COMMUNICATION
Communication is one of the four fundamental University Goals at Portland State University. Communication relays needs and desires before we are even born. Over billions and billions of years, effective communication has been continuously selected for, giving individuals that practice effective communication a biological and social advantage. Effective communication is essential to success not only in academia, but in all life's experiences. We provided the class with three communication 'experiments' that focused on the interconnectedness of three distinct forms of communication: Verbal, non-verbal, and the inner-dialogue.
Communication manifests differently in all academic disciplines. Here we demonstrate two: Art and Biochemistry. As you work your way down this page, we encourage you to keep in mind the three forms of communication listed above as well as the defining characteristics of communication that we developed over the time of the course:
CONNECTION: set intent to make meaningful connections.
EVEN-PLAIN: practice a balanced, equal place of communication.
SAFETY: be mindful of others and their vulnerability.
Communication manifests differently in all academic disciplines. Here we demonstrate two: Art and Biochemistry. As you work your way down this page, we encourage you to keep in mind the three forms of communication listed above as well as the defining characteristics of communication that we developed over the time of the course:
CONNECTION: set intent to make meaningful connections.
EVEN-PLAIN: practice a balanced, equal place of communication.
SAFETY: be mindful of others and their vulnerability.
ART
Levels of communication are vast, and beyond measurement. Art contains many layers, and maybe all layers of communication. Verbal with singing/speaking; non verbal with dance/movement. The written word is transformed into anything possible through writers. In Shel Silverstein poems, an analogy or metaphor can take emotions, feelings, and meaning to far way places from what the initial text has spelled. By witnessing art–one is able to go further into a very complex universe with infinite meanings, and explore ways to interpret, and be a conscious being.
bioChemistry
In biochemistry, communication is very literal. Communication occurs by way of synapses, or neuron connections. The outer structure of neuron is a thin plasma membrane that is semi-permeable to specific ions. Cations Na+ / Ca2+ flow inward (depolarize) and K+ flow (hyper / re-polarization) outward of the cell, allowing for nerve signal propagation (transduction). The concentration gradient and electrical potential allow for an action potential to rapidly propagate down an axon through the nerves as electrical impulses. Acetylcholine opens ligand-gated ion channels on the receiving cell and triggers a new action potential. This occurs in less than a microsecond, and this represents all of our unique thoughts, emotions, and desires.
There are more than 300 trillion neuron synapses in the human brain! New synapses may be formed or destroyed from different experiences and strong emotions. Communication is biochemically complex to say the least!
THREE COMMUNICATION 'EXPERIMENTS':
VERBAL
NON-VERBAL
INNER-DIALOUGE
NON-VERBAL
INNER-DIALOUGE
Meditation
Mindfulness and presence
The first experiment was twenty minutes of guided meditation. The guided meditation was with Tara Brach, an experienced leader for the advanced, or the beginner. Click on the 'Guided Meditation' button above for the link to the meditation. Being mindful and present is absolutely vital in today's hectic world and is an essential form of healthy, effective communication. We must take time to ourselves and block out all of the noise that everyday life carries. During the meditation, trying not to think about your responsibilities for the day, or the nearby sounds may be difficult at first. The goal is to have your mind available to what is happening around you and to be more engaged with those you are contacting. The practice of meditation helps with being more mindful and present throughout the day, so you can be a more efficient communicator. Try it now!
Judgements
The second experiment involved getting into one large circle and sharing personal judgements. The leaders pass out notecards to each person in the group and ask them to write down an individual or circumstance that is causing them to make judgements. This circumstance must be current. After everyone has finished writing their situation on the notecard, everyone places their card into the middle of the circle. The cards are then mixed and passed back out at random by the leaders. Each person reads their received notecard and the class discusses how we can overcome the judgments of the situation. The goal of this exercise is to become aware of the automatic judgments that we make on a daily basis, understand where these judgements come from, and how they hinder effective communication. It's time to be in the place where we can move past judgements and resentments!
Projections
The third experiment investigated the projections that we place onto the people that we communicate with. The activity for the class asked to endow three people out of a group of four with like, dislike and funny. The class was asked to get into groups of four. Each person in the group was given a preconceived projection and had to interact in the group with that projection. For example, if you are projecting someone to be disliked, this is very one-sided and leads to nothing positive. This emphasized the patterns of projections by being seen a certain way. This also gives the insight of how these projections evoke certain emotions that have negative and positive effects on our communication. The goal is to become aware of these projections and be more mindful about how we participate in social groups.