Listening

Dean A. Banks
There is a difference between hearing, listening and accepting what you hear and intently listen to as true. We can hear the rustle of the leaves in the wind, listen to the still small voice of God within that external sound and accept what that experience is doing to create thoughts in our minds and beliefs in our hearts.

If we choose... not to hear what people are saying we can remove ourselves from their chatter, put in earplugs or tune them out. If we choose not to listen to them we can think about other things, replay experiences in our minds or concentrate on what we are going to say or do next. If we choose not to accept what others believe we can argue with them, ignore them or simply let them be.

Whichever method we choose will be a learning experience for both of us. It will teach us to respect or disrespect others’ viewpoints, understand or not understand their beliefs and react or pro-act as a result. We all have different perspectives that when exchanged can generate conflict, posturing or apathy.

Whether we hear, listen or accept what others say is not as important as listening to what the still small voice of God reveals to us. The Divine order guides us with the Divine agenda of manifesting our purpose, unfettered by what others think, believe and do. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.
We must slow down to a human tempo
and we’ll begin to have time to listen.Thomas Merton
Reframing (repeating in your own words what the speaker has said) helps to understand and really hear the speaker. This can create clarity, joining & gratitude between everyone present.