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 Here I  include what I believe is some essential information about the spiritual  life for the HSP (highly sensitive person.)  Regardless of what religion you may practice, I think there are certain aspects of spirituality which apply to all.  

 I use the name of Christ and use many Christian quotes,  because I am from a Christian background.  If you are of a different background or religion  please think of the name of God as Almighty,  Creator, Source, Higher Power, or whatever other name you may be accustomed to.    After all, it is my belief that Christ encompasses all religions, is for all people of all religions, and in fact transcends religion itself.

*HSP means highly sensitive person", a term coined by Dr. Elaine Aron, psychologist, researcher, and author of the book, "The Highly Sensitive Person-How To Thrive When the World Overwhelms You."   The traits of empathy, intuition, clairsentience, introversion, etc. are also common , and sometimes synonymous  with HSP.

 Jesus Pattern for a Happy Life

The Beatitudes

Jesus  talks  about light in Matthew 5:14-16.  Notice that he says, you *are* the light of the world, not you will be when you are something better. Right now, within yourself, shines the light for this world. Many have not discovered that light in themselves. Many perhaps feel that they have no light. Do you think Jesus was mistaken? Did he not know what he was talking about? So you must in fact be the light of the world now. Start to look for that place within yourself where light shines. It is there.............

When you begin to show ever so little willingness to find your light, offer that willingness to the Holy Spirit.  Do it consciously, deliberately.  Holy Spirit, I am willing to find my own light.;  If that is scary, do it anyway. Your own light is for you.  It is the Father's gift to you. You can trust it to bring you joy. You can be free to enjoy your own light.  If you are willing, the Spirit will rush to show you his shining within your own spirit.

Liquori Publications, Missouri 1981.

Types of Christian Spirituality

(Author unknown)

Within the very large context of Christianity, a wisdom about spirituality has developed through the ages. It has long been recognized that different individuals are drawn to different ways of responding to the two great commandments to love God above all and one's neighbor as oneself. Some Catholic religious orders, for example, seem to emphasize ministries appropriate for extraverted, outgoing, sociable types; others attract more introverted, introspective types. Neither is better or more valuable in the overall life of the Church, however. All do emphasize the same kinds of values and disciplines, only to different degrees.

In his work on Ignatian Spirituality and the Directed Retreat, George Schemel, SJ has provided a helpful way of understanding different types of Christian spirituality by identifying three broad pathways in Christianity. I shall summarize them below, then conclude with a few remarks about contemplative practice:

A.  Monastic Spirituality. This is the highly structured and contemplative-oriented lifestyle of those who live in monasteries: Carthusians, Trappists, etc. Non-monks who live mostly solitary lives that are structured to emphasize spiritual practice might also be considered in this group. Their primary service to the Church is through prayer, and they witness to the joy and peace of the contemplative life through their writings and hospitality to visitors.

B.  Psychological-Contemplative Spirituality. Includes religious orders like the Carmelites and Dominicans, and also Charismatics and anyone drawn to deep and regular prayer. This spirituality might well be summarized by the Dominican idea of "action proceeding from contemplation." Those who travel this highway are more active in the world than monastic types.

C.  Apostolic Spirituality. Includes most lay people, diocesan priests, Jesuits, Franciscans, and most of Protestantism. Although prayer and spiritual disciplines are encouraged, equal emphasis is given to finding God breaking through in the everyday affairs of life. Very involved in what's going on in the world. Service is emphasized.


Obviously, contemplative disciplines would seem to be highly relevant to people in the Monastic and Psychological-Contemplative pathways. But what about the majority who travel the broad, Apostolic pathway? These are generally more extraverted types; are contemplative practices helpful to them as well?

Absolutely!   While the more introverted types seem more naturally drawn to contemplative spirituality to attend to their inner life and find God there, where their gaze is more naturally disposed, we need to recognize that all extraverts have an introverted side as well.  For them, contemplative practice can help to round out their spirituality, and deepen their sensitivity to finding God in all things. Without giving at least minimal attention to these practices, extraverts can get so caught up in the outer affairs of life as to lose perspective--even Self! Contemplative practices help one become more in touch with the True Self, and, hence, more authentic in one’s involvements. They also enable better discernment of the leadings of the Holy Spirit--a goal which every Christian spirituality considers primary.

