The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice

By Kay Lindahl

Hearing and listening are two different things.
Learning to listen—really listen—requires sacred practice.

The Sacred Art of Listening guides you through forty practices of deep listening—to our Source, to ourselves, and to each other.

Inspiring text and contemplative artwork combine to communicate the three essential qualities of deep listening—silence, reflection, and presence. They demonstrate that the key to healthy relationships and spiritual transformation can be as basic as practicing the art of listening.

You will learn how to:

• Speak clearly from the heart
• Communicate with courage and compassion
• Heighten your awareness and sensitivity to opportunities for deep listening
• Enhance your ability to listen to people with different belief systems

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Mar 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781594734168

Kay Lindahl

Kay Lindahl, the founder of The Listening Center in Long Beach, California, is author of How Does God Listen?; Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening: A Guide to Enrich Your Relationships and Kindle Your Spiritual Life; and The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice. She is co-editor of Women, Spirituality and Transformative Leadership: Where Grace Meets Power.

Book preview

This book is dedicated

to the flow of Spirit

through all forms of art

and to the possibility

of Listening

as a key to peace

in the world.

Contents

Part One: THE BEGINNING

Your Invitation

The Circle of Life

Part Two: PRACTICING THE SACRED ART OF LISTENING

1. Qualities of Deep Listening

Listening for essence

2. A Sacred Art

Listening as spiritual awareness

3. Using Silence

Listening to access your stillpoint

4. Learning from Experience

Listening for new possibilities

5. Communion

Listening to communicate

6. Rituals

Listening for meaning

7. Dialogue or Discussion

Listening for context

8. Seeking Common Ground

Listening to appreciate

9. Common Values

Listening for connection

10. Presence

Listening from your heart

11. Conversations of the Heart

Listening for soul

12. Creating Safe Spaces

Listening with love

13. Self-expression

Listening with humility

14. Practicing Peace

Listening to understand

15. Creating Harmony

Listening for integration

16. Delving Deeper

Listening for insight

17. Simple Sharing

Listening for experiences

18. Love in Action

Listening as caring

19. Hearing Nuances

Listening for each voice

20. Slowing Down

Listening to reflect

21. The Voice Within

Listening for change

22. Assumptions

Listening for clarity

23. Learning from Passion

Listening for vision

24. Contemplative Prayer

Listening for guidance

25. The Agenda-free Conversation

Listening with openness

26. Cultural Differences

Listening without prejudice

27. Attention

Listening for perspective

28. Hospitality

Listening as a gift

29. Focus

Listening for the holy

30. Engage First

Listening beyond appearances

31. The Challenge of Change

Listening creatively

32. Relationships

Listening for deeper connections

33. The Gift of Solitude

Listening to the silence

34. Practicing Reflection

Listening for the questions

35. A Sacred Meeting Place

Listening through prayer

36. Recognizing Intolerance

Listening for your humanity

37. Patience

Listening with intention

38. Harvest Time

Listening with gratitude

39. Being Yourself

Listening with authenticity

40. Being Complete

Listening beyond the past

Part Three: IN CLOSING

Listening in Your World

Principles of Dialogue

How This Book Was Created

How the Art Was Created

Acknowledgments

Source Notes

About the Author

Copyright

Also Available

About SkyLight Paths

Part One

The Beginning

Your Invitation

My own first experiences with deep listening came about through the Alliance for Spiritual Community, a grassroots interfaith organization that I founded to promote mutual understanding and respect among people of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. I learned that the key to reaching these goals was to create a space where we could practice the art of dialogue. After almost a decade of facilitating dialogue groups, I realized that the art of listening was the main skill that was missing for most participants. From that very real need I developed The Listening Center in California in 1997, at a time in my life when the connection between listening and the circle of life became clear to me in all its sacredness.

The Listening Center creates a place where people learn the sacred art that is listening. We lead workshops, retreats, and classes around the world in our efforts to provide men and women with an experience of the value and importance of deep listening. Each person becomes a center for listening in his or her life. Deep listening cultivates a spiritual practice. This book engages you in this process.

You are invited to use The Sacred Art of Listening to create more peace, harmony, and love in your life and in the world. The pace of life today leaves little room for reflection and listening. The promise of this book is that you can learn to listen from the essence of your being by taking a few minutes a day for quiet time with your authentic self.

The thoughts and practices that follow are designed to expand your awareness and broaden your concept of listening. You will notice that listening as a sacred art calls forth your being in new ways. One of the greatest gifts we can give each other is the gift of our undivided attention—being present. It takes time to slow down the conversation, to include silence and reflection as well as speaking and listening.

To receive the most benefit from these teachings, I recommend using the guidelines below. They will help provide a format for you to establish a routine as you read each of the forty short chapters:

• Settle down in a quiet space.

• Slowly read one reflection.

• Gaze at the circle illustration for that reflection for a few minutes.

• Allow your mind to consider what you see and read from different perspectives.

• Notice where your heart leads you.

• Stay in the silence for a few minutes.

• Create a specific intention for improving your listening practice.

• Express gratitude for your experience.

The circle illustrations that Amy Schnapper created for The Sacred Art of Listening are designed to help you see the deep wisdom that lies within your own heart. There is no right or wrong way to look at the art. Rather, it is intended to engage you visually while you look into your own heart. Allow the art, the words, and the teaching to move slowly into your heart while you discover levels of spirit and connection you may have never accessed before.

These reflections will introduce you to listening beyond words. The subtitle for each reflection is the practice at work. Each provides you with an opportunity to think about listening in a new way. Notice the many layers of deep listening. For example, the title of the first reflection is Qualities of Deep Listening. The subtitle, or practice, is Listening for essence. The desired result of this practice is to make time each day to reflect on what it is to listen for essence and to practice doing it. You will soon experience that listening is far more than hearing words.

Listening as a sacred