The phenomenon of the Highly Sensitive Person, also known as an Empath, is something that only came up for me recently, but which I immediately related to.
Theres a distinction to be made here between someone who is Empathetic and the Empath. Most of us can be Empathetic at some stage when appropriate – maybe when not appropriate – the Empath on the other hand is someone who has a highly attuned sense of awareness to the energetic qualities of themselves, others and the wider world including, maybe, animals and places. Personally I think Highly Sensitive Person is a better descriptor, although that can be equally misinterpreted.
The difficultly that HSPs face is that their sensitivity can lead them to inappropriately hold, process and generally be effected by other energies – it is easy for them to be overwhelmed.
The gist of this book is the traits of the HSP, how they may protect themselves, and some practical pointers towards engaging with a world that, often, seems to sap or otherwise disturb their energy. I personally related to a lot of this, and I suspect many in the yoga world will.
As such this is a great book for both HSPs, and anyone who works with energy on a regular basis, therapeutically or otherwise. And, in this context, if you are confused by the word “energy”, then you can probably let this book pass you by, at least for now.
The book is comprehensive and generally well written, although I think there is considerably repetition of ideas in places and it could have been a lot shorter – half way through I started to skim read as it was all getting a bit heavy and samey. Subject to that caveat a really useful book.
It can be purchased on Amazon, and if you use this link, Yinspire earns a small commission.
