Learn to Listen
The art of listening is an ongoing practice. Each of us is already naturally a listener, and yet there are many distractions in everyday life that can interfere with listening to the point that “not listening,” to others and to ourselves, becomes a habit.
Remembering to listen is the simple first step to being a good listener. That said, there are many levels to listening and many ways to improve out listening skills. Being a good listener is not just a humanitarian or charitable act, being a good listener allows one to be present with life as it is. This is no small thing. Listening is a way of being more fully alive as a human being.
If you are interested in re-engaging with the natural listener you already are, we can help. Contact us for guidance in listening for your personal life or for your organization. Please consider making a donation to our organization in exchange for guidance in listening (suggested donation for an individual: $50 for an hour session). Simply fill out the form below and we will respond to you by email.
Thank you!
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Become a Volunteer
There is only one thing required to become a listener: a desire to listen.
To become a volunteer at the Listening Post we only ask one more thing of you: take our introductory training session.
This brief training, about 2 1/2 hours, will give a volunteer an understanding of our intention and policy. It will also offer insights on what it means to be present as a listener and some of the things that, over time, we’ve learned about listening as an ongoing practice, a sacred art, and an invaluable offering to our community.
If you have any questions about becoming a volunteer or if you’d like to schedule a training session, please fill out the form below and we will respond to you by email.
Thank you for your interest!
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Blessing for the Listening Post
May The Listening Post shelter the souls of all who come here.
May all the weight of the world fall from their shoulders.
May their hearts be tranquil here,
Blessed by peace the world cannot give.
May this space be a blessed space,
where the graces their lives desire
always find the pathway to our door.
May nothing destructive
ever cross our threshold.
May The Listening Post be a safe place
full of understanding and acceptance,
where we can all be as we are
without the need for any mask
of pretense or image.
May this space be a place of discovery
where the possibilities that sleep
in the clay of our souls can emerge
to deepen and refine our vision for all
that is yet to come to birth.
May it be a space of courage,
where healing and growth are loved,
where dignity and forgiveness prevail;
a place where patience of spirit is prized,
And the sight of the destination is never lost
though the journey be difficult and slow.
May there be great delight around this room.
May it be a place of welcome
for the broken and diminished.
May we have the eyes to see
that no visitor arrives without a gift
and no guest leaves without a blessing.
AMEN
Adapted from The Book of Blessings; To Bless the Space Between Us, by John O’Donahue