My real name is Kathy, but I am also  known as Katy.  I am married, no children, one cat and live out in the country which I enjoy immensely. I met my  husband through a newsletter called  "The Comfort Zone", in the fall of 1999.  Around this time I had also joined a message board run by Thomas Eldridge (more about this later) where I learned a lot about the trait of HSP (highly sensitive person) and  which has become one of my favorite topics.

As a young adult I wondered about sensitivity. I remember going to the library  downtown after work and looking up information about "sensitivity" .  I don't think I found a thing...    It wasn't until I "happened" to read a book review in a small weekly newspaper about a new book called "The Highly Sensitive Person...", by Dr. Elaine Aron that I found out HSP was a normal trait.. a trait!!  I KNEW that was me!  It explained a lot! I immediately ordered the book and well,  It was a  turning point in my life, and a huge relief to know there were others like me.   

I soon found the Thomas Eldridge message board that I mentioned above. You might say I am a "charter member" of the HSP community which has grown from a mere 50 or so members to in the thousands.  When the message board began to grow Thomas thought it needed to be moderated, and he asked me to be his first and sole moderator.  I did that for about two  years.  

Thomas also put out an HSP Newsletter during that time and formed a group of editors called the " Word Weavers".  So I was also a Word Weaver, and along with the other editors helped to edit his monthly newsletter.

I also ran my own "HSP Chat Room" which was a lot of fun and I got to know a lot of interesting and like-minded people. 

All of this is to say that I have had a lot of experience with HSPs over the years and have learned a lot.  I share what I have learned in the HSP Section on this site.

Aside from my interest in HSP, I have also been interested in holistic health for almost as long as I can remember.  My first interest along these lines was HathaYoga.  I was fascinated by the concept of body, mind, spirit and how they relate to each other.

I could go on and on  about my studies in the field of natural/alternative healing but will spare you except to say that although I have studied mostly on my  own, I also took classes in natural healing modalities such as healing touch, transformational breathing, Yoga classes, water, (yes, a water class.. drinking water, that is), aromatherapy, meditation, and an online certification course in "Naturopathic Medicine" and more.   I have also been a friend and patient of the Holistic Health Center of Cincinnati for over 25 years, and have learned a lot from all the therapists there.. especially my massage therapists... oh so many interesting discussions we've had.  Thank you!!!

The spiritual aspect of my life has been quite journey...As far as my  viewpoints I have written a lot about those here on this site. Basically  I prefer the Christian contemplative tradition, and have been practicing Centering prayer for many years.  I have also participated in  many spiritually oriented workshops, retreats, conferences, etc. over the years,  not to mention the many books I have read.  Ask anyone who knows me. :-)

So why this website?  I have also always loved being creative; whether it is drawing,  crafts,  scrapbooks, writing or designing websites..  Creating this website has given me the opportunity to combine all these interests into one.
 
Now ABOUT YOU..  You are the ones who inspired me, supported me, listened to me, taught me over the years.  You know who you are.  I will always have a very special place in my heart for you.

And while I'm at it I want to especially thank the following people:  Dr. Elaine Aron, as she is the one who started it all!!!   Jacquelyn Strickland, my sister, my husband.. and all those who encouraged me to use my "talents" and get my writing "out there";  all those who emailed me with their compliments on my site and my writing; ; all the authors who gave me permission to use their wonderful articles on my site.  My site wouldn't be nearly as informative  without their professional input.. By name some of them are:  Judith Orloff,  Kyra Mesich, Carolyn Coleridge,  Joanna Cherry, Patricia Monroe, and Jenna Avery.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for visiting my website!


June 2010