One Minister's Musings - Listening

There are so many ways that we can listen. The most obvious may seem to be hearing, but we can and do listen without the sense of hearing. Listening is deeper, it is feeling the heartbeat, the drumming of life, it is the awareness that around us is not a null universe but one that is vibrating and pulsing with life. An acquaintance, who is hearing impaired, shared that there are sounds that they cannot hear, but feel in the deepest part of their soul

Deep Listening is “hearing” behind the obvious and encountering something at a more profound level. The ancient wise ones knew this well, sound is not one that is heard, but felt in the deepest part of the soul.

Listening is a holy thing, yet to listen to one another and ourselves we must create a moment to still the busyness and din of the world when we a moment to still ourselves and enter into the quietness of our souls. Within traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism the quieting of our souls allows us to then listen to the ways that the divine, the holy, that which empowers enlightenment can be encountered.

Within the Hindu tradition of Shiva, the music of the universe is all around us, Shiva plays, and connects the universe through embodied sound that unifies us all. Within Buddhism is a call to quiet the mind to listen deeply for the enlightenment. Judaism, calls us to “be still and know I am God.” The early Christian mystics went out in search of the quiet so that they could listen deeply for the voice of God.

The writer Parker Palmer uses the phrase “let your life speak’ in his book entitled the same. I n it he identifies that voice and vocation are rooted in the same etymology. He reminds us that we need to listen deeply to our inner selves to “hear” the voice of our best self as we choose our vocation and pursue our life goals. Of course, life goals do not end when we retire from our vocations, our internal self continues to speak with the wisdom of ages as to how we can continue to develop and grow.

It is when we listen deeply, we can hear the songs of our souls which can bring enlightenment to our hearts.

When is a time that you felt listened to? There are many times when someone will hear what I say, but listening is different. Listening is entering into the space of another and having empathy and presence. It is seeing beyond the words to the heart. Deep listening is not mind reading, but it is using all of our selves to be present with another.

I invite you to think back for a moment, when you last felt listened to, when you felt deeply heard. The assumption is that we must have another person with us so that we can listen, but when we practice the spiritual discipline of deep listening, we can hear the spark of wisdom within ourselves and “hear” the ways that the universe is present with us.

Thank you for taking time to listen to my musings, I hope you find blessings this and every day.