There are two ways of listening: to listen casually, to hear a series of ideas and agreeing or disagreeing; the other way of listening is not only to listen to the words and the meaning of words but also to listen to actually what is taking place in yourself. If you so listen then what the speaker says is related to what you are listening to. So actually you are then not merely listening to the speaker, which is irrelevant, but listening to the whole content of your being. If you are listening in that way then we are both partaking, sharing together in what is actually taking place. But if you don’t listen completely that way, with all your mind, with all your heart, then a meeting of this kind becomes so utterly meaningless. It is a waste of time and energy for you to come and sit here, listen to some stupid man talking about things. Whereas if you really applied, really listened with an intensity at the same time, at the same level, then you have a passion which is going to transform that which is. From Public Talk 3, Santa Monica, 7 March 1970 Read more |