International Listening Association

LISTENING AND SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION
The earliest Jesuit missionaries made it a point to enter new locations and not speak for approximately 6 months. Instead, they listened. They recognized the importance of understanding where the other was before attempting to educate.

The metaphor of the word of the Lord also expresses what discernment essentially is. “The word of the Lord came to me, saying. . .” is a favored image among many of the biblical prophets. The word of God is creative, energetic, enlightening, fruitful, lifegiving (Is 55:10–11). The prophet’s gift and task is to have a disciple’s ear (Is 50:4–5) to receive the word of the Lord in whatever context God chooses to speak; to distinguish between the genuine word of God and what cleverly but deceitfully masquerades as God’s word; to read the circumstances of everyday life through the lens of God’s word; to act upon the word and to recall the people to fidelity to it. To be unable or unwilling to receive the word of the Lord is to deprive oneself of the source of life, goodness, wisdom, and creativity. Discernment, then, is the ability both to allow one’s own life to be formed and guided by the word of God, and to play an appropriate part in ensuring that this word also guides the life and shapes the structures of community (Lonsdale, 1992, 51).

“Spiritual direction is a ministry of care and support for another that focuses on the primacy of relationship with God” (Barry and Connolly, 1982). Originating in the first century predominately in the domain of priests, it evolved to its present form in the 15th Century as an ascetic discipline practiced by men and women in the Roman Catholic church…..Spiritual direction is now identified as a valid ministry for laity as well as religious leaders and is a popular practice with Protestants. The practice has also spread to the Jewish and Muslim faiths” (Tisdale, 2003). A key component of the ministry is listening.

Christian tradition emphasizes listening over transmitting. The first calling of disciples of Jesus Christ is to be good listeners, not speakers. ….Practically speaking, Christian educators should be quick to listen because without practicing listening well, they cannot love God or others - including students, parents, colleagues, constituencies, and communities” (Shultze, 4004).

“The effective group leader or counselor will be a person who learns how to listen to other people. By studying and employing these listening skills, church leaders will be able to engage others more compassionately, allowing them to feel that their needs are being met” (Savage, 1996).

“After almost a decade of facilitating dialogue groups, I realized that the art of listening was the main skill that was missing for most participants. From that very real need, I developed The Listening Center in California five years ago, at a time in my life when the connection between listening and the circle of life became clear to me in all it sacredness” (Lindahl, 2002).