[0:00] I recently had someone reach out and ask a really interesting question.
[0:08] They said, what happens when you go through something like a really intense illness and then afterwards it feels like you've opened up in a completely different way? Now, this really got me thinking because this comes up way more often than what people realize. So, have you ever noticed that something shifts in you and you don't really know why? Maybe you feel more aware, more sensitive, or more tuned in to what's happening around you. And a part of you is curious, but another part of you is wondering what's actually going on here. Now, if this is something you've experienced or even just felt a little bit of, then this episode is going to be a really interesting one to stay with.
[1:22] Hello and welcome back to the Inspirational Soul Podcast. I'm your host, Pete Williams. So nice to have you here. And first and foremost, a huge shout out to everyone who replied to my emails and my send outs, just asking, hey, what would you like to talk about?
[1:51] And And like I was saying before in the intro, it does get asked way more than what people do realize. And it's a very common experience. This is something that I explain quite a lot in the Q&A section of my live events when it does pop up. And for that reason, it is more common. It may not feel like for the person who's going through it at the time but there is far more people that actually do go through it and that's just something that i really wanted to point out and this is what kind of leads me to help everyone identify like what i see as like three different pathways that will open you up like open you up to the energy open you up to a greater sense of awareness you know open you up to more feelings and like greater connection to things and people around you so when we have a look at these three.
[3:04] Pathways. The first pathway is natural sensitivity.
[3:12] And this is something, when I talk about natural sensitivity, we will find that there are people who are born literally more sensitive than others. Like there is actually a proper term, highly sensitive individuals or highly sensitive of people, so HSI, HSPs, but that gets a bit clinical. I don't want to go down that path with you, but feel free to look it up. You'll get more information there with you. But I just want to kind of keep this nice and real, but casual as possible. Now, what really happens is this is where you'll see, this is the children element. It really starts to highlight. It really starts to come through in at a very, very young age. Now, for some kids, it's very, very obvious, but for others, it may not be straight away. Now, I've talked about this previously in other episodes and stuff like that, but I'm just going to do a kind of a quick recap for anyone who is new or perhaps we're just going to do a quick refresher here for you. Now, quite often is when we look at kids and this is this natural sensitivity, it means it's coming through from that age, from a very young age. Now, kids are naturally more open in general and they're more open from.
[4:40] Very young age up until about the age of seven or eight and it's around the age of seven or eight that the frontal lobe contact starts to activate but that aside what happens is is you become more aware and children more is now this is not just about like speaking to or being aware of connecting with you know full-blown spirits this actually is far more subtle and there are a lot more kids that fit into this than what we want to give credit for when we're talking about highly sensitive and this like natural sensitivity it's that whole feeling of when you walk into a room you know something's not right you might still be experiencing this now but like kids pick up on this way more they're so much sharper with these abilities you know i remember even for me as a kid like i know for a fact for me to kind of put this in context i didn't see myself as highly sensitive. And if I reflect back, I probably still wouldn't.
[6:03] However, there are definitely telltale signs that I could see was different. I could tell when people in the room, the energy would shift and they did not have to say a thing. I didn't know when there was like a heaviness or you could call it tension in the air without knowing it. Now, of course, as a kid, you don't really have the language or the social problems. So, what I'm looking for here is like you don't have the social capabilities or the cues to express what you're feeling. So, a lot of this ends up getting internalized and you kind of just go, okay, this is normal. And it becomes normal for the person who is experiencing this. One of the big ones for me that I do remember a lot is I was a natural observer. I used to observe a lot. I have very, very clear fond memories of when my older siblings would have birthday parties, like especially the big ones like 18ths and 21sts.
[7:21] And I'm 10 years younger than my older siblings. I'm the youngest. so there's a big age gap there and so they would have their partner they have the friends and have these interactions and i would just be upstairs in my bedroom and i'd be looking down i would honestly just stand there watch observe and for some reason i always thought i was learning doing that i don't know why or how but that's generally what i was feeling but these things is because I could almost pick up on the nuances that was happening between people just by looking at them. And so, this is this whole feeling of, you know, being highly sensitive. Another way that it can come across is you might find that, you know, they're aware of when people aren't quite right, their mood is down, or possibly even not well. So, that happens a lot.
[8:27] But the reason why the natural sensitivity does happen, and here's a big thing that I want to, unfortunately, you haven't learned to carry it forward. There's a big reason for that besides the actual physiological reason, which I mentioned before. But one of the biggest ones is about how we are processing it in real time. And what I mean by that is, is like, you've got to think about this as a kid and you can be, you could be like seven or eight, you could even be a little bit older, 10 or 11, for example. But what's happening is, you know, confusion starts to come in. And this confusion element is really strong is because as a kid and as a highly sensitive person, you're experiencing these things. And so, as you're experiencing, they're very real for you. and when they're real for you, this is your world.
