Presence Without Exchange

I’m currently taking the Center for Courage and Renewal’s Foundations program, which introduces us to the touchstones, principles, and practices that underpin a circle of trust (Parker J. Palmer’s work). In it, we’re getting to practice different styles of communication:

• Communication that’s not about information exchange

• Speaking to understand yourself, rather than to help others understand you

• Presence that’s not about effort

• “Hearing each other into deeper speech”

As someone who “advises” and essentially asks questions for a living, I am both challenged and enlivened by practicing new ways of speaking/listening.