Ritu Kaushal's Blog, page 14

Happy Birthday to my Book Baby!

The Empaths Journey turned one today! The past year has been full of ups and downs as I have learned to navigate putting myself out into the world. I have stretched out of my comfort zone, felt a lot of uncomfortable moments because of that and also proven to myself that I am ready for more than I think. 

Often, I forget to count and celebrate. So, I thought I would do some posts not just to celebrate the highlights of the past year but also to share my journey with you.

I was thinking of...

A Tool to Manage Fear and Anxiety.

Ive gone a bit silent on social media over the past week or so. Ive needed to be in my little cave to process what is going on all around us. Here, in my part of the world, in the San Francisco Bay Area, shelter-in-place orders started this week. This means that we cant go out of the house except for essential activities like grocery shopping or hospital visits. Most offices (except for essential businesses) have closed and people are working from home.     

I have had my fair share of...

Why Write? Why Now?

If you are a writer or want to write, you have probably had many doubts circle in your head. Every writer feels them. It doesnt matter where you are. It doesnt matter whether you are a seedling still waiting to sprout or have written several books.

All writers I know have doubts. It just seems to be part of being an artist, to one degree or another. And one of the age-old nagging feelings that often comes up is this sense of Whats the point? Whats the point of writing when everything under...

How Drawing Can Help You Connect with Your Felt Sense!

In The Empaths Journey, I share this interesting exercise I learned from Anodea Judiths work that has helped me in my journey as a highly sensitive person. It is a way to tune in to our bodies. The exercise is called Drawing the Body or Drawing what the body feels like.

A lot of the times, highly sensitive people and sensitive creatives can get stuck in our heads. This exercise can help us understand, without intellectualization, what is going on energetically in our bodies.

As a highly...

Sharing Some Resources for Highly Sensitive People.

I did a post recently sharing some links to coaches and therapists who work specifically with highly sensitive people. I thought I would do another post to share some more resources and people with you.

Everyone has a slightly different take on what it means to be a highly sensitive person or sensitive creative. One person’s work might connect more with you than another’s, so I thought another post was needed!

Some resources for highly sensitive people and empaths.

Dr. Judith Orloff is,...

Our Strengths and Weaknesses are Interconnected.

I recently wrote about how the things we think of as our weaknesses might actually turn out to be our biggest strengths. For example: I have always collected books. As a reader, I not only buy books I’ll read right now. I also have books that are for the future, so to speak.

If I am interested in one topic, I will have not one, but multiple books about it. I used to feel a little ashamed of this insatiable book collecting. I felt like I was a magpie always getting attracted to the next...

7 Ways to Bring More Creativity into Your Life!

Each and every one of us is creative. As children, we all drew, read books, painted, puttered around with science projects, dreamed of being astronomers, and whatnot. We didn’t have to be a specialist or serious or get better at things or “improve our skills.” We could just PLAY.

We could dabble in things and just feel happy! And that was enough. Here are a few ideas about how to invite a little more creativity into our day-to-day lives.

What was a toy/experience you couldn’t get as a...

A Little Story about Strengths & Weaknesses.

I remember my cousins teasing me when we were growing up. They are both boys (men now) and in the way that boys sometimes do, they enjoyed making fun of me.

As a child, I remember visiting my uncle’s home during summer vacations, and one or both of them would always be up to some prank! There was a time when a neighborhood cat used to visit the house, and in between feeding her milk, they would take turns to make her jump from different levels of the house.

Once, they threw her off the...

The Grip of Anxiety and Highly Sensitive People (Part 1)

In the past year or so, as I have had a chance to interact with highly sensitive people at live events, one of the things that comes up again and again is the question of how to be less anxious as a highly sensitive person. Anxiety is a broad subject, and of course, no two people are anxious for the same reason.

Being highly sensitive also creates certain kinds of unique situations that can lead to anxiety and overthinking, such as being able to sense other people’s feelings and trying to...

How to Stop Being “Too Nice!”

I am a recovering nice person. I say that only half-jokingly because being “too nice” can definitely be an addiction. Over the past several years, I have dismantled a lot of my “too nice.” I still have a way to go but I thought I would do a post with some ideas about how to be a little less “nice” and a little more authentic.

So, what’s the problem with “nice,” you might ask.

Being “Too Nice” Invites Disrespect and Condones Boundary Breakers.

Well, nice manners or being thoughtful are,...