12/05/2025
At our Practice last night we explored one of the characteristics of the Eightfold Path—Wise Speech. We read an excerpt from the SatiSeva book, which beautifully complements Recovery Dharma by widening our perspective on how speech and connection develop in community. SatiSeva added another angle to what Recovery Dharma teaches about Wise Speech, inviting us to consider how our speech habits form within relationships and in the presence of those who support us.
The author begins Mindfulness Practice #12 with the words, “I believe our manner of speech is a significant source of both the violence and the healing we experience throughout our lives…” She goes on to emphasize that the way we express thought and feeling—spoken, written, or nonverbal—shapes how our relationships mature. She starts not with examining the words we use, but the tone we use, because “the way you speak is as important as what you say.”
From there we spent time meditating on the conditions we create—times we’ve encouraged connection and times we’ve diminished another’s voice, just as the same has been done to us. We also reflected on how harsh words can awaken harshness in us, and how noticing our tone reveals whether we’re moving toward connection or toward harm. One person also shared the insight that they usually focus on what they’re saying rather than how they’re saying it, and they intend to bring more curiosity to tone in their workplace and with loved ones.
We closed by listening deeply to one another, holding space for the ways the teaching and meditation came alive in each of us. Practicing together in an intentional community dedicated to reducing harm, increasing compassion, and creating conditions for healing is a meaningful act of service to ourselves and to others.
We invite you to join us next week as we continue exploring Wise Speech through the lens of the “Three Gates”—Is it true? Is it kind? Is it helpful?
