Communication.

We all do it. We can't avoid it and yet it seems we are often not conscious of the fact that we are doing it nor of what it is that we are communicating.

I would like to start a discussion and an analysis here on the nature of communication with respect to how it is done, what are its effects, what we can achieve through it, what we desire from it, and how to improve it / maximise the positive outcomes. We might look at different ideas or models of how to describe communication. I'm interested in how you all see this.

First off the motivation for this post is that I believe that without awareness of communication the risk of misunderstandings, hostility, confusion, distance and unauthenticity are high, and personally I believe none of these things are desirable. On the other hand, if we become aware of the things involving communication maybe interesting inter-subjective dynamics are possible, such as genuine and deep contact, development and evolution of ideas and concepts, generating new ideas/solutions, transmission of valuable information etc.
So I'm trying to make communication itself a topic for discussion in order to raise awareness of it and make us more conscious of its mechanism and the inner and outer technologies that could be used to progress it.

There are several modes of communication as far as I can tell and I will try to list the ones I can come up with. Please feel free to add others as you understand them.

1) communicating objective information - such as instructions, science or data.

2) communicating subjective information - relaying experiences, feelings, desires, beliefs

3) communication inter-subjectively - developing and sharing the understanding of things. Creating shared meaningfulness.


We would usually apply these within a conversation without much distinction in a dynamical way depending on what we wished to achieve with our communication and depending on things like conditioned or habitual responses, associations, emotional status etc.. Because often we are not entirely aware of what the communication originally was about / what it was supposed to achieve it can happen that we react/respond in an inappropriate way to it, leading to general confusion and miscommunication. Additionally it seems to me we are often not even sure what we want to achieve with our own contribution and so chaos ensues.

So in additions to the modes of communication we should think about the intentions behind communication, which coincide with the modes in part.

1) to give others information that may benefit them/the community -> instructions, data, knowledge, advice, rules
2) to give others information that will benefit yourself -> instructions, asking for help/advice, manipulation, rules, orders

3) to express yourself to gain and give insight into internal worlds or give your opinion/belief about certain topics.
4) to express yourself to convince other people of your opinion

5) using communication to establish contact between beings to generate trust, love, understanding, empathy, compassion, full acknowledgement of the others existenc(es) etc.
6) using communication to co-create ideas and establish mutual understanding of different subjects, shared values or a sense of togetherness/community


There are certainly more possible intentions, these are just the most general ones I can come up with for now. It's not really necessary that we list all of them, I think it's a case by case thing that we just have to be aware of when attempting to communicate.

So finally now we have modes and intentions, now we have to think of techniques of communication. There are countless ways to communicate, and some are more appropriate for certain modes/intentions than others. The most obvious form is language, which can in turn be split into written and spoken form. We will look at this in more detail in a bit. We also have various other forms such as body-language, mime, visual art (paintings/sculptures...), music, symbols, actions, ... The list goes on. In almost everything we do and don't do there is some kind of communication, whether we are aware of it or not.



Written communication
Because for us (here on the nexus) the most relevant form of communication is through language, let's take a closer look at this. If we were speaking there are several things that go into the communication that is not directly related to the language such as body language, facial expression, pitch of voice, intonation and speed of language. In written form it's a bit different. What flows into the communication aside from the direct use of the language (words/semantics) are things like structure (paragraphs/spacing), punctuation, capitalization, color, underlining, quotation marks and spelling, to name the first few that come to mind. Applying these mindfully can already greatly facilitate communication and its aims. For example without spaces or punctuation a text is very hard to understand or make sense of, so the chances of people tuning into what the poster wanted to say go down. If the poster wants to emphasise certain points/words he/she can use capitalization or underlining/cursive writing to do so...

However, these options also have different effects on the readers. For example, capitalization of words can easily feel like shouting and being aggressive, especially if used too often. Bad spelling can make it feel like the poster was not paying enough attention to the post (not saying it is so). Using too many quotes can feel like the poster is just reciting rather than putting himself into the conversation. Using too much or strange structure of paragraphs can feel like you are reading a poem... etc.

