Friends, I have already taught you that the ART OF COMMUNICATION is the very essence of true INTELLIGENT CO-OPERATION, and it therefore stands to reason that we cannot possibly hope to ever dream true to the One Purpose unless we CAN and DO co-operate intelligently with life in the unfoldment of our fate through the medium of the CHALLENGES we call forth according to our shortcomings! From this it in turn follows that SKILL within the art of communication is a PREREQUISITE in, not only intelligent co-operation, but also in the unfoldment of fate, and ultimately in learning to dream true!
Looking at this as a whole, it does not take rocket science to see that not only do our shortcomings determine the QUALITY of our challenges, but they also have a most DIRECT IMPACT upon our APPROACH to the challenges we have called forth! Needless to say, the most important aspect of our APPROACH towards our challenges is HOW we communicate with the world around us! In this respect, please bear in mind that TRUE communication is not a one-sided flapping of the tongue, but is instead, fourfold: 1) Verbalised communication, which includes the written word; 2) Unspoken communication; 3) Undelivered Communication; and 4) the Art of Listening.
The first aspect speaks for itself, but Unspoken Communication is by far the most complex, for it includes body language, tone of voice, eye contact, facial expressions, everything which is CAREFULLY avoided or NOT stated and, of course, not only the CHOICE of words but also the QUALIFYING of statements!
Undelivered communication speaks for itself, for this is the type of communication that leaves one guessing and wondering what the hell is going on, for although it may appear to be perfectly clear to the speaker, he or she has nonetheless OMITTED to say what is so clear in his or head, and in this respect, undelivered communication is quite OFTEN brought about by BLAND statements that are left UNQUALIFIED!
As for the fourth aspect, namely, the Art of Listening, what can I tell you that has not already been explained ad infinitum in the books, and that has not already been stressed over and over again in thousands upon thousands of emails on Hunters Lodge for the last three years?
But let us now look a little more deeply at the INFLUENCES exerted upon communication by SHORTCOMINGS.
I would like you to observe most closely HOW your perception is influenced by your shortcomings during the act of communication! For example, if your shortcoming is Self-Pity, how do you LISTEN and then RE-ACT during communication, and HOW can you USE what you learn in this regard to turn your RE-ACTION into a RESPONSE that leads to true intelligent co-operation? Remember though, that RE-ACTIONS can be both NEGATIVE as well as POSITIVE! Once you start observing yourselves in this manner you will be amazed at how MANY different reactions or responses you have in even just ONE day depending upon WHOM you are communicating with, whether this is with various different people, the purring cat, the dog wagging its tail, the parrot screeching non-stop, the noisy neighbour, the pretty sunset, the blue mountains, the stuck cupboard door, the car that refuses to start on a cold wintery morning etc., etc!