Jennifer Harvey Sallin is a psychologist specializing in high intelligence, and the founding director of an international community and support organization for gifted adults: www.intergifted.com. In addition to her work in this field, she applies her expertise in the areas of ecological intelligence, climate psychology, leadership and activism, collaborating with and training gifted leaders and activists around the world.
Our world relies on the domestication of other species, yet we often don’t realize the degree to which we’ve also domesticated our own minds, bodies and emotions. It can be hard to feel beneath our conditioning and get in touch with our emotions, even when our survival depends on them. Now more than ever, we need tools and practices to access and feel our feelings so that we can reconnect with the power of our ecological intuition and find our courage to act for our survival. This article gives tools and a reflection process for “rewilding” your mind, reconnecting with your emotions and rediscovering your own inner ecological compass.
Giftedness comes in many forms, and high ecological intelligence (ecological giftedness) is one of them. How can we develop our own ecological intelligence, recover full access to our ecological giftedness if we have lost touch with it, and recognize and champion the various forms of non-human intelligence (and giftedness) all around us?
I’ve worked hard over the last year to find a sense of optimism and hope regarding the state of the world, especially regarding the climate emergency. I have found it is essential to diligently work through grief, despair, and paralysis. But for some of us, we are processing much more than just the state of the world: in facing the climate emergency, we are also facing our childhood trauma head on. How can we heal and find our unique voice and contribution to the collective? What role does compassion play passion play in the process of transmuting our grief and pain into committed action?
It is essential that therapists, coaches and other helping professionals know what giftedness is, how to recognize it in clients, and how to best support their gifted clients. Anyone helping a gifted person is, by necessity, helping a gifted mind – and gifted minds work in unique ways, have unusual needs, and grow in unconventional directions. Here are some guidelines for helping professionals and the gifted clients they support.
Growing up without knowing we’re gifted can be like growing up in a distorted mirror. For many gifted adults, learning about their giftedness brings them back to a “second childhood” in which they can rediscover themselves in more authentic ways. They can develop socially and personally in ways they weren’t able in their “first childhood”. In this article, originally published on InterGifted’s blog, Jen explores with us how we can best navigate the essential developmental stages of our “second (gifted) childhood”.
The intersection of trauma and giftedness is not a fun topic to explore. But it’s a real one, because there are many gifted adults in the world struggling to heal from their past trauma. I’ve been wanting to write an article on this topic for a long time, but I’ve struggled to do so, ironically, because of my own trauma. If you’re working through trauma, I hope reading my story and healing journey will help you on yours.
Many gifted people struggle with shame related to the ways they don’t fit into normal expectations, or the ways their “gifts” are a “bother” to others around them. In this very personal story, I share how unidentified “gifted shame” impacted my own life and how I worked my way toward self-acceptance as a gifted adult. How has your “gifted shame” impacted you?
