You’re working on your garden, grandchildren are running around when someone asks you a question.

You’re working on your garden, grandchildren are running around when someone asks you a question.

You want to answer but don’t want to interrupt the conversation.

You’re not even sure what the question is.

My advice is this: slow down and breathe.

Answer the question and say, “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand.

May I get back to you on that?”

Then leave the person to the other person.

If you have a question or comment, stop the conversation and ask the other person for clarification.

If you don’t know the answer, get back in your chair and relax and answer the question later.

Give someone else a chance to talk.

Tell yourself this: “I’m not going to interrupt this person unless I’m sure I’m right about what they’re saying.

I’m not going to jump in with a comment unless I’m sure I’m right.

I’m going to listen, and then if I have a question, I’ll ask it.”

When someone is talking, pay close attention.

The more you listen, the more you will learn.

You’ll learn more about people and yourself.

Listening makes you more compassionate and understanding.

You can learn from others.

You can learn to express your feelings in a more positive way.

You can learn to be more in control of your emotions.

You’re kneeling in the dirt, working on your garden when your attention is drawn up by a person saying, “Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but…” At that moment, your garden is suddenly visible, and you look out at the person with surprise and wonder. You realize that it’s the same person who has been gardening with you in your imagination, only now they’re right in front of you.

The person is of course, your soul, and you find yourself taking a moment to greet it.

The greeting doesn’t seem to satisfy you, though, and the person states that they have a message for you.

You listen carefully as the person explains that you’re very busy at the moment, and there’s a lot that you should be doing.

As you listen to the message, you begin to get a little angry and annoyed.

This person is right.

There is a lot to do, and the person is telling you to stop and pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing!

So, you lash out at the speaker, and tell them what they can do with their condescending message.

And then you start thinking.

What message is this person sending?

Is it really a message from God?

You realize that you have no idea.

But you do have a feeling that it is.

What if it is?

What if it’s not a message of displeasure, but a message of encouragement?

What if it’s an opportunity to take your focus off of all of the things you have to do, and spend a little time with your soul.

You think that it might be a good idea.

So you do.

You talk to your soul and tell it that you are sorry for being a bit irritated. You know that the soul can understand that, but you also know that if you had been listening the first time, you would have learned something very important.

You ask the soul how it can help you in the garden, and it tells you that there are several things that you should be doing.

You could be fertilizing your soil.

You could be getting rid of weeds.

You could be pruning your plants.

You could be weeding your garden.

So, you do those things, as directed by your soul.

The task completed, you decide to look around you.

And you see that you are no longer busy.

You are in a much better place.

You have time to talk to your soul, and to learn some new things.

You talk to your soul and tell it that you realize that there is a lot to learn.

And you think to yourself that it would be a good idea to start reading the books that you started, when you were younger.

You ask the soul if it knows of any good books.

The soul tells you that there are some things that are important, but they aren’t really books that you could read.

It tells you that there is a group of people who have found ways to communicate with the spirit world.

You are a little skeptical at first, but you think that it might be a good idea to check them out.

The soul tells you that there is one in particular that you should talk to.

It tells you that the name is, and that she is the only person that knows the best way to find out more about them.

You decide to call her, and you sit down and start to talk to her.