Is Your Vacation or Leisure & Recreation Time Serving You?
November 2, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I was recently reminded of how critical it is to match your type of leisure, recreation, and vacation choices to your needs for doing them and how a mis-matched fit can cause frustration, fatigue, and sickness rather than renewing, refreshing, and re-creating your psyche anew. Afterall, the word recreation means to re-create and restore your mind and body. It can be as nuanced as to how you’re doing what you’re doing rather than changing the entire what you’re doing. Or you may need to just change up the entire thing.
When we seek our leisure, recreation and vacations, it is to get away from what our normal work day or normal routine is generally like. It’s a break from the same old, same old thing to change things up and hit reset. That’s what sabbaticals were originally used for – to give professionals time off to recharge and reflect, and renew themselves and come back refreshed with more energy and focus to do whatever they were doing. Just yesterday I came across this blot post I did nearly exactly 18 years ago on Self-batticals and it still rings true today. Funny how that works with manifesting. To take a look at the throwback post – here it is: Self-Batticals and The Art of Self-Care – 3 November 2008: https://gaiahart.com/2008/11/ .
What reminded me of this topic were a few instances. A friend had just come back from a grand adventure in Peru to see and do all the things that one does when exploring the mountains and jungles and sacred sites. She came home sick – same as I did when I experienced all of the things on my Peruvian odyssey. How I described it to my friends was that it was a grueling adventure. Up by 5am nearly every day to hike, climb, canoe and be on the road to get to the next destination for more hiking, climbing at altitude etc. Both of us took those trips amid extremely busy work/business schedules and our vacations were pure exploration and not a drop of restoration. No wonder we both got sick.
Being a high-sensation-seeker, I got sick on nearly every trek and trip I took for decades because I was working hard and playing harder. No time to rest and restore – it was go, go, go, places to see, things to do, people to meet. Until my body forced me to slow down by getting sick, even though my brain didn’t want to miss out on anything. Especially if you are under stress, pressure, and working hard, your leisure, recreation and vacation time needs to be a break from all of that and be restorative. Build in restoration time in your vacation schedule. Or plan an entire vacation around relaxation and restoration and not necessarily exploration so you slow down your pace. Stay away from any group tours that force your pace and place and choose private guides or just stay in one place and wander at your own leisure, nap, lounge, stay put and pay attention to new surroundings, food, sounds, and sights.
The same goes for your recreation choices at home. If it starts feeling like a part-time job to get up early, drive to the courts, the course, or trails during rush hour traffic, set an alarm to be at the computer to pounce on a slot open for the fitness class that fills in one minute past 7am or you feel the pressure to perform in a tournament or find a sub if you can’t make your league play that day, then there may be an issue. I found this to be true in my 55 and fun community. I’ve chosen not to set alarms to rush to the computer to sign up for the next week’s fitness classes – if there is an opening when I get to that day, fine and if not, I awake when my body is ready. I play sports in drop-in when you can and leave when you have to format instead of tournaments and leagues. I don’t need any more pressure put on me and my schedule. Instead, I go with the flow and how I feel that day and at that time and it works out so much better than adhering to a strict schedule after I ditched the strict schedules when I retired.
This philosophy also works for activities you may have thought you’d like to try or may have enjoyed at one time in your life, but now it doesn’t serve the same purpose. This happened to me with gluten-free sourdough bread baking, gardening and yard work. The term work is in the name and I don’t want my yard to become a part -time job. I spent one summer raising a vegetable garden and another two seasons with a flower garden before I called it quits. I’ll buy my vegs at a farmer’s market and leave the growing to the experts. I replaced flowers with evergreen shrubs after a couple seasons of frost and planting/digging up/replanting over 450 plants. I now buy fresh flowers for my home. I thought sourdough bread baking would be fun…..it was another part-time job and like having a pet you had to feed and nurture. I will leave that to the expert bakers so I can regain many hours of my time and not have to wait several days for a slice of bread.
