Listen
by Heather
“Listen” has been a recurring theme for me during meditation for probably the past couple of weeks now.
Listen … all is well. Listen … important. It’s important that you hear what we have to say–we can help you.
Listen–you will hear. Guidance, truth. Much you already know yourself.
Listen–that is the theme. Listen to guidance.
So today I thought I’d make a SoulCollage card to represent this theme.
I found it interesting, when I started looking for images for the card, that I couldn’t find any of people who were clearly listening. Now maybe that’s because our ears aren’t that mobile. Or maybe it’s because we’ve organized the world in such a way that our survival rarely depends on our listening skills.
In the wild, animals’ ability to survive depends on their ability to use their senses effectively–and listening is among the most important.
While we may be able to survive while barely listening, I do believe that the ability to listen well is key to our being able to thrive.
Today, I am listening.
About what matters 
Amen to that sweet thing! I will show my animal loving daughter your soul collage, she will adore it!
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It even has a deer 🙂 Thanks, Lisa–hope you’re both having a lovely day!
PS Just wanted to add, there’s SoulCollage for children, called MeCards4Kids (https://www.hanfordmead.com/product/how-make-mecards4kids%E2%84%A2-creative-expression-children-and-grownups-their-lives). I bet your daughter would love it, especially since she’s interested in oracle cards.
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Yes, that deer keeps popping up all over my world too. Wonderful, thank you so much for the link Heather!!!
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It’s interesting how most everyone has lots to say, but we’re not very good at stopping to listen to what others have to say. Listening and hearing aren’t the same thing. We need to hone our skills in the former.
Thanks for stopping by my site. Much appreciated!
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That’s true … it’s easy to get caught up in trying to get a word in edgewise, but listening is often more important–to others, and your own inner wisdom 🙂
Appreciate your stopping by as well 🙂
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This is a message I could use, my listening skills are pretty bad. My mind is always bouncing around
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Meditation has really helped me with that. It’s amazing how it can really change the way your mind functions.
I know you do yoga … I am thinking of starting. It’s been recommended to me to help with lower back pain, which I’ve recently started experiencing.
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I love yoga, I also practice the breathing exercises and they’ve improved my cardiovascular fitness more than cardiovascular activity! Sam has bought me some wonderful new items for my yoga room. When we move I will have my own yoga room, I hope to practice meditation more regularly because I could certainly use it. I have only practiced on and off and here and there nothing too intense, partly because of my bad posture the pain gets rather intense. I am doing a lot of posture specific work right now and have found some new exercises I am excited about. PTSD is hell on your body.
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The breathing exercises sound really interesting! I don’t know if they are at all similar to breathwork? I love that you’re going to have a yoga room! How sweet of Sam to furnish it 🙂
When I meditate, I just do whatever I need to do to make myself comfortable, but I do find that I really need to be in a sitting position to do it. I don’t think a zafu is at all necessary though. Insight meditation also teaches making yourself comfortable. I sit on a sofa, chair, or TV pillow.
I hadn’t thought about it recently, but I used to startle very easily (PTSD), but those symptoms are really all gone now. I wish I knew exactly why! But I know progress is possible. I used to work with a couple of guys who’d been in Vietnam, and we were quite a trio when someone sneaked up on us.
I saw your comment earlier today when I was at work, and it was moving to think about the courage, effort, and persistence on the part of so many people to create healing for ourselves ❤
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Listening is such an incredible skill and way to understand and empathize — to more than just survive.
Your collage, your description of listening that came through your meditation, and the discussion you have with mindlovemisery are all display the art of listening by reading our thoughts, our spirits and the words of others.
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“The art of listening”–I love that! Thanks, phylor 🙂
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So beautiful Heather. I love being aroud animals. I learn so much. Listening is such an important skill. Sometimes humans are more focused on what is going on inside our minds and we miss out on so much. Thank you so much for this wonderful post. Your words and image are genius. ❤
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Oh, thank you ❤ I agree that we have so much to learn from animals. We flatter ourselves that we're more evolved, but sometimes it seems easier to find a pure, beautiful, open spirit in an animal than in a person! Climbing off the hamster wheel of our thoughts is a very good way to start being what many animals already are 🙂 Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment!
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