05 Nov Importance of Listening to Others (and Yourself)

The five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch) allow us to experience and interpret the world in new ways all the time. We smell flowers growing in the spring, we taste the latest dish at new restaurants, we watch videos our friends share online. 

But while we may be able to hear people, animals, or nature around us, we’re not always so great at actually listening to them — let alone be able to listen to ourselves. Here are some reasons why you should learn to practice being a better listener, and a few tips to help you get started. 

Listening to others can make you a better person.

Many of us don’t listen to understand; we listen to respond. The problem with this habit is that we’re often rushed to answer questions or argue with our own opinions and insights, rather than truly hearing what the other person is saying or how they feel. 

When we instead start truly listening to others around us, we become better caregivers, better friends, and (ultimately) better human beings. It allows us to understand the opinions and feelings of others, even if we don’t agree with them or know what they’re going through. 

Practice listening more intently next time you’re in a conversation with someone, whether it be a family member on the phone or a new connection at a networking event. Slow yourself down and try really listening to the words and the tone of voice, and do your best to wait until they’ve finished talking to think about what you want to say. 

Listening to the world opens yourself up in surprising ways.

Next time you’re in a coffee shop, sitting in a public park, or walking around town by yourself, pay attention to your surroundings and listen to the world moving around you. What do you notice? What sounds do you hear? What conversations are people having? 

This practice can help you to notice more details in your immediate environment, almost like a meditation on place: grounding you in this moment and in this setting. You may find that this can be calming, or help you pay more attention to the world. It may allow you to be more open to accepting things as they are, right now in this moment. Or it may boost your creativity and connection. 

As a result? You just might also become a better learner.

Listening to yourself internally is just as important as using your ears.

Even if we’re pretty great listeners to our friends and family, we’re not always so attuned to listening to ourselves — to our bodies and our hearts. 

Our bodies talk to us physically, letting us know if we’re in pain or if something is wrong. Our bodies let us know when we’re short of breath or when we’ve eaten something we shouldn’t have. 

Our souls talk to us, too, but we don’t often let the voice speak louder than a whisper. We can keep our minds busy by working on other things, procrastinating, or pretending we feel happy even when we aren’t. 

Here’s what I suggest: Take on a “do it anyway” attitude. The body and the soul speak to us daily in the form of things we don’t want to do. If you don’t feel like leaving the house because you feel emotionally heavy or even depressed, you need to be outside. You need fresh air, sunshine, and movement. Force yourself to go for a walk, even if it’s just around the block.

The same concept applies to exercise, food choices, the company we keep, chores, etc. You know deep down exactly what your body is craving, and it’s usually exactly the opposite of what you “feel” if you’re low energy or feeling down in the dumps. It’s what you know in your heart you “should” do, rather than what you “want” to do. Every day, do one thing that you know your body is asking you to do. Even if you don’t feel like it, do it anyway.

And after you try the “do it anyway” exercise, it might be helpful to lay on the floor for 2-3 minutes afterwards and relax every part of your body sequentially from toes to head. This allows you to “ground” your body and make it easier to listen to what the body wants. 

Revitalize Your Energy at LunaVox Transformative Healing

When we practice listening more intently every day, we have the power to truly transform our lives from the inside out. 

In our chiropractic and reiki healing sessions at LunaVox, we pay close attention to chakras and the energetic system at large so that we can notice any areas where the energy feels stagnant, “stuck” or blocked and better help our patients heal.

If you want to learn more about our in-office chiropractic and reiki sessions or our distance healing package, reach out to us today to take the next step in your healing journey!