Sometimes it’s easier it is to see the qualities in a rock than to find anything interesting in another person. From a distance, most people are easy to admire. And our inner circle of friends and family can be endlessly fascinating. But sitting in a stuffy office listening to a Read more…
Recently I read a Sufi story about a travelor who visits a monastery once a year. The first time, the spiritual master was sitting silently but the members of the community were wildly acting out. “I wonder what that was all about?” the travellor thought as he walked Read more…
This morning on CBC radio two back-to-back stories reminded me of why our work here at the Green Light Institute is so important. The first was about a recent research study that ‘proves’ it is better to vent negative emotions rather than suppressing them. “This is news?” I thought to Read more…
Communication is all about relationship and relationship is all about feelings. Sure, we share ideas, inspirations, opinions, beliefs, uncertainties. But underneath it all, like music behind the words, are the feelings: love, fear, hurt, anxiety, disappointment, anger, frustration, jealousy.. so many more that have no names. Feelings are like spectrum Read more…
Every relationship has its limit, an edge called ‘disappointment’. Things are going well and then suddenly there is a shift. We discover that our new friend has a shadow side: a nasty temper, a secret addiction, a habit of putting you down. In Green Light Conversations we describe the feeling Read more…
My friend Laura and I were sitting in the shade yesterday next to a local community garden in Vancouver, talking about how emotional intelligence relates to leadership. It seems any kind of leadership depends on how much you care about– or more accurately, love– the people in your sphere of Read more…
Mindful communication is all about relationship. As a family systems therapist I regard communication patterns to be like the circulatory system of our body. When there are blockages, our relationships are at risk for heart attacks. Sometimes these attacks are fatal and the relationship never recovers. Lovers turn into enemies, Read more…
In this interview by Dr. Duanita Eleniak of the Mentoring Project, Susan describes the five Greenlight Conversations workshops at the Baldwin House on Deer Lake. [audio:Podcasts_At_The_Mentoring_Store_susan_chapman_31.mp3]
Outside the apartment building, next to the gas station, are two lines of park benches along the sidewalk facing each other at a respectable distance. Sitting here I watch people and dogs of all ages and sizes gather in the late afternoon. An elderly man leans over chatting with Read more…
“Complaining is a waste of time and I have no more time to waste” said P, a hospice patient during my visit with him on Wednesday. He had flinched while shifting his posture in bed and I had asked him if he was in pain. I knew he was and Read more…