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    <title>Relational Presence Journalog</title>
    
    
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    <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1829981</id>
    <updated>2010-05-01T11:48:28-07:00</updated>
    <subtitle>Clear Thinking and Fearless Expression</subtitle>
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        <title>Charisma Comes of Age</title>
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        <published>2010-05-01T11:48:28-07:00</published>
        <updated>2010-05-01T11:48:28-07:00</updated>
        <summary>From Relational Presence Journal, April 2010 Most of the people I work with are over 40, and I am becoming a connoisseur of seasoned charisma. Charisma has a bad name in some circles because in its unripe state it can show up as manipulative charm. But in its fully developed form, charisma is a quality of magnetic presence synonymous with character. Defined as "a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people," true charisma is the key to masterful teaching and business success. Those attracted to the Relational Presence approach to...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>From Relational Presence Journal, April 2010</em></p>
     <p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Most of the 
people I work with are over 40, and I am
becoming a connoisseur of seasoned charisma.</font></font></p>



<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Charisma has a bad name in some 
circles because in its unripe
state it can show up as manipulative charm.<br /></font></font></p>

<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;" />

<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">But in its fully developed form,
 charisma is a quality of magnetic presence synonymous with
character.</font></font></p>



<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Defined as "a spiritual power or
 personal quality that
gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of 
people,"
true charisma is the key to masterful teaching and business success.</font></font></p>

<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Those attracted to the Relational Presence</font><font style="font-size: 10pt;"> approach to
communication expand into their natural magnetism by becoming "easygoing
in the not knowing."</font></font></p>

<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">You see, true charisma is the 
opposite of knowing it all with ready answers. Rather, it is about 
holding a luxuriously open space that naturally brings out
the best in everyone, including oneself. By necessity, this starts with 
sensing
the common ground in any room or conversation before saying a word.</font></font></p><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>And the common 
ground
is literally the ground beneath your feet.</em></font></font>



<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Last month's newsletter article 
(see below) was "Speak from your Feet."</font><font style="font-size: 10pt;"> True charisma is about <em>listening</em>
from your feet; holding the others in the room or in the conversation 
with
positive regard from the center of the earth without trying to control 
the
outcome.</font></font></p>



<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">From this rock solid place, 
years of experience and mastery
in your expertise and passion eloquently flow forth from the gift that
you <em>are</em>, unfiltered by performance
anxiety or technique.</font></font></p>

