Book Review: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

There are a lot of books on communication out there.  This is not surprising given the role communication plays in our lives.  Think about it:  whether it’s verbal or nonverbal, what could we possibly accomplish without effective communication? Our species owes our ability to organize, to learn, even to survive on our ability to convey our thoughts, ideas and facts.  Our ability to communicate with each other is why we are at the top of the food chain.

Nonviolent Communications: Language of Life is one of the best books on communication I have read.  For many readers it may seem to start out in the clouds, with all of the talk about feelings, compassion and empathy, but stick with it and the reasons for this emphasis become clear in a dynamic method of communication that works. Read more..

Every behavior has a positive intention

by Dianne Lowther of Brilliant Minds (www.brilliantminds.co.uk)

It’s one of the NLP Presuppositions – ‘Every behaviour has a positive intention’ but what does it actually mean? At first glance you might be forgiven for thinking that it’s implying that everything anyone does is intended to do good. But that isn’t what it means. (And I’m sure that you can think of some behaviours that certainly don’t do good to others.) The NLP Presuppositions are filters. They’re ways of looking at the world that can create more constructive results if we choose to use them. You don’t have to believe that a presupposition is absolutely true in order to practice using it and get the benefit of it. Read more..

Finding your own voice

One of the most challenging and rewarding accomplishments we can achieve is finding our own voice, or finding our own identity. We are constantly bombarded by the expectations of others, whether they are through cultural conditioning, family expectations, peer pressure, or the even the media.

We are expected to be a certain way, to adopt certain values, to view the world from a particular perspective, etc. etc. etc. And to make things even more challenging, these expectations are often contradictory. For instance, our society places value on individualism, yet we are encouraged to be team players at work. We say that we value progress, but we fight hard against change. We claim to value diversity, yet we generally socialize and interact with those that are most like ourselves. Read more..

The heart of personal development

If you are reading this blog it stands to reason that you are interested in personal development on some level. Perhaps the interest is motivated by a desire to succeed, or to find purpose, or to achieve some other goal. Regardless of the motivation, it is unlikely that you can achieve your goals without improving some aspect of yourself, which is where personal development comes in. Read more..

Killing in the name of God?

I was very disturbed to hear of the attack at Fort Hood, Texas.  At first I assumed it was a disturbed soldier who was undergoing treatment for PTSD or some other mental illness.  This would not have made the attack any more palatable, but it would have offered a reason or explanation that I could rationalize and accept.

But when I discovered that the shooter was in fact a Major in the U.S. Army, and a psychiatrist as well, I was simply left numb.  As a veteran, and as someone who is training to enter into the mental health profession, I simply could not reconcile how a field grade officer and a psychiatrist could open fire on unarmed fellow soldiers and civilians.  What went wrong? Read more..