The highly sensitive person experiences the world, essentially, with mindfulness.
“We automatically notice the world around us, particularly sensory information such as sounds, colours and scents. We are aware of feelings, especially the feelings of others, because we absorb them so easily. We pay attention to the tone of voices, to the ache in our back when we’re doing something, and to the sounds of the world waking in the morning.”

These kinds of intense, sensory experiences can make life richer and fuller for HSPs. While many people are living their lives on autopilot, often missing the more subtle clues in their environment, HSPs live in the present, mindfully taking time to appreciate, absorb and reflect on what is happening around and within themselves. However, all this intense experience in HSPs’ lives can lead them to become more easily overwhelmed and stressed. At this point Mindfulness practices, although positively life changing for some people, may not be the best approach for HSPs. The SMT (Stillness Meditation Therapy) experience has worked particularly well for many highly sensitive people. Through regular practice, SMT enables us to experience a simpler, more at-ease and quiet state of mind, a state far deeper than relaxation. It bypasses the techniques, perhaps suited to some but rarely for HSP’s, used to bring one into the present and a more mindful state. These techniques, such as mantras, progressive muscle relaxation, creative visualisation, mind focus, etc. only prove to keep most HSP’s mentally stimulated, the exact opposite to what they wish to achieve.