Mistakes: Antidote to Perfectionism, As Revealed by One Day’s Contemplative Handwork™ CASIGYs™, AKA Creative, Acutely Aware, Super-Sensitive, Intense, and/or Gifted You-s are known (among other things) for their vulnerability to perfectionism. We can have pretty (OK, very) high standards for ourselves, and sometimes for others, too. Those high standards can easily slide into personal expectations of doing everything perfectly. This can translate into expectations of BEING PERFECT. Confession time: One day not long ago as I made meandering quilting stitches on the dark fabric of the face of this small wall quilt in-the-making, the nasty inner voice started up again: …
Creative Guidance from a SoulShirt™ Adventure, Part 2 of 3
Continuing my story when my SoulShirt™ spoke to me, not literally, but by listening with my Inner Ear─ We’ve all had creative moments; some have even felt divinely led by an inner voice. How do you practice connecting with your heart and soul? Or are you searching for a way to feel the aliveness and results from trusting your inner voice? My Heart told me that it felt warmed and nurtured by my wearing something made solely to meet its needs. My Soul spoke about the nourishment it received by being honored at the risk of my Ego looking silly …
How to Ride Out Life’s Tough Times: Hang Loose in the Washing Machine!
Adversity is something everyone faces at some time in their life. Adversity often has a greater impact on CASIGYs™ (Creative, Acutely Aware, Super-Sensitive, Intense and/or Gifted You-s) than it does on neurotypical people. So, for the CASIGYs™ in your life, here’s How to Ride Out Life’s Tough Times: Hang Loose in the Washing Machine! Several years ago, I was helping one of my counseling clients learn how to cope with overwhelming emotions connected to the adversity he was going through. As we discussed this, I mentally searched for a better way to help him. Suddenly a picture popped into my head: ocean …
Being an Empath – When you Feel Emotions That are not Your Own
Ten year old Aiden (not his real name) dissolves in a puddle of tears. Once he has calmed down and can actually talk about it, you discover that he has no idea why he feels sad. No, he is not hurt physically. No, no one said or did anything that hurt his feelings. No, he is not afraid or scared about anything. You -and he- remain puzzled. As a parent, what do you do? And what is going on here? One possibility is that Aiden is totally disconnected from his emotions and therefore has no idea what is going on. …
I Hate Mothers Day
Reflections on How to to Heal our Lives, Feed our Souls, and Grow our Dreams I hate Mother’s Day. Awful though it sounds, I’ve hated mother’s day for a very long time. I’ve also felt guilty that I hated it. I also know it’s not politically correct, so I’ve not said it out loud. But it’s time to admit it. I hate Mother’s Day. I first hated it when I was in my twenties. I felt hurt and angry at my mother for many things that she had done or not done that I felt hurt me when I was …
Seven Tips to Help the Creative, Sensitive or Gifted Sleep Peacefully
Sleep can be elusive for anyone, whether you’re 3, 13, 33 or 83. We all have nights where we toss and turn, or get to sleep but we can’t stay asleep. When you’re a CASIGY™ (Creative, Acutely Aware, Super-Sensitive, Intense, and/or Gifted You), you may face challenges with sleep that have a slightly different twist than others face. And if you have ADHD, Anxiety, Depression or other ‘labels’, sleep can be an even greater challenge. Here’s seven tips to help creative sensitive gifted people sleep peacefully. A creative person may have creative ideas show up as soon as their head hits the pillow. …
How CASIGYs Can Become Social-Emotional ACES
Many highly sensitive, creative, gifted or twice exceptional people struggle to find and keep their balance emotionally. It’s not that they don’t have emotions or aren’t in touch with their emotions, but they tell me that they are often find it challenging and even overwhelming to find ways to cope with them and manage them. But CASIGYs can overcome this overwhelm. Here’s how CASIGYs Can Become Social-Emotional ACES! The top three emotional and mental health concerns of gifted people are Sensitivity Anxiety Depression according to research done and published by SENGifted.org. I have found the same to be true in …
5 Intuitive, Creative Steps to Heal from Life’s Hurts
An Intuitive, Creative Approach to Healing from Life’s Hurts Or, How to E-E-E-K-K Your Way Through Adversity to Destinations of Delight When tough times hit and our life’s path seems to disappear in the fog; when we are faced with illness, loss, financial reversals or other adversity, it can be easy to feel like we have lost our moorings. We may struggle to keep our feet under us, or to change the metaphor, to keep our heads above water; we may be overwhelmed by it all or we may want to pretend that all is well even when we know …
Sensitive Gifted New Years Tools
Is Facing the New Year as a Creative, Sensitive or Gifted Person Daunting? Here’s Inspiration and some Creative, Sensitive Gifted New Years Tools – As one year ends, and a new one begins, we tend to ponder our lives. We ask, “Is my life where I want it to be? Are my relationships the way I want them to be? My finances? My spiritual/soul life? My work? My health?” Just in case they’re not, and you, too may sometimes wonder if you (or your creative, sensitive, or gifted kids) can actually craft a life you (or they) love to live, here’s …
How Creative Sensitive Gifted People Can Cope with Trauma
New Year’s Eve, 2017 started with a bang in Highlands Ranch, my home town. Before sunrise, police answered a domestic dispute call. Before it was all over, one officer was killed and other officers and citizens were wounded, according to the Denver Post. This photo shows law enforcement officers gathering by Littleton Adventist Hospital to form a motorcade in honor of the fallen officer. Tragedy such as this, natural disasters, terrorism and mass shootings may impact all of us, even when we are far away from the action. When we are directly involved in a life-threatening situation, we experience direct …