Spaces of Listening
When was the last time you intentionally entered a space to listen?
Was it a concert, a presentation, a conversation?
How often do you dedicate time in your day, week, month to entering spaces of listening?
What we ask of our nervous systems in repetition, we develop as adaptation, and this becomes part of how we show up in the world. In other words what we repeat becomes us, and we carry that energy and embodiment into the spaces we share. Have you noticed when one person pulls out their phone to check social media it often triggers the same response in you (or others in the space?) this is mirror neuron reaction and socialized responsiveness that we’ve been conditioned to practice mostly unconsciously, I would argue.
As someone who is deeply committed to helping my community show up for connection and exchange, to stretch and strengthen our muscles of connectivity. I beleive in reclaiming our ability to listen, to share, and feel and to transform with one another face-to-face, side-by-side, body-to-body.
What would our world feel like, if we gave the art of listening the same priority we give the art of appearing, or presenting?
How might our society transform if we chose to invest in spaces of human connection that centred listening, presence, and exchange?
My current day-job is one that supports the goal of creating meaningful networking and peer-learning experiences at conferences and events around the world. Essentially we make spaces for people to find each other through the noise and exchange ideas that inspire, educate and change them. This job wasn’t something I had ever envisioned for myself when I was studying music, meditation, yoga, or the science of sound. Yet still, somehow, the thread of listening and paying attention are still through-lines to the impact that I’m stewarding.
As a space holder, I am deeply curious about what happens when we create the contexts for human beings to show up and connect with one another through intentional presence. What I’ve been most interested in since shifting into a more corporate application of my skillset, is noticing how no matter how dry or transactional the model may have previously been, when we offer slight tweaks and adjustments that prioritize intention and safety we can dive into a deeper form of exchange quite easily. Fundamentally we all crave and are seeking the same basic things: to feel like we are seen, heard and belong. When we feel these things come into alignment, we let our guards down, experience human connection and leave transformed by our shared time with each other.
And guess what? When we make the same agreements and practice this way of showing up regularly, it becomes more natural to us as we remember a deeply human part of ourselves that gets muted or muffled through instant messaging and short format memeified content brain-streams.
In my workshops, and through my facilitation, I aim to create ground rules for listening: to our bodies, to our innate desires and wisdom, and to each other. Actively. Intentionally. Without judgement, rooted in curiosity and support. I believe these are basic human traits that we all know how to do, we just need spaces in which to practice.
So I invite you to think about this as you step into spaces, and make them for yourself.
What would help you listen more actively, more deeply and how might that change you?