<p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font><font style="font-size: 10pt;">Authentic charisma, far from 
being a "soft skill," translates into real world personal and 
professional power. The resulting relational ease brings rock-solid</font><font style="font-size: 10pt;"> confidence and effectiveness to all your 
critical communications, both one-on-one and with groups. Your magnetism
 increases as you inspire trust in others, because you completely trust 
yourself when you speak, and when you listen.</font><br /></font></p><p style="color: black; text-align: left; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;" />You can grow into 
your natural charisma one step at a time, and you might start with this <font style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/Wry1YvVX" linktype="link" shape="rect" style="color: blue ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important;" track="on">sound 
file of last month's teleclass</a></font>,
in which I rant and rave from the center of the earth about the alchemy 
of Relational Presence.<xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/RWuqf75PX74" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2010/05/charisma-comes-of-age.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>"Speak from your Feet"</title>
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a9785485970b</id>
        <published>2010-03-25T17:06:26-07:00</published>
        <updated>2010-03-25T17:06:26-07:00</updated>
        <summary>March 2010 newsletter article by Lee Glickstein In the two weeks since speak from your feet has become my new mantra, my sense of Relational Presence -- and how I teach it -- has reached new depths ... and heights. Imagine opening a talk with your feet grounded into the floor like a 2-pronged electric plug, and taking a full, leisurely breath as you let gravity drop your presence and your energy all the way down to the center of Earth. Taking these first 15 seconds, before you say a word, is how anxiety drains away from you and your...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">March 2010 newsletter article by Lee Glickstein</span></font></em></p><p><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the two weeks since <em><strong>speak
 from your feet</strong></em> has become my new mantra, my sense of Relational
 Presence -- and how I teach it -- has reached new depths ... and 
heights.
</span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><p>
Imagine opening a talk with your feet grounded into the floor like a 
2-pronged electric plug, and taking a full, leisurely breath as you let 
gravity drop your presence and your energy all the way down to the 
center of Earth. 
</p><p>Taking these first 15 seconds, before you say a word, is how 
anxiety drains away from you and your listeners. It signals them to drop
 down and meet you, energetically, at the absolute center of Earth where
 gravity takes us all. It's the law!
</p><p>
With your energy coursing down through your body, your words naturally 
resonate from your belly, from your essence, down into the Earth (the 
Mother conductor), and up through the body and soul of your listeners.  
This is how you bypass everyone's monkey mind.
</p><p>
The underground connection is where the human thirst for belonging is 
quenched, where trust is nourished, where essential listening and 
learning take root, where anxiety and self-consciousness dissolve.
</p><p>
To speak and listen from this place is necessary and sufficient to 
master communication, both personal and business, one-on-one and with 
groups. The public speaking format is simply an ideal arena to practice 
this Relational Presence "muscle" with support.
</p><p>
As humans, we tend to go in and out of this connected place. When I am 
with someone who is testing my patience by "speaking from their head," I
 think, <em><strong>listen from your feet</strong></em> and immediately drop down 
and feel the connection, sole-to-sole as it were. This relaxes me and 
often elevates <em>their</em> part of the conversation.
</p><p>
Similarly, every moment I remember to <em><strong>speak from my feet</strong></em> 
in front of a group, the elevator goes down and my body and being fills 
with a profound relaxation from knowing there is no need to push 
anything.
</p><p>
This is how we allow the pleasure of our company to fill the room, thus 
facilitating their pleasure in being with us. And that's when they 
listen and learn most effectively.
</p><p>
Getting to this place takes practice. If you cannot get to a <em>Speaking
 Circle</em> or weekend training, tools are available through these archived newsletter articles, <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=8fp6eldab.0.0.fwcdt8n6.0&amp;ts=S0457&amp;p=http%3A%2F%2Fspeakingcircles.typepad.com%2Frelational_presence_journ%2F&amp;id=preview" linktype="link" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" track="on" />articles on the website, and videos on the YouTube SpeakingCircles channel<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=8fp6eldab.0.0.fwcdt8n6.0&amp;ts=S0457&amp;p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.speakingcircles.com%2FArticles%2Farticles.html&amp;id=preview" linktype="link" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" track="on" />.</p></span></font><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/A6rbTTyykgM" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2010/03/speak-from-your-feet.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Drop Down and Power Up</title>
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f883401310f41a111970c</id>
        <published>2010-02-26T20:13:55-08:00</published>
        <updated>2010-02-26T20:17:36-08:00</updated>
        <summary>From the February 2010 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein Your first 15 seconds in front of a group--whether giving a talk or opening a meeting or training--presents an extraordinary opportunity to meet your audience at the one point in time and in space you all share in common. The time is the moment, and the place is the center of the earth. As you practice being an expansive, inviting presence when all eyes are suddenly upon you, anxiety dissolves. Effective communicators know that 90% of their mastery is about where they "come from" before a word is spoken. I come...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><em>From the February 2010 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein</em></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><em /><font size="2"><br /></font></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2">Your first 15 seconds in front of a group--whether giving a talk or opening a meeting or training--presents an extraordinary
opportunity to meet your audience at the one point in time and in space you
all share in common.<span /></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span /></font></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>The time is the moment, and the place is
the center of the earth.</span></font></span> <span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span /></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>As you practice being an expansive, inviting presence when all eyes are suddenly upon you, <font size="2"><span>anxiety dissolves</span></font>.
Effective communicators know that 90% of their mastery is about where they
"come from" before a word is spoken.</span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>I
come from the center of the earth, and so can you.
Relational Presence practice taught me how to do that in front of any
size
group, as well as one-on-one. <br /></span></font></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>You see, when we surrender to gravity,
our root energy drops down, down, down to the precise magnetic center
of the earth. It's the
law! When you allow this to happen, which, with practice takes less
than 15
seconds, it's like flipping a light switch that taps you into the full
power of the room. Your listeners start breathing more deeply and
relaxing down, down,
down to join you playing toe-sies at the center of the earth.</span></font></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span /></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>From here, you cannot help but see the striking beauty of their souls
shining through their eyes. If you don't see this, you are working too hard to
make something happen. Remember, your job is <span style="font-weight: bold;">be</span>, not <span style="font-weight: bold;">do</span>, which does take practice.</span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span /></font></span></p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>Your words then arise and resonate as if from within your listeners. As
you remain in Relational Presence with one person at a time, your entire talk
flows from your authentic self and they more receptive listeners and learners in the
expanded moment.</span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span><br /></span></font></span><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>As I ask <em>Speaking Circle </em>participants to drop down to the center of the
earth before saying a word, no matter how long it takes, newcomers are
dissolving anxiety naturally and finding the sweet spot faster, and oldcomers are finding
new life in the depth.</span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span> </span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>Does this "soft" way of public
speaking work in the real world?</span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span> </span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>I
have heard concerns that Relational
Presence is an approach too soft for business presentations. But the
softness
is in the supportive learning environment, while the skill learned
will work with any presentation style in any situation. When I am
teaching in the
"real world" I find myself being bold and businesslike, demonstrative
and precise, and without the extended silences that are part of the
step-by-step practice encouraged in a training.
The real world situation brings out exactly what is called for in the
moment once you learn to trust yourself and allow the flow to happen
naturally.</span></font></span></p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span /></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span> We have heard how Relational Presence works
in court under antagonistic cross-examination, in high pressure interviews and
negotiations, and on the highest levels of professional speaking. </span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span> </span></font></span><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="2"><span>You might say that coming from the center
of the earth is bottom line communication.</span></font></span>



