Deep Listening Take Home Resources
3rd Principle: We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
4th Principle: We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
“With deep listening’s power in mind, this month we will hone our skills at using intuition, listening to hunches, feelings, and our guts. We will explore ways that people use their faces, bodies, and tones to say more (and sometimes different) than their words. We’ll listen for assumptions about others that are vestiges of our cultural conditioning no, longer serving us or the greater good. And we will practice listening for the numinous, the profoundly spiritual presence that some people say is the divine.”
-Teresa from Soul Matters Team
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Discussion Questions
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1. What is the quietest thing you’ve ever heard?
2. When do you try hard NOT to be heard?
3. What’s one brand new sound you’ve heard recently? Ones you’ve previously never heard before?
4. What does it mean to “listen to your body”?
5. What do feelings tell you that words or thoughts sometimes don’t?
6. Can you hear the differences among family members walking down the hall, or coming in the front door? What does each person sound like?
7. What sounds exist now that did not exist 100 years ago? 50 years ago? 10 years ago?
8. Can you have a conversation without words?
9. What sounds fill you with joy?
10. What are some sounds that frighten or bother you?
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Books
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Find Both of These Books at ORL or Mosaic Books
You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters-Kate Murphy
Psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and anecdotal evidence are combined together to completely alter your approach to how, why and what you listen to.
How to Talk so Kids Will Listen...and Listen so Kids Will Talk- Adele Faber
Faber elucidates the importance of a reciprocal exchange between parent and child and how that can influence your child’s maturing and growth.
- Cope with your child's negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, and disappointment
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Express your strong feelings without being hurtful
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Engage your child's willing cooperation
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Set firm limits and maintain goodwill
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Use alternatives to punishment that promote self-discipline
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Understand the difference between helpful and unhelpful praise
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Resolve family conflicts peacefully”
How did your family come to care about social change?
Invitation: Write, or make an audio or video recording, of the story of how you came to care about and act for social change. If there was one moment that catalyzed you, tell about it. If it was a slow growth over time, share the series of realizations that brought you up to this point. Share your story with friends and family one-on-one or through your social media channels and challenge them to do the same. Use the questions at the start of this section to help you get started.
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Examples:
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Activity
Sound Treasure Hunt
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Make a family goal of finding as many sounds as you can in the next few weeks. It’s always fun to keep a running list on the refrigerator or kitchen counter. Here’s a sample of sounds to list to keep your ears open for, but we’re sure you can find many more!
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1. A dog barking in somebody else’s house (maybe a neighbour’s yard or a classmate’s pet heard through video call)
2. A plane zooming overhead
3. Two (or more) birds communicating using their songs
4. A family member coming home (this might be a familiar car pulling into the driveway, familiar footsteps coming up the stairs, or familiar keys jangling in front of a lock)
5. The sound of love (What could this be?)
6. The word “vote” said on the radio or TV
7. Rushing water (maybe somebody turned on the bath in the other room, maybe you live near a creek, maybe a good rain sent water gushing down the street)
8. Someone saying “thank you”
9. The rustling of dry leaves kicked up by the wind
10. Your own heartbeat in your body
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Meditations/ Rooted Practices
Singing Bowl Meditation
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1XK4QDzoT/
Kids Mindfulness Meditations. A Podcast for Kids - Paying Attention. Relaxation Meditation
Nature & Bug Experiential Meditation:
When we deeply listen to nature, we become connected to everything around us. Let’s imagine that we are different insects and are listening to each other.
What do we hear when we listen to mosquitos? It’s a high whine. Can you make that sound? (eeee).
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What do we hear when we listen to a bumblebee? It’s a deep humming. Can you make that sound? (hmmm)
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What do we hear when we listen to a Cicada? They are very loud and go Chica, Chica, Chica. Make the sound of a Cicada. Chica, Chica.
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What do we hear when we listen to a cricket? They go chirp, chirp.
Have you ever heard a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach? They actually hiss. Hiss, Hiss.
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What do we hear when we listen to a butterfly? No noise at all. They fly on silent wings.
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Now choose your favourite insect. Was it a mosquito, a bumblebee, a cicada, a cricket, a Hissing Cockroach or even a butterfly? I’ll count to three and we will all be Bug Buddies and make our different sounds.
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Play the audio of Flight of the Bumblebee
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Music/Videos/Stories
Visit the Kids Page:
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