So pay attention to how you feel leading up to an activity, while you’re participating and afterwards. Are you renewed or run ragged? Do you anticipate with delight or dread? Listen to your body and anticipate what you need – more exploration to get you out of boredom or more restoration to renew you from overwork and stress, then plan something that will serve you in the best way possible.
On a similar note – I’ll be reviewing the latest book from Annet Van Duinan and Randy Grasser on the topic of Reclusive Self Improvement – also having to do with exploration, restoration and reflection as phases/seasons in life.
What is a Wild Sensitive?
September 13, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
As I’ve been writing about Highly Sensitive People and High Sensation Seekers, a Wild Sensitive is a term coined by authors Randy Grasser and Annet van Duinen to describe what is otherwise known as a Sensitive Sensation Seeker. The community understands it is a mouthful to always say the entire descriptor of our unique traits that have paradoxically blended together to form our life’s foundation, hence the term Wild Sensitive. Those with this trait have a need for deep reflection and a craving for new experiences. Recent research has shown even more evidence of differences in the brain of Sensitive Sensation Seekers/Wild Sensitives.
If you’re not already familiar with these terms – first read the last few blog posts describing the four characteristics each of Highly Sensitives and High Sensation Seekers, then this will make much more sense. Sensitivity is not the problem, misunderstanding it or even knowing it exists is the issue and society’s interpretation of it is a problem. Though there does come some struggle along with the strengths it provides. Some struggles may include burnout and overwhelm, boundary setting, heightened emotional reactivity, social exhaustion and over-stimulation. The book covers strategies to handle these struggles as well as how to foster the strengths of deep empathy and emotional insight, creativity and rich imagination, detail-oriented perception and intuition, and strength of ethical awareness and social conscientiousness. If these traits sound familiar to you – YOU NEED THIS BOOK.
To quote their book The Wild Sensitive, “Sensitivity is not a weakness. Craving life is not a flaw. You were never meant to simply fit in. You were meant to awaken, to feel deeply, to grow wisely, and to live wildly: This is where your journey begins. This is where you become a Wild Sensitive”. The book’s intro goes on. “It is not a contradiction, but a potent combination. When these traits are seen, understood, and embraced, they become the foundation for real, embodied, transformation.”
Their Wild Sensitive book describes the science behind sensitivity and sensation seeking. It is a guidebook for learning about the Sensitive Sensation Seeking trait with many tools for using when you are feeling overwhelmed, along with explanations of why/how this happens, understanding your emotional blueprint, and strategies for coping with dysregulation. It covers the Six Zones of Life, The Adventure Triskelion, relationships and leadership of the Wild Sensitive and how you can make your way through the world armed with better knowledge of how your traits work together to form your superpower and not your downfall.
The Wild Sensitive: Unlocking the Power of the Highly Sensitive Sensation Seeker
by Randy Grasser (Author), Annet van Duinen (Author), Tracy Cooper Ph.D (Foreword)
Written by Randy Grasser and Annet van Duinen, pioneering authors specializing in the Highly Sensitive Sensation Seeker (HSP-HSS), this guide explores the powerful combination of Sensory Processing Sensitivity and High Sensation Seeking, creators of The Wild Sensitive. Drawing on lived experience, research, and practical insight, it offers a new understanding of what it means to feel deeply and live boldly.
I cannot begin to explain what insights this book has brought to my life. I usually dog-ear the top corner of the pages of a book that speak to me, then I dog-ear the bottom corner if it REALLY speaks to me and then I may highlight a sentence. Well…. I stopped dogearing all the pages after the first several pages because it was nearly every single page, AND I was not only highlighting sentences and paragraphs, I started putting highlighted stars and exclamation points and multiple stars and exclamation points on specific paragraphs. I felt like Annet and Randy were in my brain and in my life and had the incredibly insightful, professional, therapeutic terms, explanations, diagnostic tools and prescriptions for dealing with this quite perplexing complexity of being a Highly Sensitive Person as well as a High Sensation Seeking Extroverted Empath. There just wasn’t anything on the market out there perfectly describing my lifestyle, my inherent traits and how to cope, manage, and organize my life to support my internal and external self.
