Harness Your Power: Silence & Listening

I spent this entire week looking inside myself, learning and growing. I was reminded through some interactions with people close to me, that I want to improve my listening skills. A few days before these conversations occurred, I had picked up a book at the library called, "The Sacred Art of Listening." How is it that I always have the books I need right at hand? I'm so grateful for the way the Universe is always at work, supporting and preparing me even when I don't know what I need!

In this helpful book, I was reminded of the importance of practicing personal silence. Quieting our minds opens up space for us to BE more of ourselves. It is also an important practice in relation to listening. If our minds are uncontrolled when we are by ourselves, the mind's activity will inevitably pick up its pace when we are interacting with others. Then, when we find ourselves in intense conversations where we hold differing viewpoints with others, the mental speed ramps up another notch entirely!

Practicing silence helps us to see that we can be in control of our minds rather than having our minds in control of us. We are able to slow down the thinking mechanism and open up space in our head and our heart when we do this. Then, during our daily life, we can use silence "on-demand" to get back to peace. I often spend moments breathing each day to calm myself and regain perspective. The same can be true for using silence in the time we spend with others.

To truly listen to another person, we must be able to slow our minds down. If not, we will be thinking of our to-do list, past history we've had with the other person or the next thing we want to say to them rather than deeply hearing them. If our minds are quiet, we can graciously accept their words and take them in. Rather than jumping into a barrage of comebacks, we can sit and consider their perspectives. Then, after a few moments of quiet, we can respond lovingly to what they say.

Imagine if only 1% more people in the World practiced this! There would be less conflict and love would grow. We all desire to be heard. So, let's take time this week to work on our listening skills. I'd recommend that each day for the upcoming week you spend at least 2 minutes in silence focused on your breath. See if you can get your mental chatter to slow down a bit. Fill your lungs with breath and shift your own energy. Practice this on your own first. Then, if you find yourself in an intense conversation with another person, practice it again. Quiet your mind and practice moving your thoughts out of the way so you can receive what they are communicating to you.

Let me know how this goes! Let's be the change we want to see in the World. Let's reduce the conflict in our lives so that we reduce the conflict in the World at large.

On a side-note, please check out my updated website. It is full of wonderful resources to support you in your personal growth and well-being. My only desire in life is that more and more people see that they can move beyond suffering and become truly peaceful and happy inside.

A big hug,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Focus on Love

In thinking about this weekly blog, I considered writing a traditional Thanksgiving blog, reminding each of us to be truly thankful for the blessings in our lives. Of course, I will remind you: let's all join together in counting our blessings and focusing our hearts in gratitude! But, I'd like instead to suggest that this week we focus on seeing others through eyes of love rather than through eyes of judgment.

Big family gatherings can be challenging. We join together with relatives who are experts at pushing our buttons. Old conflicts arise, putting a negative, cloudy energy in the air that everyone perceives but nobody talks about. It feels uncomfortable. Yet we pretend and put on a smile. We try to be cordial.

I'd like to suggest a new approach this year. Before you go to your family celebration, take a few moments to sit down and open your heart. Get a pen and a piece of paper. Begin by making a list of all the people you will be encountering (if it is a big gathering, just list the people who you are not comfortable being around.) Now, begin to write down any and every positive thing you can find about this person. For just a moment, move beyond your judgment and open to a bigger perspective.

If you feel stuck on trying to find positives, then say a brief prayer -- "Spirit, please help me to see this person from a new perspective. Open my eyes in an expanded way and help me to move beyond judgment and see any spark of light this person has within."

These questions might also help you in thinking about the person: Have you seen this person offer kindness to someone in the past? Are they talented? Do they intend to be loving but just never come across that way? (Give them credit for the attempts they make.) Are they full of good humor and jokes? Even though they often may judge you, is it really because of their fearful beliefs that are motivated from a deep love for you? Might it be that their mannerisms, though they annoy you, are merely what they learned growing up?

The whole point of this exercise is to focus on the light, the love you can perceive -- no matter how small it appears to you. When you focus on the light, it grows! When you focus on the light, you change. When you focus on the light, your perceptions shift. The old ideas that you felt you couldn't let go of, are able to transform.

