Like Breathing, We Do This!

Dear Friends!

I'm writing a series of articles on listening.

Starting with the subtle and then moving into practices with others.

I will be offering a free class to practice in early December, so keep your eyes open for that if interested!

Listening.

Is similar to breathing.

I had this aha moment while lying on the floor doing a feldenkrais lesson, on breathing, last Sunday morning, as rain was drizzling down, in my usually sun-kissed neck of the woods.

Both listening and breathing occur whether we are conscious of the act or not.

I paused the recording to jot it down. I was bowled over in the moment. Had never made that particular connection before.

Lying back and pressing play, I was brought more fully into the body as a breathing, listening, sensing being. As I offered my attention to my breath I simultaneously noted the voice of my teacher floating with the inhale, pause, exhale, pause, practice.

It's got me full of wondering!

Listening.

It's there in the womb.

In our interconnectivity to the heartbeat, the blood and body of our Mother.

It is awake even when our eyelids quiver and rest, sleepfulness rises.

It's here in this moment. As I write. And now with you as you read.

It's nuanced.

Loud and quiet and gradient and...

Haunting, mysterious and created and...

A felt sense.

Through the cochlea.

The hairs that rise on the back of our necks.

Evoking emotionality.

The cellular memory of sound that lives through the body.

The whispered sounds of golden aspen leaves quaking.

Inviting listening into our conscious awareness can evolve our relationship with living.

Is it a touchstone of well-being, an edge of growth, an unexplored possibility?

Oh yes, I believe so!

And perhaps unlike breathing, it can also be intrusive, consumptive, agitating -- without our full awareness that it is.

Simple and, oh so complex.

How we listen. Who. When. What. Where. How we learned. Values placed. Equity and expansive. What is evoked and revealed. What is silence. How it reverberates. Inner and outer. More than human and not.

So much unknown about.

So much to unfurl, peel back, examine and begin anew.

So much possibility in this quality, a part of us that is often overlooked and undervalued. (It's less visible that speaking isn't it!?)

Small and mighty lets call it.

And cull it.

Together! And apart.

Want to join in?

Start with this simple practice:

A few times a day, take a pause, a few minutes. (you may need to schedule it in your calendar!)

Bring your listening to your consciousness. What have you been listening to? Then, do a little body scan. How do your shoulders feel, the muscles in your face, your chest, and so on. See if there is a connection between what you've been listening to and no tension, or yes tension, in your body.

Also, ask yourself how your thoughts and feelings are? Are there connections to what's been heard?

Play with this most days this week. A mini practice. Make note of the effects; what, and who, and when, and how you listened. How does it effect (obvious or subtle) the energy you bring to your home, your work, the world and people around you?

That's it for now.

To cultivating wonder,

Carol

P.S. The Unheard of Listening Online Course check it out!!

P.S.S. Sit in a quiet space or lie on the floor and listen to this. Notice and observe.