Recently I was listening to a political candidate speak. As I was listening to him speak about his passion, what he does for a living, I could hear the depth and the passion. He spoke from his heart. When he started to speak about politics, he became a talking head, his sound moved from his heart to his head. It lost something, something ‘vital’, for me.
I have a distinctive style of listening that makes me a sonic mystic. When I listen to people, I hear them, multi-dimensionally. I can hear people’s tensions, their vulnerabilities, their joys, when they are speaking their truth and when they are lying to themselves.
This is a very humbling gift that has been my teacher for as long as I can remember. As a child, there were times when lacking diplomacy, it would get me into a whirl of trouble. Through grace and humility I have learned that listening is an art, a skill and a great gift that we have to offer those around us and to ourselves.
Everyone is struggling with something at any given moment. When we listen to the stories of others, we have the opportunity to give our whole attention to them, as if arms, or wings were extended from our heart to enfold them, or we can simply hear them and let our own rambling tape, our script, run through our minds as they speak. When we listen in a multi-dimensional way, the story comes to life, like a movie, playing out before us in full techni-colour. This opens the door to listening in a whole different way.
Opening up the avenues of listening also develops our own inner listening as well. We become more aware of our inner voice and awaken to it’s callings and discernment. This leads to a more full, compassionate and complete palette from which to draw life.
Spend some time in the next week listening to someone’s story and see what you hear.
Anoushka Fyreagle is a sonic mystic and sound practitioner who teaches sound as a practice and offers unique sound experiences. See www.anandasound.com for more details.
Written by Anny
As a sonic mystic, Anoushka Fyreagle approaches life through the lens of sound and silence. She has devoted her life to music, voice, dance, visual and sacred arts. The journey is about listening and communicating. Anny has a distinctive style of listening. She has studied psychoacoustics, metaphysics, music as medicine and sound as healing. Her enthusiasm for the human instrument invites you into the infinite possiblities of your own ‘voice’ but she believes that no matter how brilliant our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides.
She is currently teaching Zen Echoes, a class series that teaches sound as a practice. For more information, go to www.anandasound.com