If we desire World peace, the peace must start from our own small circles of friends and family. We may not be able to change the people who offend, ignore, or annoy us. We can change the way we view them. We can release our judgments; we can open to love.

Prepare yourself for these challenging interactions. You could even carry this paper of loving qualities with you to the gathering. Keep it in your pocket or your purse -- so if you find yourself moving into the old patterns of judgment, go to the bathroom, re-read it. Breathe and allow love to fill you again.

Ask Spirit to assist you in approaching these interactions in a new way. Ask for miraculous healing to occur in relationships that have been broken and stuck in conflict for years. It is all possible -- IF we are willing to open our hearts to new possibilities.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving. For those of you in other parts of the World, use this exercise in the same way -- make a list of the people who annoy, bug and upset you in your daily life. Open to making the same types of shifts in these relationships. No special family gatherings are needed to experience this growth.

On one other note, I want to say to each of you how thankful I am to interact with you via this blog. It is an honor to share these ideas from my heart. I offer each of you love because I know that you are pure love in your essence. You are, we all are, aspects of Source Energy in human form. We are more similar than different. Are struggles are common ones and as we join together and learn, we begin to see how beautiful we are in facing our daily challenges in our life experience.

I close with a few affirmations to support you in your interactions:

I open to seeing the love and light in my friends and family.

I open to seeing more love and light within myself.

We are all in this together.

I move beyond the conflicts and see others from Spirit's perspective.

I notice the beauty in every human being.

I see them with compassion and empathy.

I realize that their words and actions are not personal to me.

I assume that they, and I, are capable of healing our conflicts and joining together in love.

I am an ambassador of peace.

My work begins in my circle of friends and family.

The peace that starts in my heart spreads to everyone in my life.

It moves around the globe and impacts World peace.

I see my power.

I see new possibilities in my life.

I give thanks for all that I am, all that I have, and all that I am becoming.

In love, knowing the beauty of each person who is reading this blog,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

If you need any support in preparing for tough interactions, drop me an email and we can arrange a quick coaching session. Sometimes a few minutes of conversation can give you just the support you need!

Much love!

Trish

Harness Your Power: Using Silence More

An insight that I gained this week is that silence is a powerful tool and it can be used in many ways, shapes and forms. Sitting in silence and meditating on a daily basis helps to calm the mind and connect to inner peace and wisdom. Silence can also be used more powerfully in our communication.

When we are in a conversation and don't know exactly how to respond, what do we often do? We talk and talk rather than just sitting quietly. Quiet moments feel awkward to us so we fill them with chit chat. What if instead we were simply quiet when we didn't have an answer to another person's accusation or question? Might it be possible that a few seconds of silence might allow for clarity and deep insight to emerge?

Many times as we express our truth to others we talk for long periods of time. Wouldn't it be more powerful if we expressed a need, want or opinion succinctly and then let a period of silence open up. Giving the other person in the conversation a moment to sit with what was just said and to gather their thoughts and give a response is a very powerful approach. Most of the time we will state our truth and then give a variety of reasons to support and defend what we are saying. More words actually create less power. A few words with silence following them creates a statement with deep impact.

Watch your patterns in communication this week. Notice how often you try to fill silent moments with words because of inner discomfort. Silent moments are beautiful and multi-dimensional. They are fantastic and significant once you get the hang of them.

I also am becoming aware of the power of silence in parenting. So often we react and give our children a piece of our minds. What if instead of lecturing we stated how we felt or what we wanted and then allowed for quiet? Or, what if as we saw a tantrum coming on, rather than trying to control it, we just sat quietly and watched it unfold before us. Silence in parenting can bring about dramatic shifts in dynamics.

I write all this because of my own new awareness. I share from my heart and give you ideas of ways that I am learning to approach situations. If your current approach isn't working, producing the peace, joy and hope you want to experience, why not try something new?

That's where I am at. I want to facilitate poignant, loving moments in all of my relationships.

May your week be filled with more silent moments and clarity,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/