Good communication is as
stimulating as black coffee,
and just as hard to sleep after.
~ Ann Morrow Lindbergh
Nothing in itself is either good
or bad; all things exist in mind
as a potentiality; mind is eternally
acting upon thought, continually
producing its own images from mind,
and casting them out into manifestation.
Man must be the outcome – of the
desire of the Spirit to make something
which expresses the same life
that It feels.
~ Ernest Holmes
I say TomaTOE and you say ToMAEto and we are both talking about the same vegetable. Wars have started over misinterpreting the meaning of words as expressed between two peoples. Therefore the paradox of words is no small matter. Recently I went through some intense back and forths with a friend because we were each interpreting the concept expressed by the word "duality" in different ways. My friend was quite insistent on a precise kind of languaging, reserving the word "duality" for a philosophical or spiritual concept and preferring to use the word "opposites" for pairs of items – yes/no, dark/light, happy/sad – etc. This parsing becomes important if one's goal is to find the balance point of a wholeness that can incorporate extremes into a more complete picture. My friend's concern was that an individual might judge themselves as not being in "oneness" when they were in fact in oneness because they had "preferences" regarding opposites. At least that seemed the gist of it if I even understood the point that the two of us eventually arrived at.
Professional translators almost always work in only one direction, translating only into their native language. Even bilingual individuals rarely can express themselves in a given subject equally well in two languages. The key skills of the translator are the ability to understand the source language and the culture of the country where the text originated and using a good library of dictionaries and reference materials render that material into the target language. My friend from The Netherlands is adept at such translations and therefore she expresses herself in English in very understandable ways. An interpreter on the other hand has to be able to translate in both directions without the use of any dictionaries on the spot. Within any given SINGLE language there is "interpretation" and "translation" taking place especially in the realm of "ideas" and "concepts" for which there is no universal agreement of definition. Many professional interpreters develop their own "ideogramic" symbology which allows them to take down not the words but the thoughts of the speaker in language-independent form. Then the interpreter's output is more idiomatic and less source-language bound. There is one other aspect of importance besides a deep knowledge of language, a person must understand the subject matter of the concept they are interpreting because even philosophical or religious or spiritual "schools of thought" tend to have their own language. That does not mean there is no value in attempts at understanding even by a person who is ignorant of idiomatic differences. Here is where a "quirk" of my own comes in.
I do not stress about being understood in the way that I have been expressing myself from the place of my own understanding. It is my belief that whatever the other one "receives" from communicating with me, they are receiving exactly what they personally need in a highly individualistic manner. We seek to communicate because we like the feeling of being understood but I personally think that sometimes we place too much emphasis on mutual agreement as to what words mean. Of course it is very nice if there seems to be agreement between us. We feel understood and heard and experience that warm, fuzzy feeling of being at one with each other or if not then we have that uncomfortable realization that we will never agree with any commonality.
Another friend expressed the "word problem" in this manner – "The word problem is simply an opportunity to exercise creativity. There would seem to be infinite opportunity in this world to exercise creativity." Now I really like that perspective. And in seeking harmony, cooperation and wholeness with the realities that we find ourselves enmeshed within, taking a creative approach to arriving at a comfort level of alignment, resonance and agreement would probably result in fewer conflicts.
Non-Violent Communication seeks to bridge the gap between people's understandings of each other by applying some techniques of assessment (what is alive in the person ? what are the needs they are expressing ?) to bring the listener into empathetic understanding from a heart-based preference for peace and harmony. One who trains in this process also becomes aware of the role of language that seeks to dominate the other person in the tensions that people often experience in trying to communicate with one another. Language that dominates exists for the express intent of defeating or overcoming the other person's perspective and thereby bringing the other person into alignment with one's own perspectives. The Borg of the Star Trek series say "resistance is futile, you will be assimilated".
The question might be whether one is seeking homogeneity or authenticity. Regardless of which of these is one's desired goal, realizing the difficulty of clearly communicating one's concepts and taking this into account when misunderstandings arise is a valuable insight. Certainly a good skill at communication is a worthy goal to aspire to and make an effort towards. This is one of the personal development benefits of being "in community" with other people, whether in face-to-face contact or "virtually" online. The more transparently open and honest and direct one is, not deliberately hiding themselves behind vague language that insists the other person must make assumptions as to what the one communicating is trying to convey, is a good first step in better communication skills.
~ perspective
My communications come from
a perspective that I cannot and
will never know any "truth" absolutely.
I am always open to alternative
viewpoints and explanations and
garner the benefit that sometimes
I realize these as better than
the understanding I had just before.
I do not possess any hidden agendas
in communicating with others.
I have come to realize the harm that
is done by gossip and presumptions
of guilt even before any evidence of
has been presented.
I work within myself to be a better
listener instead of needing to
dominate the conversations
that I find myself participating in.
#agreement #authenticity #communication #community #conflict #creativity #harmony #meaning #peace #preference
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Gazing in the Mirror
कथेतर साहित्यCreate the life you want to live. Essays drawn from life's experiences to illustrate certain universal principles to give the reader something worth considering when contemplated from the perspective of their own life.
