by Avie | Dec 29, 2019 | poems
Dear Listener, There is much that can be said about the value of listening. We have been exploring the value of listening for over 11 years at the LP. It feels as if there is no limit to the value of listening, one human being to another human being. Yet...
by Avie | Dec 23, 2019 | difficult conversations, respect
Why did they do that? Recently I was listener to someone describing a difficult situation they had found themselves in. They were venting, letting it all go, telling every detail of what had happened and how they reacted to what was happening. At first, I was...
by Faye Harasack | Dec 21, 2019 | experiences of Listening, Letting Go of Outcome
Question: what does it feel like when you let go of outcome? A listener responds to Centering I’m going to start with the question of what it feels like when I think I can’t. When I’m hanging onto an outcome, it’s usually because I feel like I should have relieved...
by Avie | Dec 13, 2019 | Letting Go of Outcome, poems
Centering A passage from “The Excursion,” by Willian Wordsworth I have seenA curious child, who dwelt upon a tractOf inland ground, applying to his earThe convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell;To which, in...
by Avie | Nov 30, 2019 | difficult conversations, experiences of Listening, hone our listening skills
At the Listening Post we have experienced the underbelly of the holiday season since we opened our doors over 11 years ago. The experience of grief and isolation during holiday time is often masked by the emphasis on giving and receiving of gifts and holiday...
by Avie | Nov 16, 2019 | experiences of Listening, hone our listening skills, real contact and intimacy
Dear Listeners, “We are constantly drawn into our next phase of life, which is always beyond our current awareness,” so says Mark Nepo in his book titled Seven Thousand Ways to Listen. How does Nepo’s observation sit with you? Did you pause...
by Avie | Oct 29, 2019 | experiences of Listening, real contact and intimacy, valuing service
Dear Listeners, Debbie was invited to share about the Listening Post and did a wonderful job, as we knew she would. I have heard from the staff at KTVA – they said they are all inspired by our service. I remember Carol saying that serving at the Listening...
by Avie | Oct 28, 2019 | experiences of Listening, real contact and intimacy, valuing service
Dear Listener, One of the offerings on our website is, “Lessons in Listening.” Over the years several other listening organizations have taken us up on that offer, but only a handful of individuals have sought us out to learn this practice. Last week I did...
by Avie | Oct 18, 2019 | experiences of Listening
Dear Listener, That statement, listening is a creative force, holds layered meaning. As listeners continuing to hone our skill, we have experienced the immediacy of listening as a creative force. We have witnessed it directly in moments when, just through being heard,...
by Avie | Oct 12, 2019 | difficult conversations
Dear Listener, For a while now, I have been thinking about courage. Not that I have drawn any conclusions about it, but for some reason courage and bravery are qualities I am wondering about. Just this past week I was speaking with a woman in North Carolina who is...
by Avie | Sep 22, 2019 | difficult conversations, respect
Today, along side my parents, I went into a nursing home to visit my aunt. As we walked down the hall toward my aunt’s door, another resident called out repeatedly from their room. I turned to my mother, ‘Will someone go to her?’ My mother replied...
by Avie | Sep 8, 2019 | difficult conversations, hone our listening skills
Recently, Kathleen M. offered us an article about a man, Mark Lloyd, who found himself compelled to respond to the homeless encampments in Seattle. You can read the article by clicking here. Mark’s actions – getting to know those in the homeless encampment...
by Avie | Aug 30, 2019 | hone our listening skills, support
Last weekend at our Retreat/Advance, we opened the day by going around the room, saying our names & the sites where we serve, and sharing a bit about how our listening practice is going. It isn’t uncommon to notice a theme arise in our sharing. To my ears, a...
by Avie | Aug 17, 2019 | poems, real contact and intimacy
Last week I shared a story from my own experience of self care. The essence of a response I received about self care and knowing one’s own boundaries has been paraphrased in the title above. I was very moved to be asked – or, more accurately – I was...
by Avie | Aug 10, 2019 | hone our listening skills, Letting Go of Outcome
I am moved to explore the edge between our work at the LP and my own journey of listening as a friend and family member. I know I’m not alone in this as several of us have mentioned it over the years – we have an easier time listening to our guests than we...
by Avie | Aug 2, 2019 | gratitude, valuing service
I was listening to someone today. It felt pretty ordinary. I didn’t consider it ‘listening’ at first. It was conversational. Simple. Ordinary, even. Until I was stunned. Stunned awake. Still, it was a simple moment. We had been talking about...
by Avie | Jul 19, 2019 | real contact and intimacy, valuing service
I worked in a foundry many years ago. In all the years, and all the jobs, since then working at the foundry remains my favorite. There is something stilling and quieting about being around the noise of industrial production and the element of fire, molten...
by Avie | Jun 21, 2019 | respect, valuing service
The Summer Solstice: Standing Still I’m writing this newsletter on the day of summer solstice, June 21st. I notice a lot of my friends in the Lower 48 aren’t as familiar with this observance, but here in AK, we luxuriate in the apex of the long of hours of...
by Avie | Jun 14, 2019 | support, valuing service
Every once in a while I get curious about a word’s etymology. Just the other day I was wondering about support. At first I was wondering about the times in my life that I stubbornly resisted, turn away, support offered by others. And the opposite, too –...
by Avie | Jun 11, 2019 | silence, support
I enjoy supporting you all from afar. This week my letter to you is late and I wondered if you felt my support regardless. Shifts at all of our locations are filling like any other week and my gratitude for your commitment deepens – even when I have thought it...
