Holding back

April 28, 2015 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, Creativity, mental health, Self expression

In these 6 hours when I am an off duty Mum it is not enough time to release and be free, not enough time to break the seal and release the energy contained within, so best to just shut down, keeping things contained.

Which wolf are you choosing to feed?

November 09, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Choice, Communication, community, Engagement, resilience, Self expression

A Cherokee elder was teaching his children about life. He said to them, “A terrible fight is going on inside me. It is a fight between two wolves. One is the wolf of joy, love, hope, kindness and compassion. The other is the wolf of fear, anger, cynicism, indifference and greed. The same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too.” The children thought about it for a moment and then one child asked, “Which wolf will win?” The elder replied, “Whichever one you feed.”

This story is valuable for me at present as I try to consciously redirect a conversation I am currently having with a number of individuals regarding a community development issue.

Which wolf are you choosing to feed through your actions?

The right of reply

June 25, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, community, Relationships, self awareness, Toxic

Gossip and backbiting

Overstepping the line

May 14, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, Choice, Self expression, self awareness

What should you do to redress your actions when you misrepresent someone or use words or actions in a public situation that are inappropriate or not the best choice and paint someone in a false light?

That's not funny...

May 09, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, Engagement

It strikes me that knowing and understanding that there are differences in the way we each behave in different situations is important but what is more important is really knowing yourself, really knowing your own preferences for communication style, self awareness of what floats your boat and what gets you fired up. Once you become clear about your own style - humour vs serious - you can then ensure that there is a balance, being open to humour if it is not necessarily your thing, being willing to go deeper if you have a tendency for keeping things light, but also being able to reflect back to others this need for balance. If someone is dominating the conversation with their preferred style it is important to be able to reflect this back to them in a manner that helps achieve balanced conversation - this to me, is where the magic lies.

So You Think You Can Dance

May 08, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, Creativity, Self expression

Dance is a powerful form of non-verbal communication. It is a means of expression of the soul.

Entitlement to expression

May 01, 2014 by Phoebe Maroulis in Communication, Engagement

I have been challenged lately by the concept of "entitlement to expression". What factors influence whether someone is able to speak their mind or whether in their doing so they are impacting negatively on others or being destructive to the resolution of the issue at hand?

Obviously there are guidelines for communicating effectively such as wisdom in one's choice of words, appropriate timing, awareness of the environment in which the conversation is taking place etc but I think what fascinates me is something beyond this.