Power of attunement is the ability to understand and connect with how others feel. It’s like having a special antenna that helps you sense how other people are doing emotionally. Just like how we use our eyes to see things and our ears to hear sounds, we use our attunement to feel the emotions of the people around us. When we are attuned to someone, we can better understand their needs and how we can help them. This can make us better friends, family members, and even leaders.
- Introduction: So What Is Attunement?
- What is the difference between being “attuned” and “tuning?”
- Why is attunement so crucial in relationships and everyday life?
- How to attune yourself easily and quickly whenever you want?
- The different types of attunement
- Different techniques for attunement
- Benefits of attunement
- Conclusion
- Attunement Video
Introduction: So What Is Attunement?
What does it mean to be attuned?
We must develop harmony and rapport with anyone we have a relationship with. Whether as a parent, child, worker, employee, or employer, we need to maintain good relations with others. The same thing if you have a romantic partner or have an intimate relationship with others. No man (and woman) is an island, as they say.
You can improve your relationship through attunement. Attunement, meaning what? Attunement comes from the word attune or attuned. Dictionaries define “attune” as being receptive, aware, and mindful. In some, it means to be in harmony with others.
Relationships depend on a lot of factors. Romantic relationships and those of the parent and children involve love and attachment. Those of the worker-employer is a professional relationship, and so do others like doctor-patients and the like. We eventually bond with others, but those bonds could be made long-lasting.
Attunement’s definition means being aware of others, their existence, needs, sensibilities. It means to be in harmony with them or to make or have a harmonious relationship with others. Your parents, children, wife or husband, romantic partner, employee, boss, client, etc., having attunement is the key to a successful relationship.
What does attuned stand for differ depending on relationships and their complexities and other circumstances? Nevertheless, attunement is a fundamental fact of a relationship, and it is essential to delve deeply into its meaning and why it is so important. We will also look at practices and techniques that genuinely matter in attunement.
But first, is to be attuned the same as being tuned?
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What is the difference between being “attuned” and “tuning?”
Attuned vs. Tuned: The Great Difference
In everyday language use, most people associate words “attuned” with “tune,” tuned,” or “tuning.” After all, dictionaries indicate the same meaning: awareness and cognizance. Most of us use the term interchangeably, if not indiscriminately.
Though etymology, that is, the way dictionaries define them, might be the same, its hermeneutics are fundamentally different.
Being “in tune” means to be in accordance with something, and in music, it means playing the right notes. To be “tuned in” means to engage with something or have your consciousness or activity geared towards something. Thus, to do something, with great attention and willingness, characterizes being “tuned in.”
One who is tuned in
The words exhibit the same idea of awareness and cognizance, just like the words “attune” and attuned.” So, what is the difference between being “attuned and being “tuned?” What makes attunement more critical here than merely being tuned? And where lies the difference?
Going back to the word “tuned” means being in accordance, and one is in its proper position and doing things properly if one is “tuned” or “in tune.” It is no surprise, then, that most people use the word “tuned” and its variations when people deal with material things and objects and their relationships with them.
But to be “attuned,” though talks of being aware, cognizant, also indicates something more profound than usual relation with things. Here, receptive and receptivity take a far, more significant meaning.
To be receptive to what? Though one can talk about being receptive to things from the perspective of grammar, in practice, you can only be genuinely receptive in your relationship with others.
Receptivity here means to be in a far deeper engagement with others, more than what the relationship between man and things entails. It means one opening oneself to the others: their needs, ideas, sensibilities, fears, apprehensions, love, and all other emotions. It means to be receptive too and, at the same time, be responsive.
A deeper engagement
Thus, one can talk of “fine-tuning,” not “fine-attuning.” One can tune the guitar, tune in on the radio, television, or any gadget, or machines or engines. But not attunement. In the same way, you do not tune in to your loved ones, to your boss, employees, doctor, or clients. You do not tune them too. You attuned to them, and others attuned to you.
What is the difference between being “attuned” and being “tuned?” The difference is between having a relationship with your fellows and having a relationship with things. In attunement, you recognize your fellows as fellow human beings who need love, affection, understanding, and engagement. You never treat them as things or as a means to an end.
Attunement: A broader definition
Going beyond the standard lexicon and etymology, the attunement we are talking about here refers to being receptive, reactive, and responsive in positive ways to others, be they their ideas, needs, feelings, emotions, sensibilities, initiatives.
