Conscious Communication: Listening With Your Whole Heart

This is the first part of a 2 part series on Conscious Communication. Conscious Communication begins with practicing skillful listening. Learn about the common obstacles to listening with your whole heart and ways to practice and learn the skill and art of compassionate listening. Listening with your whole heart is a pathway to healing and building connection and intimacy in your relationships. The last part of this talk is a guided meditation to practice listening with your whole heart.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Thank you for joining me.

This is the first talk in a two-part series called Conscious Communication.

Our first part of this series today is on listening with your whole heart.

And the second part will be on speaking from your highest intention.

These two skills combined create conscious communication.

May this serve our awakening to truth and love.

Namaste.

I felt that this talk was particularly important,

Both of these talks,

Particularly important in this time of difficulty with listening and speaking,

Difficulty with communication,

But really just the breakdown in communication that's happening globally,

It seems.

And with the particular role that social media plays in our lives right now for many of us,

And the way that we are learning a new and less skillful way of communicating,

It seems,

Through social media.

Social listening is indeed a practice.

And what we often do when we turn on or tune in to social media is using our own personal megaphone,

A type of social media megaphone,

In order to cast out our thoughts and opinions in a broad scope.

Or if we're visiting our feed,

As we call it,

Or someone else's social media page,

Interpreting what we're seeing,

What we're reading,

What we're experiencing,

From an eye of judgment and in preparation for response,

Or formulating our ideas and opinions about the information that we're receiving,

Without this sort of conscious communication.

And conscious communication is an exchange that goes back and forth between two people or between groups of people who are open to both receiving and giving simultaneously.

So that's what I'll be discussing in these talks.

Think of when you're listening to someone recount a story or an experience from their past or talk to you about something that they're very passionate about,

Something that means a lot to them.

And there might be some emotion involved in it for them,

Which could be just a passionate recounting of a story with a lot of voice inflection and a lot of energy into the way that they're speaking,

A lot of emphasis on various words.

Or when you've heard someone speaking about something that they're not passionate about,

Maybe you can recall a professor or a teacher who spoke in a very drone,

Monotone voice about something that really obviously didn't interest them very much and they weren't really having an experience.

And you might,

As you hear me speaking that way,

Already feel yourself losing interest in what I'm saying and drifting off.

And so it's important to understand that when we're really listening,

We are also having the experience with the person that we're listening to.

And this can be something that captivates us and holds our attention,

But it can also be something that really turns us away,

Especially if we're not prepared to have that experience,

If it feels uncomfortable or something we'd rather not tune into.

We might find ways to tune out of the conversation and to not really listen.

So it's important first to realize that when we're truly listening,

When we're practicing skillful listening,

That we're opening ourselves to being able to have that experience with the person that we're having this exchange with.

And so we also need to look at some of the obstacles to listening.

What are some of the things that get in the way?

Having an agenda to get your own needs met in some way as you're listening to someone else very easily and very commonly becomes an obstacle to listening.

And I'll give you some examples,

But these are very often covert or hidden from us.

We don't always or sometimes ever realize that we have this hidden agenda within us as we're trying to listen to the other person or other people.

Some examples of this might be needing to prove your rightness,

Needing to prove that you're right.

So as you're listening to someone else speak and explain to you their position,

Their thoughts,

Their feelings,

Their experience,

You're already formulating your argument for why you're right and they're wrong.

And in this agenda you can't be present and open to the other person's point of view.

Another example of having an agenda to have your own needs met would be the need to be smart,

The need to prove that you're smart,

The need for others to know that you're smart.

So maybe someone is talking about their experience and you're already thinking or interrupting by finishing their sentence or by giving them even more information about what they're saying or proving that you somehow already know about this subject and even know more about this subject.

That's a need to prove that you're smart and for the other person to know something that you know and you're not really open and listening to what this person is telling you.

Another agenda might be needing to have the solution to someone else's problem and this kind of ties in to the previous one of needing to be smart.

Maybe you need to solve problems in order to show yourself and others that you can solve problems and this is a very natural thing within us.

We all have it.

Part of our brain function and nervous system function is problem solving and it's very important.

But very often in the moment the other person needs to be heard and when you're overriding that and trying right away to solve,

You're not hearing.

But this need to solve problems can also sometimes come from a need to avoid uncomfortable situations or feelings within us.

So if I'm having,

Sharing this experience with the person I'm listening to and what they're feeling is really uncomfortable for me.

They have this issue or problem or challenge and it makes me feel uncomfortable to know that they're suffering.