What I am saying is that each of these options for written communication should be considered at least briefly when composing a text in order to maximise the chances of achieving the aim of communication.



Now we come to the actual written language part. Here we have two main principles: words and sentences. While the sentences carry the greater meaning or more-or-less complete thoughts, each word also has an intrinsic meaning, that can be looked up in the dictionary and it has associations/connotations that are often culturally established. (I hope some linguist can jump into this discussion and help me out with this part).

Words/Semantics
One thing to consider about using specific words is what these associations are going to be in the other participants. It is no good for example using an undefined term that only to you has a special meaning without explaining what it is / without establishing a definition or meaning for it before hand. Also using terms that evoke in others anger or aversion are difficult to deal with and have to either be avoided or introduced via a set of definitions to change their connotations in the given context of the discussion.

If anyone has had the pleasure of reading Goedel, Escher, Bach, you probably realized that the author spends almost the entire book introducing different ideas to finally come to a kind of personal idea and definition of what intelligence is. While this is probably a bit too elaborate for us here, it's a good example for how it can be done. It seems very important to me, if actual communication is to be achieved that all participants are in the clear about the meaning behind each word.

Some words however just in general have negative or positive connotations based on etymology or cultural context. Sometimes using a word with a connotation that is unfitting can be irritating and obscure meaning rather than give it. Especially words that have some kind of historical or cultural context can be linked to very emotional topics and should be used with care.

Also there is the question of using simple words or using a thesaurus to come up with the most complex looking word to describe the same thing... Often if the words are really interchangeable it makes for easier communication when choosing the more simple term. However if there is a reason to use the more complex term then by all means it should be used.


Sentences / Context
The sentences are the elements in language that really tell the story. They take all the separate entities called words and string them together to create images or complex information. Words can change their meaning or at least the emotional feel depending on the context of the sentence that they are a part of.
A lot can be put into sentences, depending on choice of words etc. One thing that is quite important which can come out in written form despite its lack of intonation is tone.

We can choose to write in a scientific manner/tone, coolly, with hostility, emotional, with fascination and enthusiasm, artistically, etc. It all depends on what words are strung together in which order. Depending on what we want to bring across we should choose the appropriate tone. This would be directly related to the modes of communication available.

Also worth considering is sentence length, redundancy, complexity and informational content of each sentence. This is just general practice. In some books I've read I've found it very tiring to read repetitions of the same sentences over and over. Also, if anyone has ever tried to read Hegel in German, I'm sure you will have wondered at least briefly if communication could not have been achieved better somehow... Of course this will have to do with the temporal context in which Hegel wrote as well. Sentences that are too complex, too long, too convoluted and with too little information, may look impressive but don't contribute a great deal to the communication, unless the message is supposed to be "I can construct fancy sentences" Of course the author has to decide what is appropriate...

Personally I find what is also semi-important for readability of sentences, is a certain melody. This can be achieved through arrangements of words, choosing words that fit into the rhythm of the sentence, as well as through punctuations/hyphens/commas. We don't need to imitate Shakespear to communicate, but especially in longer texts I find there needs to be a certain fluidity to the sentences - otherwise it will feel awkward to read.

In any case choosing the right style for constructing sentences can greatly contribute to achieving the aim of communication.



Summary
Why do we communicate? Usually, to say it in simple terms, because we have something to say - some information to share with others, or a request to have others share with us their information. Because communication involves other human beings and these beings are complex and often also very different from one another it makes sense to be mindful about how we communicate in order to achieve our goals. Tools for this in our case have to do mainly with the language, i.e. words and sentences, as well as the structure and form, i.e. paragraphing, punctuation, capitalization/emphasiszing, etc.

Internally however, to actually achieve ones aims, it would seem to be important to actually be aware of ones aims. Furthermore we have to decide from what kind of inner stance we are going to communicate out of, i.e. from an emotional stance, from a detached stance, from a 'higher' level of being-stance....

