Listening between the lines

For most of my life, I’ve been a good listener. I didn’t think about being one, I just am. I mean, I don’t try to listen, I just do. I came to this realization when someone pointed this out to me: 

“You are a good listener.” 

In my mind, I was just being me. 

After reflecting on it, I realized it was a habitual intention. I imagined then how attentive I can be by consciously intending to listen not just from my ears, but also from my heart and soul. 

Suddenly, I heard so much more than the surface words that entered the language centers of my left brain. 

I realized that the connection of the words processed by the left side of my brain and the present moment experience of my right brain made for an ability to listen and connect with the words and the energy behind the communication. 

I started to connect the pieces of what I observed and heard through multiple senses - sight, sound, feeling and intuition. 

I believe we have this capacity to tap into the language and feeling centers of our brain. The verbal and non-verbal. I also believe that conscious listening intention is the key to connecting the missing pieces underneath the words, within the silence. 

It is with heightened awareness to listen and be present that transforms relationships, encounters and the pure experience of living to a fulfilling, happy and present life.

Now, here are the challenges: awareness & belief. 

Being aware of how we are listening and believing there’s more to what’s being said.  Often I find that people listen to their own thoughts with such concentration, that the message behind the words they hear from others, the silence they sense is lost in the thoughts of their own inner critic. 

The capacity to listen between the lines - to the connections in sight, sound, feeling and intuition - from the inside out is a skill. It is a strength. It is a gift. 

For many of us, it needs to be exercised like a muscle that loses its tone with inactivity. 

With enhanced listening, we tune into the sounds, feelings and unseen messages that come with words, gestures and a language expressed, between the lines of the spoken word.