The door on the back street in Xi’an stood wide open, casting a glow of fluorescent light onto the pavement. From inside came the sound of shuffling plastic tiles, and laughter. A group of senior Chinese citizens had gathered around three mahjong tables, four players seated at each set. A portly lady with strands of gray in her hair peeked over the rim of her reading glasses and waved, “Come in, come join us.” What a lovely invitation! The other players looked up and smiled, and soon the chatter bounced between the walls, as they all wanted to tell their own stories, pointing out who was married to whom, and who was single or widowed. The timid man with a bowtie always cheated, they all said, and the burly woman with the hairy wart on her nose always won. But if you are picturing a conversation in English, you are mistaken. In Mandarin? No, not in Mandarin, either. In fact, not a single word was uttered in this place – it was a mahjong club for the deaf.
Have you ever dreamed of traveling to the far end of the world, only to pull back because you don’t speak the language? Have you thought of where you would go if communication wasn’t an issue? What if you could just snap your fingers and suddenly be able to understand everything people say anywhere in the world?
The idea of speaking any foreign language isn’t unrealistic—it’s quite achievable and is called mind-to-mind communication. In 2014, scientists at Harvard Medical School, Spanish Starlab, and the French firm Axilum Robotics, sent a thought via computers from India to France to prove mind-reading is possible. And certain tribes among the Aborigines in Australia have used telepathy for millennia as a means of communication.
And you don’t need any offbeat, special powers to use mind-to-mind communication. You just need to be open and to believe. Although communicating without words looks and feels different for everyone, here are a few tips to use when you’re at a loss for words:
Don’t throw out the oldest tricks in the book. Of course, gestures and facial expressions help. A smile, friendly body language, and a positive attitude can speak volumes.
Open your heart and trust you can do it. If you are paralyzed by doubt before you even begin, you’ll miss the opportunity to make new friends. Instead of focusing on how things might go wrong, visualize yourself communicating effortlessly. Relax and open your heart to those you wish to speak to, and you will find that mind-to-mind communication flows effortlessly.
Listen to the space between the words. Quiet your mind while it’s busy trying to decipher foreign words and associate them with familiar expressions. Instead, focus on connecting to the person you are speaking with on a soul level. This is best done by listening to the rhythm, the melody, and the feel of the conversation―tune into the space between words, not the actual words.
Next time you find yourself in a remote part of the world where you cannot speak a common language and would like to order a glass of water. Think the thought first, visualize the glass, look into the waiter’s eyes, and smile. Then say the words out loud, “a glass of water.” Try it. You will be amazed.