A  Dream of the True Self

by  Nancy

I would like to share a spiritual experience that happened more than ten years ago.   This experience to me is like a precious pearl in my spiritual walk.   I am sharing it because my relationship to the Christ is greater than any spiritual experience He has given me. I am also sharing it with you because it offers hope and meaning to everyone, not just myself.  I feel the experience is not just about my spiritual walk but everyone's.   Feel free to see yourself in the experience!

At this time in my life, I had hit a very dark point.  I was in a state of depression  and very uncertain about what was going to come next.

One night, I had a dream.  I dreamed that I was standing in the marketplace in the Old City of Jerusalem.  The dream was so vivid, I can recall every detail, down to what I was wearing and what every piece of material looked and felt like.  The dream was too vivid to be an ordinary dream.

Anyway, in the dream I was in the third person, watching myself in Jerusalem.  Suddenly, I was watching myself looking at a mysterious figure approaching down the street.  This figure was literally floating.

The figure came closer and closer.   I knew in my dream that this figure was not human.  I watched myself anxiously watching this figure, trying to figure out who it was that was approaching me.   As it got closer,  I could see that it was the most beautiful, awesome being I had ever seen!  This being looked like an angel;  her (I say "her", but the being was androgynous) hair shone with a light that glowed from within her long wavy hair.   She was wearing a beautiful yet simple gown made of gold with a thin gold ribbon tied around her chest. This gown was so unbelievably detailed,  I still remember it to this day.    She was walking toward me like a queen,  her head held high with a holiness about her that was incredible.

In my dream,  I strained up to see her face because she was so tall.   She came straight toward me, so close that I finally could see her face, and I finally recog- nized who this being was!   IT WAS ME!  I was SHOCKED!  The being seemed to walk right through me in my dream 

I was shocked when I woke up.  What on earth could this mean?  Then, I started  to learn from books about the higher self.  I now believe, ten years later, that this dream was to show me that I have a higher self within me, the Christ that lives in me, who is waiting to be drawn out into the conscious level of my self.   The point is, my  dear brothers and sisters, is that we ALL have this higher self, the inner holy beautiful Christ living within us, waiting to be drawn out into conscious reality.

An "HSP" Meditation


Centering

Wherever you are right now, imagine putting up sound barriers all around you. These barriers are invisible, stretching from the ground to the outer atmosphere. No sound, no people, no outside intrusions can penetrate these barriers. You can put the barriers just a foot away from yourself or surround a larger space -- whichever feels most comfortable. Within the barriers, all is silent and peaceful. Sit within your imaginary barriers for a moment.

Praying

It's unusual for me to feel peaceful and quiet, dear Jesus, because there is always so much noise, so much confusion, so much other stuff going on all around me.

People demanding my time, Projects demanding my attention,
Tasks demanding my effort.

I long for a place with sound barriers: a place where I can go to be quiet, where I can find the peace that is missing from my life.

I know that you often felt the same way -- that you had the same need to find a place away from everything where you could rest and be quiet. You didn't seem to find it any easier to do that than I do, and you are the Son of God, with legions of angels at your command!

How I need a place of peace in my life, dear Jesus, a place just for us.  No one else but me and you. There we would be, just the two of us.  No one interrupting us with their complaints and demands.  No phones ringing, televisions blaring, or traffic roaring.
No deadlines, no alarm clocks, no schedules.  Nothing else. Just me and you.

As I talk to you, Christ Jesus, I'm beginning to realize that in this
talking is a peace. As I concentrate on what I'm saying to you and listen for the sound of your voice, I'm beginning to shut out all the noise around me.

Our communion with each other is erecting barriers all around. The world outside me fades, the sounds die down, and I can finally relax in this quiet space.

Here we are, resting in each other's presence. Just me and you.