[9:40] But where the struggle comes in and where the real confusion comes in is because as much as this is real for you, you are literally experiencing this, you are feeling these things, you are picking these things up. But what you are finding is that not everyone around you is experiencing the same. You start to feel and pick up on the fact that going, oh, hang on, a lot of other people are not mirroring this back. So therefore, is what I'm experiencing real? Is this natural? Is this normal? And then what happens is because we're not feeling that, we'll start to adapt and change to start to fit and fit in with our environment around us. The short version of that is we start to shut it down. We start to lower the level of sensitivity that we're experiencing as we are younger. And again, like I said, very, very common experience, run into a lot of people. They were very, very sensitive kids and highly sensitive. But over time, through a whole bunch of different circumstances.
[11:02] Unfortunately, they've learned to dial off or completely shut it down. A little bit sad, but you might find that this is you. Beautiful thing is I want to let you know is that if you do and you're hearing this and you're going, oh my God, that's me. That's me as a kid. Good news is, if you felt that, that is still in you. Please remember that, okay? Like, it's not gone. You just have to kind of... Go a little bit deeper and start to reconnect with that part of yourself. So, very important little message I wanted to pass on there because,
[11:42] again, it's more common and more natural than not, believe it. So, one of those things. So, that's the first pathway, which is the natural sensitivity.
[11:54] The second pathway. now this one is also very common it doesn't really show up as a same thing it happens on a very individual basis but the second pathway happens through things like illness or massive life intensity moments or life disruptions i'm talking like real big changes things that the probably the best way to describe this uh and the motto you could think is it rocks you to the core that is the easiest way to explain that and both of these things do like if for example it can be a massive change in a relationship it can be an actual illness whether it could be terminal one that you managed to get back or get some life on. There's a whole bunch of different things here. And the best way to describe it is that through, doesn't matter what circumstance, life puts you under pressure.
[13:07] And that pressure really shifts you. It moves into your body and it moves into the different parts of your mind. It makes you feel, like ways that you've never felt before it makes you think and reflect in ways that you've never thought or reflected before it's the deep deep deep stuff life-changing life disrupting moments those are a big kind of like activator they shift our wiring they shift our perspective they shift our understanding and also in that moment can also shift our awareness and our sensitivity so it's a very clear way to opening up the path wouldn't want to necessarily wish it upon anyone but it does happen a really good example of this is if you do want to go and kind of get a real clear case of this you can go back and actually have a listen to episode 47 of my podcast. And in episode 47, I actually talked to a lovely gentleman, David McBride, who I met at a live event. And he went through a near-death experience.
[14:33] And it was a beautiful conversation when talking about him and talking to him about his experience. And his energy is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend go and have a listen to it because you'll hear his story, you'll hear how he was a different version of... Of David McBride before his health and illness, and then you'll hear and sense and feel the version of David McBride now after having a near-death experience where he was technically.
[15:16] Clinically dead on the operating table, had a moment, went to the afterworld, connected with his dad very quickly it wasn't massive but it's so clear it's so vivid and from that he ended up coming back and he is a completely different person the best way to describe it is he is absolutely high on life it's a beautiful thing it's you can hear and sense the activation within him from such a deep place and it was beautiful because he struggled to understand it and even as he kind of came out he's experienced this as an adult and even as an adult for a long time, for a long time, he didn't even want to tell his experience or share his experience with anyone around him. And it was actually a number of years, Now, again, there's a number of years before he even spoke about it to his partner.
[16:31] So, this also reflects that confusion element as I was talking about there with the first pathway with being naturally sensitive. When we are having these experiences and when things are shifting and changing and we're finding that our external world and environment and mainly people are not reflecting what we're experiencing back it creates massive amounts of self-doubt it creates massive amounts of like oh i should keep this quiet not you know share it so it really shifts us and unfortunately suppresses us and doesn't allow that to happen the beautiful thing is is like in david's case he has now really found his voice with this he now understands the the beauty and the power in his experience and sharing with others to move forward and you can see it and he now is like oh my god this is a gift and it's a beautiful thing.
[17:37] So, yeah, that's just one very, very clear example and it's very, very powerful. It's very real and I love it because, again, you don't have to take my word for it. You can actually go and listen to it and hear and feel it from him. But yeah, whether it's illness, whether it's a big disruption, but life moments of great intensity can absolutely shift us, make us more aware, you know, and just increase the sensitivity and awareness for us in general. So, that's a big one. And like I said, it does happen a little bit more than what people give credit for. And if you have experienced that yourself and you're now hearing this going, oh, hang on, this could be me. The whole thing is just look at yourself prior to that moment and looking at yourself now after that moment, whatever that moment may be.
