Avayoungxo’s unique approach to mindful communication has been building a reputation for itself for a couple of years. The approach, called non-judgmental listening, is a part of the culture that is bringing mindfulness to the forefront of communication and work in the workplace.
Avayoungxo is very different from other mindfulness-inspired approaches because it emphasizes non-judgmental listening, a technique that takes a lot of time and effort to develop and is also inherently self-inquiring. It’s this approach that makes it easy to take your time, and when you’re ready to take action in your relationships and work life, it’s up to you.
The word “listening” was introduced by William Henry Broadwater in his book, Mindfulness: The Path to Inner Peace, published in 1979. In the book he suggested the practice of listening to our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. When we listen, we give ourselves permission to be curious and open to experience. This ability to take ourselves outside of our own conditioned reactions is something we can all learn to do.
The ability to listen is a skill that can be learned, but it takes consistency – and most importantly, it takes practice. There are some people who are always in the right, but they are never quiet. Those people are not really listening.
There’s a difference between being quiet and being quiet in the right way. When we are quiet enough that we can’t be heard, we are not listening to ourselves. We are listening to external influences that are either not being heard or are being ignored. For example, when we are listening to our own mind chatter, we are not really listening to ourselves.
This is why many of us tend to take up a lot of time in solitude, to just be alone and to focus on ourselves. But this is a false solitude, and it’s only for a short time. There are many people who will come to you when you are in silence. The problem is that they are all in the wrong places. You should be listening to yourself in your mind, with your body, and your spirit, not just your mind.
It’s that easy? You can’t be sure. The best way to really experience the silence, and feel the peace it brings, is to actually be alone. We should always be careful not to be bored to death with our own thoughts. Silence is the perfect antidote to that, and we should all try to cultivate a little quietness at all times.
Even though it is hard to find in your own head time to be alone, it is not impossible. Some people are so busy trying to distract themselves they forget to think about themselves. Many people have trouble taking a break, and those who are good in the art of distraction are the ones who can easily find a quiet place and just go there.
I know that I try to find a quiet place to be alone when I’m in the kitchen. And when I’m in the shower, I try to put away my phone. If I’m in the back of my car, I try to take a long, relaxing shower. If I’m in bed, I try to read a book or watch a TV show to distract myself. And when I’m in a meeting, I try to focus on the task at hand.
That’s the trick. It’s really easy to get distracted from your work, your job, your life, your projects, your accomplishments. If you really want to get out of your head, try to just go someplace where you can just get quiet. The last thing you want to do is try to go to work, or be in a place where you have to be in a hurry, such as a meeting.