Conscious Connection Practices
As part of our commitment to conscious connection, Terrie and I have begun to use two really neat practices.
PRACTICE #1
There are times when one of us–for whatever reason–is feeling relatively distant from the other. For example, an event or a discussion could trigger some of our “programming” from the past, resulting in one of us feeling hurt or perhaps angry–not necessarily directly at the other person, either. As you know, feelings of hurt or anger tend to make us shut down and go inside ourselves. Or worse yet, we strike out at someone, often the very people we love.
We have made an agreement that whenever one of us feels distant from the other, we will simply say: “I am feeling disconnected from you right now.” When the other person hears this, we know it is time to stop, focus in and be prepared to listen. Perhaps the person feeling disconnected will need to be prompted by a question or two, such as “What happened?” or “Why are you feeling disconnected?” By stopping to pay focused attention to each other, we open a doorway to connection and healing. It has been amazing to experience the warm, wonderful feelings we have toward each other after we have taken the time to express a feeling of disconnection and address it directly with each other with compassion and love.
PRACTICE #2
The second practice is a proactive approach to maintaining quality connection with each other on a daily basis. We have committed to each other that on a daily basis (one or MORE times each day) we will remember to simply stop and say to the other “Let’s connect” (or something similar). That means we stop whatever we are doing and get in touch with each other in a focused way. Usually, this means hugging and making deep eye contact. WARNING: Look out, because there’s no telling where these conscious connection moments can lead–if you know what I mean! 
JEFF
