This blog describes the experience of listening to another person with an effortless attention; without any judgment or comments on what is being shared. It is taken in for its deep value, as one heart speaking to another.
At their core, all deep relationships are an opportunity to be real with each other; both with the other person, and with yourself. You get a wonderful feeling from connections that have this as their basis. Equally, you are aware when it is lacking and feel something is missing in the relationship.
People get into quarrels over all sorts of things, big and small. They get upset because they feel they’re not going to get what they want; anything from a clean kitchen to another child. They might feel hurt, attacked, insulted, …
Why It’s Important To See The Other’s Viewpoint In Your Relationship Read more →
People get into quarrels over all sorts of things, big and small. They get upset because they feel they’re not going to get what they want; anything from a clean kitchen to another child. They might feel hurt, attacked, insulted, …
It Is Important To See The Other’s Viewpoint In Your Relationship Read more →
Our culture is oriented around the individual. People (including us!) write about how to find yourself. Herbert Hoover famously used the phrase “rugged individualism.” Countless articles advise how to improve ourselves, whether at the gym, the makeup counter, or our …
Why is it Important not to Focus on Yourself in Relationships? Read more →
Phil had a relationship in his 30’s where his partner just wanted to be heard, but instead, he would offer advice. He was so accustomed to being called on to fix things like a broken door-lock that such conversations seemed …
There’s more to active listening than usually gets discussed. We bumped up against this recently, while working on a Secret Project. We were talking, and both of us felt interrupted by the other. We’ve occasionally had this experience of being …
What are we to make of Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby and Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, the two mysterious characters who appear at critical junctures in “The Water-Babies” by Charles Kingsley? They are symbols of how we respond to other people. Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid is about …
Last week we blogged about active listening. This week we would like to share from our book, How Two: Have a Successful Relationship, which includes a conversation on acceptance, active listening and compromise. Acceptance Does Not Mean Compromise Often when …
Maude: We recently participated in a course for couples at our local Adult Education center. It’s fun to interact with a group of couples discussing and sharing their direct experience. One of the techniques for listening that the instructor had …
What Active Listening Can Do For Your Relationship Read more →