Listens2U.com

We’ve mentioned before that one of our core beliefs is that being heard is valuable. We are here to hear you, to support you in your journey to discover your inner truth.

We feel listening is important because there are so many times when it can be a struggle to be heard. Think about the last time you tried to talk to your boss. Did he or she interrupt, say you shouldn’t worry, not take your concerns seriously? Or did you get the “look-engaged-until-they-stop-talking” routine they teach in management seminars?

How about your last doctor’s appointment? Studies have shown that while patients need an average of about two minutes to tell their story, doctors let them speak for about 20 seconds before interrupting. The result? After the visit, the doctor and the patient have very different interpretations of why the patient was there — nearly 50 percent of the time. The doctor wasn’t listening; the patient wasn’t heard.

Let us know about a time when you felt you weren’t heard. We’re here to listen.

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What is the difference between hearing and listening? Hearing is the physical act of perceiving sound. Listening is the intellectual act of perceiving meaning. For true communication to occur, we must be willing to do both.

The words “communication” and “communion” share obvious roots. To fully share with another person, to actually “hear where they’re coming from,” we need to set aside everything else. Not just the smartphone and the TV and the to-do list, but also the mental filters that we all have constructed from personal experience and unexamined assumptions.

Information that agrees with our built-in filters finds an easy path into our brains. Input that challenges what we think we know about the world — and ourselves — has a more difficult time getting through. That’s why truly listening to and understanding another person can be hard work.

It’s not hard to pass judgment on the words someone says, point out their “errors” or tell them what to do, and move on. It is much more challenging to listen intentionally to the meaning behind the words, to keep an open mind and an open heart that allows their search for their own truth to unfold. When we speak, we should acknowledge the value of their ideas and encourage further revelations.

How do we know we have really listened to another person? It can be a transformational experience. Both speaker and listener feel uplifted, inspired, connected on a deeper level — a true communion.

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