</div><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/xlVoBlQLhs0" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2010/02/drop-down-and-power-up.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Clarify and Amplify Your Professional Presence</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/5Bqs1R7wiCc/clarify-and-amplify-your-professional-presence.html" />
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a822fd32970b</id>
        <published>2010-01-28T18:58:46-08:00</published>
        <updated>2010-01-28T19:15:33-08:00</updated>
        <summary>From the January 2010 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein To a healthy and prosperous 2010! Business and career fruition is largely the result of what I call professional presence. That is, your value in the world of commerce is determined by the pleasure of your company (personal presence), how you hold what you know, and the clarity and verve with which you express yourself. Your expertise itself is the least of the equation, which explains why some of the most brilliant people do not attract business or get the best jobs, while others who do one thing well (and not...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><em>From the January 2010 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein</em>

<p>To a healthy and prosperous 2010!

</p>

<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Business and career fruition is largely the result of what I call <strong>professional presence</strong>. That is, your value in the world of commerce is determined by the pleasure of your company (<strong>personal presence</strong>), how you <em>hold </em>what you know, and the clarity and verve with which you express yourself.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Your expertise itself is the least of the equation, which explains why some of the most brilliant people do not attract business or get the best jobs, while others who do one thing well (and not necessarily superlatively) prevail.

<p><strong>Step One: Attune and Expand your Personal Presence</strong>

</p><p>Shy and painfully self-conscious, I had no real sense
of personal presence for my first 45 years, surviving as a typist and then a
word processor. Twenty years ago I started becoming aware of this (non)thing called
presence which has since become my life passion and study. I
came to realize I was out of touch with my own presence because I'd
spent my first months and years of life around
people who were seldom present to me or aware of my true nature. This
led to
debilitating self-consciousness, stage fright, and life fright. 

</p>

<p>Out of
desperation to "have a life,"
I founded a practice to get (and give) the attentive listening so many
of us need in order to recover the natural flow of our authentic
expression. That practice is called Relational Presence, which is attunement of personal
presence to the presences of those around us, one person at a time. To get there I needed to stand in the anxiety of not-knowing in front of a supportive group, time after time, until it became an adventure. Then the pleasure of community expanded
to fill the room and became more interesting to me than what I might
have to say. Only then would my words flow and resonate with sense and
impact.

</p>

<p>So masterful <strong>personal presence</strong> is based on how you hold what you <em>don't</em> know.

</p>

<p><strong>Step Two: Clarify and Amplify Professional Presence</strong>
</p><p>When doing flows from being, you have the capacity to speak and facilitate effortlessly as the situation arises. Expressing yourself without self-consciousness is how you fulfill your purpose and make a real difference in the world.

