The Art of Listening

Since we were very young we’ve been taught in school primary forms of communication. When we were in elementary school, we learned how to read and write. High school and college level we learn how to speak for presentations and public forums such as debate class, but have you ever taken a class in “Listening”?

Brene Brown in her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection” mentions the different styles of listening:
1) Spacing Out
2) Pretend Listening
3) Selective Listening
4) Word Listening
5) Self Centered Listening (Judging)

As Brene Brown says very well is “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” Can you see from the list above, which listening style are you? Does is work for you?

There are millions of Americans today spending their hard earned money on therapists just to listen to them on a weekly basis. What does that tell us? Maybe we all need to polish up on our listening skills?
However, it’s also telling us that we are not listening enough to ourselves. One of the greatest ways to do this is through meditation.

When we quiet our body and mind for a deliberate amount of time per day, we can quieten, slow down our thought process and receive all the solutions to a more fulfilled life just by allowing ourselves to listen. The answers to everything comes through in the form of our intuition, a knowing that has been inside all of us all of the time – we just haven’t been listening!

When we become better listeners to ourselves, we are also better listeners for everyone around us. Doesn’t it feel great when you know someone is truly listening and understanding you? Don’t you feel more connected to that person on a deeper level? This is how you feel about yourself too when you allow yourself some alone time, to quieten your mind and go within.

Some of us feel that we don’t know what our purpose is? But most of the time it’s because we haven’t spent enough time alone to listen to ourselves in silence. When you listen quietly, the judgment of oneself goes away too, leaving you open to ask questions such as “who am I?” “what do I want?” “what makes me happy?” If you go deep enough to listen, the answers will emerge!
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Embrace silence and enjoy peace.