I thank you, Christ Jesus, for this small space of peace and quiet with you.  I thank you that this space is always here, always waiting for me, and in  these few moments, I can find the refreshing that I need.

That's all it takes -- a few moments with you. A few moments of peace and quiet.  Just me and you.

Listening

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Returning

Continue to sit for a few moments, enjoying your quiet space. Then, one by one, take down your invisible barriers and return to your world. Remember that the quiet space is always there, always available to you when you feel the need for peace and quiet.

This excerpt is taken from QUIET SPACES by Patricia Wilson. 

Anyway

~ Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,

People may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have.

And it may never be enough.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway.

Prayer for the Gifted

Lord, I am grateful for all You've given me, for all the gifts that I have.

 Help me not to be critical or scornful of those with different gifts.

 Help me not to despair when it seems I've been given more than I can

 deal with.  And guide me, so that I may use my gifts for the increase

 of Your glory. Amen.

   A Prayer for Protection  

"The Light of God surrounds me"  

    The Love of God enfolds me, 

   The Power of God protects me;

     The presence of God watches over me.

     Wherever I am God is, and all is well."

Our Father in Heaven........................................The Source of our Being

Holy be your name.........................Lead us from un-holiness to holiness

Your Kingdom come........................... From fragmentation to wholeness

Your will be done on earth as in heaven..........From conflict to harmony

Give us today our daily bread.................................From time to eternity

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us....... From sin to grace.

Do not bring us to the test.........................................From duality to unity

But deliver us from evil........................................ From darkness to Light.

Favorite  Quotes

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
--Mother Teresa

"At the root of all war is fear:  not so much the fear people have of one another as the fear they have of everything.... Only Love ---- which means humility --- can exorcise the fear which is at the root of all war."   Thomas Merton

"I know that the politically correct position is that there are many paths to God, which is true, i.e. Matthew Fox's "One River, Many Wells." But Mother Mary has told the Medjuroge visionaries that while that is true, some paths lead us closer to God than others, with Christ bringing us closer to God than ever."       Anonymous

"Those also can attain to everlasting salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does divine Providence deny the help necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, but who strive to live a good life, thanks to His grace."
(Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 16).

"The joy of Christmas is the intuition that all limitations to growth into
higher states of consciousness have been overcome.  The Divine light cuts across all darkness, prejudice, preconceived ideas, prepackaged values, false expectations, phoniness and hypocrisy.  It presents us with the truth. To act out of the truth is to make Christ grow not only in ourselves, but in others.  Thus, the humdrum duties and events of daily life become sacramental, shot through with eternal implications.  This is what we celebrate in the liturgy.  The *kairos,* 'the appointed time,' is *now.*  According to Paul, 'Now is the time of salvation,' that is, now is the time when the whole of the divine mercy is available.  Now is the time to risk further growth.  To go on growing is to be at the cutting edge of human evolution and of the spiritual journey.  The divine action may turn our lives upside-down; it may call us into various forms of service.
Readiness for any eventuality is the attitude of one who has entered into
the freedom of the Gospel.  Commitment to the new world that Christ is
creating - the new corporate personality of redeemed humanity - requires
flexibility and detachment:  the readiness to go anywhere or nowhere, to
live or to die, to rest or to work, to be sick or to be well, to take up one
service and to put down another.  Everything is important when one is
opening to Christ-consciousness.  This awareness transforms our worldly concepts of security into the security of accepting, for love of God, an unknown future.  The greatest safety is to take that risk.  Everything else is dangerous."      Pp.  27-28. Keating, Thomas.  _The Mystery of Christ:  The Liturgy as Spiritual  Experience._   Continuum, New York.  1996.

