Sam sits in front of me shaking his head. His shoulders are hunched in frustration. His mouth is a tight line, his eyes are closed. “I just can’t accept this. I’m sorry, but there’s no way. The math just doesn’t…
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Behavioral Fractals: The Art of Coaching to Reframe Emotional Patterns
My meditation this morning was about fractals. For some reason, fractals have always fascinated me. From a galaxy’s graceful arc to the delicate veins of a leaf, nature weaves its design with fractal precision. These patterns, repeating themselves at various…
Listening Lessons through Rhythm, Sound & Silence
My husband and I don’t get to our city’s symphony concerts often. To me, classical music, while lovely and quite uplifting when I’m in the mood for it, often feels a bit too formal for my tastes – a bit…
Heart Listening Challenges: Burnout & Limiting Self Perception
Powerful empathic listening is what the world most needs right now. But for those who excel in this listening style, there can be significant downsides. Maya loved her job as a residence social worker at Harper Community. She is…
Shhhh! The Quiet Surprises of Silence
“Patricia” is a brilliant colleague who will NOT stop talking. Do you know someone like this? A group of us drove with Patricia for 3 hours to an educational event, and she proceeded to carry on her 1-way “conversation” for…
“The Way We Do Things Around Here” – Ritual can Infuse Meaning into Daily Life
What’s your morning routine? Have you thought about it? Do you know why you take the same actions consistently to greet the day? Are you aware of how you feel when, for any reason, you can’t complete them? As it…
Empathy – Your Time-Saving Superpower!
“Brent” is not happy. As a newly hired emergency room physician within a nationally recognized healthcare system, he has been “volun-told” to show up to a four day onsite training on “Patient-Provider Communications”, which translates in his assumption as a…
Don’t Rip the HeART out of Education!
Stinky. Sullen. Bad Attitude. A Problem. Yeah we were pretty sure we had Joe pegged. How wrong we were… Years ago I was teaching in a summer Shakespeare program for teenagers. Every once and awhile, we would get a kid…
Stop Drop & Roll into Deeper Listening
A few years ago, when my daughter was in her gap year between high school and college, she and I went out to lunch. She had been accepted into the college she very much wanted to attend, and they had…
Heads Up Doc! Listening with Empathy Can Save Lives…
I am lying on a hospital bed. I’ve just woken up from the anesthesia and I’m concerned that I can’t move my left arm or leg. The nurse told me that the doctor will be in soon to speak with…