Soften and lean into the words being spoken. Listening, true, authentic whole-hearted listening is a skill. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they would teach the power of true listening in our schools! We would all move into the world a little wiser and kinder. Deep listening is when we have cultivated the ability to listen with complete awareness and presence, it is without comparison, judgement, expectation, or problem-solving.

We are continually offered distractions so listening is a skill set that has to be cultivated consciously. You can be light with it and choose to practice maybe one conversation a day, something as simple as ordering your morning coffee or asking someone how they are. When we can still ourselves long enough to do this, a different aspect of being emerges and not only do we connect to our innate wisdom, but the OTHER PERSON will begin to listen to their own words and have their own experience of inner wisdom and guidance rising to the surface. It’s subtle, but very powerful!

When working with students and clients I will just ask them to notice how they FEEL after talking to someone…do they feel inspired and uplifted, or  do they feel deflated, or even worse their own inner critique decided to join in the conversation. How you feel after talking with someone will reveal how deeply they were listening…if we have been truly heard with out judgement, overlayed filters of perception etc. we will know it…this is something that can only be experienced directly through the practice of deep listening and self-awareness…how are you silently responding to, and being responded to? One step at time we connect with life as it is, not as we wish it to be…and that gives rise to great strength, courage, wisdom, compassion and kindness ?