ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 48: Listening Mindfully: Getting Out of Your Own Head

Why is it so hard to hear and feel another person’s meaning when you are in difficult conversations? Even though you may love the other person, when they speak about something that “makes you angry,” you may find it’s impossible to hear anything except your own thoughts. When we feel emotionally threatened, we protect ourselves and promote our own points. This is universal. Everyone closes their ears to anything except their own thoughts when they feel insulted or emotionally threatened. The second rule of Real Dialogue is called “Listening Mindfully.” It teaches us how to open our ears and our minds during emotional pain or animosity in order not to not to create an enemy even before we hear what is being said.