We all go through periods of intensity. Like times when something that usually wouldn't bother us, all of a sudden feels huge. Sometimes it's a feeling that feels amplified or intense, or a conversation that just won't leave your mind.
And sometimes we experience intensity in a different way. A sweet moment can feel almost overwhelming or bring us to tears, or a sense of gratitude makes us feel like our heart will burst.
These are all experiences of amplification. And something I've been noticing is how most of us assume that an intense experience is automatically significant and important.
First, what amplifies our experience?
There are several influences that tend to turn up the volume on our experience of life and ourselves.
For those of us with higher levels of sensitivity, lunar cycles are one of them. Around a full moon, many of us notice feeling more sensitive, emotional, restless, inspired, creative, or the nervous system just may be more revved up.
We also know that when we're tired, physically or emotionally exhausted - that tends to amplify emotions that might otherwise pass through our awareness with more ease.
When we're in a period of transition, big shift, or a move, that also can heighten both our excitement and some uncertainty.
I've shared a lot about the influence of collective consciousness on our individual consciousness - and the topic of amplification comes up often. When we're living in a collective atmosphere of overwhelm, fear, divisiveness, or anxiety - which these days is pretty common - this can deeply influence how we experience our own lives.
Even something as simple as having a simple, sunshiny, wonderful day can make the next beautiful experience feel more expansive.
And sometimes, when we're in our quiet time, not distracted or being needed, we can become aware of things that have been there, under the surface but not consciously noticed. This is a reminder that amplification isn't necessarily creating a new condition within us. Most often it's simply making what is already present more difficult to repress or gloss over.
When intensity becomes authority
Here's where many of us are unconsciously following a pattern that we may have outgrown. What do you notice in your body when you keep reading? Is there any sense of tension, heaviness, or contraction, or do you feel yourself in these examples?
When an experience or a feeling becomes more intense, we often unconsciously give it greater authority or significance.
If anxiety ramps up, we may assume that the increase in anxiety means there's truly something to be anxious about.
If we're getting more irritated with little things, we may believe there's a more significant issue or problem that needs to be addressed now.
If uncertainty or being in limbo about something becomes uncomfortable enough, we might feel compelled to make a decision, if only to relieve the intensity of not knowing.
But has the situation actually changed? Or has our experience of it become amplified? Of course, sometimes an intense feeling is bringing something valuable and necessary into our awareness. I'm not suggesting that intensity is something to automatically dismiss. But it also isn't automatically an instruction.
I'm suggesting that a feeling can be real without being a prediction, a worry can be loud without making it urgent, and we can experience an uncomfortable moment without it becoming a problem we need to solve right now.
In other words, the intensity of an experience doesn't determine its truth. And when I integrated this into my life, it allowed me the freedom to feel the feelings, without the feelings becoming something else to manage or have to do something about.
We don't have to organize ourselves around everything we feel
One of the things I've noticed over the years, especially with those of us who are consciously exploring our own growth and awareness, is how skilled many of us are at analyzing, interpreting, processing, releasing, and trying to understand what we're feeling.
And of course, there can be great value in all of those things. But sometimes, without even realizing it, we can turn our awareness into another form of self-management.
Like when we notice something uncomfortable, and automatically start looking for what needs to change. “Is there a pattern to release? Something I need to understand? What am I missing? What's the energetic shift that's wanting to happen?”
And there are times when there is something deep and healing to explore. And what about the times when there isn't?
What if you're just having a more intense experience today, and it doesn't actually require anything from you?
In my experience, it's been so beautiful to practice acknowledging what I'm feeling without making it the center of my attention or allowing it to force what happens next.
What if we can be curious about something without needing to figure it all out?
What if we can feel irritated without making something or someone wrong?
What if we can experience uncertainty without needing to immediately, reflexively find solid ground?
And what if we can allow our emotional and energetic states to fluctuate without interpreting every shift as a reflection of how well we're doing, how conscious we are, or whether we're moving forward or backward, higher or lower.
To be clear, this doesn't mean ignoring what's happening within us. This is an invitation to recognize that we can be fully aware of an experience without becoming organized around it. And that awareness creates a more expansive and loving relationship with ourselves.
Remember that beauty amplifies, too
Something else I want to bring into this conversation is that intensity and amplification isn't only about uncomfortable or unwanted feelings or experiences. Sometimes it's the beautiful things in life that become more intense.
You know those days when everything just seems to flow? You feel good in your body, you have a lovely conversation, something unexpected works out beautifully, and the next thing you know, you're noticing even more things to appreciate.
Or maybe you're sitting outside on a beautiful day, grounding in the sunshine, or a breeze moving through the trees, and that triggers an almost overwhelming sense of appreciation for being alive. I love those moments!
And in our culture it's far more common to give more attention to the amplification of discomfort, while the amplification of joy, love, peace, gratitude, and possibility often doesn't receive the same level of conscious recognition.
What if we became just as interested in noticing when something beautiful is expanding within our experience? Even when we don't have words or understanding of it. In my awareness, it's not supportive to avoid the uncomfortable feelings or try to force a positive state - but there's also so much more available in our experience than whatever happens to be echoing the loudest.
And as you likely have experienced, when you give some attention to the softer, lovelier experiences, you get to experience those moments more fully and more often.
Allowing the volume to change
Something to remember, that I share with clients and students often, is that our internal experience isn't static. Every moment we're responding to life, to our bodies, to our environments, to other people, and to all kinds of influences that we may or may not be consciously aware of.
And naturally, our baseline experience changes. Some days we feel a foundation of clear, peaceful, and expansive energies. Other days we might feel a little more sensitive, uncertain, or emotionally activated.
And sometimes we experience every one of those feelings in the same afternoon. lol
And remember - feelings are temporary. They're the result of a cascade of hormonal shifts based on our response to our perspective at that moment. None of these states necessarily tells us anything definitive about who we are, where we are in our evolution, or what life is going to look like tomorrow, or in the next 30 minutes.
In my awareness, there's a tremendous amount of freedom in acknowledging that we don't have to give every experience a more significant meaning just because it's become more intense or loud or repetitive.
What if we can allow ourselves to feel what we're feeling, recognize when something genuinely needs our attention, and also allow things to settle or change without our constant intervention?
So the next time you notice something feeling especially intense, here are some energy-opening questions for reflection:
Has something actually changed, or am I experiencing it more intensely right now?
Am I giving this feeling more significance simply because it's louder than usual?
Is there something here that genuinely needs my attention, or can I give myself some room to simply experience it?
And then notice what happens when the volume is turned up on the beautiful things. 💗
For me, this is part of the practice of living with greater consciousness. It's not that we're not affected by the challenges of life, or that we have to work to maintain a specific state of being - that stabilization happens naturally when we normalize coherence and embody more presence.
It's the practice of recognizing that our experiences and feelings can change in intensity without becoming something we need to automatically fix or change. We get to be present with what's showing up, honor the moment, and give ourselves the spaciousness to allow the feeling and the experience to naturally flow.
