*** Note: This blog was written by our former Director of Marketing Preston Simmons.

Spiritual bypassing is a term that was coined by clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and author John Wellwood. During this past week’s Friday Focus, Peace360’s Director of Mental Health Danielle Dionne quoted Dr. Wellwood’s definition of this phenomenon by saying that spiritual bypassing is

“the tendency to use spiritual ideas to avoid facing deep pain or unresolved emotional issues”.

Danielle also explained that, for her, this concept has to do with the creation of an “us versus them mentality”. Our organization supports the cause of individuals working together in unity towards ethical common goals.

That being said, we at Peace360 are neutral in regards to statements or stances concerning religion and politics. However, we encourage everyone to educate themselves about these topics and make an informed, personal decision. This is a great idea for anyone to implement into their life because religion and politics are very ingrained in people’s way of thinking, living, and interacting with others. Today, we will provide a few listening tips to enable individuals to be more tolerant of and educated about other beliefs, opinions, and religions.

Since religion is ingrained in the way we think, live, and interact with others. Today we’re going to share some tips on how to listen, so that people are more tolerant and educated about other beliefs, opinions and religions.

Tips to Listen to Others

Listening is a core aspect of learning about another person’s beliefs. This ability also allows us to learn about someone else’s life experiences, whether they are positive or negative. When we listen and provide feedback in the form of non-verbal cues such as body language and verbal responses, we let the speaker know that we would like the conversation to continue. 

We strongly recommend that individuals have conversations regarding different beliefs, religions, and opinions so that they can be a more well-rounded and educated person. Additionally, these listening skills can be used to have conversations about past actions or experiences with individuals who need our help to heal. Below are 3 tips to become a better listener.

1. Paying attention:

How can an individual make sure that they are completely engaged in a conversation? As stated by Isadora Alman of Psychology Today: “keep your eyes on the person who’s talking. Note the body language. Respond with your own – smiling, nodding, or shaking your head in sympathy when appropriate”  (Psychology Today). 

These non-verbal cues will allow the speaker to know that you are actively listening to and genuinely care about what they are saying. Additionally, distractions such as television, music, or your cell phone should be eliminated when speaking with someone else to communicate that they have your full attention.

2. How to gracefully listen to a monologist:

The person with whom you are speaking may enjoy talking and telling long stories. Psychology Today suggests that “in those cases, it’s permissible to interrupt with something like ‘Wait. I don’t understand’ or ‘let me see if I understand what you’re saying'”. Please do not rudely interrupt them or cut them off, since the point of interjecting is to clarify what they are speaking about, not to force them to lose their train of thought. This should also be avoided if it is a conversation that you would like to be in, since you do not want to make them feel like you would like to cut the conversation short or end the conversation entirely.

3. Reflect upon what the speaker said: 

When we provide a meaningful and thought-out response, it shows the speaker that we were attentively listening to them. This allows us to maintain a healthy relationship with them. Despite what you may believe or think to have experienced, multitasking while performing high-level functions is impossible for the brain to do. Chris Adams of thoughtco.com notes: “Low-level functions like breathing and pumping blood aren’t considered in multitasking. Only the tasks you have to “think” about are considered [multitasking]”.

We at Peace360 encourage unity regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, political ideologies, or opinions. Learning to listen to another person whose opinion may differ from yours will allow for harmony to be created in that relationship and will motivate you to become a more tolerant and open-minded person.

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This Friday, February 12th at 9:00 am (Pacific Time), our Friday Focus on Facebook Live will be about self-love and loving others. We hope to see you there! Click on the links below to follow us on social media!

Facebook: Peace360 Initiative

Instagram: Peace360 Initiative

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