A 4-week course to fine-tune your natural gifts for listening, honesty, and support.
Week 1: Compassionate Listening and Mindfulness Skills
Listening with compassion may be the single most transformative thing one human being can do for another. Regardless of what other tools or methods you use, sitting with someone with compassion, assuming good intent, and seeing the humanity in them are the most powerful tools for transformation and lasting change. Mindfulness practices help both you and your client come into the present moment which is the easiest place to effect change.
Week 2: Radical Honesty and Reflective Listening
We cannot practice trust. An internalized sense of trust is not something I just will to happen. But I can be honest. Honesty, telling the truth, and getting real are all practices that every person can do. You can chose to be honest. We’ll explore how, why, and what to do afterwards. Reflective listening supports honesty and understanding.
Week 3: Listening for Feelings and Needs
When we connect with our own feelings and needs we are more likely to understand ourselves and our reactions. When we connect with others feelings and needs we are more able to see the humanity within each of us and to find our commonality. This is fertile ground for more understanding and cooperation.
Week 4: Trusting Your Intuition
In order to trust your intuition with a client or friend you have to be clearing your own stuff. Actively working on your own stuff will allow you to better know when your stuff is coming up and not to project it onto your clients and friends. Getting regular support and doing your own introspection is the best way to keep yourself clear enough to trust your intuition. Offer your suggestions gently. The more you think you absolutely know exactly what your client or friend should do, the more likely you are to be hearing the advice that you need for yourself. It still might be a good idea for your client, but you should apply it to your own life first and see what happens.