Yes, they use the word WILD, but that doesn’t mean reckless or that you need to be sky diving and bungee jumping – though that is what I’ve been drawn to, it can mean your sense of boldness and expression – writing a book, singing, being a public speaker, traveling to foreign countries, learning a new language. If you or anybody you know is Highly Sensitive, but seem larger than just being sensitive, they do things that make them feel ALIVE and they get bored easily or are more disinhibited than others, then tell them about this book. AND send them to the websites the authors have initiated to create a community of fellow Wild Sensitives where we can learn and discuss in a safe space. Here are their sites: https://wildsensitive.com/ and the village community site: https://village.wildsensitive.com/
What is a High Sensation Seeking Person?
September 8, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Following the trail of learning all I could about Highly Sensitive People, (remember depth of processing is a trait for a Highly Sensitive Person), I found it wasn’t the whole story and not completely true of me and my experiences and my traits. I realized that I also had very high scores in Dr. Elaine Aaron’s quiz on High Sensation Seekers. It turns out that I’m at the tippy top of both traits – meaning all six of my senses are on overdrive and wide open at all times and I need novelty, thrills, challenging experiences and I also need quiet time, rest, and to cautiously approach the challenges. That is where Dr. Tracy Cooper’s book Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person comes in. I finally felt seen after reading this book and after a lifetime of feeling misunderstood for my seemingly disconnected ways of being.
Books and Docuseries by Dr. Tracy M. Cooper, Ph.D. – one of the leading authorities and researchers on Highly Sensitive People and High Sensation Seekers. https://drtracycooper.org/
Thrive: The Highly Sensitive Person and Career
Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person
Consulting-Producer of Sensitive Men Rising-The Documentary Series: https://sensitivemenrising.org/
Thrill is the first book of its kind to really explain what it means to be a High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person. And it does so brilliantly to put into perspective what it means to live with such traits and how to strategically create and manage your life to avoid overwhelm and avoid boredom. Looking back at my life, it explains so much of why I did and felt and experienced what I did and it helped me reframe all of those experiences.
High Sensation Seekers can have all four characteristics and in differing doses of each characteristic, or they can have a variety of mixtures of any or all of the four. I happen to have a very high volume of all four characteristics of the trait of a High Sensation Seeker. No wonder I chose the type of career, jobs, hobbies, sports, relationships, and living conditions that I did – it all made sense after reading his book.
The four characteristics can be remembered by the mnemonic BAND
Boredom susceptibility: is an inner state of mind where optimal stimulation, arousal, and intrigue are lacking. Boredom easily creeps in to High Sensation Seeker’s lives in even the most modest amounts/volume. Boredom and an inability to tolerate repetitive our routine experiences can cause irritability, agitated states, restlessness, or even depression. Those with this trait find themselves seeking an escape from the monotony of routine and dull existences and tend to shake things up in travel, living conditions, jobs, relationships or hobbies/sports to regain the feeling of variety and intensity and learn something new again. They are curious and continuous learners.
Adventure and thrill/risk seeking: is one way to avoid the boredom susceptibility by taking the leap, taking on the challenge, and sometimes discounting the risk in order to experience the thrill of the activity/decision. The excited feeling of being truly alive and in the rapture of the moment caused by adrenaline to induce an optimal state of arousal. It has been described as a genetically influenced tendency to seek physical challenges such as rock climbing, skiing, SCUBA diving, sky diving and other similar pursuits that are intrinsically rewarding to the brain. It’s not necessarily reckless, it is challenge by choice intersected with unknown and potential outcomes with a cautious approach.
New experiences and novelty seeking: is the third characteristic and it does not necessarily have to be thrill seeking, just something new. Those with this trait are very curious about the world, how things work, researching, reading, experiencing, tasting, feeling, listening and seeing new things around them or traveling to go experience them. Foodies are new experience seekers – the tastes, the textures, the ambiance, the smells, how it looks on the plate and the community of eating together – all new and novel experiences. Creatives usually have this trait – seeking new ways to create something, do creative problem solving, comedians thinking of new ways of looking at the world, creating art as a way to make new things, sewing, cooking, painting, spiritual journeys. They have a strong desire for personal growth and exploration within and all around them.
