Communication is a vital tool to the life experience; ineffective communication is the most frequent cause of lesson failure. The soul has chosen the lesson plan for the lifetime, providing blockage that prohibits effective communication with the self, as well as others. Communication can be silent or vocal, physical or emotional. Recognizing the self’s communication style is critical to the student upon the path to healing.
| Behavior | Yes | Sometimes |
| I have difficulty conveying my thoughts so that another may understand me | | |
| I become self-conscious when the spotlight is upon me | | |
| When challenged, I am uncertain of my self the majority of the time | | |
| I wish to be liked by others above all else | | |
| I actively avoid confrontation with others | | |
| I prefer peace and harmony, willingly forgoing my own desires to achieve it | | |
| I am often accused of being superior or arrogant | | |
| I believe it my duty to correct others that are wrong | | |
| I believe that my judgments are nothing more than assessments | | |
| My nature is to disapprove of those things in conflict with my beliefs | | |
| I refuse to discuss topics with another that I cannot sway to my beliefs | | |
| I feel that it is necessary to diminish others when in conflict | | |
| I use words to damage others as repayment | | |
| I encourage others to diminish others | | |
| I am ever-vigilant to another’s true motives and intentions | | |
| I avoid others with whom I have been in conflict previously | | |
| I neither admit mistakes or extend forgiveness | | |
| I am contemptuous of others who allow the self to be fooled | | |
| I do not review another’s way of thinking when in conflict with my own | | |
| I am averse to discussing my thinking when known to be in conflict with another | | |
| I do not wish for another to interfere with my way of being or thinking | | |
| I rarely change my mind once its made up | | |
| I am averse to reviewing old conflicts | | |
| I prefer to discard emotional experiences as soon as they abate | | |
| I am actively seeking the wronged party as soon as discord erupts | | |
| I retreat to the mind to begin constructing the story that makes my appropriation of blame correct | | |
| I am self-focused, seeking to protect my self at all times | | |
| Recognition of my accomplishments is actively sought | | |
| I believe that my mind is superior and am capable of grappling any topic | | |
| I do not seek the advice or assistance of others | | |
| I interpret others who seek assistance as weak and inferior | | |
| I abhor being questioned and interpret such as attempts to control | | |
| I am exclusionary, preferring to speak only with others like my self | | |
| I will not listen to another speaking openly about topics that disagree with my thinking | | |
| I am annoyed by others that attempt to engage me in conversation | | |
| I rarely approach another that is unknown to me | | |
| I prefer my own company to any other’s | | |
| All conversation not initiated by my self is considered to be frivolous | | |
Identification of limiting factors, within the communication style, is critical to the student, for lesson presentation often fails due to these factors. To effectively communicate the student must be willing to listen and speak equally, listening deeply to the other, observing and reviewing the thoughts of another to determine its validity to the self, at this time. Refusal to listen to another is indicative of the student’s decision to eliminate all lessons presented, thereby ensuring stasis upon the path to healing.
Scoring of the preceding table is available online at www.thepathtohealing.com.