Life Skills Development/Affective Listening

Consider the logistics for the Gift of Listening - each of the pair takes turns to be listened to and for the same length of time
Share equal time for each of the pair: Speaker 'A' speaks for 'x' minutes and Speaker 'B' affirms using the heart after Time signal. Then Speaker 'B' speaks for 'x' minutes and Speaker 'A' affirms using the heart after time signal.

1. What to speak about?


 * You can speak of anything you like but remember that your hurts started earlier – sometimes in childhood and the pattern plays when something similar triggers the memory. Check what makes you shout, or become angry. Try to remember sometime in your childhood when you felt similarly. Talk about this too, in the Gift of Listening.

2. Practicing Affirming via modelling.


 * Practise affirming based on the qualities of the heart. See Activity. Say the name of the person and affirm them by contradicting anything negative or reinforce the positive: “Nalini, you are loving and good” after she told you she beat her children because she was sad about her partner’s ignoring her.

3. Teach someone the Gift of Listening and practise the Gift of Listening regularly. You deserve to be listened to. We would all be more emotionally intellegent and available, if we practised this form of listening regularly.