def connections( self, cls = None ):
        """
        Returns a list of connections from the scene that match the inputed
        class for this node.
        
        :param      cls | <subclass of XNodeConnection> || None
        
        :return     [<XNodeConnection>, ..]
        """
        scene = self.scene()
        if ( not scene ):
            return []
        
        if ( not cls ):
            cls = XNodeConnection
        
        output = []
        for item in scene.items():
            if ( not isinstance(item, cls) ):
                continue
            
            if ( item.inputNode() == self or item.outputNode() == self ):
                output.append(item)
        
        return output