiz at www.juliebjelland.com

We will learn how the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can help HSPs deal with overwhelm or feelings of stress, anxiety, or shyness, or can help them excavate and identify feelings they’ve lost touch with and we will go through a round or two of EFT so we can be comfortable using it on ourselves. Terry wants us to know that the power to feel better, calmer, less overwhelmed, and clearer is literally in our own hands. She shares: "I will offer tips and information about how Emotional Freedom Techniques can help calm the nervous system, facilitate clarity, and eliminate unhelpful beliefs (i.e., “If I say no, they won’t like me... .” Terry Hernon is an EFT practitioner who specializes in helping her clients find their voices and stand up for themselves. She has helped people beat food cravings, improve athletic performance, and end patterns of unhealthy relationships. She is an INFJ who discovered the power and efficacy of EFT when it relieved her of a stubborn case of insomnia after the death of her mother. www.terryhernon.com Book mentioned: THE SCIENCE BEHIND TAPPING by Peta Stapleton, Ph.D. To learn more about host, Julie Bjelland, and explore HSP resources, including a free Sensitivity Quiz visit www.juliebjelland.com   To explore all episodes, read show notes, bios, and leave comments visit  www.HSPpodcast.com  Please share and review this podcast to help more HSPs find it!    ❤️

Joy! What does it look and feel like to be truly happy as an HSP? What is it exactly we are striving for? Are we often comparing our happiness to what it looks like in non HSPs? The pursuit of happiness is a huge topic in itself and is often referred to as being only attained through the acceptance that we can’t be happy all the time! However it goes deeper and research indicates that happiness means the pursuit of meaning, service and authentic social relationships. Whilst there is certainly a need for meaning, service and authentic relationships for us, how should we be pursuing this as HSPs? What do these things really look like for us? What do we value as most important in our lives as HSPs that perhaps is not being acknowledged when we compare to the happiness of non HSPs? Are we truly recognising and honouring our needs? Are we being honest about what truly makes us feel a sense of contentment, achievement and happiness? Where might we be over processing or over complicating what happiness really means to us? Join us this week as we consider the importance of recognizing whether we are on the right path in the pursuit of our own individual happiness as an HSP.  Learn more about the course discussed in this episode, How to Grow a Heart-Centered Online Business www.HSPcourse.com  Feedback about the course: “Julie draws on her own unique experiences as well as her many years of professional knowledge and expertise to bring together the practical tools, tips and techniques HSPs need to thrive in their online business.  Julie Bjelland is the real deal and her authenticity and genuine desire to help HSPs prosper and succeed certainly shines through in course content and presentation.  The course offers very valuable and necessary information, effectively integrating what HSPs need to build strength and resiliency for themselves and for the growth of their business. There is so much to be learnt and shared with the world and with the right tools and support, HSPs are in the perfect position to do this.  Participating in this self-paced program will put many things in perspective and provide a solid platform to continuously adapt, evolve and ultimately thrive in your business. Thank you, Julie for all the encouragement, compassion, inspiration and direction you offer in this well designed and well-rounded course for HSPs."   -Andrea Weber, Founder of Expansive Happiness Explore more at www.HSPpodcast.com

Dreams are a powerful tool for deep self-knowledge and inner guidance. Why dreams matter,  the different kinds of dreams, dream interpretation, dream retention. Dr. Lourdes Viado is a Jungian psychotherapist with a private practice in Las Vegas NV, where she helps anxious, stressed out, sensitive women manage their lives without feeling like they’re drowning.   She is a Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator (MBTI) Certified Practitioner and integrates mindfulness, neuroscience, dreams, and astrology into her work with clients. She is also the host of the Women In-Depth Podcast:  Conversations about the Inner Lives of Women, which has been downloaded over 350,000x in 96 countries.www.lourdesviado.com Here's her astrology and mentorship site for the show notes:  www.reflectingsky.com From Lourdes: These are my favorite dream books and what I recommend to my clients.  If I only had these books for working w/ dreams, I'm good.  :) The Beginner's Guide to Dream Interpretation (CD only) Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth Robert A. JohnsonThe Book of Symbols: Reflecting on Archetypal Images by TaschenLet your Body Interpret Your Dreams Eugene T. Gendlin, Ph.D. To leave comments, share episodes, please visit www.HSPpodcast.com  To learn more about Julie Bjelland, and her HSP resources, including  a free Sensitivity Quiz, visit www.juliebjelland.com 

