INSPIRATION
ing. When we “suspend self” as the listener, we are
able to truly take in the speaker’s message without filtering the incoming content and emotion
through our own listening barriers.
Being “present” is a simple concept, yet difficult
to achieve. Being present is the act of being in the
present moment in our mind and body, not thinking about the past or future, but being in the moment with the person we are listening to. We are
not wishing to be somewhere else. Being present
means practicing self-control. It means suppressing the urge to convey our own thoughts. It means
focusing, not on ourselves, but concentrating on
understanding what the other has to say and how
they are saying it. We need to stop talking! As difficult as that may be sometimes, not talking can
move a conversation forward because the speaker gets a chance to develop and finish a complete
thought. It is amazing what we can learn about
people’s lives, what motivates them, what they
know, and what they are passionate about if we
just listen.
L
eslie Shore is an expert in
the surprising and exhilarating power of listening. As the
owner of the consultancy
Listen to Succeed, Leslie has
worked with corporations,
nonprofits, entrepreneurs,
health professionals, and educational institutions to up-level their intra-personal and
inter-personal communication skills. Her
book, Listen to Succeed: How to identify
and overcome barriers to effective listening, is currently used in four universities.
Website: www.ListenToSucceed.com
53 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW
Eckhart Tolle, in Stillness Speaks, says it wonderfully, “Far more important than what you are listening to is the act of listening itself, the space of
conscious presence that arises as you listen. That
space is a unifying field of awareness in which you
meet the other person without the separative barriers created by conceptual thinking. And now the
other person is no longer “other.” In that space,
you are joined together as one awareness, one
consciousness.”
Being present is no easy task. It requires taking our
ego out of the conversation and keeping our reactive mind under control. However, the brain is an
amazing muscle that can be trained and strengthened. In the coming months I encourage you to
become aware of when you are present in a conversation and when your mind – and listening – is
wandering, When you notice your mind wandering,
you can take action by pushing aside for the moment what you are thinking about, and get back to
listening fully.