The Skeptical Mystic

            My friend, June, remembers being only four or five years old and being taken next door to see the neighbor's new baby. After the adults had all oohed and ahhed over the newborn, little June tugged at the dress of the new mother, and politely told the woman that she was sorry that the baby would not live much longer. A remark like that obviously threw the adults into a tizzy. June was hustled out the door, with her mother scolding her all the way home for saying such a horrid thing. The bad part was that the neighbor's baby died before the week was out. As June grew up, she discovered that trying to warn people of what was yet to happen only got everybody upset. She learned to keep her visions to herself.
           I also learned to keep quiet, though for different reasons. My inner teachers devised their own way to keep my mouth shut. Anytime I tried to discuss my inner experiences, or to ask questions about other realities, my mind would go blank after I'd managed to spit out the first few words. I could never remember the rest of the sentence; I couldn't remember how the sentence had started, or what train of thought had triggered the forbidden topic. My mind would just stay blank--until I gave up trying to verbalize these inner realities.
           For children who are born psychic, who spend a childhood trying to endure spontaneous intrusions from other dimensions, problems may revolve around trying to keep enough emotional/mental balance to fit in with everyone else's reality. As I keep writing this journal, I'll come back to the problems of spontaneous psychics. With so many other people trying hard to open themselves up to higher dimensions, no one's ever thought to address the spontaneous psychic's need to slow down or block higher awareness,.
           For the time being, however, it makes more sense to start at the other end of the psychic spectrum -- the sensitive child. Some authors, such as Elaine Aron and Barrie Jaeger, suggest that being highly sensitive may be a common trait in 15% to 20% of the general population. Either these authors are being more flexible with their terminology, or this level of being psychic is relatively common. Perhaps today's world needs the different word; the term psychic is historically loaded and associated with intense impressions; being sensitive sounds better -- like you're normal, just refined to a higher level. Hey, whatever term you can live with...

           Sensitive children may be extremely perceptive, intuitive, and observant. They may respond to other people's upsets, finding it hard to maintain their own center of stability if another individual nearby is angry or depressed.  As small babies or infants, they become overwhelmed and over-stimulated in crowded situations, breaking down into tears and/or non-stop crying. (A spontaneous psychic may also respond this way, but as they grow older they can identify specific events).

        The emotional reaction is understandable to anyone used to receiving psychic impressions; the senses are being flooded by outside influences. If not helped in infancy, some children may respond by withdrawing from or avoiding large social engagements. The parent can help slowly build a sensitive baby or infant's resilience by exposing the child gradually but persistently to large group situations. Provide adult stability and reliability, radiating your own center of calmness and confidence. Give the child quiet time after each exposure until he or she has regained a center of balance. As the child grows, point out that people who are sensitive may find themselves responding to the feelings and emotions of other people. They must learn to check their own inner feelings before being swept away by other people's emotions, and they must learn how to find and maintain their own center of balance.

          If you notice your child shying away from large groups, be sure hypersensitivity is the reason for your child's behavior. Books by Elaine Aron, Barrie S. Jauger, and Marti Olsen Laney, give great advice on children and/or adults whom they identify as highly sensitive. Please note that the problem of sensitivity should be differentiated from social withdrawal that arises due to shyness (a social awkwardness which can be resolved with learned social skills), an introverted personality (which is healthy, though the child may need help adapting to an extroverted world), or a schizoid personality disorder (which needs professional help).

           With a very small infant, you can only compare the child's reactions to environmental situations and make adjustments from there.  When you're not sure if an older child is responding to a psychic encounter, hypersensitivity (as defined by the above-mentioned authors), or an over-active imagination, it's often best to aim for a solution that covers all bases. Remember that the very best background you can give a sensitive child (or any child) is one that develops emotional stability. I'll continue this subject in a future posting.