Disinhibition: shows up in ways that may buck the social norms or expectations of family/friends/society/colleagues. Those with this trait can demonstrate impulsivity, follow their dreams no matter what, test driving new ways of being/living/dressing/exercise/financial investments/drugs/sexuality or bending the rules to experience more stimulation and reject the boredom of the mundane for excitement and surprise and feeling alive. It can show up as boldness and YOLO (you only live once) and they can be the leaders to instigate the bold actions/experiences just to see how it feels. They take calculated (and sometimes not so calculated risks) just to get the sensation of the outcome.
So there lies the paradox if you are a Highly Sensitive Person, that trait generally is risk avoidant while the High Sensation Seeker gets a rush out of novelty, thrill seeking, adventure, and seeks out challenges that may be risky to feel the sensation with depth and purpose. Therein lies the foundation of living with both traits, with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake as the Sensitive Sensation Seeker moves through the world trying to honor both traits. Particularly if you have high volumes – all characteristics of both traits more than those with a sprinkling of one or two characteristics of a trait. It’s all about nuance. Similar to a music equalizer – varying amounts of treble, bass, mid tones – a wide variety of volumes of each characteristic in both the Highly Sensitive and High Sensation Seekers. You’ve got eight different characteristics and a wide range of how they fit together.
To learn more about the paradox of Thrill – pick up Dr. Tracy Cooper’s books on the topic and watch the 3-part docu-series of Sensitive Men Rising. It will open your eyes to what you or a loved one may be experiencing and help you reframe it.
More to come on Sensitive Sensation Seekers – AKA – Wild Sensitives.
Back to Blogging…Transformed & With a Twist
March 1, 2026 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
It’s been a hot minute since we last came together and I’m a little embarrassed and, a lot grateful to the Universe for the interesting twist that came to be that I’m able to connect with you once again in this space.
About a decade ago I had the tech upgraded on this blog and since then, I was unable to get back in to make edits. It just wasn’t happening after I tried every which way including sideways, then I just let it go and focused on my speaking and training career. As it turns out, I was feeling more and more of an obligation to come up with content, and I was getting burnt out juggling so many things that this one just had to drop. I felt it was Divine intervention telling me to put down blogging for a while and concentrate on other things – it was not the time. I let it go and understood that when the time presented itself once again, that it would be unlocked for me to once again share my resources, my lessons, and help others connect to their capacity through blogging.
Enter the Universe and its infinite wisdom. Having retired from full-time corporate work teaching and training international clientele several years ago and transforming my life and lifestyle after learning I was an Empath and an Extroverted, High-Sensation-Seeking, Highly-Sensitive Person in 2020, the doors opened and the code was cracked to once again allow me entry past the firewall and into the blog. Thanks to a dear friend who had a friend who had a husband who was willing to crack the case wide open. It was once again time to start sharing content after all I had learned that had profoundly changed my life in every way and every day, and what has made clear all that was happening to me/for me in my life up to that point.
I’m now intent on sharing the work and words of wisdom of the many from whom I’ve studied. I’m thrilled to share their brain/mind/body/health/environmental/strategic planning work that was instrumental in reframing past life events, managing time/space/self in present day events, and how to strategically plan for future events/space/ways of being and moving through the world that is more in alignment with my natural brain and body connection.
I’m putting a twist on how I work and who I work with – moving away from corporations and organizations to individuals and one-on-one coaching and advising versus keynotes and corporate training and teambuilding events. I’m intent on helping women in particular who are Highly Sensitive and/or High Sensation Seeking Sensitives because it’s such a complex connection, a guide is most helpful to figure out how to move through the world in the best possible way while honoring your very specific set of traits. Much more on this later, but just knowing these traits exist is the first step in how to get the most out of your life and create a lifestyle by design and not default to be your best self.
