Core beliefs are deeply held, unconscious beliefs that exist as a felt sense in the body, rather than a conscious, rational belief held in the mind.

For example, you may have the conscious belief that you deserve to be respected just as much as any other human being.

You may know this in your mind, but your body may hold the implicit memory of being bullied, neglected, or abused as child. So the unconscious core belief that exists as a felt sense may be something like "I am unworthy".

And as much as you may say your affirmations or try to change your core wounding from changing your thoughts, your body keeps the score.

An infant has no degree of conscious awareness that the outside world is differentiated from their internal world.

To an infant, their inner sensations are one continuous experience to their external environment, with no consciousness dividing the two.

The experience that occurs in infanthood is “If something is wrong outside of me, then something is wrong inside of me.” Of course, the reverse is also true, and this experience is not a conscious thought, it is a very basic felt sense.

Often this process of awakening to the core wounds of the sensitive strategy is one of immense confusion and overwhelm. However, once realized, I truly believe that highly sensitive people are some of the most insightful, soulful, creative people on the planet.