posted June 22, 2007 04:48 PM         

“If we want to be compassionate we must be conscious of the words we use. We must both speak and listen from the heart.”

-- Marshall B. Rosenberg

Conscious communication requires us to be truly present to what is occurring. When we are unconscious, we both speak to and react to others out of habit. And in the face of what we perceive as someone’s judgment and criticism, we automatically (and unconsciously) defend, withdraw or attack.

To communicate consciously requires attention to two areas:

I need to speak from awareness of what I am perceiving, feeling and needing, and

Through watching and listening, I need to be aware of those same needs in others.

“When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion.”

-- Marshall B. Rosenberg