I might right away want to offer the solution so that I don't have to feel uncomfortable feelings and neither does this person that I care about.

And it comes from a good place but it also gets in the way of really listening.

So those are just some examples of a personal agenda that can get in the way of really receiving what the other person is saying or offering.

And you might think of some others as well.

But there are other ways,

Other obstacles to skillful listening.

You might be preoccupied with something else.

Multitasking,

We often call it.

And I'm guilty of this one quite often.

I catch myself listening to someone as I'm doing something else or even walking into another room I'll hear myself say,

I'm still listening,

I'm just going to go do this thing while I'm listening.

And I like a friend of mine said to me,

You know,

Her friend was speaking to her daughter and did this very thing,

I'm listening to you.

While her face was turned somewhere else,

She was focused on something else,

She was doing something else while she was listening to her young daughter.

And her young daughter said to her,

Mommy,

Listen to me with your whole face.

And it's really profound because it's so simple,

But it's so true.

And when we're really tuned in and really listening,

We turn,

We set aside whatever we might be doing with our body,

With our mind,

With our attention,

And we turn fully toward that person.

We look into their eyes.

We can even turn the palms of our hands up in a receiving fashion,

Relax our shoulders,

Breathe into our heart,

And just really receive what that person is saying to us.

That is full attention,

Being fully present.

So if we're preoccupied with some task,

Or if we're preoccupied with our own thoughts,

Our own challenges,

We're not able to be fully present to receiving in that moment.

Sometimes habits will get in the way of skillful listening.

We may have been raised in a family or atmosphere where interrupting is common.

It's a way of communicating,

Fast talking,

Interrupting,

Getting your ideas in there in a very energetic conversation,

Overriding someone else,

Speaking louder in order to be heard.

And these are habitual patterns we can very easily learn in our younger years.

It can take some really intentional work and practice to undo those habits.

As soon as we become aware of them,

We start to change them.

And it doesn't mean that we won't fall back on them from time to time or even frequently,

But just becoming aware of them,

We start to change those habits.

Fear.

Fear can get in the way of really listening.

You might be afraid of the other person,

Or afraid of the situation,

Or afraid of the feelings that are stirring within you.

Fear is a primal feeling,

A survival instinct,

And when we're in that type of place emotionally,

The ability to really listen and reason and be compassionate and open shuts down for good reason.

It's supposed to when our survival instinct kicks in.

And so really our work in that situation is to come home to our own heart,

Our own mind,

Our own body and recognize,

I'm feeling fear.

And if that fear is founded,

It might require changing the circumstances,

But it could be a fear that's based on previous experiences that isn't really applicable to the current situation.

And so we might have some work to do at home in that,

At home in our own hearts in that circumstance.

Sometimes we believe that we just don't have enough time to listen.

I'm very busy.

I don't have time to sit and listen.

And this can also be a difference in cultures.

Communication is also very much cultural.

So here in the United States,

Our Northeastern way of communicating is very fast,

Very brusque,

Very direct.

And in the southern United States,

It's very slow.

Storytelling is a way of communicating,

A way of communing with people.

And having the time or creating the time to really sit and listen to a story is not just a way of receiving information,

But a way of forming bonds and relationships.

So there can be a cultural conflict there where one person feels that communication happens one way and the other believes it happens another way.

And so if you have one cultural system where there's fast talking,

Interrupting,

And just get to the point,

There might be some feeling of impatience when you're listening to a different type of cultural communication where the communication is drawn out and expressed in the form of a story.

So it's just something to realize.

Neither one is right or wrong,

But it can get in the way of communicating with someone that you hold very dear,

But you just don't,

You aren't familiar with that form of communication.

And then here's a big one,

One that often happens.

Making you already know what the other person is going to say.

And we're all guilty of this,

We all do it.

I already know what you're going to say,

I already know what you're thinking,

What you're feeling,

What this story is about,

You've told me this story before,

Or we've been over this before,

Or I know you and I know what you're going to say.

And so maybe you finish someone's sentence or you just don't listen,

You stop listening.

And it's something important to realize in your form of communication.

I have a friend who,

She tells the same stories over and over,

And they're wonderful stories,

They're delightful.

And my job as someone who cares about her is just to listen to the story every time like it's the first time.

And I'm not in it to get some new information,

I'm not in it to give her some new information,

I'm in it to show her that I care.

And so the best way I can do that is to be present and listen to her stories,

It brings her joy to tell them.

So those are some examples of some of the obstacles to skillful listening.

And I say skillful listening because it really is a practice,

It's a skill that we build with practice.

And it comes more naturally to some than others,

And it could be that it seems more natural in some because they've been practicing for a period of time.

But what are some of the practices in listening?

I think right away of the 12-step programs,

And when people go to 12-step meetings,

There is a practice of listening.

Each person at the table is allowed a period of time to share if they choose,

And it's everyone else's job at the table to just listen.

And crosstalk,

What's called crosstalk,

Is discouraged and not permitted.

You can't interrupt,

You can't offer solutions,

You can't address what they've said when it's your turn to talk.

These things are really frowned upon because it's not your job,

Your job is just to hold space.

And when someone is embraced in that safe space,

It might be the first time in their life that they've been truly listened to without being interrupted,

Without being redirected,

Without being told that what they have to say is wrong or not significant.

And so there's an exchange that goes on here where you're relearning how to hold space for someone,

And in just holding space,

You are in fact saying to that person what you have to say is important,

It matters to me,

It's significant,

It's true,

It's correct,

It's right.

This is a profound gift both to speaker and listener because it might be their first time being heard and received that way,

It might also be your first time practicing active listening.

It's a beautiful thing.

There's another practice that I experienced for the first time in my first yoga teacher training and it was the use of a talking stick,

Sometimes it's called a talking feather,

But the idea is that there's some object that's passed around the circle and the object is symbolic.

Whoever is holding this object has the floor,

They get to speak for a period of time and it's the same concept,

No one else can interrupt,

You're expected not even to use big body language in order to communicate back to that person,

You're just receiving the information and holding space for them as they are sharing openly in a safe space.

And when that person is done speaking they pass that object to the next person who can either share then about their own experiences,

Not speaking back to that person about theirs,

But sharing their own or they can pass and opt not to share and pass that object on to the next person.

The idea is that every person has time and space to share if they choose and everyone else their only job is to be present and hold space.

Group therapy is another example.

And even what you're doing right now,

Listening to this talk,

Is an example of active listening,

Skillful listening.

When I listen to talks like this,

Podcasts that are very meaningful to me,

I often do it lying down on my bed with my eyes closed giving it my full attention.

There are other times when I'll do it while exercising and I think that that's important as well because when our body is in motion our nervous system is more open and receptive and the words can sink in more to ourselves and become more meaningful and somatic,

More felt throughout our being.

But I often like to just lie down in Shavasana,

Close my eyes and be fully receptive to what I'm listening to and what I'm learning about and I can also pause,

Go back over things that I've heard,

I need to hear them again,

Or just pause and process and assimilate what I've heard and relate it to my own experiences.

I love listening to talks this way,

To podcasts this way,

In a way of full receptivity and learning where I can really assimilate and grow from it.

So it's another practice of skillful listening.

What about when we're in a moment of heightened feeling,

Heightened emotion,

Possibly conflict,

Maybe really difficult conflict with someone we love and cherish,

Someone we want to work things out with and have a healthy,

Positive relationship with,

But we have some conflict,

Some real challenge between us.

Learning can be much more difficult in that situation and that's where these practices that we use in times when we're peaceful and not in a state of heightened emotion become very important and it then becomes easier to apply those skills to the really challenging situations.

One of the wonderful gifts,

Blessings that yoga has offered me is the gift of the meaningful pause,

The intentional pause.

When I'm feeling heightened emotions and internal reaction to what I'm hearing from someone else,

I recognize it right away and I can just stop and breathe and soften and allow the experience to come in because what naturally happens in us when we don't do that,

What subconsciously happens is that we harden,

We prepare for battle.

Our body will become more stiff and tense and hardened.

Our heart,

The heart center where we really receive will become closed off.

We might even cave our chest in a little to protect that area and bunch our shoulders up in order to protect that area.

And so just pausing for a moment and taking a couple of deep chest breaths in order to soften and relax,

Be present and open to the experience and the exchange can change everything.

Because when you listen,

Fully present,

No agenda,

You express love and compassion fully.

When you're able to really be present,

Soft-hearted,

Open to the other person's truth and experience,

That is the expression of loving compassion.

And that's where healing relationships and managing challenges begins.

Listening fully will cause a shift in your relationships and it might feel awkward and uncomfortable at first,

Not just for you and your practice of skillful listening,

But for the other person as well.

If it's not what you've established in your relationship,

If you haven't already established this habit,

This habitual communication of active listening and receiving and exchanging with each other,

Then the other person might actually be confused by it.

If your method is usually to interrupt and defend your position and try and shut the other person down and prove to them why they're wrong,

And suddenly you're quiet,

You're listening,

You're calm,

Your gaze is steady,

You're open,

Soft and receiving,

The other person might not recognize it as communication and they might not understand.

And so it might take some explanation.

I'm going to try and just listen to what you're telling me.

I'm just going to receive what you're saying to me.

Because the other person might even say,

Are you listening?

Why aren't you saying anything if they're used to a different sort of exchange?

Or if your usual way of listening is to try and solve problems,

To interrupt with solutions,

You've got a friend who's telling you about some challenge they have in their life and you're just listening.

You're not offering solutions,

You're just listening.

They might be confused.

Why aren't you saying anything?

You can ask questions at that point.

Would you like my advice?

Or do you just need someone to listen?

I'm happy to just listen.

Skillful listening requires us to also be present with our own experience while we are being present with the other person's experience.

So while I'm seeing in my friend who's talking to me about this challenge in her life,

And I'm seeing and feeling from her sadness or fear or anger or resentment,

Frustration,

Any sort of difficult emotion,

It might be stirring within me something that feels uncomfortable,

And I'm present to both of those.

And I'm softening and allowing both of those experiences really to come and go with each breath.

So I'm focused on peaceful breathing while I'm present with both experiences,

Hers and mine.

But listening,

The practice of skillful listening,

Can also be done alone in meditation as a mindfulness practice,

Or in nature.

Maybe you're alone in nature,

And I often like to take silent hikes in the woods or on the beach.

Even if I'm with someone else,

Taking a silent hike is a really moving experience.

I offer retreats,

And often at my yoga retreats,

One of the activities we do as a group is a silent hike in nature.

And I give some instruction in advance to the group,

You know,

Please don't talk,

Obviously,

But even other types of communication,

I ask them to refrain from like nudging their friend and pointing out something pretty.

Because really the group experience is an individual experience.

And what we're doing as we walk silently through nature is paying attention.

We're paying attention to the way that the wind moves the leaves on the trees,

Or the way that the sunlight shines on some leaves and not on others.

The shadows on the ground,

The sounds of birds,

Maybe the sound of water,

The sound of our footsteps.

We're paying attention.

And that's a very individual experience,

Even within a group.

And when we practice this sort of presence and artful or skillful listening,

There's a shift in us.

There's a change in us,

And we notice many things that have always been there that we never noticed before.

So you can start in this way.

If it's more difficult for you to practice artful or skillful listening in conversation,

You can first practice it alone in nature,

And you might find that easier.

You might find it very calming and peaceful in your mind and your heart,

As I do,

As many people do.

And often at my retreats,

I'm told that that was the participant's favorite part of the entire weekend.

We do many different activities,

And just silently walking through nature was their favorite thing,

Which is amazing.

I don't even need to be there for them to experience that.

It's easy for us to hold more compassion and space for someone else in our practice of listening if we come back to ourselves and remember how we feel when we don't feel listened to,

When we feel that we're not heard or not listened to,

If we feel disqualified by the other person or ignored,

If we feel that boundaries are crossed or there's a lack of consideration or care by the other person.

Then we tend to retreat.

One of two things can happen,

We become defensive,

Louder,

Maybe these feelings we're having get bigger,

Or we can completely retreat and disconnect from the exchange.

In either case,

Conscious communication is shut down.

So when we remember this feeling,

And probably we've all felt it before,

Not being heard,

Not being received,

Not being qualified in our conversation,

We remember that it feels terrible.

And if we're holding compassion for the other person,

We don't want them to feel that way.

We want them to feel that we're here to support them,

Even if we don't agree with them,

Even if we don't understand,

That we still acknowledge and accept that what they're feeling is true for them.

Questions in conscious communication can indicate that we're really listening.

Real questions come from a place of wanting to understand.

I ask questions because I want to understand.

This is what I heard you say,

Is that what you meant?

Or can you tell me more about this other thing that you said and help me to understand?

Or could you please give me an example of what you're talking about,

Because I'm not sure I understand.

So real questions in skillful listening indicate that we're really interested,

We're really listening and we want to understand.

But questions can also expose to us our own hidden agenda.

Questions can be leading questions,

Such as,

Why do you think I said that to you?

Basically is,

I'm trying to lead you toward what I already believe to be true.

I'm not trying to understand what you're saying,

I'm trying to help you understand what I'm saying.

And so when we do that,

We can right away recognize,

I've got a hidden agenda here to be right,

To prove my rightness.

My job right now is to listen.

And when it's my turn to speak,

Hopefully they'll hold space for me in the same way and recognize their job is to listen.

Questions can be trying to lead someone toward a solution that we already believe is true.

We already know what the answer is.

So I'm going to start asking you questions to try and lead you down this path toward the solution that I've already figured out.

There's a flag that goes up,

Oh I've got a hidden agenda.

I'm not just holding space,

I'm not just listening.

When we feel really heard,

Really listened to,

We feel valued,

We feel cared for,

We feel safe,

Important,

Accepted,

Maybe even understood.

And in this way,

Listening is an act of intimacy.

It nourishes intimacy in relationships.

And so it could be that someone isn't ready for that level of intimacy in their relationships.

And understand that I'm not just talking about romantic intimacy,

But the connectedness,

The connection,

The loving care,

The openness in relationships.

Sometimes when one person is speaking from the heart about something difficult or emotionally stirring,

The other person will make jokes in order to avoid difficult emotions and maybe to avoid that sort of intimacy,

To lighten the situation,

That might be what they're telling themselves or telling the other person,

Just trying to make you smile,

Make you laugh,

Lighten the situation,

Make you feel better.

But really it's a form of avoidance,

Avoiding difficult feelings,

Avoiding holding space for the person who's troubled.

And this can be a way of avoiding a type of intimacy in our relationships,

A connection,

And open-heartedness.

Sincere listening is an opening to what is,

To the experience in the moment,

To the experience of other people,

With no agenda,

No need to control the situation,

No need to change the situation,

Just a moment of perfect presence with what is.

And sincere listening can be all that's needed to begin to diffuse a heated situation,

To start to cool any fire between people,

To start to change the course of the conversation and the relationship.

This quote by Thich Nhat Hanh expresses it well.

You listen not for the purpose of judging,

Criticizing,

Or analyzing.

You listen only to help the other person to express himself and find some relief from his suffering.

Often in yoga classes or meditation classes we will chant the seed sound of Aum,

And I'll instruct students to not only create this sound vibration,

But to practice listening while they're chanting Aum,

To listen to their own voice,

To listen to the collective sound of the room,

And to listen to the various vibrations and how they interplay.

And when we do this,

Other thought falls away.

The busyness of the mind,

What we call monkey mind,

Falls away,

And Aum becomes an experience,

An inward experience through listening.

Silent retreats also are a deep and profound experience in listening.

And there's another practice that we do in yoga called Pratyahara,

Which is the withdrawal of our attention from sensory input,

Including our sense of hearing.

These practices withdraw attention from the input of the sensory organs.

And when you do this,

There is a clearing of that sensory input,

A sort of purification that renews our attention when we come back to the sense of hearing,

Taste,

Sight,

Feel,

All of the senses are purified and renewed,

And there's a new sort of awareness and attention that we gain from that purification practice.

You become much more aware,

Much more sensitive to the various sounds around you,

Including words,

The vibration of words,

And what you're receiving.

So I'll just guide you through a brief meditation practice in skillful listening.

And if you'd like,

You can lie down or you can do this meditation seated,

But get comfortable.

If you're wearing earbuds or headphones,

I recommend that you remove just one so that you can listen to the ambient sounds around you in this active listening practice.

Turn the palms of your hands up and close your eyes.

And begin your relaxation practice by taking three or four really slow,

Deep breaths,

Breathing in and out through your nose.

Deep mindful breathing is a tool that we use in yoga for staying calm and peaceful,

For quieting and calming our mind,

For relieving any tension in our body,

And of course for good health.

So it's a tool that you can also use in your conversations and especially in difficult or challenging conversations.

As soon as you become aware that you are breathing shallow and contracting your body and feeling defensive or feeling some uncomfortable feelings that arise,

You can right away become aware of and attune to your breathing and start to breathe deeply again.

And you'll feel right away that you start to relax and become a little quieter and calmer and a little more focused.

So let's just begin that way with some deep mindful breathing.

Feel your body,

Whatever position you're sitting in or lying down in.

Mentally scan your body as you breathe and notice anywhere in your body that feels tense or constricted or tight and see if with attention to that area and soft,

Deep breathing you can relax and soften those areas and let go of any tension.

Just mentally explore your body and find out.

Shoulders relaxing,

Hands and arms relaxed.

Relax your jaw,

The space between your eyebrows,

Your throat soft and open,

Relaxed.

Lips and tongue,

Focus for a moment on the line where your lips meet and see if you can soften your lips so that they're barely touching.

Soften that line.

Relaxed belly breathing.

Bring your attention to the center of your chest,

This space we call the heart center.

If you feel any tightness or constriction there,

See if you can soften and breathe into the space of the heart center.

Feeling your rib cage expand,

Lifting with each inhale,

Contracting,

Falling inward with each exhale.

Feel the gentle lift and fall of your chest with each breath.

The nature of conscious communication is very much like the nature of the breath.

Drawing in with the inhale,

Receiving information as you listen.

Releasing the breath out with your exhale and offering conscious speech and communication into the conversation.

Alternating giving and receiving.

The breath comes in,

The breath goes out.

But we can't do both at once.

When we're inhaling we're just inhaling.

When we're breathing we're just exhaling.

Now take your attention out to your surroundings.

Keep your eyes closed,

But tune in to your sense of hearing.

Use your sense of hearing to scan your surroundings,

Listening to the various sounds around you.

Let your sense of hearing go from sound to sound.

You might notice your mind identifying sounds,

Giving them a name,

Or even forming judgments about sounds.

This sound belongs,

This one doesn't.

I like that sound,

I don't like that sound.

I'm neutral to that sound,

I have no opinion about it.

Just notice.

There might be temporary sounds that come and go,

Or subtle sounds you hadn't noticed before.

If there are subtle,

Sustained sounds,

Your mind will often tune them out.

Your ears are the organs that receive the vibration of sound around you,

But it's your brain that decides what to hear.

So you might be hearing sounds for the first time that have always been there.

It's your brain that does the hearing.

Can you hear silence between the sounds?

Can you listen to the space between the sounds?

Now see if you can let go of all judgments,

All attachments,

No expectations or opinions,

Just listening with detached awareness.

Breathing into the full experience with your heart center.

And if judgments and opinions come back in,

Just notice and then let them fall away again.

Invite each sound in as part of your meditation.

This too belongs.

Invite all sounds in to your meditation.

Let's let these sit still.

Become aware of your breath.

Take a few slow,

Deep breaths in and out.

Soft belly,

Heart center,

Deep breathing.

Softly blink your eyes open.

May you have peace in your body.

May you have peace in your mind.

May you have peace in your heart.

Om Shanti Peace.

Namaste.

Reviews

Wonderful session, with so many good examples and insights. Made me aware of the long way that I've in front of me. Thanks a lot 🙏

Deeply insightful, thank you for this wonderful talk and message.

This greatly reminded me of something I have been doing to my friend, inadvertently.
I intend to be more aware of that.
You have added to my understanding of myself, an important lesson indeed.
Namaste 🙏🏼

Thank you so much for this beautiful talk & meditation Stephanie. Greatly appreciate it 🙏🏼 and I’m sure I’ll come back to it someday soon

So practical and easy to understand. Great advice to follow. Thank you 🙏🌀💫

A gentle, loving reminder to me and all others who inhabit this planet that we need to practice the art of listening, especially now more than ever.

Foi muito bom. A professora é clara e organizada na comunicação das ideias e tem uma voz agradável. O conteúdo atingiu as minhas expectativas.

This was wonderful and I’ll be saving it to a playlist to listen to again- I wish it wasn’t so long is my only criticism 🦋🙏

Absolutely beautiful. I look forward to putting what I've learned into practice.

Lovely, an important reminder of the critical skill of listening. Thank you ☺️

Excellent talk! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I find conscious communication to be a most versatile tool for increasing the amount of connection and intimacy in life…Water in the desert!

Important valuable lessons to come back to to listen. 🙏🌱❤

Conscious listening… prevents so much conflict when people can hear each other. Funny some people who think they avoid conflict create more without listening skills and direct communication. Blaming others for their lack of skills is Why we all should be more open to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes who is not heard.

Amazingly helpful, thank you!

Wow. This insight into conscious listening provides a healthy perspective of what we can use to grow ourselves, relationships, and society in a positive direction.

Thank you for this perspective, never considered listening as an act of kindness; but of course it is. Greatly appreciated. With metta

Great talk about active listening and barriers to communication. Highly recommend, especially during this time at the end of the year when we can reflect and connect with loved ones.
Thank you.

Felt like 10 minutes! Beautifull

Thank you. Great insights 🙏💖🌟

Top notch! Well organized, good tempo throughout, Great meditation at the end, as well.