A theme that keeps arising is the practice of listening: listening to that still, small voice that wants to care for me. Hearing does not mean listening. I hear often, but do I listen? Alas, no.

I have been looking at the process around listening. These are the questions I’m playing with: “What is listening?” “How do I know when listening (or not listening) is happening?” “What do I want to listen to?” “Why do I want to listen?” “What are the clues that ego is talking versus Life talking?” “What is happening when listening to ego?” “What is the payoff there?” A part of the looking is noticing the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that happen around listening and not listening, and anything else that shows up.

A significant shift happened several months ago during one of our fabulous workshops when raw and deep emotional anguish was sincerely expressed and the human was embraced with understanding and unconditional love. I have consistently been resistant to the listening part of Recording and Listening (R/L). I love R/L and have seen and felt the power of it but have also been kept from practicing it because of its power. Ego wants none of that power for the human. Since the workshop, I have been practicing listening to my own life experiences, which must include the things that ego tells me should be rejected, repressed and ignored. When the human gets ignored, listening to Life becomes difficult.

Something else I have seen – there can be no beatings! When the beatings stop, Life is right there listening and ready to guide. 

Gasshō.

Do you have a favorite R/L insight, idea, or practice tool? We’d love to hear it! Send us your favorite quick tip (75 words or less) or submit your idea for a blog post.