Do you have a relationship with someone or a group of people that seem to drain your energy?  They're just too much work and you dread being in their presence.  Each time you address them is another punch in your heart and if you tune in to your body, you will notice it sinking... caving in.  That's the body's way of protecting your sensitive heart.

Turning that around really starts with you... listen to yourself and see what happens. Read on...

Get It Out
When we fail to communicate, our bodies respond in negative ways.  You know what I mean if you have an addiction, obsession, or compulsion you're dealing with now.  It may be your expression right now, but is it really serving you?  Probably not.  If anything, it keeps you stuck in an unhealthy, viscious cycle as it wears down your body.

Learning how to listen to yourself (breath, thoughts, intents) is the first step to effectively communicating with others.  Call it self-hypnosis, guided imagery, active meditation... they all lead to awareness and mindfulness.  Your own practice will improve the way other people receive you and your message(s), lessening overall stress, anxiety and frustration.

Keeping the Peace
This works with any and all relationships... marital, family, work, community, etc.  You can either negatively contribute or harmonize the energy of your relationships depending on how you communicate.  To find out how you're doing, ask yourself , "Am I... "

• Listening? Are you tuning in or tuning out other people's message that don't immediately resonate with you?
• Communicating? Are you expressing your objections in a constructive or destructive way?

If you are truly tuning in (listening), you're quietly taking in the message(s) and seeing how it fits harmoniously in the relationship .  If you're tuning them out and thinking instead about your response, you are hearing, but you're not listening.  

The act of expressing your self constructively (communicating), is more than just talk.  Your body's energy is projected with your words to show your attitude, and that can actually make or break the effectiveness of your message.  Your body language, force of speech, and tone of voice is all part of communication.  No one is "listening" to your message if there's a bad attitude behind it
and filtered through emotional impulses. 

Now, please don't mistaken this for fault-finding, or blame.   You want to move forward and out of that counterproductive thinking.

Bottom line... if you want to be heard, you have got to listen.
Make Desirable Connections