Is Increased Sensitivity a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

If I become more sensitive to the things that do not align with my desired vibration, isn’t that a bad thing?

That depends on me  and what I do with the sensitivity. If I allow myself to focus on the things that irritate me, causing me to focus my awareness on them, the sensitivity becomes harmful, attracting more irritation. But I can shift my awareness–that’s the good thing. How many times  I have blocked out extraneous noises, a headache or toothache, or distracting or disturbing sights by focusing my awareness on my work, on doing something else.  By controlling my focus, my awareness, I have the capability of controlling my experience of whatever is going on around me.  In that sense, I am the center of my universe–at least from my perspective!

If the thing that irritates me–say a grain of sand in my shoe–is something I can fix, then the sensitivity brings it to my awareness so I can fix it. Then I can focus on something else. If I choose not to fix it, then it can become a larger problem–a blister or hole in my foot that is more difficult to ignore, and may even become health-threatening.

But if I notice that the irritation is something I can’t fix, I can learn to turn my focus to something soothing–music or natural sounds, the feel of  warm socks on myfeet, something pretty on my desk–I can work at becoming more sensitive to positive stimuli. Many of us take the pleasant for granted instead of seeking it out–it’s the whole smell the roses thing. Most people are very good at focusing to avoid awareness, but not shifting awareness to some better thought.

Some prisoners of war talk about surviving solitary confinement and even torture by distracting their awareness to some intellectual thought process or memory.  This is illustrated in the TV series Firefly with a story that depicts an ongoing discussion of the relationship of Captain Mel to Pilot Wash’s wife Zoe while they are being tortured. Both men suffer intensely, but the stronger mental focus of Captain Mel allows Wash to survive and to understand what is behind the “war stories” shared between Zoe and Mel. (spoiler alert!) They do not lose their minds even though Mel is actually killed and then revived. While this is TV, it is based on things that happen in the real world.

We instinctively scan for possibly unpleasant experiences in order to avoid them. It takes a lot of effort at first to allow someone else to do what we find irritating, while we look for something that feels better to think about, to pay attention to. I’m certainly working on that myself. Think of it this way: What right do I have to interfere in someone else’s life, especially if that person does not ask me to help?

Even if I let others else irritate me, I can back away (turn down the sensitivity–or at least work on turning it down) to find the awareness of what it is about what they are doing that irritates me.  Usually it’s something that I don’t like to admit that I do–a shadow projection. Allowing the awareness of how I am participating in being irritated is very informative. I can then take action to change myself.

Awareness is focused. I am insensitive to others when I am only thinking about my insecurities. When I am aware of the other person, I can listen and be present with less anxiety. The key is awareness and focus. The sensitivity helps to develop awareness, especially if I make the effort to find out to what kind of stimulus I am sensitive. But then it is up to me to do something about the sensitive spot.

If I find that a TV show (friend, book, activity)  moves me away from my desired vibration, then I decide whether to keep participating. If I can’t leave (turn it off, close it, stop it)  for whatever reason, I can shift my awareness to analysis of the situation, to observation, to something else. It is up to me to decide and to take action.

I can make  increased sensitivity a Good Thing, or I can suffer.