WEARING ANOTHER'S SHOES
We live out our own individual lives. Our perception, our projections and our realisation of what life is and the meanings we attach to it, are all our own - nobody else's. How we address the world and those around us, is dependant on how we feel about ourselves. Compassion allows us to have feelings as if experienced from another's perspective and by putting ourselves in their shoes, we can better understand life.
Shifting And Giving
Take a moment to pause and think about how other people around you, may be seeing things differently. How are you coming across? Realise that your actions and words can be taken in different ways. Understand that a certain approach to that person, can be received in all manor of different ways. Imagine how you look and sound as you project your desires, intentions, will and energy.
A really good way to get a clearer perspective of ourselves, from a third-person perspective, is to record a video with audio of a real-life situation. This way, we can see how our facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and assess if we are talking too much, instead of listening to what the other person is saying.
Judith Lasater's wise words on how positioning yourself from another's perspective can be empowering –
“When you feel pressured to make a different choice in some small thing, focus on the other person's point of view. If possible, shift to their point of view. This is not the same as giving in. Shifting viewpoint requires strength; giving in comes from fear.”
We all have our little life dramas playing out in our head. Meditation can help to quieten these chattering voices and if everyone knew the power of meditation techniques to help detach themselves from this internal noise, we'd all be much better at communicating in and calm and understanding way.
Simply sitting quietly for 10-15 minutes in the morning and evening, focussing on the breath and observing the distracting stream of messages, will help us to be more mindful of one's energetic impact on others, but it will also allow space for mindful thought processes at the crucial moments before interaction – for properly assessing situations on how best to approach others.
