The word ‘intent’ is about purpose. It was used from the early 13th century and comes from the old French entente, which means the goal, the purpose. This comes from the Latin ‘intentus‘, which means a stretching out, leaning towards. In the sense of having the mind ‘fixed upon something’ the use was from about 1600 AD

Let’s look at the use of this word in current English
” he listened intently then slammed down the phone”
” the Rebels are obviously intent on keeping up the pressure”
” he possessed arms with intent to endanger life”
” although he presents well, his intentions are evil”

I was discussing with John, my friend, about the way people will accept or otherwise what is really going on on the planet today in terms of good and evil.

We more or less agreed but it was a waste of time to speak with people who have had certain medical interventions because if they were to honestly contemplate what they had done they would see themselves as naive and gullible. The average human being has some pride, and rather than espouse a contrary view, they are  more likely to cling on to their own view, maybe at the expense of a relationship with us, the friend. I dread to think of the number of partners who have split up because of differences in this direction.

The world is in a perilous situation and I don’t think people realize it.

By coincidence, I was watching the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012 and point for point it illustrated what is going on now. It was predictive programming. A longer video but bear with it.  If you come to think about it, if you want to think about it, what have dancing nurses got to do with anything? What have evil looking people chasing children got to do with Olympics and yet the people there applauded the spectacle perhaps a bit like Romans clapping the slaughtering of some fighter in the arena or the Colosseum. Mass disorder  happens very easily with excited crowds. Hillsborough, many years ago, was an example of this.

I was also discussing the rather ham fisted attempts of some of my neighbors and friends to convert others to Christianity.

The person I am thinking of cut off from me because my other half was not interested in attending an Alpha Course which is a course for new Christians. Furthermore, my friend said,   If they don’t ‘accept Christ’ then, they are ‘idiots’ and they will ‘go to hell’.

I was talking to others in a discussion  that the people who have influence me were just being themselves at the time and it was their presence, their charisma if you like, was the major draw.

I’m not just talking about converting someone to a particular belief system. In fact and in real life I think you encourage them to find peace and inner truth, being an evangelist should involve having an overview of the nature of human kind and the implication on behavior and belief. In order for someone to convert to a religion or any belief system come to that they have to be dissatisfied with their life as it is.

As a prelude to talking to someone with a meaningful message we need to get to know them and get their trust. We don’t live in much of a community compared with the close-knit of times of yore. The average level of trust must be somewhat in the minus. In other words, people that you want to affect need to trust you. If they do not trust you they will go through the appearance of listening to you but it could be so much noise.

It is true that we have to trust each other to a certain extent in order for example for us to conduct business but when it comes to involvement with our personal lives particularly developmental issues and particularly sensitive issues for example our relationships then that is another level, and to be on guard as a method of self-protection for not being further hurt.

I have often talked about non-judgmental listening. If you think you know everything and regard other people as dart boards and passive receptors, then of course you will not listen. what would be the point? If however you identify with the person who said ‘all I know is that I know nothing’, you will be more inclined to listen to someone.

With knowledge, we are always traveling, always learning. In my work as a psychic and remote viewer, whatever you think of those topics, I know that in every encounter I am going to learn something because the challenge presented by the client will create certain new connections in my brain-mind. I can say that in all the thousands of people I have given advice to, no two clients have been the same. Existentially, we have all departed from eternity in a different way, and therefore our way back will also be different in each case.

I would like to meet someone who is good at probability theory because let’s say you have 20 characteristics each or which have been developed within 10 degrees where 1 is basic and 10 is expert plus everyone’s unique life history it is impossible for anyone else on the planet to be exactly like you. This means therefore that everyone can make a unique contribution.

For all we know, a person’s experience of religion and faith may have been shattered when their innocence was taken advantage of when they were young; stains and their damage have remained until this day. If someone is going to say to them but they need to be ‘saved by Jesus’ this is going to bring up all the memories of when people trusted in something and they were let down.

Very few of us are without damage so although something may theoretically benefit us we need to go through the rubble and see where the bombs fell and the destruction it wrought. In the early and middle part of the last century it was not the custom at least in England to wear your feelings for all to see and people got very use to suppressing their feelings and experiences.

This means that if you touch on a ‘sore point’ it will be a bit like touching a festering wound. People are not going to thank you for this,  so if you sense that such sensitivities have been attacked then you need to respond immediately and probably withdraw.

Many people have had a chance to have their say.

GK Chesterton said ‘ there is a lot of difference between listening and hearing’. In other words when you listen, you care. When you hear, you don’t.

Have you noticed that the word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’. That quote was attributed to The Pianist Alfred Brendel.

Someone else, actually Democratus, said “it is greed to do all the talking and never to listen”

Another angle which I find very attractive, “ hearing is listening to what is said. Listening is hearing what is not said’ Simon Sinek.

Here is a very good bit of advice for everybody including myself. A conversation is not a competition (my words). The quote is “ when someone else is talking, stop thinking of things to say” Dan Go

“Listening to my son is one of the most important skills I can teach him” – Maxime Lagace

I love this one from Mike Tyson ” listening never gets you into trouble but talking can” he should know

Ernest Hemingway said “I like to listen as I have learnt a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen”

“Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words”. Roy T. Bennett

I think that’s enough to make a point. Unless you listen you’re not even at the starting gate to help somebody.

So I’ve been a bit preachy today in my remarks but I just feel that these things need to be said and then said again.

The importance of the environment

You can exchange small talk in a pub or on public transport but to fully concentrate on what someone is saying you need a quiet environment so that you can concentrate. Then they can concentrate and have the trust in the situation because you never know, they might be ready to tell you something that they’ve never told anyone before, and this would be a precious and almost sacred  moment.

Society batters us with endless streams of news items both in the written and spoken word plus many images trying to seduce us to buy things and I’m wondering if we are going to speak to someone seriously whether we need a session to prepare the client for listening to something that is important.

So to sum up this section, you may have the most important thing in the world to say but unless the context is right, and unless the person is able and willing to listen which means to be motivated, you are not going to get very far, in fact you may do damage.

More from my conversation with my friend John will come tomorrow.

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