Architecture of Meaning

Cultivating Meaningful Engagement for the Highly Sensitive Person

Whether it is the meaning and value of a “no”, or the gift of rejection, family, school, work and cultural norms fail to assist us in appreciating the value of the no….

As children, if we grew up in a family or culture in which we were not seen or valued, we may have unknowingly adopted a false self. If we have a strong will, there are few ways for this persona to be penetrated. Often, the rejections are the chiropractic adjustment that force us to examine what we value, or what we have attached ourselves to, that may not be from a place of alignment. The more we slam our head against closed doors, the more likely we are to be willing to ask if that direction is our true path. The no’s and rejections may be the only path to our authentic self.

…While I do not begin to suggest that sensitives and visionaries know how climate change is going to play out, I would say that many sensitives and visionaries live with a sense of how large events will play out or come to pass that surpasses all logical explanation. In some ways it is as if they lack the filter that limits the ability of most people to see beyond the present….

If a pebble is dropped in the pond, it is as if the sensitive or visionary feels or sees as far out as the 100th ripple….As crises spread, deep change is mandatory. Someone aware of the ripples can be confused as to why it takes such crisis for most citizens to even begin to consider the need for change. This is part of the pain of carrying a capacity for vision - or for the awareness of the exponential.

In a culture that puts a premium on production, mastery and outward engagement, an introverted, sensitive or evolving man has no model for his journey. There is no commonly shared vocabulary for his experience. In a dieing culture, any man moved to untangle himself from the crumbling infrastructure is at a loss when it comes to understanding the process of disengagement.

Whether it is the high functioning attorney who has a stroke at age 35 and must learn to walk and talk all over again, the financial advisor that must relinquish the notion of making clients money in a falling market, the entrepeneur committed to sustainability who comes to understand there is no saving the planet or the management consultant who must watch his wife die of breast cancer - when these men face the abyss, there is no philosophy, book or cultural movement to support them.

“Community” is a phrase we hear everywhere these days. Unfortunately, the tools necessary to create and sustain healthy community are often less available than the numerous efforts towards community. Often, a group can get bogged down by a member who does not share the goals of the group. The absence of a commitment to self reflection or capacity for clear communication limit the potential of any group.

As we go forward with an intention to reestablish bonds of community in every sphere of our lives, it is helpful to have concepts and tools to nurture and encourage healthy and authentic interaction. In a healthy group setting, it is the capacity of each individual for responsible and honest interaction that becomes the glue of structural integrity.

If you are compelled to evolution, there will most likely come a time where you feel kicked out of life. It is not merely that you have to change your diet, or give up drinking, or change careers, or give up exercise, or let go of a mate. You find that the world no longer holds any interest for you.

You will probably spend awhile trying to kick start yourself into wanting to want the old things - certain friends, or activities or life goals. However, at some point, you will realize it is not going to happen. Then you may spend a period of time frightened and afraid that you are going crazy. If you are lucky, during this time you will stumble across an author (if you have not given up reading) or meet someone who validates this disinclination to the culture as part of the evolution into a creative and authentic life.