Attunement is to be in harmony with others, to have a harmonious relationship, through being open, receptive, and responsive to others. Attunement means that we engage and deal with others deeply, in a manner that shows their importance to us and of our relationship with them.
It means recognizing them as fellows, recognizing that they have subjectivity similar to ours. The underlying principle is that we treat others properly, being subjects like us, who have emotions and feelings, have problems, and could experience pressure and stress.
No wonder the term first gained traction among those who are profoundly spiritual and those who wanted to help their fellows overcome difficulties in their lives, both mental and physical. In attunement, they believed, one could attain peace and harmony in oneself and society.
Harmony is essential
Though practitioners of its spiritual and medical aspects are not without its critics, overall, it has been found that attunement is a fundamental aspect of any harmonious relationship. It moved from those specialized fields and is now considered a vital tool in improving our relationships with others.
With our understanding of what attunement is, the question of “how to attune myself” becomes truly important and of far-reaching consequences. The question and the idea of even how to be more attuned is something we will tackle below. There are methods and techniques you can use to be more attuned.
Why is attunement so crucial in relationships and everyday life?
Why is it important to be attuned? It is because it helps you be aware of others, what they feel, and what they are going through. You recognize them as your equal, your fellows who might need love and care, just like you, and need someone to share their thoughts and feelings. It makes you receptive to their ideas, which promotes harmony with others.
The importance of relationships, therefore, cannot be overestimated. The proponents of its “science” back in the day, no wonder, are very optimistic about its potential to promote lasting peace in society and at the level of individual relationships. We can also recognize what we may lack and act accordingly for ourselves and others in attunement.
Empathy
Why is it important to be attuned? Attunement allows us to have empathy with others, and it allows us to develop feelings of compassion with our fellows and our loved ones. In being attuned, we go beyond what the typical “label” in a relationship dictates upon us. We recognize that there is something more than the duty of being in a relationship entails.
As a parent, we do not only give love and do our responsibilities to the children, meaning we do not simply act as parents. We also care about how they feel and inquire about their wants and needs. We do not only do our duties as lovers but also inquire to them what they genuinely want regarding the direction of the romantic relationship.
You do not only give them love and provide for their needs, but you also pamper them too.
The bosses and employees do not only do their job professionally diligently but also care about their co-workers, inquiring about them sometimes or their problems. More so if there are some issues in performance?
For what are team buildings for really? It is to make employees responsive to each other. In short, it is one acceptable way to make everyone more attuned.
Forming a stronger bond
Attunement makes the others realize that they are not ignored or taken for granted, that they indeed matter, more than just being or having a relationship usually implies. There lies the importance of carrying oneself with high levels of awareness of others. How often do we hear people complain of being loved and provided and yet feel neglected?
Lack of attunement could be the culprit.
Attunement promotes awareness of others, appropriately providing care and attention at the right and proper moment. One is sensitive to the others if one is attuned.
One who is attuned does not rely on the usual cliches we usually hear concerning relationships but responds in a way that takes cognizance of both individual peculiarities and situational context.
A peaceful relationship
Attunement increases empathy and helps those in the relationship have stronger bonds with them, and it also helps them forge ties and connect with others. Overall, attunement promotes goodwill and creates possibilities of closer ties, lasting friendships, and even possibilities of romantic relationships.
Attunement reduces conflict and misunderstanding. Since the idea is that one should open up to others, good communication is a direct consequence of attunement.
Communication is necessary to avoid misunderstanding
Misunderstanding will rarely arise, but if ever it does, resolved quickly. The key is that people in whatever relationship care for each other, and they have nothing in their minds but the welfare of each other.
A relationship with far less conflict will emerge, and it will engender other kinds of peaceful relationships. An employee not troubled by problems at home will be most likely happy, satisfied and would be dynamic and reliable in the workplace.
One could expect that the person will go along well with others due to having a cordial relationship with loved ones. But how do we attune quickly, especially when forming new bonds and having new relationships?
How to attune yourself easily and quickly whenever you want?
You can quickly attune if you follow specific procedures. Here are some of the things you can do in practicing attunement.
Learn and practice self attunement
Before you can be in touch with others, you must know to be in touch with yourself. You must know and practice self-attunement as preliminary to being attuned with others and your environment.
For self-attunement, you must learn to check your tendencies and be aware of your hang-ups. Recognize your perspective, your “other side,” and change them when needed. Try to also learn from your mistakes, forgive, and move on from the past.
