MENTAL DIET
HEART TO HEART (PART 2)
Heart to heart or empathic communication flows from a sound character base rather than from manipulation; duplicity or mere learned technique. The kind of person you really are will determine your ability to effectively engage in empathic communication or heart to heart. Your personal conduct or example of trustworthy and loving character makes openness easy in your interpersonal relationships. Until the individual feels safe to open up his or her tender feelings to you, you will never understand the individual and when you do not understand the individual you will be unable to influence the individual. And until you are influenced by the other person’s individuality, he or she will resist your influence. Influence is the cord that binds relationships.
Listening with the heart is one of the most difficult aspects of effective communication. Listening with the head implies listening with the intent to reply and many people travel through that lane.
Listening with the heart is listening with the intent to understand another and it makes the world of difference in your interpersonal relationships. Listening with the heart also implies listening with the eyes; your eyes penetrate the heart of another and sees the world from his or her perspective.
Heart to heart is not a practice that guarantees absolute mastery but consistency is the key; there will be moments when we will misunderstand or misjudge another or even fail to make ourselves understood but despite the misunderstanding in our interpersonal relationships we can retrace our actions to the best practice of empathic communication.
Heart to heart takes patience because it takes time to really understand another individual; it takes patience to get the meaning behind the words expressed to the feelings impressed.
When you experience problems or issues in your interpersonal relationships, never be on a look-out for “who is right?” or “who is to blame?” But rather seek out to understand the other person’s feelings; when the other person feels emotionally heard or understood he or she becomes receptive to understand you and what is right will be willingly embraced.
