Suspension of Thoughts
“Suspension of thoughts, impulses, judgments, etc., lies at the very heart of Dialogue”, said David Bohm in the book “ On Dialogue”, a book which has influenced many including me.
I constantly practice this during conversations, trying to improve my listening. I have a tattoo on my hand which symbolizes “LISTEN”. The Chinese character for listening is made up of the different elements and requirements of listening. Ears( to listen), Mind(to think), Eyes (to see), Heart (to feel), and at the center of the character, holding this all together, is a single stroke. This represents the need for undivided attention and focus as we listen.
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We can think much quicker than a person can talk and as a result, we tend to fill in the gaps, sometimes with unnecessary chatter.
More recently I started feeling very difficult to channel my attention in the world of notifications. As I start my day, there are personal messages ( WhatsApp), official notifications, and emails and each one of them needs attention, with different priorities. With someone reminding me of forwarding their CVs, to someone needing advice “Can I have your 5min on this pls? “ ….then few things, which are constant self-reminders for completion of a task. How to prioritize, which is a function of how your brain and emotions work then really scheduling or calendarizing.
This led me to think, can I practice suspension of thought in the world of notifications, which essentially needs my attention all the time? I have started to do this now… I read but I don’t have the urge to respond immediately… I revisit thoughts and threads throughout the day paced out… It is a difficult thing to accomplish… I am making gradual progress. Many of my family and friends have told me that I am less active on WhatsApp… it is just that I am trying to be out of the immediacy trap….
This also reminds me famous quote from Aristotle ”It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”
Business Leader - Modern Work Cloud & Devices at Microsoft | Enabling the Future of Work for Enterprises & Businesses
1 年very well written Geeta! Totally relate
Technical Sales Leader(India/South Asia). IBM Storage Portfolio including Solutions for Data & AI, Hybrid Cloud and Data Resilience
1 年Thanks for sharing this Geeta, I find it difficult to defer a non-obvious task , if I do , that generally keeps my mind rather occupied. That task I am top of or at least have direction , I can create a followup schedule and remain calm. This I guess is in the “fear of unknown” realm. To stay calm and composed in such situations or moving on to something more important requires clear judgment and self belief; and that at large is a journey( experience?) . Do share how you stay calm even in those chaotic time. Suspension of thought sounds so powerful, esp in the context of listing .. the role model I have in this skill is Rahul Fiske // he I feel is a person who listen to understand with absolutely no judgement..
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1 年What is it that you actually want? If one focuses on this question one realises that distractions also work when you don't want to do what you are doing currently .. For example if you are focused on doing something that is of utmost significance to you - and it is something you recognise as of critical priority, then you won't be distracted by best entertainment programs going on in your vicinity or even your best friend coming to greet you. If you want to be distracted - because often we don't work with that kind of focus, then we will easily find a way to! Even with a single beep on your mobile signalling a new message arrival. Once you realize this, you will only need to sit and figure out at any stage, what is it that you want now? And priorities emerge automatically
Business Growth | Business & Data Analyst | Change Management | Digital Transformation | Design Thinking | Agile | Lean Six Sigma | French Language | IIM Bangalore
1 年Great, thanks for sharing!
IBM Distinguished Engineer, IBM Master Inventor, Member IBM Academy Of Technology.
1 年Very interesting article and nicely shared Geeta Gurnani.