Attention and Intention

Attention and Intention are key to the process of connecting empathetically. Keeping your attention on the intention to hear the feelings and needs underneath all the 'Jackal" protestations, complaints, explanations and analyses is what will eventually get the needs met. This seems to be one of the most difficult and one of the most necessary things for people to accomplish when learning "Giraffe".

I'm actually blogging this to keep it as a reference for me. 'Attention' is a key word in the Jesuit tradition and I came across this definitive phrase in one of my recent readings. I thought it made sense on many levels.

Paying attention: It seems like such a simplistic phrase yet very hard to 'master' in life. Do you find this as well? To keep one's attention concentrated on what one is speaking in a dialogue - not being distracted by 'your' thoughts, opinions, assumptions, judgements? And then there is one's personal attention to one's needs (inner not really physical)...one's intentions.

Oh well, maybe it's late ..

PS: The reference to 'giraffe' here is dealing with character formation.