</p>

<p><strong>Tools for Developing Your Presence</strong>
</p>

<p>For a reality check on the state of your <strong>personal
presence</strong>, gaze gently into your eyes in a mirror for a full minute and see how
effortless and pleasurable it is to be with yourself. If you experience stress
or want to look away, the good news is that you have isolated an obstacle
directly in the path of your professional development. If so, do the mirror
exercise every day and over the months it will work wonders. 

</p>

<p>Other tools for developing this primary
"muscle" of presence are linked in this newsletter and on the
website, many of them free. 

</p>

<p>Some wonderful things want to happen for you in
2010. Why not be fully present for them?</p></span></p><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/5Bqs1R7wiCc" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2010/01/clarify-and-amplify-your-professional-presence.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Open and Structure a Masterful Talk</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/r58W6HRInjw/open-and-structure-a-masterful-talk.html" />
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340128768cedcc970c</id>
        <published>2009-12-29T09:51:39-08:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-29T09:51:39-08:00</updated>
        <summary>From the December 2009 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein Once your priority in front of any group is to be with your listeners in Relational Presence, specific content gets much easier to plan. Here's an article about how to open and structure a masterful talk. Below I expand on the all-important first 30 seconds, the ideal opportunity to establish a sustainable relationship with your audience. After being introduced, the first mistake most speakers make is to start to talk the moment the applause ends. The second mistake is to open with a joke, a provocative statement, or a social nicety....</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/">
&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;em&gt;From the December 2009 RP Journal, by Lee Glickstein&lt;/em&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Once your priority in front of any group is to be with your listeners in &lt;a href="http://www.speakingcircles.com/Articles/Principles/GenesisRP.html"&gt;Relational Presence&lt;/a&gt;, specific content gets much easier to plan. &lt;a href="http://www.speakingcircles.com/Articles/OpeningStructuringMasterfulTalk.pdf"&gt;Here's an article about how to open and structure a masterful talk&lt;/a&gt;. Below I expand on the all-important first 30 seconds, the ideal opportunity to establish a sustainable relationship with your audience.

&lt;p&gt;After being introduced, the first mistake most speakers make is to
start to talk the moment the applause ends. The second mistake is to
open with a joke, a provocative statement, or a social nicety.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Establishing a sustainable relationship calls for at least one
full breath (no less than 10 seconds) of silence after the applause
ends, to honor the moment, the occasion, and your listeners. (Not the
technique of a "pregnant pause," but an authentically transparent
receptivity that allows everyone in the room to arrive, including you.)
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then, an opening line most likely to bring the room to rapt
attention is a sentence that sets up a one-minute story of an "aha!"
turning point moment from your life. That sentence wants to be
delivered conversationally, clearly, not dramatized, with precisely
enough information to allow your listeners to visualize a scene (as in
a movie) where the action is just about to start.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then another full breath (yes, another 10 seconds) that signals
everyone (including yourself) to make the pilgrimage to that moment.
This 3-part "hello" (breath, sentence, breath) determines your first
impression. When you master this 30-second dance, your capacity for
what is called "public speaking" will fall into place beyond your
wildest dreams.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do read the article linked above for the rest of the opening
sequence and structure of an effective talk. Here is an example of the
real world power of such an opening. Twenty-five years ago I was at a
networking meeting where the featured 10-minute speaker, a CPA, opened
like this:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"[Full breath] When I was a child, most nights I would hear my
parents arguing loudly well into the night. [Full breath] I would calm
myself by counting sheep, imagining numbers on their sides. The numbers
would go into the thousands, so I grew up with a sense of relaxation
around large numbers. Eventually I became an accountant, and I love to
relax my clients around their numbers."
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I was not the only one in the room attracted to work with this
man who was far from dynamic, but transparently real. He became my
accountant for 15 years, then my financial adviser when he shifted
careers.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So what's &lt;em&gt;your&lt;/em&gt; story?


