Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash The theme of communication is so crucial for everybody these days. It doesn't matter if you are a professional leading people, a stay at home mother, a job seeker, a single in search of a partner, happy or unhappy in a relationship or something else in your life at the moment, you are communicating every day, all day. You communicate with your words, with your silence, with the speed of reaction with your tone and with your image. Communication mistake to avoid
0 Comments
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash Many people desire to be more self-confident, self-assured and developing an healthy self-image. An inner sense of being too prone to pleasing and too easy to manipulate or being walked over lead to frustration, anger and sometimes inner outburst of fury. But when it comes to stand your ground and guard your boundaries arises a conflict that becomes a block: How can I be assertive without being aggressive? Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash Many researches have been done on what make a couple happy on the long term and one of the most interesting findings is about what seems to be a sure recipe for the end of a relationship.
These short list of killers of a relationship was develop by Dr Gottman and goes under the name of the four horsemen of the apocalypse: Criticism is the first one. When what the other does or say is never good enough. The antidote is to express yourself with 'I' messages and therefore talk about what you think and feel. The second is contempt, that sense of superiority that drives you to behave as if the other is a lost cause. The antidote is reinforcing the positive, be grateful and express all that is good. The third is defensiveness and it is about viewing oneself as the victim and the other as the responsible one. The antidote here is to take responsibility for how you contribute to the situation. The last is stonewalling and it has to do with stepping out of contact, withdrawing from communication with the other. The antidote is about taking for some time to regroup and come back to engage when ready. If you want to see if any of these apply in your relationship, make sure you question yourself not your partner, make sure you don't do any of these. I just came across this video of under 2 minutes that I find so powerful that deserves a place in this blog, for you to find and enjoy too one day. Be inspired, feel empowered and remember that your worth is not negotiable. One of the main cause of crisis in a relationship is the challenges brought about by the birth of children. In essence parents get a second full time job on top of the one they already have and no instruction whatsoever on how to go about being a good parent. I have been there and I have seen many others go through that with pain, sense of failure and frustration. Raising your children should be a love quest, a great adventure full of learning moment. Having a child with the one you love should be a coronation of that love, not the end of it. I came across this video today that seems to answer in short some of the fundamental questions about what is really important to give to children as we raise them. I resonate with what Gabor Mate says and for this reason I share it here hoping it will reach more people that can be inspired and supported by this message. There is so much richness available online. This is a tip from me. A documentary that explains and inspires an healthier and more naturally connected life. After watching this documentary I went took off my shoes and walked miles. Putting back my shoes felt so unnatural and kind of the end of the party. ![]() In the last couple of day I have been remembering a lot of my dreams and really felt they were interacting with my life, giving me signals and information for me to stay still and reflect. I also always ask clients if they remember dreams as dreams can bring such powerful messages about your life and your developmental process. Inspired by my personal dreaming storm I decided to share how I work with my own dreams. When I help clients work with their own dream there is much more possible, I can guide other back inside their dreams and explore in depth the meaning of them. However, there is a lot that you can do on your own, as I do, to receive the gift the dream is bringing you. I have had a number of free introduction meeting this week where I explain how I work to different people, from different backgrounds and countries and I found myself reflecting on myself as therapist.
With a bit of a generalization you could say that the traditional role of the therapist is the one of guide: the wise person that dispense knowledge and advice so that the patient can improve, learn useful things and live better. In the last past decennia there are a lot of discovery in the science of therapy and new views have emerged. There is more and more a focus on putting the client (not anymore patient) at the center of the process. ![]() Today is April 1st, typically the day to make a fool of someone with a joke. Well, the joke is on me and my garden today, as I woke up to 5 to 10 cm snow. Just a couple of days ago I could walk around without a jacket and risking a sunburn. I couldn't resist going for a walk, I did it early in the morning as I love to be the first to make marks in the snow. I got to experience a bit of a safari observing how animals and plant were reacting to this unexpected turn of events. It made me reflect on how humans tend to resist unexpected event, how we tend to plan our lives to prevent as much as possible that something surprising cross our roads. It has become really important to exercise control over as much as possible of our life, it feels good, gives a sense of being safe. ![]() Reaching a deeper level of intimacy is a desire many partners have. Even couple that consider themselves happy, often desire to reach a deeper level of intimate connection. Learn how to be present can be a great way to move in that direction. When I use the term 'presence' I mean the open attitude, heart connected to heart stand, where both partners show up with their truth and hold space for each other's truth. |
Categories
All
Archives
December 2022
|