If you’re a highly sensitive person navigating heartache, transition, or spiritual confusion, know this: you are not broken. You are becoming.

This blog post is a deeply personal story of healing, awakening, and discovering the divine strength within. It might be exactly what your soul needs today.

You may already sense that your sensitivity is not a weakness—it’s a gift. As I write about in Chapter 3 of my book, The Gifted Highly Sensitive Introvert, one of the most profound gifts of highly sensitive individuals is their deep longing to evolve into the fullest, most radiant expression of their Authentic Self—the person God uniquely designed them to be.

This inner pull toward truth and wholeness is something I treasure about HSPs. You are not content to live a surface life. You yearn to live deeply, to live honestly, to live aligned with the divine blueprint within you.

With that in mind, I want to share something personal. I was recently asked to reflect on this question: What motivated you to be on a conscious path? I invite you to answer this for yourself in your journal—it can be a beautiful gateway into greater self-awareness.

From a young age, I was captivated by the mystery and miracle of healing—especially the spiritual kind. In junior high, I was deeply moved by the stories of Jesus healing the sick, lifting the brokenhearted, and restoring life and hope. When He said, “You will do even greater things than these,” I believed Him. I still do.

In high school, an older woman introduced me to Silva Mind Control, my first foray into the world of intuitive, secular healing. That opened a door. In college, I immersed myself in Transcendental Meditation. My grades soared. I could heal a cold at the first sign. The world around me began to feel more malleable, more responsive, more alive. I began to see just how powerful the mind, body, and spirit connection truly is.

With degrees in psychology and deep curiosity driving me, I attracted two wise mentors who saw something in me. They helped refine and nurture my healing gifts. Those years were full of discovery, growth, and a burning desire to help others awaken.
And then—something extraordinary happened.

In my late thirties, I was graced with a transcendent experience—something akin to a near-death experience, though I was fully alive. In a matter of minutes, I was engulfed in Divine Love. There was no fear, no doubt, no separation. Just knowing. I understood in my bones that we are eternal. That there is no death—only transformation. That we are shifting expressions of the One.

But the deepest initiations don’t always come in radiant light. Sometimes they come wrapped in shadow.

In my forties, I became engaged to a man who, on the surface, was charming, intelligent, and successful. But over time, it became clear he was a deceitful sociopath. It took nine months for me to disentangle myself from his psychological grip. He knew exactly how to reel me back in, time and again.
Eventually, I broke free. A colleague’s attorney asked me to be the key witness in a trial exposing decades of his fraudulent business dealings. Sitting on that witness stand, with him staring me down from the front row, was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. But I did it—for every person he had hurt, and for the part of me that refused to be silent. He was convicted of racketeering. Finally, justice.

The trauma of that relationship plunged me into what mystics call the Dark Night of the Soul. It stripped away every illusion I had about love, about identity, about where I found my worth. I had long believed I needed a romantic partner to feel whole, adored, enough. But deep down, I didn’t truly love myself. Not yet.

This is the essence of Shadow Work—turning toward the wounded, hidden parts of ourselves that we’ve tried to avoid. The lonely child. The aching heart. The parts that were never held with compassion.

I couldn’t do this alone. I needed God more intimately than ever before. I didn’t know how to build that relationship—but I committed to it. It became my lifeline. It looked, from the outside, like depression. But I knew it was something deeper. This was not pathology—it was a sacred initiation.

Three and a half grueling years passed. Slowly, bit by bit, my false self was burning away. Everything I had clung to for identity—melting away. I wasn’t sure if the pain would ever end. But eventually, my Phoenix rose from the ashes.

What emerged was someone new—yet more myself than ever before. Wiser. Stronger. Capable of love rooted in truth. Able to hold boundaries. Able to say “no” when manipulation paraded as love.

The Dark Night left me with a reverence for this sacred process. I don’t just understand Shadow Work. I honor it. I’ve lived its alchemy. I know its power.

So here’s my invitation to you: If you feel the pull toward spiritual awakening, ask for it. But know—it requires great courage. You’ll be asked to release everything you cling to for your sense of identity.

For many highly sensitive souls, you’ll need to examine your motives for achievement, perfectionism, caretaking, or the hope of being completed by another person. These masks may hide deep loneliness or a lack of self-love. When you finally commit to healing those roots, when you seek not just outer success but inner wholeness—you step onto a path that leads home.

If you’re not ready, that’s okay. No judgment. Every soul has its own timing.

But if life is shaking you, if you’re in a season of heartbreak, confusion, or deep transition—it may be God gently wooing you into the next level of your becoming.

If you’re ready to begin, I would be honored to walk with you. Through individual counseling or intensive transformational retreats, you can experience what it means to feel whole—filled up from the inside out by Divine Love. This is the foundation for a flourishing life. And you don’t have to walk it alone.

You are worthy of deep healing. You are worthy of knowing your True Self. Reach out. Let’s begin this sacred journey together.

Warmly,
Benita A. Esposito, “Chief Trail Guide” on the hero’s journey to the Authentic Self.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Benita A. Esposito is a spiritual counselor, life coach, LPC, and ordained minister. Her bestselling book, The Gifted Highly Sensitive Introvert, can be found on Amazon.  She quickly spots psychological patterns to reach the bottom line so you don’t waste precious time. She follows a grace-filled Christian path that honors all faiths. For fun, she grows beautiful flower gardens. She loves to hike through forests to waterfalls. Her inner shutterbug shot most of the photos on this website.

Please complete the contact page if you are interested in counseling or an intensive retreat.