"In each moment of chronological time, the divine value of each moment is available to us in
proportion to our sensitivity to the Spirit of Christ.  The Spirit suggests what is to be done at each moment in our relationship to God, ourselves, other people, and the cosmos.  When we listen to the movements of the Spirit rather than to our own bright ideas and self-centered programs for happiness, the internal commentary that normally sustains our emotional upsets comes to an end, enabling us to accept difficult situations and people.  The neutral zone that we provide allows the Spirit to act."      Keating, Thomas. Awakenings 

"Since you are a free being and can do the most important thing in the world-choose....What shall it be?......Do you know of any better hypothesis than Christ?  Let your mind sweep the horizon of possibilities.  After eliminating this thing and the other thing, this person and that person, does it not settle upon Christ as your best bet?  ~ from "Abundant Living"  by E. Stanley Jones

"The life which Christ gives to the world is the life which He receives from the Father, the life of the Father in Him.  We need see no further than Christ Himself in order to "see" the invisible source of Life.  The simplicity of the Gospels, if kept in mind, makes false mysticism impossible.  Christ has delivered us forever from the esoteric and strange. He has brought the light of God to our own level to transfigure our ordinary existence"   Thomas.Merton,  " The Living Bread".

"All along the spiritual life, God may be known also in these two ways, as light, presence, ground of our being, fulfillment, spouse; or as night, darkness, absence, cloud, abyss of all being, the inaccessible, the all-other. Some spiritual tempers are better attuned to perceive the immanence, others the transcendence, of God...." (Paulist Press, 1976. pp. 93, 94)

"We cannot do great things on this earth, we can only do small things with great love…" ~ Mother Teresa.

"The day will come when after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire."  --Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"When we ultimately go home to God, we are going to be judged on what we were to each other, what we did for each other, and especially how much love we put in that. It's not how much we give, but how much love we put in the doing -that's compassion in action.  One's religion has nothing to do with compassion. It's our love for God that is the main thing......Religion is meant to help us come closer to God, not meant to separate us."   - -Mother Teresa

Jesus Christ did not come to start a new religion, but to start a new race, a new species.... one that would never die."   ~   Katy

"What makes the Gospel news?  The faith, which is created in us by God and with which we hear it as new.  This acceptance of faith, this new birth in
the Spirit, opens up a new dimension in which time and eternity meet, in
which all things are made new: eternity, time, or own self, the world around
us. The Gospel is the news that, if I will, I can respond now in perfect
freedom to the redemptive love of God for man in Christ, that I can now rise above the forces of necessity and evil in order to say "yes" to the
mysterious action of Spirit that is transforming the world even in the midst
of the violence and confusion and destruction that seem to proclaim His
absence and His "death."
Merton, Thomas.  Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Doubleday & Company, New
York.  1966. P. 112-113.

"Dear friend in God, we come from a society that is frenetic in its
activity.  It is caught up in the trauma of future shock.  All it thinks
about is speed, production, wealth, and material gain.  Do not be surprised if you should find yourself the victim of criticism, even from some good people, when you seek to give yourself to the quiet and the dark cloud of contemplative prayer.  As Martha did not understand Mary, many people will not understand your loving search.  They will even criticize your meditation practice of gently going into God's presence in love by a quiet listening to your prayer word as a symbol of your union with God.  To such people you are not really praying if you are not externally active or, at the very least, caught up in a flurry of mental activity and intellectual speculation.
....Please remember that starting over again every day is a wonderful form
of perseverance in the loving search.  God will never abandon you.  Do not abandon God." 

 P.26 Meninger, William A.   _The Loving Search for God:  Contemplative Prayer and
The Cloud of Unknowing._  Continuum, New York.  1998.

"The transformation of human consciousness is no longer a luxury, so to speak, available only to a few isolated individuals, but a necessity if humankind is not to destroy itself.  At the present time, the dysfunction of the old consciousness and the arising of the new are both accelerating.  Paradoxically, things are getting worse and better at the same time, although the "worse" is more apparent because it makes so much noise."     Eckhart Tolle,   "Stillness Speaks"   

"More and more surely we know that the day of the Lord, when nation shall not rise up against nation neither shall they learn war any more can only be brought about by us, the children of the Light.... "  Agnes Sanford, "The Healing Light"

"Spirituality has nothing to do with DOING, with the externals. Spirituality has to do with BEING, with the mysterious inner self. Religion often divides humankind, even to the extent of fomenting hatred, wars, and incalculable human suffering. Spirituality, on the other hand-of whatever deep and sincere kind-heals and unites and makes us all brothers and sisters, since true spirituality INTUITS and honors the common ground of all being."    ~ Karl Rahner

