At times, I catch myself and find I’ve missed precious moments of life. Noticing this is a great step. It proves pivotal in getting to questions that support a shift. What’s really going on? Is it possible I’ve shutdown somewhere?

Then begins the process of deep listening. A practice that quietens the mind. That engages me honestly and attentively to the body. To welcome every sensation. 

Deep listening rests the mind. It opens us up to the subtleties and nuances of life to become viscerally available. It builds awareness that expands consciousness. It develops a spaciousness in which resilience can be found. 

In listening there is a stillness that buoys the spirit. A stillness that bears powerful gifts that are available to us the moment we choose it. 

Rumi a famous persian poet once wrote: 

“While you go searching for trinkets, there rests a treasure house in your own being”

Deep listening reaps such rich rewards and creates a veritable shift. It’s what helps us notice and cut through the fog of unnecessary thoughts. Even in the efforts towards growth, we can get caught up in yet another task to do. Wanting to tick off to do lists and mistakenly assume that our worth may be related to what we have or what we do. When we are not listening we can become flustered with things don’t go according to plan.

Deep listening is a beautiful antidote. It reveals that the biggest shift is made inside. That we can start exactly where we are. It’s not necessarily about ticking off lists. That we can tune in to life through our skin, bones, organs, belly, heart and our very marrow. With the entirety of our being. 

Listening reconnects us with the truth that we are part of an incredible field of vibrance  revealed as we open. An opening that is the result of grace.

Jhana is a published author and illustrator. He draws on ancient wisdom and dreaming that reveal the bridge between consciousness and creativity. Discoveries of the healing capacities carried in painting, yoga, massage, meditation and art therapy inform his practise. He has taught, mentored and exhibited in India, America, Germany and Australia over the past 20 years. His writings have been published in newspapers, magazines and books across California, Byron Bay, Tweed heads and Brisbane.