About listening, Chuang-Tzu
"The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you, that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind."
Chuang-Tzu
I love this quote, it points to the opportunity that listening can provide. Ordinarily we listen to someone with our minds, comparing our past experience to theirs, formulating a response, considering how what we say may affect our listeners. In Shared Witnessing, we can simply listen to others with no need to respond, consider or even think. Listening can become a entirely different experience where we witness others in the same spaciousness that we witness ourselves. Listening in this way is a great gift to give and receive.
Chuang-Tzu
I love this quote, it points to the opportunity that listening can provide. Ordinarily we listen to someone with our minds, comparing our past experience to theirs, formulating a response, considering how what we say may affect our listeners. In Shared Witnessing, we can simply listen to others with no need to respond, consider or even think. Listening can become a entirely different experience where we witness others in the same spaciousness that we witness ourselves. Listening in this way is a great gift to give and receive.