The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person

More than five million Americans are "Anomalously Sensitive Persons (ASPs) ." An Anomalously Sensitive Person exhibits uncommonly high levels of sensitivities, not only in the emotional realm, but also in the physiological, cognitive, altered states of consciousness, and transpersonal ("metaphysical") realms as well. The sensitivities of an ASP can manifest in many different ways: in the physiological realm as immune/auto-immune disorders or heightened sensory awareness; in the cognitive realm as learning disorders or genius; in the emotional realm as emotional disorders or heightened intrapersonal and interpersonal attunement; in the altered states of consciousness realm as dissociative disorders or creativity; and in the transpersonal realm as extra-sensory perception (ESP) , psychokinesis (PK) , out-of-body experiences (OOBE) , trance channeling, or Kundalini arousal. The traits of the ASP, which originate in the structure and chemistry of the brain, have important psychoogical, medical, educational, and social implications. While persons who are unusually sensitive may have a variety of psychological and physiological problems, including decreased life expectancy, simplistic attempts to "correct" this condition may be at the expense of undermining potential extraordinary abilities. Drawing on vivid case histories and concrete data generated by testing hundreds of people with an innovative questionnaire, David Ritchey investigates the links between a person's sensitivities and a host of other factors related to biology ("nature") , history ("nurture") , and temperament ("personality") . This persuasive work, on the leading edge in the field of transpersonal psychology, carries the reader to the frontiers of higher consciousness and human potential. It is a thought-provoking, life-changing book that has profound significance for the ultimate comprehension of the nature of the human spirit.