A Highly Sensitive Person's Spiritual Journey
In a world that often feels overwhelming, highly sensitive persons (HSPs) frequently find themselves struggling to navigate the complexities of daily life. The story of Nate Zeleznick, as shared in a recent podcast, offers a beacon of hope and inspiration for HSPs everywhere. His journey from the brink of suicide to becoming a spiritual guide and mentor is both heart-wrenching and uplifting, providing valuable insights for those who experience the world more intensely than others.
The Early Years: A Struggle for Belonging
Nate’s story begins in Northern Utah, where he grew up as the only non-Mormon child in his grade. From the tender age of five, he was acutely aware of his difference, a realization that came with a heavy price. “I knew right from when I went to school, kindergarten for the first time, that I was different than everyone else. And they let me know it because I didn’t go to their church,” Nate recalls.
This difference became the catalyst for relentless bullying that persisted from age five until he was sixteen years old. For a highly sensitive person like Nate, this torment cut deeper than it might for others. He explains, “Really the torment, I felt so deeply that when the children would abuse me, it hurt more than I think probably other people with thicker skin in that situation.”
The Dark Night of the Soul
The culmination of years of bullying and feeling out of place led Nate to a moment of crisis. At twelve, he found himself sitting on the floor of his father’s den, a loaded rifle pointed at his head. “I was just ready to end it all,” he shares, the pain evident in his voice even years later.
It was in this darkest moment that Nate made a crucial decision. He couldn’t go through with it, not because of fear for himself, but because of the impact it would have on his parents. “I stopped that action or that was the action I was going to take because I could not do that to my mom and dad,” he explains.
A Transformative Experience
That same night, in the wake of his near-tragedy, Nate had an experience that would change the course of his life forever. “That night, that’s when I had my first out of body experience or my first astral traveling experience where my consciousness left my body,” he recounts.
This profound experience opened Nate’s eyes to a reality beyond the physical world he had known. “I got to really understand more, at least I had a glimpse that we’re a lot more than just the physical body. And there’s a lot more than just the physical world. We’re energy, we’re vibration, we’re information, we’re frequency, we’re thought.”
This realization marked the beginning of Nate’s spiritual journey, setting him on a path to become what he calls “a true seeker of what is real.”
The Path of the Seeker
Nate’s newfound spiritual curiosity led him to explore various aspects of energy work and spirituality. His interests were eclectic, ranging from the mystical abilities of Jedi in Star Wars to the skills of ninjas. He even coined the term “Ninjedi” to describe his ideal of combining these two concepts.
A Fateful Encounter
Nate’s life took another significant turn when he stumbled upon a VHS tape containing a documentary about Indonesian martial arts. The abilities displayed in the video were beyond anything he had seen before. “These people were able to do amazing, amazing things I’d never seen before. They weren’t breaking boards. They were breaking steel bars, stacks of them,” Nate recalls with awe.
The documentary showcased individuals performing incredible feats, such as fighting blindfolded or driving cars through traffic without using their eyes. While initially skeptical, Nate couldn’t shake the feeling that he had stumbled upon something profound.
The Universe Responds
In a twist of fate that Nate describes as “synchrodestiny,” the very next day after watching the documentary, he witnessed a blind woman nearly lose her life trying to cross a road. This incident crystallized his resolve to find the Indonesian martial artists he had seen in the documentary and bring them to Utah to help people like the blind woman he had encountered.
Driven by this newfound purpose, Nate embarked on a mission to locate the Indonesian masters. Against all odds, he succeeded in bringing them to Utah, where he witnessed firsthand the extraordinary abilities of blind individuals trained in their methods. “I got to actually see blind people, eyes white as a sheet, be able to do anything. And I mean, anything that somebody with sight can do and more,” he shares, still in awe of the experience.
Breaking Cultural Barriers
Nate’s determination and genuine desire to help others impressed the Indonesian masters. The 11th generation royal family heirs to this knowledge made an unprecedented decision: they gave Nate permission to start training in their art, something that had previously been forbidden to Westerners.
In another stroke of serendipity, Nate discovered that a certified trainer of this art, a former special forces instructor, was living just an hour away from him in Salt Lake City. This fortuitous circumstance allowed Nate to begin his training in earnest.
A Journey of Discovery and Service
Over the next few years, Nate, joined by one of his brothers, immersed himself in this ancient practice. They traveled to Indonesia multiple times for intensive training and testing. Their dedication led them to open one of the largest martial arts and meditation academies in the country, providing them with the opportunity to work with thousands of people of all ages.
Through their work, Nate and his brother were able to demonstrate to the scientific and medical communities that some individuals can indeed develop extraordinary abilities, such as seeing with their mind. Their efforts caught the attention of neuroscientists, quantum physicists, and medical doctors, pushing the boundaries of what was thought possible in human perception and ability.
The Impact of COVID-19
The global pandemic brought significant changes to Nate’s work and the industry as a whole. While he doesn’t elaborate on the specific impacts, he acknowledges that COVID-19 “rearranged the puzzle” for the entire field.
Reflecting on the Journey
Looking back on his life’s trajectory, Nate is acutely aware of how close he came to missing out on all these extraordinary experiences. “I was one millimeter, one millimeter of a trigger pull away from not having any of those experiences, from not helping any of those thousands of people,” he reflects.
This realization fuels Nate’s passion for helping others, especially those who, like him, experience the world more intensely. He understands the unique challenges faced by highly sensitive individuals and offers words of encouragement: “I can imagine, and everybody’s obviously on a different scale here, sometimes you can feel very overwhelmed even by what other people may not be affected by, can affect you very deeply.”
