The Healing Power of Listening
Can a sympathetic ear actually heal some illnesses?
[Disclaimer: This is not intended as a cure to Covid 19 or other viral diseases.]
Some years back, a very good friend of mine told me a story of how one of her classmates thanked her for healing her asthma.
[Yes, I’m having an asthma attack right now, hence, the memory and the connection. But I digress.]
She was taken aback, surprised. She told her classmate, “But what did I do? I just listened to you!”
The Science of Deep Listening
Turned out she had been her sounding board for her fears, worries, and whatever. Whenever her friend needed someone to talk to, she was available to listen.
Note that word: listen.
But mind you: not just listening with her ears, but with her heart.
Psychology calls this “deep listening.”
My friend listened with genuine care and concern for her classmate’s plight or ramblings, not uttering a word unless she was asked. She let her talk out her anxieties, which calmed her nerves, pacified and cleared her mind, and eventually, her lungs.
In hearing out her emotional turmoil and unburdening them, her classmate’s physical body responded positively as well.
Learning the Art of Deep Listening
Too often, when someone reaches out to us with their problems or concerns, we automatically think they need our well-meaning advice. But maybe, sometimes, they just need us to listen. To listen without judging, without malicious intent, without pretense.
“Deep listening is a skill that can be learned, but only with the sincere intention of practicing it from the heart. It cannot be faked. When you have a profound desire to fully understand the other person, deep listening becomes second nature.”
We Can Be Healers
Listening in depth and with empathy is scientifically proven to be a crucial element in healing.
Through deep listening, we can actually become healers without drugs or medical equipments. We only need to have time and patience.
Most of all, we only need to have a heart.
Imagine that.
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