Some conversations are a mess – unnerving, uncomfortable or down right annoying. How do we work with that?
In the Mindful Conversation practice John Scilipote and I have developed, we talk a lot about the concept of “abiding in conversation”. When we abide in conversation – by slowing down and committing to endure through the hard stuff – it’s possible to make room for the conversation to take us to new and unexpected places where discovery and wisdom emerge. And whether the conversation is juicy or a mess, abiding can also create the space for acceptance and love to bubble up, of which both energies have the ability to transform conversation and relationships.
We consider “abiding in conversation” to be a foundational practice and a practice we bring to all our BreakBread conversations and our Mindful Conversation classes. We’ve recorded an “Abiding in Conversation” Visualization for you to enjoy at your leisure.
Certainly, this is one of many practices one can use to build meaningful conversations and by no means, the end all be all. After all conversations are complex – and good conversation is a prism, wrapped up in a spider web, carried by a lifetime commitment of showing up.