Listening with Presence
Listening with Presence
Give thine ears, hear what is said, give the mind to interpret them. ─ Teaching of Amenemope
When I'm fast asleep, the look of imagination on my face is a blank stare. Sadly, that blank stare can happen when I'm listening to someone that I'm talking to. In brief, that oh-too-familiar stare means I'm not listening. I'm not there; I'm not in the room with whom I'm supposedly engaging.
My senses, like hearing, operate mechanically whether I am there or not. My ears are recording audible sounds constantly, while I am in the waking state and even some sounds in first state. My eyes are taking in thousands of visual impressions at any moment, whether I am seeing them or not. My skin feels the breeze or blowing fan and the temperature and humidity in my surroundings, whether I acknowledge the sensations or not. My senses operate all the time, and I am more or less aware of them. This is the plight of living most of the time in a lower state of consciousness. And, unfortunately, my absence or lack of listening limits my experience and deafens my interactions with others.
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. ─ Brenda Ueland
Brenda Ueland authored a provocative essay in the 1930s called “Tell Me More” about the potential of really listening. Her clever essay appeared years before pop-management gurus started describing “active listening.” She astutely observed that when we truly listen, the magic starts. Active listening is now a buzzword, and while it is a good thing, one that I would encourage, I also know that there is an even higher form of hearing or listening.
Hearing depends upon how awake one is. ─ The Teacher
That higher form is being present to the person with whom one is speaking, to being present at what the person is saying to us. When I am alive to the moment, I not only hear the words and the audible sounds; I am aware of another person in front of me while also being aware of my Self as listener. When I achieve that level of detachment and attention, I am a true listener. I am a conscious listener. The magic starts.
He listens well who puts into practice what he hears. ─ Dante Alighieri
Stela of the Hearing Ear, Egyptian Dynasties 22-26 (46-525 BCE)
Comments