In the pursuit of being the very best versions of ourselves, important questions need to be answered… How do we get there?… How do we unleash our enormous potential?… Is there a secret that has been passed down through time, that we have somehow overlooked?… If so, what is it?…
There is much talk of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, and rightly so… If we really are to discover our better angels, then we unquestionably need these three giants… Alongside these, an honest heart, gratitude, and humility… They are obvious members of this divine community… And surely, if we walk with them by our sides, our destination is assured… Failure simply wouldn’t be an option… And yet this list is incomplete without the jewel in the crown… Listening…
Listening is first and foremost amongst these wonderful qualities and attributes… Because without listening, none of them can be attained… It is easy to talk of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness… And to have the desire to be honest, humble, and grateful… But how do we attain these things if they are missing?… How do we develop them if we feel insufficient and inadequate?… Can we really attain these things simply because we will them into our beings?… The evidence suggests not… It’s not enough to want to change… or to be tired of one’s reality… These can be catalysts, and may even take us some of the way… But in and of themselves they are not enough…
The terrain of positive change has many peaks, valleys, and undulations… There is also much inclement weather that can greet us on our path… So, if we are ill-prepared for that journey, then we will struggle to meet the challenges… What is it that can prepare us for the unexpected?… What is it that can ensure our passage through the unpredictable terrain?… Nothing does the job better than listening…
We have to practise listening in… So that we can hear what is going on inside of us, and pick up the clues and the insights that are laid down before us every day… Our consciousness is a cosmos all of its own… Every bit as vast, beautiful, complex, and fascinating as the external cosmos… It’s a world of mystery and magic, and in the ether of its metaphysical currents, there is much to know and understand… But without listening, we remain outsiders… Unable to share in its secrets…
These secrets are not denied us… But unless we practise listening in, we are not privy to those conversations which hold the secrets that would truly set us free, and provide us with the compass to ensure we reach our highest destinations… So, if you want to unleash your enormous potential and make conscious contact with the best version of yourself, it is time to practise listening in… So let us experience that now…
Focus on your breath… Don’t try to change it in any way… Let it rise and fall of its own accord, following its own pattern and rhythm… Simply be an observer… Do this for a little while…
Now, say in your mind…
I breathe my way out of confusion and despair… I breathe my way out of anxiety and fear… I breathe my way out of my prejudices and negative judgements… I breathe my way out of my patterns and limitations… I breathe my way out of guilt and shame… I breathe my way out of my mistakes and regrets… I breathe my way out of the past and my unwanted habits… I breathe my way out of pain and discomfort…
I breathe my way into a calm, peaceful place… I breathe my way into silence and insight… I breathe my way into love and contentment… I breathe my way into kindness and compassion… I breathe my way into composure and clarity… I breathe my way into knowledge and wisdom… I breathe my way into courage and confidence… I breathe my way into my higher nature and most beautiful self…
My breathing takes me to an island within… A special place where I’m completely at ease, unruffled, and in alignment with my environment… It’s a place where peace resonates through my whole being… And an overwhelming sense of contentment envelops me…
From this place, I can hear the whispers of my heart… I am connected to the silence in such a beautiful way, that the inaudible becomes audible… Without any conscious effort I can hear that which has not been previously heard… I can hear those things that have tried to get my attention, and I’ve been too busy, or I’ve not sufficiently prioritised them… And so their message has drifted away from me. Now, I can hear them… Catch them… Hold them…
Not only do I hear the messages… I can feel them reverberating through me… The messages become three-dimensional… I hear them, I feel them, and I can even see them… It’s amazing how that which I have not previously heard is now like a choir, expressing its beautiful sound, which is reverberating within the walls of a sacred space… I am moved in such a special way… There is something rising up from deep within my soul… A crescendo of emotion… Connecting me to all that which had not been previously heard… Not been previously felt… Not been previously seen…
I feel completely alive… I feel completely connected… And I sit in this space for a while…
‘Listening in’ in this way is so very beautiful and sweet… I promise now to practise doing this as often as I can… I promise now to consciously connect in this way… I promise now to listen, not just with my ears, but with my heart and mind… I promise now to cultivate my meditative mind… I promise now to bring my attention and focus to each moment… I promise now not to ignore my inner world… I will seek its guidance… I promise now to use my moral compass to assist me on my path… I promise now to respect the virtues of silence and listen to her beautiful sound… I promise now to keep trying to be the best version of myself…
I breathe my way out of confusion and despair… I breathe my way out of anxiety and fear… I breathe my way out of my prejudices and negative judgements… I breathe my way out of my patterns and limitations… I breathe my way out of guilt and shame… I breathe my way out of my mistakes and regrets… I breathe my way out of the past and my unwanted habits… I breathe my way out of pain and discomfort…
I breathe my way into a calm peaceful place… I breathe my way into silence and insight… I breathe my way into love and contentment… I breathe my way into kindness and compassion… I breathe my way into composure and clarity… I breathe my way into knowledge and wisdom… I breathe my way into courage and confidence… I breathe my way into my higher nature and most beautiful self…
My breathing takes me to an island within… A special place where I’m completely at ease, unruffled, and in alignment with my environment… It’s a place where peace resonates through my whole being… And an overwhelming sense of contentment envelops me…
Now you have had a taste of listening in, make some time each day to develop this habit further… The more you listen in, the more as you listen to others and to what’s going on in the world, the more insight and understanding you will accrue…
So, remember, listening is the jewel in the crown…
Listening is the jewel in the crown…