A Message of Hope
Nate’s message to those struggling with overwhelming emotions or experiences is one of hope and perseverance. “There’s always a beautiful, bright light at the end of the tunnel. As long as you keep going, it’s the old adage that you have to walk through hell in order to get to heaven. And so many times that is the case.”
He emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help when needed, offering himself as a resource for those feeling overwhelmed or down. “There’s always someone there, no matter what, or no matter where you are, that will listen and that will help,” he assures.
The Power of Breath
One of the key tools Nate has discovered in his journey is the power of breath. He considers breath to be the most important function in life, noting that every person follows the same pattern of inhaling at birth and exhaling at death.
Nate points out that throughout history, sages, monks, and healers have recognized the importance of breath. He explains that terms like Qi (from Chinese practices) and Prana (from Indian traditions) both relate to breath and life force energy.
“The breath is the most important thing in our body,” Nate asserts. To illustrate this point, he presents a stark comparison: “You can go pretty much almost anywhere in the world for three weeks without food, about three days without water, but try going for three minutes without air and see what happens.”
The Integrated Ascension Method
Over the past 25 years, Nate has developed what he calls the Integrated Ascension Method. This approach combines the wisdom he gained from his experiences with Indonesian martial arts and energy practices with his own insights and discoveries.
Unlike more common breathwork practices that focus on hyperventilation (such as the Wim Hof method or holotropic breathwork), Nate’s system is based on hypoxic breathwork. This involves holding the breath either in or out for extended periods to increase carbon dioxide levels in the body, which he explains helps with more efficient oxygen exchange in our cells.
The Perfect Breath Rhythm
Nate introduces what he calls the “perfect breath rhythm” for the human nervous system. Interestingly, he notes that many chants, mantras, and prayers throughout history in various religions and spiritual disciplines follow this same rhythm, suggesting that ancient practitioners intuitively understood its power.
The technique involves inhaling through the nose and exhaling out the mouth for five and a half seconds each. This rhythm, according to Nate, moves our nervous system into a state of homeostasis or balance, where we’re neither in rest-and-digest mode nor in fight-or-flight mode.
Nate provides a step-by-step guide to practicing this breath technique:
- Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest.
- As you inhale, let your stomach extend first.
- Continue inhaling until your stomach can’t expand further, then let your chest rise.
- Fill your lungs completely.
- Exhale through your mouth, almost as if whistling, until you’re completely empty.
- Repeat this process, inhaling for 5.5 seconds and exhaling for 5.5 seconds.
The Benefits of Breathwork
Nate explains that this breathwork technique helps attenuate the nervous system to a state of balance. In our modern world, many of us are constantly producing stress hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. While these are useful in truly dangerous situations, chronic stress can be detrimental to our health.
By contrast, when we’re in a state of calm, our bodies produce beneficial hormones like vasopressin, oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin. These help us feel peaceful and present.
Nate points out that many people, especially HSPs, often find themselves in a state of sympathetic over-excitation of the nervous system. The goal of the perfect breath rhythm is to find that sweet spot between stress and rest, where everything is balanced and calm.
Beyond Basic Breathwork
While the perfect breath rhythm is a fundamental technique, Nate teaches more advanced breathwork methods as well. These are designed to enhance various aspects of human function and experience, including:
- Immune function
- Vitality and virility
- Stamina
- Explosive power
- Thought and focus
- Teamwork and energy cohesion
- Energy shielding
The last point, energy shielding, is particularly relevant for HSPs and empaths who may be more susceptible to the energies of others or environmental frequencies like 5G. Nate specializes in helping people remain “completely sovereign and unfazed by the frequencies and the information that’s around them.”
A Gift for HSPs
Recognizing the unique challenges faced by highly sensitive individuals, Nate offers a free resource on his website designed to help people manage their sensitivity and energy more effectively. While he doesn’t provide specifics in the transcript, he describes it as “definitely a lifesaver for a lot of people.”
Looking to the Future
As Nate reflects on his journey and the work he’s doing now, he shares his vision for the future. “I have recently begun speaking on large stages for thousands of people, broadcast to millions,” he says. Looking ahead five years, he sees himself continuing this work on a large scale, while also empowering others to spread this message of hope and transformation.
“That’s a very important thing for me,” Nate explains, “You can only do so much as one human. So having an army [of people sharing this message] is important.”
Conclusion: The Light Within
Nate’s journey from a bullied, highly sensitive child on the brink of suicide to a spiritual teacher and mentor is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit. His story offers hope and guidance to HSPs who may be struggling with feelings of overwhelm or isolation.
Through his experiences, Nate has come to a profound realization that he shares with others: “Every breath is truly a miracle.” He encourages everyone to approach each day with gratitude and excitement, saying, “I wake up every morning and I take a big breath and I’m like, hell yeah, I get another one of these. Awesome. I’m very stoked and excited about every day that I get, because you don’t know if this is going to be your last one or not. So might as well make it legendary.”
For highly sensitive persons, Nate’s message is clear: Your sensitivity, while sometimes challenging, is also a gift. With the right tools and perspective, you can learn to manage your sensitivity and even use it as a source of strength and insight. Through practices like breathwork, energy management, and cultivating presence, you can navigate the world more effectively and tap into your innate abilities.
Nate’s parting wisdom serves as an inspiration for HSPs and indeed for all of us: “There is no such thing as an ordinary moment and no one ever comes again. And we have this opportunity to have a great now on purpose every moment of our lives.”
In sharing his journey from darkness to light, Nate Zeleznick offers a roadmap for highly sensitive persons to not just survive but thrive in a world that can often feel overwhelming. His story reminds us that even in our darkest moments, there is always hope, and that our greatest challenges can become our greatest strengths.
