The Sacred Art of Listening

by Kay Lindahl

a review by John Gilbert

The Sacred Art of Listening by Kay Lindahl (ISBN 1-893361-44-6) is published by Skylight Paths Publishing and available at $16.95 from your local bookseller or through the publisher. A companion book Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening by the same author and publisher is also currently available.

The subtitle of this book is Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice. But this book is really about forty different techniques for improving our communication skills through effective and loving listening. It's about listening for the feelings behind the words, feelings that are often hidden, feelings that are important to the speaker.

Each chapter takes only a few minutes to read. Many of us will be tempted to spend a few minutes reading about each technique and quickly move on with our lives. This strategy probably won't yield as much benefit as following the guidelines set down by the author. By following these guidelines each chapter tales about fifteen minutes to read and understand. Then during the day be on the lookout for practicing this skill with another person.

The other person won't know what you're doing and probably could care less. What matters is you know what you're doing and your listening skills are in the process of helping you become a more effective communicator - a more effective person. And as you move through these forty lessons you have more and more opportunities to think about listening in a different way. You also have the opportunity to feel differently about listening.

I've decided listening is a spiritual skill and a spiritual practice. Through applying these techniques one by one in my life, it seems to me other people do treat me with more respect. It also seems to me these same people feel better about themselves and more empowered when they communicate with me. I'm convinced this is so and I'm convinced this is a spiritual practice. Listening does seem to bring me closer to other people, with myself and with Deity.

Find the time to practice these techniques daily and see for yourself.

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