&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/r58W6HRInjw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/12/open-and-structure-a-masterful-talk.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Cellular-Level Communication</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/zgqsbwoYN90/c.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/11/c.html" thr:count="0" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a6c0f176970b</id>
        <published>2009-11-21T11:12:45-08:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-29T09:53:33-08:00</updated>
        <summary>From the October 2009 RP Journal, where Lee links the Spontaneous Evolution theme to Selling with Integrity: [If you missed my recent column on Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and How to get There from Here, see articles below. This is also the place to find RP Journal articles for the past several months.] We each consist of what Bruce Lipton, scientist and co-author of Spontaneous Evolution, calls a "metropolis of 50 trillion citizens, the cells in our body, which could each be considered sentient beings in their own right, yet they act together as a community." Each of our...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">From the October 2009 RP Journal, where Lee links the <em>Spontaneous Evolution</em> theme to
<em>Selling with Integrity</em>:

<p>[If you missed my recent column on
<em>Spontaneous
Evolution: Our Positive Future and How to get
There from Here</em>, see articles below. This is also the place to
find RP Journal articles for the past
several months.]
</p>

<p>We each consist of what Bruce Lipton,
scientist and co-author of <em>Spontaneous
Evolution</em>, calls a "<em>metropolis of
50 trillion citizens, the cells in our body,
which could each be considered sentient
beings in their own right, yet they act
together as a community</em>."
</p>

<p>Each of our cells has its own nervous,
digestive, respiratory, musculoskeleton,
reproductive, and immune systems. Our cells
interact with each other in perfect harmony
and wellness through their semi-permeable
membranes, which allow nutrients to flow in
and out without losing their individual
integrity.
</p>

<p>Each of our cells is to our being as our
being is
to the evolving harmonious organism called
Humanity, of which each of <em>us </em>is a
cell. <em><strong>On this level, the equivalent of the
semi-permeable membrane is, I assert, Relational
Presence!</strong></em>
</p>

<p>We are not in RP with another when our
psychic membrane is inclined toward being (1)
impermeable (defended wall or armor) or (2)
too permeable (mushy with no boundaries). RP
is the soft but firm balance point where we
mingle our energies without losing
our individuality. This makes us extremely
safe to be with.

</p>

<p><strong>Cellular-Level Selling</strong>
</p>

<p>Executive coach <a href="http://www.resolvetoday.com/about_us/team.asp">Bob
Bates</a> says
that Relational Presence
practice has had as much positive effect on
his sales as it has in his speaking. He told me:
</p>

<p>"We all like to buy but nobody likes to be
sold to. People know when they're getting the
sales thing, and Relational Presence is a
great way to take you out of the equation as
the seller and just connect with the other
person."
</p>

<p>"When you go into heavy content in a sales
situation with one or two people, it's a
turnoff. If you bring out a brochure or a
laptop with PowerPoint to sell something,
people hate it. Selling these days requires
that you get off of 'I'm going to tell you
why you want to buy from me, why I'm so
important to you,' and start with real
connection and see what comes up.

</p>

<p>"I'm not going to take my hand completely
off the wheel; you have to have a bit of an
agenda in sales of course, but when I just
remember that we're in this together, that
takes a lot pressure off of sales."
</p>

<p>If selling yourself or your service is of
particular interest to you, don't miss my <a href="http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/W6x14CkX">15-minute
interview</a><a> of Sharon Drew Morgen, NYT
best selling author of </a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Integrity-Reinventing-Through-Collaboration/dp/1576750175">Selling
With Integrity</a>.
</p>

<p>Sharon Drew provides
specifics around how to sell services like
coaching or therapy without leaving
Relational Presence!</p><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/zgqsbwoYN90" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/11/c.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Relational Laughter</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/UBKJ-zRR6c8/relational-laughter.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/11/relational-laughter.html" thr:count="0" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f8834012875c2a6e4970c</id>
        <published>2009-11-21T10:51:48-08:00</published>
        <updated>2009-11-21T10:51:48-08:00</updated>
        <summary>"The best way to face the unknown is by not knowing." Swami Beyondananda Those who've read Be Heard Now! know that 25 years ago I was an aspiring perspiring stand-up comic with terminal stage fright. Dying in front of groups drove me to find an organic way out of the fear and inspired the advent of Speaking Circles in which to practice Relational Presence. One of the delightful by-products of this practice is the healing laughter that often arises in a room when the person up front is "easy-going in the not knowing" with one person at a time. This...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/">
&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;i&gt;"The best way to face the unknown is by
not knowing."&lt;/i&gt; &lt;b&gt;Swami Beyondananda&lt;/b&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Those who've read
&lt;a
href="http://www.speakingcircles.com/Products/products.html"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Be
Heard Now!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt; know that 25 years ago I
was an
aspiring perspiring stand-up comic with
terminal stage fright. Dying in front of
groups drove me to find an organic way out of
the fear and inspired the advent of
&lt;i&gt;Speaking Circles&lt;/i&gt; in which to practice
&lt;a
href="http://www.speakingcircles.com/Articles/Principles/GenesisRP.html"&gt;Relational
Presence&lt;/a&gt;. One of the delightful
by-products of this practice is the healing
laughter that often arises in a room
when the person up front is "easy-going in
the not knowing" with one person at a time.

