A vital presence exercise is Conscious Listening. There are various levels of listening consciousness, both internal and external. Our brain processes tens of thousands of pieces of information every moment. We listen for sounds of approaching danger. Do we hear and understand from them, although we hear others converse? We are listening to our ideas, so our attention is split between auditory input fragmenting our consciousness, limiting our efficacy and decreasing our intellect. When we’re in conversation, our attention can be divided between waiting to speak, assessing their remarks and listening to our partners conversation. The self-converses listening takes center stage to another. This sort of interchange's purpose is to gain some benefit, to take rather than give. Identifying with their thoughts voice, giving away their power to their process, which is operating outside the present moment. All of us experience times where most or all our attention is occupied with thought patterns. Ask yourself the question: What proportion of my attention is focused on the here & now? The first inner answer is the true answer. Anything less than 100% is nearly a guarantee for internal conflict, groups of ideas that have opposing opinions. In short, our situation is: we weren't in tune with our environment, we do not understand from our own interactions, and we’re internally conflicted. How can we have a peaceful world under those conditions? Conscious Listening is a presence practice. Always have your listening attention with where you are, like you're living in a dangerous environment to have to be eternally vigilant. Give them eye contact and reflect to them what they're telling you. Listen with every ounce of concentration you can muster. Cultivate inner stillness to do that. Allow a 3 second pause before replying. DO NOT REHEARSE! you'll be given what you need to say whenever you need to say it. Not a second before. Use conscious intention and always keep an observers eye. Watch it from a distance. Your brain isn't you, but a dangerous, strong tool.