Highly Sensitive People, due to the neurology of deep processing, have a more challenging job of regulating emotions. Because we feel so deeply, we sometimes have to increase self-awareness by consciously asking ourselves how far into our consciousness we’ve descended, and for how long have we been there?
It’s possible to hang out at one level for too long. Processing a trauma for too long, for example, has been proven to lock us in the physical experience of that trauma. It becomes rumination, which has been found to be re-traumatizing in itself.
To increase self-awareness, you should have–regardless of your propensity for deep processing–a general awareness of three basic levels and how often you’re occupying each. Every level is necessary for maintaining mental health wellness, and no level is superior to another. In fact, we require a healthy balance of all three.
I’ve always pictured these levels as three watery depths and what we might do there.
Visualizing the Three Levels of Consciousness:
Snorkeling ~ This is where we hang out when we’re feeling light and playful, kicking around at the surface of life. This is an hour in an energizing coffee shop, laughing with a friend. This is dancing in your kitchen, making vanilla pancakes while singing with Taylor Swift on your Spotify. This is simple fun, with no agenda other than more fun. It’s watching a silly movie, shopping, sending astrology memes to your best friend. It’s embarking on a quest to find the best gluten free lavender doughnut in your city!
Scuba Diving ~ This is the realm of your concentration, your cognition, your problem-solving skills. This is you having an in-depth conversation about something meaningful to you, with somebody who can flex with you and your interests. This is reading a book that shifts your worldview, that sparks your curiosity and expands your mind. This is writing a book, learning a new language, or practicing the guitar. This is losing yourself in your work.
Deep Sea Exploration ~ At these depths you disappear into the Oneness of the Universe. This is the realm of soul & psyche itself. This is the reorganization of your very DNA. This is a place of silence, of revelation, of sacred demolition where we burn the old to smoldering ashes in order to become something new. This is a meditation retreat, a sacred sunrise journaling practice, a peak experience in nature that changes you to the core. This is connecting to a revelatory dream that you know could alter the course of your life’s direction. This is a full-blown initiatory experience.
When you’re out of balance…
Too much snorkeling and we become emotionally unavailable, shallow, and self-indulgent. (The shadow emotion of snorkeling is apathy and selfishness.)
Too much scuba diving and we become locked in analysis, over-thinking, joylessness, and minutia. (The shadow emotion of scuba diving is anger, impatience, & frustration.)
Too much deep sea diving and we become self-absorbed, emotionally dysregulated, and inaccessible. (The shadow emotion of deep sea diving is overwhelm, hopelessness, & depression.)
When in balance…
When the levels are in balance we have the ability to seamlessly transition from one level to the next and back again. We can see the big picture and where we stand in it. We’re not afraid to have freedom and fun, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We can deeply exercise our mind without getting locked there. We can visit the very depth of our soul, gather the medicine, but not stay too long that we block out our own light and exhaust our life’s oxygen.
Right now I’m feeling fairly balanced, but after a particularly tumultuous month, followed by a whirlwind trip to the Grand Canyon, I’m a little too “Deep Sea” right now. (Canyons pull me deep into the depths of my psyche.) I probably need a little more snorkeling at the moment. More fun for the sake of fun, without considering how productive my choices are, or how they’re bettering me in any way, you know?
Can you sense where you are? If so, tell me in the comments! I’d love to hear.
Much Love, Kristy
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