Many have heard of listening as a form of meditation, or meditation as a form of listening. Listening meditation can be defined something like this: Listening from the heart and being, with openness and interest, in a relaxed manner, without inner (or outer) commenting, analyzing, diagnosing, fixing or helping.
But how many have heard of speaking meditation? What is that?
I define speaking meditation as follows: Speaking spontaneously and slowly enough to feel what you are saying as you say it.
'Slow enough' does not necessarily mean slow -- just slow enough. Slow enough to sense my physical sensations as I speak, sense the impact the words that come out of my mouth has on me and my body, sense the qualities in the space between myself and the one listening to me. When I speak like this, I become the listener, the witness to my own speaking, arising as if by itself, by life itself.
If you are interested in exploring how simple it can be to create a profound, deep connection with yourself and another, I invite you to try the following. WARNING: this simple practice, if engaged in daily, may significantly transform your relationships and even your life.
1) Agree with a friend to experiment with speaking and listening meditation.
2) Decide who begins as the speaker and listener.
3) Set a timer for 5 minutes.
4) The speaker speaks about whatever happens to arise, for 5 minutes, spontaneously and without any mental pre-planned thoughts, while the listener listens in silence.
5) After the timer rings, change.
6) Repeat for a second and possible third round (or more).
7) End with a 5 minute sharing from each (with silent listening) about how the experience was for both of you, in both the role of speaker and listener.
You can also extend the period of speaking-listening from 5 minutes, to 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or more.
Enjoy!
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And if you would like some more inspiration on the topic of listening, here is a younger version of me (8 years ago) speaking about the art of listening and self-coaching, in a 10 minute YouTube clip: https://youtu.be/4ZaBYqgTjAY