Reports abound regarding the challenges we currently face with the changes occurring in our means and methods of communication. A recent report said that children and teens are losing the ability to develop compassion, with the abbreviated, meaningless communication of texting. Additionally, our young people are developing a condition called "facebook depression." In other cases, young people, in their hunger for relationships, try "sexting," degrading themselves by sending indecent photos of themselves by phone to the person they are attracted to, or even worse, posting them on the web.
Children and young people are not learning healthy communication skills and adults, with "too-busy" schedules and technologies such as email, are starting to lose their ability to have deep, meaningful conversation. It is like a critical thread of the fabric of our lives is unraveling. But what can we do?
I am not going to begin with an anti-technology rant...just in case you may have been thinking that. Technology, like medications, alcohol, caffeine, and chocolate, rightly used, all have their place. Heck, our bodies even need a certain amount of fat each day!
It is not what we have that counts, it is what we do with it. Technology can provide many blessings, and likewise many negative effects.
A primary fact, that we can deny as much as we want but still remains true, is that we are One. Just as the many parts of our bodies may "seem" different, i.e. kidneys, liver, eyeballs, etc.; in Truth they are each a part of an interdependent whole. As we are with each other and the world we live in.
In order for our bodies to live and remain safe and healthy, the parts must communicate. The parts of our body are in constant communication, providing what is needed for the good of the whole as their unique characteristics dictate.If communication is lost or impaired, disaster is imminent. The same is true for us!
At some level, subconscious for many, each one of us has an awareness of being a part of a greater whole. We know that we are one with God and the Universe. We long for the expression of that wholeness. We want to belong. We want to be loved, desired and accepted. To do this we need communication. We need REAL communication. We need to use the tools we have been provided.
There are two critical ingredients required for meaningful communication. One is thought, the other is feeling. In order to have meaningful communication, both must be engaged. What we call "thinking" occurs in the head it is the spiritual center for the Christ Center, or what we call "mind." "Feeling," occurs in the spiritual center of the faculty of Love, located behind the heart.
Midway between the head and the heart is the throat, which houses the spiritual center for the faculty of "Power." Ideas, as thoughts and feelings are expressed through words we speak. They resonate through the center of Power; through the vocal chords and are empowered as they are spoken.
Our words can be formative or creative. Formative words contain either thoughts or feelings...not both. Creative words, containing both thinking feeling have the power to build, heal, overcome challenges and manifest all kinds of good.
Communication does not mean a one-way monologue. Conversation does not mean dispute or debate. It means two-way speaking, listening, thinking, feeling, processing and responding. Conversation fortifies healthy relationships; it deepens our understanding of each other. Healthy communication encourages, comforts, and satisfies the deep-down yearning for belonging.
Furthermore, the exchange of ideas energizes them, drawing like-thoughts and energy that lead to their manifestation.
The mind, like a body of water, needs an inlet and an outlet to prevent it from becoming stagnant. Healthy, meaningful communication provides both an inlet and an outlet. While we do not need to stop texting, emailing, facebooking or tweeting, we do need to balance our high-tech with high-touch.
So...go and have that long-overdue conversation you've been thinking about. It will do more good than you can imagine.
Blessings of Love and Light; RevAli
