1.1 The individual I think of when I consider giving gifts from the heart is Jessie. The benefits of my relationship include the following: increased happiness, companionship, increased self-esteem, increased desire to share. Jessie gives me acceptance, caring, encouragement, support, forgiveness and understanding. I wish to give him all of these and complete unconditional positive regard. If I gave Jessie these gifts I think they would be returned and our relationship would grow deeper and stronger. If I cannot give these gifts to Jessie our relationship will suffer and experience tension.
2.3 Jessie. 1) I am expanded by our relationship, and 2) I count your friendship as a blessing. Date: Fri. May 9, 2003.
3.2 Jessie. Habit: Seeking too much approval from others. 1) I will try to remind myself of my own shortcomings not to overreact or judge his; and 2) Practice floating when such minor issues arise.
3.3 Belief: A belief I have difficult accepting in myself is that other people do not find me socially desirable. I give myself permission to accept this belief for one week without placing blame on myself or evaluating the behavior it manifests in me.
4.1 Watching a muted sitcom allowed me to see how often it is the reactions on the personÆs face who is not speaking than the words the speaker is speaking that are significant in relationships and communication. When I adopted this heightened sensitivity and awareness to a personal experience, I found that I was much better at listening to the speaker and I made sure that my nonverbal expressions demonstrated my willingness to connect through communication and my interest in what was being spoken. Previously I was too focused on what was being said or my own reactions to offer this to another.
4.3 Listening for feelings during a conversation was a new experience. I was amazed at how this dimension of communication can be separated from content or word choi...