DEEP LISTENING
“Listening is not a reaction, it is a connection.”-Ursula Le Guin
Most of the time we underestimate the importance of deep listening. We know that each word we speak creates our world. We know that by the things we say we are casting spells and thus creating our reality. But each word we hear also informs and connects us to our world.
Our capacity for insight depends on the quality of our listening.
With deep listening, we can be one step ahead of the moment. Deep listening, like a radar, senses the shape and the momentum of the present moment. When we are listened to, we respect the person who listens. When we listen carefully, we can read the intention and the conflicts in the speaker. Listening includes attention to all the senses. We “hear” the nonverbal messages and “feel” the context of the communication.⠀
Within my offering of The Circle, I encouraged my apprentices to practice listening. Too often as women, when incited for guidance or advice, our natural response is to share what worked for us but then also go on and on about our own story and how we got to that point. Energetically speaking, what we are doing, is projecting ourselves onto their situation and making the story about us.
When people ask for advice, it is not up to us to give them the exact steps, the exact sequence of events, or to break down the process - that is for them to experience in their own way. Just as you have your own unique experience, they will too and it is important that they navigate life from that space to learn the lessons they are meant to take in at this time. By choosing to share the important conclusions/lessons from our experience rather than oversharing the entirety of the story is allowing the person who sought out the advice to put the pieces together and apply what they feel will work for their lives. And with the practice of deep listening, we ensure that we are holding space for them, allowing them to express their feelings without judgement and clear of your projection. We invite them to hear their own stories as they share them with us.
A Woman’s energy is incredibly powerful and we have the ability to summon whatever we want into our lives. When a Woman works with her own biological energy, connects with the elemental energy around her, and tunes into her intuition and inner guidance, she can reweave her surroundings and change her reality. The guidance, the answers, the path you seek are already within you.
Always remember that listening to and following your heart will always positively affect the evolution of humanity, far beyond your understanding.⠀
This week, and throughout this fiery Aries season, I invite you to practice deep listening. Although it may feel counterintuitive to the fast paced boldness that is the Aries energy, deep listening is the tool that we can harness to navigate whatever obstacles arise in this ever changing, ever evolving life we lead. By practicing deep listening, we allow ourselves to tune inward and we empower our inner self to find the answers and make the choices that are right for us.
Deep listening is an ongoing, life-long practice and is a subject that is part of maintaining and sustaining healthy boundaries because listening to ourselves and others, we are invited to go within, to connect to our intuition, and increase the faith in ourselves. On May 8, I am holding a Workshop called The Art of Boundaries. In this three hour Workshop we will define boundaries, discuss why they are important, and learn how to sustain and respect them in your life.
In order to establish healthy boundaries in our own lives, we must allow ourselves to look inward, to create the time and space to listen to the whispers of our souls. Take the time to slow down, look within.
I have been a seeker, and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars, and I started listening to the teachings of my Soul. I have come to learn that true magick comes from looking inward.
-Brooke