&lt;p&gt;This discovery led me in the mid-'90's
to creating a position as director of the
Humor in Medicine program at California
Pacific Medical Center, and becoming a
humorist/speaker on the healing power of
laughter. Two events earlier this month brought me full
circle back to my laughter roots:

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;* November 13 in Columbus, Ohio, I
presented
a program in Relational Presence/Relational
Laughter&lt;/b&gt; at an
advanced training for the &lt;a
href="http://www.worldlaughtertour.com"&gt;World
Laughter Tour&lt;/a&gt;. WLT trains Certified
Laughter Leaders for &lt;a
href="http://www.worldlaughtertour.com/pdfs/What%20is%20a%20laughter%20club-parts-1&amp;2.pdf&gt;Laughter
Clubs&lt;a/&gt; and other therapeutic laughter
activities.

&lt;p&gt;My experience is that
any two people have a unique healing laugh
connection (unrelated to content) that can
be naturally accessed through
Relational Presence practice. You can try it
yourself with a partner by relaxing into the
unknown together with soft, smiling eyes,
without trying to make something happen.
(Healing co-laughter starts with a shared
smile in the eyes, naturally spreads to the
corners of the mouth and then to all corners
of the body.)

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;* November 17, Swami Beyondananda's
ebook was scheduled to be
released&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;a href="
http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/ebook.html"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Wake
Up Laughing: An Insider's Guide to the Cosmic
Comedy&lt;/i&gt;&lt;a/&gt;. Swami is the alter ego of
Steve Bhaerman, co-author of &lt;a
href="http://www.hayhouse.com/details.php?id=4311"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Spontaneous
Evolution&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a seminal work I have been
writing about the past few months. (See the &lt;a
href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"&gt;RP
blog&lt;/a&gt; if you missed these columns.)

&lt;p&gt;Steve's book focuses on the cosmic nuances
of comedy, and the four stages of
"fool-realization" ... where love and
innocence are re-integrated into the mental
aspects of humor. I saw Swami perform last
month and was delighted to find that his nonstop
wordplay packs an emotional wallop with an
edge of hilarity. This edge derives from a
Buddhist mindset that allows him to play an
easy-going know-it-all while &lt;i&gt;fooly&lt;/i&gt;
embracing
the unknown. 

&lt;p&gt;The learning: Masterful communicators do not
mask the reality that, brilliant as they are,
there is plenty more they don't know than
they do know. So ... being easy-going in the
not knowing -- aah! -- &lt;i&gt;that's&lt;/i&gt; the work.

&lt;p&gt;In light and laughter,
&lt;br&gt;Lee&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/UBKJ-zRR6c8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/11/relational-laughter.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Spontaneous Evolution</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/XOw_T3Gb2sM/spontaneous-evolution.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/09/spontaneous-evolution.html" thr:count="1" thr:updated="2009-10-18T20:05:50-07:00" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a5f17836970c</id>
        <published>2009-09-25T13:42:48-07:00</published>
        <updated>2009-09-25T13:49:01-07:00</updated>
        <summary>I've fallen in love with a book that launched last week, a seminal work that I am rejoicing in and want to introduce to everyone I know. Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There from Here provides a scientific context for Relational Presence while telling an irresistible story about the evolution of humanity into a cooperative organism of which we are the cells. The book is by Bruce Lipton, scientist, and Steve Bhaerman, cosmic humorist you may know as Swami Beyondananda. Read the 11 pages of the Preface, Introduction, and Preamble included in this link to...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/">
&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;I've fallen in love with a book that launched last week, a seminal work that I am
rejoicing in and want to introduce to
everyone I know.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a
href="http://promos.hayhouse.com/spontaneousevolution/"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spontaneous
Evolution&lt;/b&gt;: Our Positive
Future
and a Way to Get There from Here&lt;/a&gt; provides
a scientific context
for Relational Presence while telling an
irresistible story about the evolution of
humanity into a cooperative organism of which
we are the cells.

