AN UNCONVENTIONAL REVIEW: CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
Why being normal sucks!….and how embracing the unconventional can help you live a happier, more fulfilled life. This has been the premise of the last 2 weeks on my journey with Cliff Harvey. Ok, so he doesn’t really know… but I have been taking a lot of notes, and since he has been in Vancouver, I am well on my way to what we “mystical, universal… A.D.D holisitic, pro-humanity potential peeps” call “re defining your values and ethos.”
Life and the Universe have a funny way of bringing to us the exact people, places, circumstances, and messages that our souls are calling for at the right time. It could be a phone call from a long-lost friend we’ve been thinking about, a timely financial windfall when we need it most, a seemingly random meeting at a social event that leads to the perfect job opportunity, or a poignant bumper sticker, or even a facebook photo—the possibilities are endless, and sometimes it is exactly the opposite – for me, a rejection letter from “what I thought was my career path,” needing to re locate and move, and at a cross roads of “WTF do I do now,” and should I choose “ice cream” or “chicken wings and beer” moment – here’s the reality; whatever your “sign” is, get off at the next exit and see where it leads – because an experience is an experience, there is no good or bad, merely our own perception which defines the “experience.”
What if you believed that everything in your life was happening for your greater good? That you couldn’t go wrong? That even in the face of adversity, the universe was conspiring in your favor? Would this not make it so much easier to just live life, rather than continuing to run the hamster wheel of doubt, expectation and what if’s? Well, hold onto your hats – because if you just sit back and focus on what you want – it does indeed, manifest.
When it comes to synchronicity, life seems to land us in exactly where we need to be – even if it is in a place we are unsure of. No matter what the path, we do have a part to play and the all-important variable that we are in control of is navigated by our own personal moral compass and beliefs.
We have to BELIEVE that our dreams are real. We have to TRUST that anything is possible. We have to KNOW that every little action we take on behalf of our dreams is supported by unseen forces that are working for us and with us. Even when times get tough and all signs point to giving up, we have to dig deeper and find the faith to keep going.
Conscious Communication
Last night I attended the “Effective Conscious Communication” workshop, where his aim is to simply provide insight into why the way we communicate affects our interpersonal relationships and how we can transform that to develop more harmonious, peaceful and compassionate dynamics with others.
Cliff Harvey draws on his 14 years of clinical experience as a mind body coach, and as a naturopathic doctor to show how we can create more harmonious relationships at home at work and in any other area of life with a few simple intentions, tools and exercises. Instinctively, my first thought was… “oh crap, I am currently sitting in a workshop for “people in relationships” … ahem… check please… note to the world… I am still single.”
Cliff’s first few lines included, sometime along the lines – “we are all in relationships, whether it be with our partners, our friends, family, ourselves and the universe. When we learn to be more responsive than reactive we can empower our communication and encourage greater learning and personal growth. Ergo – perhaps the key indicator for me here is “reactive” and “relationship,” two words if ever asked my response would be… “No, I am not” (insert awkward school girl giggle here).” Ah, yes the universe and it’s magnitude of aligning the stars and planets for all to see.
Intention is a large part of any holistic health modality, hell, it’s a large part of any modality, and life as we know it – or at least it should be, because it is the fuel behind the flame. It ignites the fire from which all else follows. “The intention we take into any communication (or any situation) drastically changes the context of that communication (or situation). Studies have shown that when people are pre-conditioned with negative stimuli they perceive events afterwards negatively. Conversely, when people are pre-conditioned with positive stimuli they will perceive events afterwards in a more positive light.”
Seems easy enough, but how often do we really think, do and act as thus? It seems to me, that as a human species we seem to focus on the bad, the what isn’t going right, or what we don’t want – rather than the experience is just an experience, it is neither good nor bad – it just is. If we choose to focus our intention on what we do want, and we visualize it as thus – we can and do bring about that change for the better.
Cliff brings up to very key points and that is the idea of trust and intention – Trusting ourselves and trusting others; which is no easy feat, but it is the foundation from which all else is built. It really boils down to self care and compassion for ourselves and for others. Focus on the intention of non0judging, loving compassion and simply receiving what each other are saying without judgement, and in the words of Philo… “Be Kind, for everyone is fighting a great battle.”
When we tune in to the synchronicity of life, when we look with the eyes of trusting in that intention and listen with the ears of and touch of compassion, we begin to experience the undeniable truth that we are all connected, that there is rhyme and reason to the way life flows, and that each and every one of us is accounted for. We begin to know without a doubt that we ALL have something special and unique to offer the world.
During the Q&A portion of the interactive dialogue, I realized that we were all there for various reasons – but our vision was the same, and that was to not merely “improve our communication” skills or “improve relationships,” but to CONNECT and in connecting and listening to others, we innately begin to break down our own barriers and realize that the path each of us are traveling may be the more challenging one, they may have setbacks, but the road less travelled, is the one worth setting forth your quest on.
One of the workshop participant’s, Lynne Laporte a triathlon coach, had this to say about the workshop and experience;
“the workshop is was really cool. Honestly it’s so hard to put into words because it was one of those things where the content itself was interesting but what I got out of it the most was the group experience. It was a workshop that was less context focused and more Interaction driven. In that even if you didn’t “learn” anything new, the context in which the information was shared was what I took away the most!”
The group discussion and sharing was key to the evenings success.
“Experience the breakthrough of realising your power to choose your life of passion and purpose! Live the S**T out of life! “
Next Work Shop –
Choosing You! How to connect to your life of passion and purpose and achieve the goals that really matter
Date: June 3rd
Time: 9am – 6pm
Location: Tides Canada, Hollyhock Room
Price: $199.00
Sources:
Cliff Harvey – http://www.cliffharvey.com/
Lynne Laporte – Enhanced Performance (http://enhancedperformance.ca/) Switching Gears – (www.switchinggearstriclub.com)
