It's Time To Listen With Your Heart

I can hear it now: “What? Listen with your heart?”… “That’s easy for YOU to say”…”What does she mean by THAT?” I am listening…these are great questions.

Since I am truly a life coach let’s explore the possible answers with more questions.
Have you ever paraphrased what someone has said and gotten it all wrong?
Or have you been certain you are quoting someone word for word only to find out you missed the most important word? Have you ever felt misunderstood, utterly unheard or ignored? How about this one; have you ever received a gift from a companion or friend that turned out to be the very thing you told him or her you DID NOT WANT? Have you ever forgotten important directions, dates or other information?
Have you ever had a twinge of pain somewhere in your thoughts or emotions that you ignored? And it didn’t go away rather it turned into a bigger pain lodged somewhere in your body? Have you ever pretended you could eat chocolate “this time” and not get a headache? Have you ever been mindlessly brushing your teeth too hard and whack yourself in the gums? I am sure there are fascinating psychological and neurological explanations for why this happens to many of us in one way or another. Perhaps the simple answer is that these communications were only heard rather than deeply listened to from the heart.
My Grandmother told me a long time ago that listening and hearing are different. She even scolded me once because I forgot something important about life. I forgot, she said, because I failed to listen with my heart. I am beginning to understand what she was trying to teach me. We hear with our ears and listen with our hearts. We hear sounds of nature, voices, and music, traffic and ring tones. We listen to creativity, vulnerability, harmony, possibility, love and intuition with our hearts. Listening from a place of stillness is a key to truly listening. When we listen for the unspoken message beneath the words, the potential for healing, the expression of love, the possibility for forgiveness, the humor, and the tension or pain within us we are connected to our vulnerability and our willingness to be alive in the present moment.
Listening with our hearts takes a willingness to create space, be receptive and connect because when we listen with our hearts connection is inevitable. Listening in this way is done with focus, intention and practice.

How do we focus?
Meditation or contemplation is a practice as ancient as life itself. When we meditate or contemplate regularly we learn to quiet the mind, calm the emotions and relax the body. In a sense we clarify our attention by allowing unwanted or unimportant thoughts to fall away from our inner vision, thus allowing us to focus on what is wanted and is important to us. We create space within ourselves to listen. We prepare our minds and our bodies to deeply connect. We can practice this mindfulness as we sit quietly, walk, and do housework.

How do we set intention?
Intentions are centered in the present moment when we recognize what we value and when we decide how we want to bring that into our lives. When we value connection and set an intention to listen with our hearts, we open ourselves to possibility, creativity and compassion. Setting Intention is a way to create a space for inspiration, support and empowerment.


How do we practice?
This is the fun part. We get to play a spiritual game of Telephone!
We practice by waking up each day and heading into our lives full tilt. Sometimes this calls for courage and that’s ok. Begin listening from the quiet, calm and relaxed place within. Begin listening to nature, music, a person, or your thoughts. When you listen ask yourself: When I listen with my mind what do I hear? When I listen with my heart what do I hear?
Where do I feel it in my body?
What makes me smile? Fearful?
How connected to this person, place, thought or Love do I feel?
Where is love expressing itself here?
How do I want to live in this moment?
What am I curious about?
What am I grateful for in this moment?
Consider writing your insights and gratitude in a journal. Share some with a close friend. If nothing emerges, practice some more later. Always remember, it is your choice.

Now what?
Recently I read about an interview with the physicist who is credited with discovering the subatomic particle called a quark, Murray Gell-Mann. He said something like (I am not quoting on purpose) discovering the quark was relatively easy, what to do with the discovery was the mystery. Learning to listen with your heart will be relatively easy. Becoming comfortable with deepening your connection to all of life may be a challenge. It is a challenge for many of us as we progress into the technology and reality of the 21st century. This is where we also get to practice compassion, asking for help and being available and vulnerable to those we care about. It is about connection really. Connection and love. A wise man once told me that the secret to a life well lived is Love.
I encourage you to listen with your heart to his words. Go now and listen for the love. May you enjoy a life well lived.

The true spirit of my work invites women of all ages
to The Circle of Life and into the power of Gentle Medicine.
Here they will experience the love, gratitude and relaxed personal power
that comes from gently accepting their humanity, realizing that all is as it is
simply because we choose to be alive.
By allowing the calmness that ensues to penetrate their resistance and fear they will open to the healing inherent in the mystery of life. Love will prevail.

To learn more contact Martha at www.CircleofLifeCoach.com