Tag: Communication

Avoiding Relationship Troubles

We all struggle in our relationships with others. We want to be understood and to understand, but something prevents us from getting to the place we desire in most of our relationships. And, many times we find relationships where we just don't connect, can't relate or fundamentally dislike the other person. We waste time and energy lamenting these relationships, or trying to "fix" another person. The difficult person can consume our focus and zap our energy. I have learned that the root of our problems with others is that fundamentally we simply don't understand other people. We don't take the…

Read more

Speak Briefly, with Compassion and Warmth

There is one piece of wisdom that I believe would make this world a better place to live: “Speak briefly, speak warmly, and fill every sentence with kindness, clarity, and optimism.” We're all bad communicators, but don't realize it. The human brain can only absorb about 5-10 words and recall them with any degree of accuracy. That's one sentence, about 10 seconds. But most people talk for an average of three minutes before pausing. That means that the listener can only recall about 1/20th of what you said, and it is often the wrong 10 words! That's why, when I…

Read more

Living the Downward Way – Through the Senses to the One

To truly know what it means to be human, to feel fully alive, is to deepen awareness of our interconnectedness with the greater web of life. This awareness is innate; we are born with it. But as we are indoctrinated into the social and technical complexities of the industrialized world, maintaining that awareness requires conscious effort. Our innate human senses are dulled by the assault of distracting forces in our hyperactive, social-technological systems. Such is life in the human-built world. But life can be richer, more glorious and refined, when we use our eyes, ears, nose and skin to return…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Move Out of My Household’s Negative Energy?

"I have been living with my adult son, his wife, and my 2 grandchildren for 2 years now. I finally set boundaries regarding the expectation that I cook and do the laundry for a family of six in addition to providing babysitting and childcare help for my two granddaughters, ages 5 and 6. I am a 58 year old woman, divorced with two grown sons. Since I have set the limits, I am getting the silent treatment from my daughter in law. If I try to communicate, I get curt, short one word answers. I have overheard her yelling at…

Read more

Let Music Illuminate Your Life

Music is one of God's greatest gifts to humanity - it transcends all of the arts, delivers crystal clarity, touches every chakra and can make you scream for joy or cry a thousand emotions away in one passage. Better yet, the universal power of music can be applied to the way we communicate, work, play and most importantly, the way in which we really listen to one another. Furthermore, the core elements of music can literally create alignment and harmony in our everyday lives! Why should we expect anything less from the world's undisputed international language? From the moment we…

Read more

What Are You Hearing, Seeing, Feeling ?

By Carly Alyssa Thorne. Life is amazing. We all have our OWN unique filter - perception. What might be true to one person may not be so for another.  So here is the thing.... In life sometimes our journey isn't always easy, and we have choices on how we are choosing to perceive the situation and not only that, how we are choosing to either react and/or act. Look at this picture. There is so much to see, yet everyone may be drawn to certain aspects of the picture: the water, the sunset, the angles or the different compartments, if…

Read more

Mindful Communications

By Sheevaun Moran. Most days we walk through the day without much thought about how we will communicate. We speak to our family in the same old way. Our chatter with the store clerks is fleeting. The emails we send are filled with our wants, needs, desires and demands. Where is the communication that is filled with goodness and intention? We say our intention is to communicate with love and kindness, but is that really true? If that were so true then our own inner voices would be much kinder and loving. The thought towards someone who is homeless would…

Read more