Thursday 18 June 2015

Listening and Eavesdropping


This Series carries the title: “Peter and Paul”. I introduced it to distinguish between the Many who are called, and the (very) Few that are chosen. Since my first blog, inspired by a book I’d just written, I concluded that we alone decide which of us want to be chosen from amongst the many that are called. Later I noticed that in additional to all who were called but didn’t really listen, hence never became the Few, there still remained the vast majority who had never even heard the ‘call’. After all, to hear the call we all must, first and foremost, listen.

To recap…
Peter (Simon Peter, Simeon, Simōn) had a distinct advantage. He had learned the art of listening. Of course, he had someone with authority to whom he’d chosen to listen. He listened in silence.
Not so with Paul (also known as Saul of Tarsus). Following a single vision, he engaged in wide-ranging dialogues with colleagues, strangers, men in the street. Gradually he developed his own philosophy, which he tried to spread amongst many nations on his extensive travels. But as much as he listened, he also talked. And when he talked, he couldn’t listen as well.
And there’s the rub. You cannot have it both ways.

I’ve learned that if one wants to really understand what someone is saying, one must give the speaker undivided attention—not just ponder how one would respond, but really listen. Simon Peter did that, and he became the Rock.
This ability to really listen bears unexpected side-effects. You learn to listen to your body; then to your emotions, then to your thoughts and finally to the silent voice which whispers in your Unconscious.
All our bodies—the physical, emotional and mental—communicate with us if we only give them our ear, and only if we really listen without imposing on all three knowledge acquired from other people, from books, or schooling. Such external dialogues have their place, but they are no substitute for the knowledge that lies deep within each one of us. Where it rests dormant, waiting to be discovered. To be listened to.

You’ll have to discover this for yourself. I’d suggest setting aside ten minutes every day, preferably at the same time. Every day. To just listen.
 Do NOT miss as single day!
I read countless books on a tremendous variety of subjects. And then in a moment of relaxation, I began eavesdropping on whatever it was that whispered within my psyche.
Since I retired from my profession, this resulted in more than thirty fiction and non-fiction books, dealing with the potential that seems to be fulminating within us. I had no idea where those ideas originated. I can only be sure that they did not come from outside. They reach me from within, where they seem to hover, waiting to be discovered.  

I wonder what ideas, thoughts, and emotions you’ll experience in your eavesdropping. They might surprise both you and me. Let me know. 




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3 comments:

  1. This is a very good call to action- or rather inaction. One small niggling question. You say your inner fulminations do not come from 'outside'. While I concur with your inner knowledge as the springboard to your creativity do you not see that as being one of the 'Few'? Chosen?

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    1. Of course. You and you alone decide to be among the 'chosen' few. A year or two of daily contemplation, you can call it "quiet" or "listening" time, will tempt you to pursue this method further and result in amazing discoveries. Regrettably most people choose to rely on external input, though only inner knowledge can assert their individuality, hence they remain among the Many, if not in the '"Third Party". The method also sheds new light on what is already "out there".

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  2. Precisely! The inner is the outer without the vacillation of the intellect, merely makes it a discerning tool!

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