Are you a "Highly Sensitive Person"?
And what does it really mean to "be cool"?
For our next Sunday Candlelight Chat, we’re honored to host Sharon Salzberg (!!!) (one of the world’s leading meditation teachers), on April 14, at 1 pm ET.
To participate (and to receive the video replays if you can’t attend), you’ll just need a paid or scholarship subscription to the Quiet Life. We put a ton of daily labor (of love) into this work, and truly appreciate your support.
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What do you think is the opposite of “high sensitivity”?
This seems like an obvious question. The answer must be: “low sensitivity”. And this is technically correct.
But the real opposite is the social category we call “coolness.” I’m guessing that very, very few people who identify as an HSP (“highly sensitive person”) were "cool” in middle school. And this is because “coolness” isn’t so much about a nonchalant attitude or the nicest clothes. No - coolness is really, actually, literally, about having a cool skin temperature in certain situations. And this isn’t something middle schoolers can control, even if they strike all the right poses.
And this is okay - more than okay.
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BUT WHAT IS AN “HSP” - AND ARE YOU ONE?
High sensitivity is the category named by the research psychologist Elaine Aron, to describe about 15 to 20% of the population. If you’re an HSP, you’ll relate to this description: