Communicating with Care

In my humble opinion, one of the most important aspects of any relationship is communication. And a huge component of communication is listening. Whether it's a romantic partner, a friend, a family member, a business colleague, or even parenting, mindful communication and listening is going to play a key role in how you relate with each other. It involves listening fully without judgment, being self-aware of how one's own communication, both verbal and non-verbal, is impacting and being received by the other person. And just being in an overall space of present moment awareness. With any moments of communication, it's also important to be aware of what's arising emotionally and mentally within yourself and the other person, and making the necessary adjustments to stay in sync with the other person. And sometimes that may mean in that moment to actually stop communicating all together. And this notion of mindful communication may not come easily at first. It takes some patience, and more than anything, it takes practice. For today's practice. We will touch base with how it feels to be in a space of mindfully listening. And as with any practice, being gentle with yourself, noticing if the practice is becoming too much for you, too overwhelming and pausing, if you need to. You can always stop altogether, recalibrate and then return to the practice when you're ready, picking up where you left off. So with that being said, gently dropping into practice now. Adopting a comfortable and dignified posture of awareness. Allowing the feet to be flat on the floor or the legs comfortably crossed if you're on a cushion. Hands resting on your knees or in your lap, whatever is most comfortable for you. Posture is comfortably tall. And for now, allowing the eyes to remain open. And just taking some gentle deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. And with your next exhalation, bringing your full attention to your surroundings. Using your sense of sight, gently looking around to see what comes into your line of vision. And the gentle instruction here is to just use the movement of your neck to look around versus pivoting your shoulders or hips. So not necessarily looking for anything in particular, but just noticing what presents itself. And in this next moment, gently bringing your focus back to center. And just noticing your breathing as it flows naturally, in and out. With your next exhalation, if it's comfortable for you, I'm going to ask you to gently close your eyes. Of course, if not, you can allow your eyes to remain open in a soft open gaze, not really focusing on anything in particular. And now gently bringing your full attention to the sounds in your surroundings, seeing what naturally presents itself. And again, the invitation here is to gently notice. So no need to strain or force yourself to hear anything in particular. Just noticing what sound's common to your awareness. And as you notice...