Loved the power of this conversation so much!  Enjoy the meditation she does at the end too!  Emotional integration ( the mindfulness of feeling) is a unique technique that everyone can learn to create a healthy and positive relationship with their emotions especially for those of us that are highly sensitive people. Lucia shares: "I would love to talk about the importance of normalizing feeling our emotions, and how to do that. For us HSP we feel so much, that it's easy to get overwhelmed and shut down. Emotional Integration and meditation have transformed the lives of many people and I would love to talk about how it offers a new tool and hope for those that need it." Luciana Garcia is an ordained Buddhist priest and emotional mastery coach, who teaches other women how to master their emotions by using the unique technique of emotional integration (the mindfulness of emotions). Using this method, she has dropped 80 lbs and overcame premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). She has a Degree in Mind/Body Transformational Psychology and is an ordained Acharya from the Mahajrya Buddhist Tradition. She has been featured in KFoxtv Channel 14 and leads the #itstimetofeel moment, where she encourages women to see their emotions as their super power to build the relationships, families, and businesses of their dreams. www.theemotionalmasterycoach.com  Find more information and explore all episodes at www.HSPpodcast.com Julie Bjelland's resources for highly sensitive people can be found at www.juliebjelland.com 

Here are the questions submitted from my Sensitive Empowerment community. What are some effective ways I can practice to try to quiet or tune out the words that others have said to me so that I can focus on taking care of myself? I often find that I am responding to what's going on outside of me, and in particular, what others are thinking about me, instead of responding to what is going on inside of me. In doing so, I lose touch with myself and don't get my needs met a lot of the time. Although EHS (electromagnetic sensitivity) has very physical symptoms, I'm wondering about the emotional connection, have you noticed these types of physical-emotional connections, and do people benefit if they are able to work through these things as well as the physical symptoms? I know many HSPs suffer from chronic illnesses, and I'm wondering if there are any particular kinds of illnesses we tend to suffer from more than others? I’m trying to figure out “healthy helping” and could use some insight on this. Most recommendations of putting your oxygen mask on first etc make sense but I think my deeply caring side struggles so much with thinking others are suffering. I think us HSPs are natural helpers and so others often come to us for support. But how to balance being there for others with our own needs for rest, self-care, etc. and not to get overwhelmed? I suffer a great deal with injustice to humanity. It paralyzes me. It could be at any level and it affects me. There are times I can't listen or read the news because it hurts so much. I know what happens out there is greater than myself and there is so much one can do, but if it wouldn't bother me so much maybe I could do things about it. That's one of my goals now that I joined this group, to focus and be creative about it. But, I would like to know if you have some suggestions to manage those strong feelings about injustice. I love to learn, I am always learning something and it is a great joy for me, but I could be in the middle of learning something (and writing at the same time) and I get so happy about what I am learning that I have to stop and process it for a while before returning to what I was learning/writing/developing ideas, etc, but in that process, I interrupt ideas and let them go, which disappoints me, need suggestions. I would like some advice on how to believe more in myself. Especially when it comes to my creative work. There always seems to be part of me that panics when I think about showing my art, my stories, etc. Where I see other writers and think "they are so much better than me", how to collect braveness in my personal creativity. For writing and painting. There I wobble so much more and find myself burying myself in anxiety, "not good enough", etc. Any suggestions? I would be really curious to hear any suggestions or ideas you may have about how to slow down to get the rest you need when life does not slow down with you. I’m wondering about how to set boundaries with friends. I really need social time but I get exhausted. I love sharing and talking with friends about our experiences and inner lives but some of my friends tell very detailed stories and I just can’t listen for that long. I know I need to say something but I’m not sure what to say or how it might look. Have a question for me? Connect to me directly in my beautiful Sensitive Empowerment community. I'm there every day offering support and we do weekly live events that support our growth and empowerment. You can also explore our incredible HSP Library of all our events!   Get the link to join the community and explore all my HSP resources, including my free Sensitivity Quiz at www.juliebjelland.com  Explore my courses for HSPs at www.HSPcourse.com