More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Everything we consume acts either to heal us or to poison us. We tend to think of nourishment only as what we take in through our mouths, but what we consume with our eyes, our ears, our noses, our tongues, and our bodies is also food. The conversations going on around us, and those we participate in, are also food.
When we say something that nourishes us and uplifts the people around us, we are feeding love and compassion. When we speak and act in a way that causes tension and anger, we are nourishing violence and suffering.
Mindfulness requires letting go of judgment, returning to an awareness of the breath and the body, and bringing your full attention to what is in you and around you.
We can communicate in such a way as to solidify the peace and compassion in ourselves and bring joy to others.
Mindfulness is full awareness of the present moment.
We always have time for at least one in-breath and out-breath before we pick up the phone or before we press send on a text or e-mail.
When you breathe in, you come back to yourself. When you breathe out, you release any tension.
Breathing in, I’m aware of my body. Breathing out, I release all the tension in my
up and hold them tenderly. Acknowledging our feelings without judging them or pushing them away, embracing them with mindfulness, is an act of homecoming.
Because I know very well that if I don’t understand you, I will make a lot of mistakes.” That is the language of love.
Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn the truth upside down.
Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to
another for selfish or manipulative reasons.
Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
The first element of Right Speech is to tell the truth. We don’t lie. We try not to say untruthful things. If we think the truth is too shocking, we
You need to look deep into the mind of the other person to see how you can tell the truth in such a way that others don’t feel threatened, so they can listen. You try to tell the truth in a loving and protective way. It’s important to remember that what you think is the truth could be your own incomplete or erroneous perception.
Suffering can be beneficial. There can be goodness in suffering, but we don’t want to make the other person suffer needlessly.
The fourth aspect of Right Speech is to refrain from speech that’s violent, condemning, abusive, humiliating, accusing, or judgmental.
If you don’t use the language of the world, most people won’t understand what you mean, and you can communicate only with people who already think like you.
We need to keep the truthful content the same while being aware of the perspective and understanding of the person we’re speaking to, so others have an opportunity to really hear what’s being said. With one person you speak one way; with another person you have to speak a different way.