Feel and understand the other
You must have empathy and be considerate of other people. One of the best ways is to put your feet in the other’s shoes. In this way, you can easily relate to what they are going through.
Understanding means putting ourselves in the place of others
You need to be aware of some limitation, lest one may construe it as intruding into their affairs. Recognize those limits, and maintain the space and boundaries in your relationship. Letting one go through the process with your help makes them aware that you are indeed after their welfare.
Use energy “tools”
You can use some specific techniques or some “tools” in the trade. Releasing energy, for one, to increase your capacity for self attunement and others, is available. Many energy work “tools” for tuning oneself are out there due to the prevailing need to promote lasting, peaceful relationships with others.
Once you learn how to tune yourself using those energy work tools, you can quickly learn how to attune quickly and whenever you want. But aside from improving relationships with others, what are the particular types of attunement to which attuning would be highly beneficial?
The different types of attunement
We already mentioned self-attunement and its importance. Here are other types of attunement you can encounter daily:
Emotional attunement
This attunement leads to an understanding of one’s emotional states. The troubles and travails one experiences and the fears and anxiety. In simple terms, this allows you to empathize and share the other’s sufferings.
Seeing your children cry and having pity on them, sharing their disappointments, being with them in times of joy and celebration are all examples of emotional attunement.
Leadership
Helping someone progress in their careers by putting yourself in place of those who have career difficulties is one way of showing leadership through attunement. It gives you a better understanding of one’s predicament in the workplace or career.
This type of attunement is well-known in the fields of business and politics. It is no different from having the pulse of the people, and you realize what is wrong and what needs doing to lead them to a better path, in career or life.
Good leaders have a feel for their subordinates and employees.
Therapeutic
Sometimes, emotional attunement is not enough, especially if one experiences trauma or is undergoing severe stress. You can help mitigate the suffering or heal one completely through therapy through attunement. Understanding the suffering through attunement, you can then sell various techniques and methods that might help them recover.
Different techniques for attunement
You can use specific methods to be attuned quickly to yourself and others. Some of these are:
Mindfulness
In mindfulness, you become acutely self-aware. It allows you to concentrate on your thoughts and feelings and reassess your own life as you examine those things. But you can practice it daily to remain positive and be productive. You can only be attuned if you are not bothered. As a technique, therefore, mindfulness leads you on the way to attunement.
Writing down a journal is one way to practice mindfulness. But little acts like kindness and being thankful could set you on the track towards attunement.
Yoga and meditation
It would help relieve yourself of anxiety and stress to have clarity of mind. It would help if you had the clarity to practice attunement, and doing yoga and meditation is one of the straightest paths towards attunement.
Releasing your energy
You must imbibe positivity and radiate positive energy to others. Yoga and meditation are ways to do so. You can also use energy releasing techniques, methods, and tools, to release it. Finally, you can enlist the help of experts to unleash your potential, allowing you to be attuned, and help others.
Psychologists, doctors, and counselors, due to their work, are usually attuned to others. And some teach others how to be attuned. Practitioners of “reiki,” for instance, allow members to have attunement and release powerful spiritual energy, itself vital in being attuned and helping others attain attunement.
Yoga, meditation and other alternative methods could help you unleash your spiritual energy
Benefits of attunement
Those mentioned above underline the importance of attunement and why we should practice it in dealing with others. It could save us much trouble and allow us to have smooth interpersonal relationships with our fellows.
Empathy, forming a stronger bond, and having a peaceful relationship with others, are all benefits of attunement. Attunement also allows one to be at peace with oneself and allows others to help their fellows in healing and recovery.
Attunement begets attunement. Suppose one realizes that as a fellow, a partner, and one care, that person will also learn to be attuned with you and other people. The result would be having a stronger bond and creating stronger ties with others. They will practice attunement themselves and take cognizance of others too.
Conclusion
The simplicity of the term “attunement” belies how deep and meaningful it is in our daily lives. It is a term pregnant with meaning. If practiced, it could lead to significant changes in our lives for the better. It could lead to better relationships and better understanding. Most of us can avoid unnecessary conflict and friction in relationships.
Since the last century, the concept has never been out of fashion. Conflict is unavoidable, but it can be made manageable. We can mitigate, if not eradicate, its adverse effects. The key is to understand others by putting ourselves in their position.
And this is what attunement promotes, and this is its promise. At least on the personal and professional level, attunement is one of the safest, surest bets to deliver the goods.
Attunement