When we react to fear by shutting down the channel of communication, we’ve put up a defensive barrier that divides us from the world.

Signs you’re in the red light zone:

• Our values shift to me-first.  We tell ourselves that relationships ...

Bringing awareness, or mindfulness, to the way we communicate with others has both practical and profound applications.

We can train ourselves to:

• recognize when the channel of communication has shut down. 
• remain silent instead of blurting out something we’ll late...

The state of mind that exists in between open and closed.

Signs you’re in the In-Between zone:

• In practicing mindful communication, eventually we ask ourselves: what exactly causes me to switch from open to closed and then open again?
• We fin...

... when fears and misperceptions arise during the In-Between state of mind. 

The reaction of shutting down is triggered by mistrust. If we can hold steady and be a little more aware of our defensiveness, we can learn from all our episodes of reactivity. 

Defensive reactions ba...

• Realize how distorted our views of other people can be when we react defensively. 
• When we can open up and see another person in a fresh way, our own self-image transforms. 

Learning how to switch out of defensiveness into a more humorous, receptive state of mind is a ...