 "It is drawing near us even now... the new heaven and the new earth... and if only we will believe Him and work with all our hearts for the Kingdom.  He will soon accomplish His second break-through into time.  And we will see with our eyes what St. John saw in a vision so very long ago:  we will see a pure river of the water of life,  the heavenly energy that heals and cleanses and resurrects, flowing in the very center an d heart of life so that it is available to everyone  (Rev.  22:1)  We will see that heavenly energy so filling the earth that life will grow and blossom like trees on every side, and those trees of life will bring forth all manner of fruits:  fruits of judgment and of justice and of healing for men and nations  (Rev. 22:2) and of the love of Christ shining like a light to all the world (Rev. 22:5)"

from  "The Healing Touch of God",  by Agnes Sanford

"I am against war, against violence, against violent revolution, for peaceful settlement of differences, for nonviolent but nevertheless radical changes. Change is needed, and violence will not really change anything: at most it will only transfer power from one set of bull-headed authorities to another."     ~ Thomas Merton

"Our present task is not just to stay out of trouble until we are liberated from this world of sin. Our present task is to contribute to the formation of the kingdom, to extend the presence and action of the Christ* to the world around us so that every aspect of that world will fit into the final harmony that is constituted by the universal dominion of the Christ.  Reflection on the kingship of Christ invites us to awareness that our present life is not a waiting room, a gathering place where we pass the time until we are called to go elsewhere. On the contrary, our present life is a workroom where all of us together are invited to collaborate on a final future that will consist in the completion of redemption an the handing over of all creation to God....."      (quote from the Catholic **Telegraph)

"Prayer is something deeper than words. It is present in the soul before it
has been formulated into words. And it abides in the soul after the last
words of prayer have passed over our lips.  Prayer is an attitude of our
hearts, an attitude of mind. Prayer is a definite attitude of our hearts
toward God, an attitude which He in heaven immediately recognizes as prayer,
as an appeal to His heart. Whether it takes the form of words or not, does
not mean anything to God, only to ourselves."   Hallesby, O.   _Prayer._   Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis. 1931. Pg.16.

"But why is it that some people, even some who are good Christians and who
pray fervently, can't seem to make Romans 8:28 work in their lives, while for a few others
it seems to be easy and natural?  The answer is in the fact that the vehicle by which the Way is made know to man - the line that connects the individual soul with the Great Pattern - is the *unconscious mind.*  You may 'say prayers' all day, but if it's all done on a purely cerebral level - in other words, if the door to the unconscious is closed, it's going to be nearly
impossible for the perfect spiritual answer to get through to you.  It's like talking into a phone that's been disconnected.  If you're going to receive guidance, if you're going to learn to flow with the River, you're going to have to learn to *open up the connection between your conscious and unconscious mind.*  That's the great secret.  It's the door you have to
open.  "Knock and it shall be opened unto you."  (Luke 11:9).

Helleberg, Marilyn Morgan.  _A Guide to Christian Meditation._
Phoenix Press, Walker and Company, New York.  1980.  pp.33-34.

"I like the expression 'resting in God.'  When you pray with all your heart,
the Holy Spirit is in you, and as you continue to pray, the Holy Spirit
continues in you.  You do not need to do anything else.  As long as the Holy Spirit is there, everything is fine. You are resting in God, and God will work in you.  For transformation to take place, you only need to allow the Holy Spirit to stay in you.  The Holy Spirit is the energy of God that shines forth and shows you the way.  You can see things deeply, understand deeply and love deeply."  
BlankThich Nhat Hanh.  _ Living Buddha, Living Christ._  Paperback edition from Riverhead Books, published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.,  New York, NY 10014.  1995 - p.181

"My answer is meditation;  I do not know any other way of discovering this inner harmony.  If a person learned to sit and meditate and allowed the body and the mind to become calm, then the deeper level of the spirit would emerge."   Bede Griffith (1907-93

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