I frequently read and enjoy this blog, and one of the most wonderful things about it is their excellent, easy-to-refer-to illustrated graphics.  Scroll down just a little bit to see their latest nifty graphic on "Curious Listening:  The Foundation of Relationship Building."  If you have any trouble reading it (you can "save as" a jpg if you wish), scroll down a tiny bit more and you'll see it all laid out in the blog itself. 

Look in their archives--they have a couple of other wonderful graphic illustrations on other effective communication topics. 

Well worth your time.  Enjoy!

Sick of hearing about "the mindful revolution" and mindfulness in general?  Feeling like this is just the latest fad?  I don't blame you...and I'm a mindfulness practitioner.  But I do worry that all the publicity about it right now could turn folks off.  As someone who was forced, early on, into a religion that didn't make any sense to me, I truly abhor "conversion" talk.  Some of the publicity borders on that.

That said, there is so much to recommend becoming more aware in our lives...at work, and at home.  There is so much to recommend being able to choose our responses rather than being driven by knee-jerk reactions, which we often wish we could take back later.

The secular version of mindfulness (you do not have to be a Buddhist to be mindful) has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with becoming more effective in all aspects of life and work.  Equally unusual these days, it reminds us to slow down, and reminds us that a whole life will speed past us if we do not learn to focus on each moment.

Any type of coaching or counseling will ask you to become more mindful--whether or not that term is used.  If you want to change a behavior, the first step is thinking through what needs to change and why.  Next, when are you exhibiting the behavior you wish to change?  When does the behavior come up for you?  What would you like to do instead?  And so on...all these steps are actually aspects of mindfulness. 

It's not just sitting on a cushion and meditating.  There are many ways of becoming more aware, moment by moment, that we use to deepen our sense of aliveness and increase our choices.

Here's a thoughtful short piece about what's wrong and what's right about the current mindfulness craze.  It's very much worth reading if you're on the fence about exploring why mindfulness might be relevant for you, both at work and at home.