by Elizabeth Venart
In March 2017,
Brittiney George, Tracie Nichols, and I hosted our first community gathering for
Highly Sensitive Persons. We have been excited and gratified to connect with
over fifty highly sensitive women this past year – and to explore our innate
strengths, challenges in embracing the gifts of high sensitivity, and the many
forms of expression available to us as we welcome and stand in our power most
fully. This March, we led our
first full-day retreat for Highly Sensitive Women, and it was a sweet and
rewarding day of slowing down, connecting with our senses, tapping into our
intuition, and learning to listen deeply to ourselves.
As Highly Sensitive
Women, our empathy connects us to the emotional experiences of others and can
make it difficult to stay tuned in to self. Becoming a highly sensitive leader,
we need to develop our ability to return again – and again – to our breath and
our senses as a way to truly distinguish between what is me and what is not
me.
Tracie, Brittiney,
and I began our conversation about working with Highly Sensitive Persons three
years ago. After a two-year process of incubation, exploration, and discovery,
we began to offer programs for the community. It was rewarding to begin slowly
and intentionally – together. Over the course of the coming year, we will
continue holding monthly gatherings for Highly Sensitive Women Leaders on the 3rd
Wednesday of every month. We will also be offering full-day and, eventually,
weekend-long retreats, inviting Highly Sensitive Women to come home to
themselves, cultivate their gifts, and share them with the world. Our voices
are stronger in community and, in community, we have an experimental playground
in which we can begin stepping into leadership – together.
Elizabeth Venart is a Licensed
Professional Counselor and the Founder and Director of The Resiliency Center.
She is a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant who
specializes in providing counseling and mentorship to other therapists and
working to empower Highly Sensitive Persons to heal the wounds of the past so
that they can embrace their gifts more fully and experience greater joy. Learn
more at www.elizabethvenart.com.