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 Highly
Sensitive People (HSP) are considered to be
about 15-20% of the population. These people
are highly sensitive to their environments.
They notice everything. They are more sensitive
to odors, uncomfortable clothes, and changes
in the environment. It can make it difficult
to be them—or to live around them for that
matter because they find it difficult to "roll
with the punches." These times are particularly
difficult for them because of the ever-changing
technology and because of the vast array of
sensory input that is being offered to the average
human being. If you think about even 50 years
ago, that was not the case in the U.S. There
were no video games or huge malls with flashing
lights. An action movie was "High Noon"
with a final shoot out scene at the corral where
3-4 people died, tops. This last 50 years has
seen a burgeoning of those things that stimulate
a Highly Sensitive Person. Nowadays, in America
even insensitive people can be overstimulated.
On the other hand, we are becoming used to overstimulation
and the response to overstimulation is being
extinguished.
This overstimulation in America and other large
cities that attempt to westernize themselves
(e.g., Tokyo) is not seen in the rest of the
world. Rural underdeveloped nations quickly
come to mind, but that is also true in Europe.
The smaller cities of Europe move quite slowly
with minimal stimulation and speed.
What does this mean? The insensitive people
have held sway in the big cities and in politics
for that matter. There is no possibility in
our current system that a Highly Sensitive Person
like Abraham Lincoln could get elected. Clearly,
not enough pizzazz. Even someone like Gore who
is a deep thinker was crucified for having little
expression on his face. We preferred as a country
a man who shoots from the hip without considering
his words.
There has been a steady, quiet countercurrent,
however. As more and more people have had NDEs,
they have swelled the ranks of the HSP. If they
are already HSP before the NDE, they become
even more HSPs with an emphasis on spirituality.
Anyone who thinks deeply is bound to look at
the question of meaning in the world. This sense
of meaning will bring up questions about spirituality.
Quietly moving side by side with the increasing
sensual stimulation is the growing interest
in The Power of Now and Conversations
with God. There comes a time when anyone
reaches overstimulation. At that moment, God
is present. Excesses are sometimes required
in order to learn what one truly wants.
A clear path is about to emerge. As people
sign the pledge,
to their amazement it will be less about "voting
with their pocketbooks" and more about
reclaiming their lives. As people share quiet
time with each other, as they take hikes in
the woods, as they share deep conversations
and intimate stories, they will learn that gratuitous
violence is a poor substitute for real life.
As they stay away from malls, investors will
ask themselves how to entice people to "buy"
their product. It will not be by larger and
bigger displays. The size of the display is
irrelevant if nobody goes there in the first
place. It will be by asking, what to people
really want? They will absolutely have to settle
for less profits because the answer to that
question is "way less than before."
There will be a time of disease, but soon we
will simply settle into voluntary simplicity
and be grateful for it.
How does this all fit into the HSP? In the
setting of simplicity, the HSP is very helpful
because they help people to see the richness
of this new lifestyle. It is true that HSPs
are genetically determined and that NDErs change
after near-death, but that does not mean that
the other 75% of the people can't learn from
them. In a world where most of the physical
problems have been resolved, the HSP brings
in the richness. It is these people who invite
others to learn to notice more and think deeper.
It is part of the PLAN. HSPs sense the pain
of the other person and are willing to modify
their lives for the good of all. It is these
HSPs as souls in community who will bring on
the new way of being for humans.
A very important key here is the regular person
who has a NDE and becomes a HSP. They are proof
positive that a shift in perception is not a
pipe dream. There may be subtle re-wiring that
we have not yet found in the brain, but it does
prove that it is possible. Also, after a stroke
or with people born with defective receptors
and responders, extensive Physical Therapy can
bring them into the normal range. We have proof
of the possibility of re-wiring of brains.
Everything is in place for a re-wiring of the
collective brain of planet earth. Those people
so involved in the struggle to maintain their
own lives through food and shelter do their
best not to be HSP. It would only make it worse.
The 15-20% in that population tend to die off
rather quickly. However, if they no longer have
to struggle so fiercely merely to live, the
15-20% will become leaders. There will be time
to consider meaning in life.
In contrast, when people are no longer interested
in purchasing the latest thing, the high-pressure
salesman will be a thing of the past. There
will be no utility in that style of approach.
People will not take lessons in salesmanship
because there is no point. On the other hand,
because there is finally time to pursue deeper
issues, people will gladly sign up for leisure
learning courses and will attend philospohical
lectures because they are interested in thinking
at a deeper level.
These are fascinating times as threads spun
long ago are coming into proximity to weave
this new cloth. HSPs have been around forever
(although not much noticed until recently.)
NDEs have been around forever, but not that
common until recently, thanks to technology.
The struggle for existence has been around forever
and it kept us as a species from being able
to focus on the interests of HSPs and NDErs.
Now that we have the capabilities to cease that
struggle, we can finally for the first time
focus on the highest potential of man. As more
and more people become interested in moving
to that next level, we will as humans finally
move into the place that we were meant to achieve.
In the same way that HSPs were dragged into
a world of excessive stimulation and finally
became rather used to it, the less sensitive
folks will be exposed to the world of the HSP
and NDEr and will begin to see things that they
never noticed before.
In this new paradigm, children in school will
be taught to be more observant of the world
around them and of each other. This is not new.
It has been done in the Buddhist mindfulness
tradition forever. What is new is that it will
be taught from pre-school on. Meditation in
the schools by fellow students is already gaining
steam. That is huge because someone exposed
to meditation as a child will begin to use meditation
in every aspect of his or her lives. In the
same vein, someone taught to notice nuances
will not forget that as they mature. They may
well forget the dates of certain battles, but
once their eyes are opened, they will not shut
again.
As HSPs teach the rest of the world to become
more sensitive, the world will naturally seem
to be much richer than it was before. The average
person will enjoy their lives at a much deeper
and richer level than they have before.
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