Communicating my head
The following text represents my take on communication. I don’t claim it to be the ultimate reality. Just my mind on paper.
In order to make the world as you want it to be, you have to accept what it is firstly
Our opportunities for communication are barely limited. The world is in constant communication with us. As Ryan Holiday wrote in “Trust me, I’m lying- “However the play starts, the end is the same: The economics of the Internet are exploited to change public perception- and sell product” ( I strongly recommend reading the book –(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odfH7LZwAQ8 ). It sure seems scary, but don’t worry, you will have forgotten about the dangers of facebook by the time you see your next notification.
But it is not all bad, is it? Communication isn’t at all good or evil, it just is. The form is shaped by the user in order to fit the trending reality and ultimately sell. I am fascinated by the power of branding and marketing. It is truly amazing to see colors and words influencing the human mind. I mean- it is psychology in practice. Cause and effect.
Consciously or not each and every one of us is constantly communicating with each and every one of us. Using words, emotions, expressions or just through one’s presence amongst others. If the Big Bang Theory turns out to be true, it would mean that everyone is connected to everyone on a molecular level the least. And this could explain the universality of smiling. But what happens when honest communication is turn into honest manipulation. Where is the difference between communicating and selling? Are we promoting feelings and emotion? Is self- doubt the substitute for confidence?
TO KNOW ONESELF IS TO STUDY ONESELF IN ACTION WITH ANOTHER PERSON
Our body language is programmed deep inside our mind and so is the key to its decipherment and understanding. We are born with the power to experience and understand the emotions of others. Empathy is at the core of human communication, without it we would be, well basically we would be psychopaths. The biggest part of our mental activity remains subconscious but not without having an effect on a conscious level. We recognize the body language, the verbal communication of others and build our image of the person. Based on that image we evaluate them and decide if they are friendly, enemy or neutral to us. It takes us less than a second to recognize gay people just by looking at faces, how long do you think you need to recognize a single emotion, that you are familiar with. By using empathy on a subconscious level we are building natural rapport with people.
But here is the thing about rapport- it can be forged very, very easily. Manipulating verbal and non- verbal communication has become a great part of our every- day lives. From one point of view this knowledge and skill helps us translate and send the right message to the right people, but on the other side… We are powerful beyond measure. We can change the mood or beliefs of someone just by talking or reacting. If you could envision the outcome of a single conversation, what would you say or do in order to achieve it? Would you want to empower someone? Or would you rather make them feel small, so you could feel a bit bigger? Remember that there is only you inside the mind, no one else. I cannot hear your thoughts. Are you really being honest to yourself?
I AM NOT IN THIS WORLD TO LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPACTATIONS, AND YOU’RE NOT IN THIS WORLD TO LIVE UP TO MINE
Honesty is underrated. The lack of honesty towards ourselves is reflecting the honesty towards someone else. How can you be truly open- minded with someone and not lie to that someone without first being honest with yourself? And how could you trust someone else if you don’t first trust yourself?
I remember watching an interview with Bruce Lee ( yeah I like him a lot ) and he said the following about martial arts: “To me, ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. To experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly. Now that is very hard to do”. Being honest with the world is hard when the world is not being honest with itself, when art is being curved and shaped to fit expectation of profit. To me music and poetry could be unique conductor of raw emotion and that is why I started playing guitar and writing 8 years ago. By expressing raw emotion I felt alive and unchained. Only me, the sounds and the world around.
In our everyday lives we are bumping into many different people, many sets of believes and obstacles. Each and every one of us forgets, just like the music industry, that we have a responsibility, we have influence on others. The lack of responsibility leads to the lack of understanding and accepting. Maybe if we looked past the obstacle and into the opportunity. As Marianne Williamson said:
“ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