I believe often these decisions are not made consciously but just emerge out of the situation and thus sometimes are not optimal for achieving the aim. Becoming conscious of all these factors when we are trying to participate in a discussion can aid us in making the best choices for the given situation.

Another aspect we have to consider in general is what has already been put out there, i.e. the interactive nature of communication - it's not just story telling. If we are jumping into a discussion that already has started there may already be a kind of tone set for the communication. Maybe this tone is beneficial, then it makes sense to try and harmonize with it. While if it seems to be counter-productive to the perceived aims (or to your aims), then an attempt could be made to change this, or at least not to perpetuate it. Even if it often is easier to simply react and respond in kind.

Finally communication is not only about producing but also about receiving transmissions. For it to work properly it is tantamount that there is a willingness to try and understand what someone has said/written and to engage in conversation about this. There is a difference between two people exchanging turns to hold a monologue and two people interactively speaking to one another. There is also a difference between skimming a post and answering quickly or taking the time to really tune into mode and intention of it. Additionally one can of course try to redirect conversations as well, if one finds that this could be interesting. Important is however that communication is something that only happens in relation to others so redirections, moderations or even perpetuations won't always work as we we intend them to, no matter how mindful of strategies, options and the interactive field we are.



Ok, this is already quite long. What other aspects of communication do you find noteworthy, should be kept in mind, could be analyzed here? What else do you have to say to what I've put together here? I'm interested in all your thoughts.

thanks for participating
Enoon

Communication is our greatest asset, we are lucky to have such a great community full of listeners, poets, artists, musicians, explorers, and speakers who can communicate great ideas and messages. I think you hit the nail on the head Enoon. All I can add is communication with Self, or "Introspective" communication, which I would define as meditation, or self reflection. Which I guess is what all communication really is, I am specifically talking about things you say to yourself, whether out loud or in your mind. Basically what allows myself to expand my personal awareness to further develop interpersonal communications.

Kind of like integrating an experience, where you are communicating thoughts and ideas to yourself in order to have a broader viewpoint of what you experienced. Possibly call it "Integrative Communication", which can be defined by me as every second of existence , I just blew my own mind, which tells me your post was beyond necessary to help us expand and learn/communicate more. Thank you Enoon

^ both nice posts

how about nonviolent communication (NVC)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/...Nonviolent_Communication

Also some kind of spiritual twist to it:
"I think it is important that people see that spirituality is at the base of Nonviolent Communication, and that they learn the mechanics of the process with that in mind. It’s really a spiritual practice that I am trying to show as a way of life. Even though we don’t mention this, people get seduced by the practice. Even if they practice this as a mechanical technique, they start to experience things between themselves and other people they weren’t able to experience before. So eventually they come to the spirituality of the process. They begin to see that it’s more than a communication process and realize it’s really an attempt to manifest a certain spirituality." -Marshall Rosenberg

I do see the importance of making contact with someone in order to establish communication. And also agree that the intent behind the communication can be seen as an intention to satisfy some need. Like any intent for that mather. But maybe i shouldnt look at it that way. Negative connotations should be avoided indeed, very tricky area.

"The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention."

We understand communication is necessary and it's wonderful to explore the mediums. To view communication in the larger scope of things may help us better understand what it is we're communicating. Atoms communicate simultaneously and create order and response. The atoms communicate with some sort of resonance. Now we're facing the awe of energy at the atomic level. The frequency of collected atoms responds with positive and negative ratios. We may view this frequency as a simple sine wave. If everything in the universe is made up of atoms then everything is also (potential)frequency.

Maybe we resonate with certain frequencies based completely on our level of awareness. If we can explore this idea deeper then we may achieve a higher sense of existence.

Very good post Enoon, I wish I would have read it a lot sooner than now. I think if everyone read and digested this we would virtually eliminate unpleasantries in this forum. nothing to add though I think you've covered it pretty well.

You might enjoy this book enoon:



http://www.amazon.co.uk/...amp;n=266239&s=books

Probably a good book for anyone who has taken DMT and tried to read a sentence, word, or lets face it, letter.