Healing Relationships: The Practice of Beginning Anew

In this short teaching, Brother Bao Tang introduces us to Beginning Anew, a four-step practice that helps us clearing up the wrong perceptions in our relationships through deep communication. The first step is an invitation to calm our mind, recognise the good qualities in the other person and look at them with fresh eyes. Then we can look deeply in the heart of our misunderstanding and see we might have contributed to it - the second step encourages us to express our regret for not acting skillfully in dealing with the situation at hand. The third step is an invitation to express our hurt feelings to the other person so that they can have the opportunity to understand us and, ultimately, we can share about our needs and the way we desire to be supported. Brother Bao Tang stresses the fact that Beginning Anew is not a technique, but a way of being mindful, concentrated, of fostering calm, compassion and love in our relationships.