Communication
Communication is an inherent path to mastery. All wanderers must aim to pursue mastery over how they communicate.
Become comfortable with silence between messages of any medium. Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence. Silence is good. Silence is still, silence is Mushin(無心).
Take longer to speak by first consulting with your mind to determine what message you want to send and how you want to deliver it.
When you are ready to speak, speak without hesitation.
You should communicate in a way that is consciously controlled.
Be aware of your tone in all mediums of communication.
Speak respectfully to all, regardless of how they communicate or their position. Show you cannot be influenced or intimidated through your secure communications.
The body communicates more than words do. Practice reading the messages sent from the body and the face as part of the inherent path to mastery of communication.
Practice reading and understanding emotion and you will better understand the intent and desires of those you communicate with.
Thinking before you speak is an Andreia mind domain tenet. Become comfortable with silence so you may allow yourself to think before you speak.
Laconic
Laconic comes from the region of Greece, Laconia, where ancient Sparta was. The Spartans were famous for their brief and to the point speech patterns.
Communicating laconically means you do not waste words or use more words than necessary. This does not mean you speak robotically, but speak with an overarching awareness of the utility of communication.
A laconic communication style is most natural as we have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak.
Controlling your communications is controlling your mind. We want to be in control of our minds at all times, so we want to be in control of our communication at all times.
Oversharing demonstrates the inability to control the mind. Oversharing must be avoided as it often self-sabotages the wanderer, leading to problems that the wanderer must step off the path to solve. The same goes for problems caused by not saying enough—laconic communication means communicating in a way that maximizes fulfillment and mastery for all.
Being laconic helps the wanderer remain calm. Talking is thinking, so the more you talk, the more active your mind is, and an overactive mind may be out of control; we must be in control of our minds at all times.
The more you talk, the less people listen. If a message can be effectively delivered in five minutes, do not take over an hour to deliver it.
Being of many words encourages anxiety and demonstrates an uncontrolled mind, whereas being of few words encourages calm and demonstrates a controlled mind.
Gossip
Avoid talking about yourself and others in most regards. It does not contribute to mastery; therefore, it does not contribute to fulfillment. Encourage talking about mastery while discouraging gossip.
Those who speak highly of themselves are trying to convince themselves and others of their achievements because they, and others, do not believe. This can only be seen as weakness.
Get news from people on your path, not from gossip dealers. Disregard news that does not relate to the path or does not affect you.
Companies peddling news(gossip) do not care about the news; they care about using gossip to manipulate your emotions so you pay attention to them because that’s how they profit.
Do not let companies take you off your path.
Comments can be gossip in disguise. Comments can tell you what to think—the wanderer should decide what to think for themselves.
Filler language
Filler language must be avoided. Filler is the antithesis of fulfillment in all domains of the wanderer. Filler words bridge the silence between words because the speaker does not have a high tolerance for space. This is no good.
Cursing is often used as filler language.
Those who use filler language demonstrate a lack of control and mastery over the domain of mind.
Filler language is the language of the feeble-minded.