“Communication Breakdown, It’s always the same,
I’m having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane!” ~ Zeppelin

Robert Plant has it spot on!

Communication—it’s can be the most simple task, yet the most complex. Communication is a basic survival necessity. We need it to be able to live with other people, to live with ourselves.

How can we even communicate with our significant others if we can’t communicate our desires to ourselves?

How do we expect our relationships to get any where if you can’t have a simple conversation about what’s for dinner with our loves?

We are living in a society where communication has been dwindled down to text, email, Facebook, social media. People don’t talk anymore! There is a loss of energy and vibrations that talking aloud brings to the table. What happened to talking around a campfire? Talking around the dinner table? People don’t do that anymore (as I type this I am on one side of the table while my love is on the other playing a video game).

Communication breakdown!

Talks of peace, dreams, goals, desires, inventions, ideas—don’t let these be of the past. When you communicate these to people via electronics, the passion, intensity, sincerity, is lost. Physically talking to your significant other about the happiest day of their life brings you to feel that happiness with them. You can hear the excitement, the love, the desire for that, in their voice.

Those positive vibrations are put out in to the Universe, bringing more positive ones back to you!

We can end wars by effectively communicating. We can bring peace by effectively communicating.

And listening…

Listen: Listen to one another. Not only verbally, but the non-verbal messages—(body language, inflection, eye movement—as well. While listening, don’t think about what to say, actively listen to their message so that you can fully receive what they are saying. You can have a clear picture then of their thoughts and feelings. The first step in proper communication is listening.

Emotions: Understand that everyone has different ways of processing thoughts and feelings. Something that may make you sad, may make them angry (remember anger is a secondary emotion, so they may not process or acknowledge the sadness first). By understanding their emotions, you can better gauge the situation and empathize with them.

Practice Empathy: Seeing situations from someones else’s perspective. You can see how they feel, think, behave, but you are not giving them pity nor remorse for it. You are actively acknowledging their emotions. This is key in allowing a safe and healthy environment for communicating.

And of course, “The Four Agreements” of Don Miguel Ruiz:

Be Impeccable with Your Word: Speak with integrity and belief. Say what you believe and say what you mean. Do not speak against others, nor of yourself. Negative words such as gossip will come back to you doubly in time. The power of Words should help bring light to this world! Not darkness!

Don’t Take Anything Personally: It’s hard, I know. But nothing that anyone does is because of you. They behave in such a manner because they are projecting what they dislike about themselves- on to you. Don’t be a victim to their reality.

Don’t Make Assumptions: Ask questions. Express yourself and your desires. Communication breakdown can lead to despair and unhappiness. You know what assuming does, right? Don’t let that happen—be above it and get to the point!

Always Do Your Best: Simple—be the best you can be. It’s not always the same. You change from millisecond to millisecond, but you can always be the best you there is! And why not?! Give the world the gift of you!

I hope with these nuggets of truth we can all effectively break the communication barriers in our lives!

Author: Hannah Hilton

Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Flickr