[18:41] And all you have to ask yourself is, do I feel different? Do I feel a little bit more sensitive? Do I have a greater sense of awareness? Do I walk into rooms and feel things? Like you've become and reactivated the highly sensitive portion of yourself that has just been dormant. So all those kind of things I was talking about there in pathway one, you probably could be experiencing now just as an adult. So, yeah, so that's pathway two.
[19:13] The third and final pathway, which is not as common, but it does happen. And believe it or not, this pathway was my pathway. The third pathway is just plain and simple curiosity. And yeah, this is when people say, well, you know, the big question is, how did you get into this? Or when did this start for you? And I always see the look on people's faces and I see the shock a little bit when I say, well, I'm a little bit different. I was a 14-year-old boy, junior high school, and I went looking for it.
[19:57] And I did. It was curiosity. There was a curiosity there. But also beyond curiosity, there was something deeper. The only way to describe it is I had a knowing, a far deeper knowing. Again, I cannot properly explain, but the easiest way to try and explain it is that at the time, I knew there was something greater than this world. There was something more than the world I was living in. Of course, you know, can you imagine as a 14-year-old boy trying to ask or explain this to, you know, my parents or even my friendship group at the time? Yeah I would have been painting a target on my back I would have been picked on bullied or whatever else so I was astute enough to kind of just chip away at this pathway by myself in in my own time don't get me wrong it was lonely at times frustrating as well but there was just something there that kept me going and kept me focused on it the other way I kind of help people to understand this and this could be your pathway.
[21:20] That you're on and you're kind of like, I've just got this curiosity and I can't explain it and now you just want to learn or experiment or try healings or whatever it may be, go for it. It's really important to listen to it. It's really important to honor it. There is nothing there about it that says that you need to turn it into something. But the whole point is it's just about honoring it for yourself. And the way I kind of look at that knowing and bringing out that curiosity is that, you know, you kind of hear a lot of the stories around, for example.
[22:05] Priests or padres where before they join the clergy, they talk about how like there was a calling okay and i'll put that in inverted commas and even though i'm here i'm doing it physically with my hands so if you could imagine that it's like yeah the you know it's the calling and it is like there's something deeper there's something that's like really it's not even in your chest it's not even your heart it kind of sits around your stomach and a little bit lower it's really in the center of your body and there's this knowing and it does call to you there's no answer there's no a clear picture on it. You just know that you need to step on to this pathway.
[22:52] And that's the way I kind of looked at my journey and moving forward with this world. And that's the other pathway that you might be experiencing. Now, to be on the curious pathway, you don't need to be a teenager. You don't need to be a kid. This could be happening at any particular age. Like I said, just lean into it. Feel it. And the most important thing is honor it. You know, there is no rights or wrongs. It's literally just you discovering and connecting with a deeper part of yourself.
[23:34] And as you do, and here's the big thing, as you do, things will change. Okay. And as you do, you're going to learn and connect and get to know things about yourself that you and most other people wouldn't do unless you are following one of these pathways. If you acknowledge them and if you actually do honor it and go down and follow the pathway you will definitely have a sense of something is different now that is the easiest and simplest sign and way that i can tell you that you are on a pathway you just know that there is something different about you in your life.
[24:29] Now, if you are on this pathway and if this episode is resonating with you, I'm going to be upfront with you. Going down these pathways, doesn't matter how you get onto it or which one you're
[24:41] on, it can be and it will be tricky at times. It's going to be tricky it's going to be difficult and sometimes just simply overwhelming and confusing right but the whole point of following these pathways and being on the one pathway because they kind of can join and lead to the one thing but the main thing here is is it's not to fully understand it you never really will because once you're on the pathway and you're traveling it for long enough you'll realize you're always going to be on it you're always learning there is really no end point or destination there is just you like learning to meet yourself in your own time in your own way and understanding and so for that reason, You know, if you've been listening to this and any of this is resonating with you, it's really important that the first and most important thing on any of these pathways, or if you're still on the pathway, is just noticing is the beginning.
[25:57] Just noticing and being aware is the key. Just do that. if you honor that hone in on that and always come back to that the overwhelm for you will drop and you'll stay in that beautiful space of curiosity fun and learning and this path can be serious enough as it is but the whole thing is just remind yourself notice that the change is there, notice you're okay and I really, really encourage you to reach out and don't be afraid to talk about it. By talking about it, you will start to attract the right people into your life. You'll start to attract your tribe and that alone will also help you to start shift your life and perspective and elevate your own awareness in that as well.
[27:01] So, believe in yourself. If the pathway is there, honour it and just notice it. Thanks for tuning in and of course if you have any questions that you'd like to submit or put in, please, I love it. Submit it in. You can do it to admin at the inspirational soul dot com. Of course If you're on Spotify, you can also comment on that as well. Thanks for listening and I'll see you in the next episode.
