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Hear and Heart – One Letter Apart
We listen all day long… to our peers, friends, family, co-workers, children, partner. But do we really HEAR what they are saying?
The ability to listen and the ability to really hear are two different things. One is mechanical and the other is an art form.
I have been a student of listening for over thirty years now. My journey with my mentor has been a never ending journey of awakening and discovery. Listening is the most profound master teacher that I have ever studied under.
I have had a few great master teachers in my life time! But not one with the power to carry me through multidimensional levels of awareness in a moment by moment process. My Listening Mentor wears a coat of many colors and just when I think that I have become my own master, my mentor morphs, showing me a depth I never saw before.
The very first lesson that my master teacher shared with me is that HEAR and HEART are only one letter apart. So the first teaching I received at the feet of my master teacher was, “To really hear what is being said you must connect with heart!”
Action Step – try this over the next week:
- Whenever you are in a listening situation during the coming week, imagine opening a channel from your heart to your head.
- Be aware of your heart and your hearts’ capacity to “hear” or feel what is being said.
- Be aware of your heart as you listen and notice what if you discover. Without judgment or opinions, just listen from your heart and notice what comes up.
Thoughts Turn Into Things
Are you working hard yet not achieving the level of success that you desire? Do your dreams and goals sometimes seem elusive or just beyond reach? Do you wish you could BE more, DO more or HAVE more?
Our brain is amazing! In fact, neuroscientists tell us that the human brain is the most powerful processor and solution generator on the planet. We now know that human intention can and does influence the material world in a significant way.
Yet herein is the challenge that we all face. We affect the world around us whether we are consciously intending to or not.
In fact, our lives are a mirror of our thoughts. What do you spend the majority of you time thinking about? What are the repetitive patterns of thought that float through your mind on a daily basis?
Thoughts are things. It has been said, as it is within, so it is on the outside. Our thoughts and attitude shape our reality all day long.
Here’s an experiment. Imagine that you are a scientist and that your life is your laboratory for learning. Then pick an hour during your day. Rather than choosing an hour when its quiet or restful, make it a normal hour during your busy work schedule.
And just for that one-hour, become a witness to your thoughts. Observe them and ask yourself the following:
- Is this (a specific) thought or a repetitive thought?
- Approximately how many thoughts went through in that hour of observation?
- Were most of them positive or negative?
- Then make a note of what you discovered during that one hour.
Weeding My Mental Garden: The Stoplight Meditation
Weeding My Mental Garden
Weeding My Mental Garden: The Journey Continues
I want to hear from you! Please either click on the blog title and scroll to the bottom of the page or click the word “responses” to take you to the comment area. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Use Mind Mapping to Boost Creativity!
I haven’t always loved mind mapping. During school, I was well trained in outlining and I was fairly good at it. Habits from childhood can run deep. So it took me a few years to let go of the old and embrace the new.
However, when I did let go of the old outlining method, I fell in love with mind mapping! It is the fastest, most powerful brainstorming tool I’ve ever used.
As a result, when I planned my first book, Learning to Learn – Maximizing Your Performance Potential, I mind mapped it. I brainstormed the entire book on a single page and I followed the map through the entire writing process.
In fact, when I thought that I’d lost the page somewhere half way through the book I freaked because I thought I lost the plot of the book. When I did find it, I made copies of it, filed the copies and finished the book.
Then, some years ago, I ran into Tony Buzan. He was the original author of mind mapping and he had developed a mind mapping program for the computer. I purchased it immediately and have been using it ever since.
Recently I upgraded to the iMindMap5 release and I love it. It is excellent for students, teachers, business people, project planners, and anyone who uses brainstorming as part of their planning process. Some of the new items included are a 3D view, presenter guides, greater ease of navigation, more templates and a lot more.
Below is a mind map that I did on Leadership for an executive team I’m coaching. The skills, skill sets and competencies I will include in the process are included on the right. The character traits necessary for success are on the left.
This is a comprehensive overview of everything I will cover in the coming months. And it gives the coachee a clear picture of where we are heading.
The map took me 15 minutes to do and the style I will present it in is 3D with various areas popping onto the computer screen as I highlight them.
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