Dorothy

Why You Should Risk Gut Level Communication Take a moment and think of your meaningful relationships. Do you feel connected? Can you freely express yourself? Or do you hold back, afraid of rejection and judgment? You see, you are wired to connect with others. Deep inside you is a yearning to truly be seen and accepted, quirks and all. The only way to achieve this is to allow yourself to be vulnerable. This is scary! What if you end up being rejected? You can give in to your fear and hide behind superficial communication. Or you can choose to open up and get acceptance. The book DzWhy am I afraid to tell you who I amdz, identifies five levels of communication. As each level progresses, so does your willingness to self-disclose.  Cliche’ Conversation.  Factual Conversation.  Ideas and judgments.  Gut level Communication.  Peak communication. The first three levels are safe. Any communication at these levels prevents you from sharing anything about yourself. At the cliche’ conversation level, you engage only in shallow talk out of protocol. At the Factual Conversation level, you only give facts without disclosing what you feel or think about them. In the ideas and judgment level, you offer your opinion. However, you are still guarded and don’t truly open up. It is impossible for you to build any fulfilling relationships on these three levels. Gut- Level Communication This is the level where you open up about your feelings. You dare to reveal your fears, passion, hopes, and disappointment. You open up your heart and allow the other person to know you. You choose honesty over phoniness by saying what you feel as opposed to suppressing emotions. You refuse to settle for superficiality because you understand that true friendship can only be built on honest revelation. Gut-Level communication is not a walk in the park. Not every person can handle such honesty. However, when reciprocated it results in better relationships. The last level is peak communication. You only experience this in fleeting moments when you feel perfectly in sync with another. It is never a permanent state. Benefits of Gut-Level Communication 1. You build relationships which are real and authentic. 2. You get a clear sense of identity. You can only understand as much of yourself as you are willing to disclose to another. 3. Emotional maturity. As you become honest with your feelings, you put yourself in a position to scrutinize them and make the necessary adjustments. 4. You empower others to also be honest and open. Conclusion Your desire to have an authentic relationship demands that you become real. You can only build deep and satisfying relationships when you allow yourself to be vulnerable. Refuse to be held back by any fear. Open yourself up and allow yourself to be "seen . Dare to engage in gut-level communication. Let others accept you for who you truly are.