&lt;p&gt;The book is by
Bruce Lipton, scientist, and Steve Bhaerman,
cosmic humorist you may know as Swami
Beyondananda. &lt;a
href="http://tinyurl.com/ycnlntj"&gt;Read
the 11 pages &lt;/a&gt;of the Preface, Introduction,
and Preamble included in this link to see
if it
calls to you like it calls to me.

&lt;p&gt;Or stay with me while I rave, first with a
quote from
Gregg Braden, New York Times best-selling
author of &lt;i&gt;The Divine Matrix&lt;/i&gt; and
&lt;i&gt;Fractal Time&lt;/i&gt;: 

&lt;p&gt;"&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spontaneous Evolution&lt;/b&gt; is the
life-map
we've all been waiting for! With just the
right blend of spiritual humor and rock-solid
science, Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaerman cast
a holistic new light on an emerging new
civilization. They lead us beyond collapsing
economies and religious extremes to show us
that such chaos is a natural step in an
unfolding process, rather than the tragic end
to a broken planet. Once we recognize the big
picture, the choices to a better life and a
better world become obvious. The guiding role
of &lt;b&gt;Spontaneous Evolution&lt;/b&gt; is where our
teachings of life, history, and civilization
should begin."&lt;/i&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The authors will excuse me for simplifying
the science they spend 350 beautiful pages
developing, but..... 

&lt;p&gt;Each of us is a community of 50 trillion
cells living in harmony and peace, each with
its own nervous, digestive, respiratory,
musculoskeleton, reproductive, and immune
systems. The irrepressible course of
evolution brings us to the stage where
humanity itself is evolving into a
cooperative organism in which each of us is a
cell. To get there, all systems and
institutions based on separation,
materialism, and other false beliefs must
crumble. Have you noticed this is happening?
The crisis is like that within a growing
caterpillar where the system is failing
and doom is impending. 

&lt;p&gt;"&lt;i&gt;From within the dying population
[within the caterpillar], a
new breed of cells begins to emerge, called
imaginal cells. Clustering in community, they
devise a plan to create something entirely
new from the wreckage. Out of the decay
arises a great flying machine--a
butterfly..... Here is the amazing thing: the
caterpillar and the butterfly have the exact
same DNA. they are the same organism but are
receiving and responding to a different
organizing signal&lt;/i&gt;." [From the Introduction]

&lt;p&gt;The authors do not promise or even
forecast a happy ending, but they know that
when a critical mass of humans receive,
believe, tell each other, and &lt;i&gt;know &lt;/i&gt;this
story in their cells, spontaneous
evolution is plausible.

&lt;p&gt;Hearing and sharing in our own words the
meta-story of spontaneous evolution is where
the alchemy arises and where my attention is. As
humanity evolves into a cooperative organism
of which we are the cells, an approach to
communication is evolving undistracted by the
illusion of separation. Relational Presence
is ultimately about absolute cooperation with
our listeners; speaking within the Oneness of
the organism we are we emit a steady
signal of inclusion, belonging, pleasure and
ease underneath our words and silences. 

&lt;p&gt;After all, speaking and listening from the
illusion of separation is the cause of
anxiety, inauthenticity, contraction.
Dissolving that false belief is a primary way of
playing an active role in the evolution of
humanity toward taking flight as a
cooperative organism.

