Freddie Ravel
For our first official maiden voyage into FinerMinds, may I invite you to consider that you — whether you play or don’t play a musical instrument — are a walking, talking, living being that has music racing through you? Slow down, that’s right, slower and slower and let your mind gradually get still. That’s it: nice and easy.…..soon you will hear your breath and then with a bit more silence, feel the duet between your heart and breath. Like two eternal drummers within each of us, they make a dance that literally gives us our LIFE.
If you were able to do the above, you have taken the first step towards becoming a master listener. This skill is one of the most important tools for us to learn for it can have a sweeping affect on your work, relationships and most importantly, how you listen to yourself!
Becoming a Master Listener
Musicians who succeed in the world of making professional quality music are masterful at listening. The very nature of their profession requires that.
Can you imagine a musician surviving in a string quartet who is NOT listening to every nuance, note, tempo, tone, timbre and intention of his or her colleagues?
It even turns out that being a good listener is central to good health! In fact being a bad listener is really A HIDDEN HEART ATTACK TRIGGER!
Statistics Prove the Benefits of Listening
Fully half of all heart attack victims have absolutely NO advance warning symptoms! Several university studies have found that people who interrupt are at greater risk for heart problems.
One study at Duke University found that people who interrupt are up to 7 times more likely to get heart disease!
The researchers theorize that people who interrupt are excessively competitive and controlling — 2 hallmarks of the worst “Type A” personalities.
These high-risk people can lower their risk without totally altering their personalities. And without drugs, exercise or dietary changes. All they have to do is practice being good listeners.
In one study, the test subjects focused on being silent while others talked. The result: they lowered both their blood pressure and their stress hormone levels.
We will dig deeper into the power of music and how it connects to the who, what, where, why and how of our lives. Until then, celebrate the symphony of your own life and make it sing!
- Freddie Ravel
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Well put. Listening must be practiced. There is much to be learned for the spaces between the words also.
My calmness levels really affect my listening skills so I guess the reverse must be true too.
Yes listening is an art that needs to be cultivated in many ways, from listening to people, body language and music in a persons voice, people all need attention, and you can learn so much about a person by listening. Sometimes people are singing a sad song if we listen we can hear their emotions underneath it all and sometimes they are singing a happy song and just being in the same room with them makes you happy if you listen.
Yes i agree with you if you want to be heard you must first of all listen to those talking before you. In fact if you listen you get the full story unlike when you interupt, you comment off balance.
I have a fiancee who is a great musician but a lousy listener.
How would you explain that?
Listening is at the core of being a civilised human being. In the world of today we want to interrupt, talk ceaselessly and rush without listening to our inner selves. animals rarely interrupt and listen with their whole being. The Hindu philosophy of Yoga & meditation lays great stress on listening to the Brahma Nad ( Universal Sound)
THANKS! I’m so busy thinking that I missed what you said.
Now I hear what you’re saying, but I missed your meaning.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth the effort. THANKS!
Allan Kenyon
Personal and Business Coach
I enjoyed the article. I’m a musician but not always a good listener. This is a wake-up call to me. I try not to interrupt others but sometimes I forget if I’m in a heated discussion with close family members. Those times when I can just be quiet and listen — particularly when I’m feeling like I’m being unfairly criticized — not only calm me down but seems to diffuse a tense situation. Now that I think about it, if I’m engrossed in practicing or performing music, I can’t be defensive or argumentative — all my concentration is on playing the music.
Through Yoga and Meditation I learned to listen,though, not always, this article reminded me that I must keep listening. I have improved my guitar playing just by listening to music. How it has help me and thanks to this article I’m reminded to be still and listen. “Be still and Know that I’m am near” Gédéon.
This is a great tool to teach to our children from an early age, teach them the habit of listenning and put attention to their breathing and heart beat, an easy way to meditate and to become more calmed and awared adults
the art of communication is not about talking, rather it’s all about listening; thru deeply listening with compassion most of mystery will be unfolded