February 2012: Comfort Zone ONLINE
A Special Request to HSP Parents; plus Martin Buber and HSPs; and Pain and HSPs

Dear Highly Sensitive Readers,

In this issue:

• An article on HSPs and pain.
• A sort of rallying cry for highly sensitive parents--a request that you write, for a possible book, about the joys, problems, and solutions that come with being sensitive and raising children. Such a book would require your contributions. You can also just let us know if you think such a book would be useful. Hence, this article is largely about how to respond to and help with the project.
• Finally, the series on spirituality continues, with an exploration of Martin Buber for HSPs.

News: You may have noticed the cover of Time, on shyness, sort of. The article was prompted by Susan Cain's new book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. I was interviewed for it, so we are in the story. You may enjoy the book if you are an introverted HSP. If you are one of the 30% who are extraverted, you might need to read the blog post I wrote about this. I do not mean to be hard on Susan Cain in that blog post, but protective of the extraverted HSPs. She's done a great job of researching and writing. She even writes about going to one of our gatherings, in a very nice way.

Meanwhile, Sweden has a new website by Else Marie Gudel at http://www.högkänslig.se, complete with Comfort Zone articles translated into Swedish. Two articles about HSPs will be coming out there in major print media, too.

From Israel, Beata Shabun wrote me this:

"I'm very happy to tell you that now almost every sensitive person my friends or I meet in whatever situation, knows she is an HSP and has heard about the book. It happened to me in a lot of different situations, like when I was jogging in the park and talking to a total stranger; or being at the cafe in Tel-Aviv with friends, when suddenly a woman approached me and told she is a member of our HSP Community. My yoga teacher, who lives in Jerusalem, told me she saw your book standing out from one of her student's bags. My close friend, who is teaching children in the afternoon school program, living in the northern part of the country, told me that one of the children explained her very emotional behavior by telling my friend: 'You know, I'm highly sensitive'. Knowing it fills me with great happiness."

It fills us with happiness, too.

Next Gathering

There's an excellent HSP Gathering coming up. It will be June 7-11 at the Land of Medicine Buddha Retreat Center in Soquel, California (near Santa Cruz).

Registration form online at: http://www.lifeworkshelp.com/hspgathering.htm

Special Concert on Saturday night: Anton Mizerak & Laura Berryhill

Besides being with other HSPs, a must at least once in your life--Santa Cruz and its surrounds are just a great place to visit, another thing you should do at least once in your life. Santa Cruz is a beach town (pier, famous Boardwalk, wildlife such as dolphins and sea otters, etc.). It backs up to the huge, redwooded Santa Cruz Mountains with many state parks and hiking trails. South, there's the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel, and the unforgettable Big Sur area. North, there are more parks and the spectacular coastal drive on Highway 1 as another route to San Francisco. All of this is not that far from San Francisco Airport.

I'll be speaking on Sunday, trying to discuss spirituality with those who come. See you there!

Meanwhile, we have the season of renewal coming soon. The days are lengthening, even if we are in a cold, dark time. I hope your sensitivity gradually turns the subtle beauty of another spring into a time of fresh joy.

Elaine

February 2012 Articles:

A Letter from Elaine
Coping Corner: HSPs and Pain
HSPs and Parenting: Dear Highly Sensitive Parents (and Grandparents): A Request for Help
Our Spiritual Life: Martin Buber's Great Gift to Us

[Back to main Comfort Zone page]

February 2012 Articles:

A Letter from Elaine

Coping Corner: HSPs and Pain

HSPs and Parenting: Dear Highly Sensitive Parents (and Grandparents): A Request for Help

Our Spiritual Life: Martin Buber's Great Gift to Us