&lt;p&gt;I've barely scratched the surface of the
world opening up to me through &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spontaneous
Evolution&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;. For now I'll close with the
words of Rabbi Michael Lerner: "&lt;i&gt;This book
charts a path for a global 'up-wising' that
could save us from planetary disaster&lt;/i&gt;."&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/XOw_T3Gb2sM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/09/spontaneous-evolution.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Fountain of Youth</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/CsJ5g3k5sT4/fountain-of-youth.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/09/fountain-of-youth.html" thr:count="0" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a548b554970b</id>
        <published>2009-09-04T09:37:12-07:00</published>
        <updated>2009-09-04T09:37:12-07:00</updated>
        <summary>Relational Presence practice takes 10-20 years off your age. Don't believe it? View this new video of your 65-year old host introducing Relational Presence as a spiritual practice with tremendous professional development benefits. Looking younger is nice, but flowing with vibrant and adaptable energy is the main event. When contraction of the real self is no longer an issue, you are free to continually reinvent yourself to fit economic conditions and other external variables. Relational Presence dissolves the contractions associated with fears of living one's essential being out loud. When you practice "co-presence" with one human at a time whether...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/">
&lt;div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-family: Verdana;" size="2" color="#000000" face="Verdana"&gt;Relational Presence practice takes 10-20 years 
off your age. Don't believe it? View this &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9SyGhnDMSw&amp;feature=channel_page"&gt;new 
video&lt;/a&gt; of your 65-year old host introducing Relational Presence as a 
spiritual practice with tremendous professional development benefits. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-family: Verdana;" size="2" color="#000000" face="Verdana"&gt;Looking younger is nice, but flowing with vibrant and adaptable energy is the 
main event. When contraction of the real self is no longer an issue, you are 
free to continually reinvent yourself to fit economic conditions and other 
external variables. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-family: Verdana;" size="2" color="#000000" face="Verdana"&gt;Relational Presence dissolves the contractions associated with fears of 
living one's essential being out loud. When you practice "co-presence" with one 
human at a time whether you are only with one or in front of one thousand, you 
experience your essential equality with the Other. Any other. Every other. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-family: Verdana;" size="2" color="#000000" face="Verdana"&gt;As your mind is conditioned to do less and less one-upping and one-downing, 
especially in groups, your energy is liberated more for service than evaluation. 
This will keep you young! 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-family: Verdana;" size="2" color="#000000" face="Verdana"&gt;There are abundant tools on the &lt;a href="http://www.speakingcircles.com"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt; 
and on the &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SpeakingCircles"&gt;Speaking 
Circles YouTube channel&lt;/a&gt; for you to practice RP at no cost. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~4/CsJ5g3k5sT4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content>



    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/09/fountain-of-youth.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>"Hold Me In Your Eyes"</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RelationalPresenceJournalog/~3/a2ARwl-puYE/hold-me-in-your-eyes.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/08/hold-me-in-your-eyes.html" thr:count="0" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d1b34f88340120a5267bd4970b</id>
        <published>2009-08-27T11:24:19-07:00</published>
        <updated>2009-08-27T11:24:19-07:00</updated>
        <summary>There is an effortless way to hold others in our eyes that allows them to instantly feel seen and heard and brings out their best, and our best. We can develop this capacity for Relational Presence (RP) by exercising it as if it were a muscle. Such practice liberates the gift of our presence and the pleasure of our company. Since finding an effective way to develop Relational Presence through interactive video, I have been hearing from people around the world about how much they crave to be held gently in the eyes of others, and to provide such holding....</summary>
        <author>
            <name>30 Days to Food Freedom</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">There is an effortless way to hold others in
our eyes that allows them to instantly feel
seen and heard and brings out their best, and
our best.

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">We can develop this capacity for 
<strong>Relational Presence</strong>
(RP) by exercising it as if it were a muscle.
Such practice liberates the gift of our
presence and the pleasure of our company.

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">Since finding an effective way to
develop Relational Presence through
interactive video, I have been hearing from
people around the world about how much they
crave to be held gently in the eyes of
others, and to provide such holding.

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">The pace of life is obviously quickening.
The lure of email and electronic networking
is powerful. As communications grow more
impersonal, opportunity for warm human eye
connection is less available. I find I need
to ask for it by name. 

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">When I
say "Hold me in your eyes" or "I am holding
you in my eyes, stay with me," people
understand and soften. They know <em>exactly
</em>what I mean. Even a brief interlude in
this frame of reference raises the quality of
life and brings out our best. 

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">Who in your life can you can you ask for
such holding? And to how many others can you
provide it?

</font></p><p><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" /><span color="#000000" size="2" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #000000;">Let me know how it goes.</span><font color="#000000" size="2">
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    <feedburner:origLink>http://rpblog.speakingcircles.com/2009/08/hold-me-in-your-eyes.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
 
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