“Listening: A Sacred Art and Spiritual Practice”
The sacred space of Spiritual Accompaniment is a deep listening well. There is the listening to the accompaniee, the accompanier and the Spirit. Kay Lindahl explores this deep listening in her article.[1] Lindahl advocates for listening to be considered a contemplative practice in its own right. Listening is a major part of many of the spiritual practices such as meditating on Scripture, silence, solitude, fasting, prayer , receiving and celebrating[2] Holy Communion. There is a tension therefore when reflecting on this article as listening, for me, is an inherent part of my spiritual/lived life. I am aware of when I do it well and the many times I fall short.
Lindahl begins the conversation by saying, “there is a universal yearning to be heard[3].” However, she does not speak into the next argument presented which is being able to see ‘not listening’ in others but not self. We can see the ‘not listening’ in the behaviours of others, but not in ourselves. In my life on a Sunday morning at 09:55 I receive a text link that I have to pass on to our livestream congregation but usually someone is sharing something from their life. Every week I say, “I am so sorry, but I have to send this text, continue, I am listening.” But am I? Because internally there is the process of sending the link to three different groups, and what I am hearing has to be distorted by the internal dialogue.
Lindahl maintains, listening is a core value of the sacred space. Prompted, the Spiritual Accompanier might ask the other to unpack a concept more. When this happens there is an acknowledgement of the mystery of the Divine. The article and the discussion in the room fell short of the deep listening I have encountered in the Spiritual Accompaniment process and in the breadth of my recent life. Some of this deep listening has been from me but I have found that others also listen deeply to me.
My interest is in the way the Divine interjects into the process, listening to God in all our senses not alone auditory response. Lindahl has said, “we know God is listening when we smell cookies baking[4].” I was on my way to life changing interview this week, my heart spoke to God’s heart. The clouds parted and a full rainbow appeared, it had not rained for weeks, my heart opened to listen.
Overall Lindahl has produced an article of tension, of contrasted ideas without resolving them. They advocate for practice and learning a skill with among other concepts, a “top ten powerful listening practices” but the bulk of the article is about the choice, art and gift of listening. Listening, for me, is not a spiritual practice on its own but is integrated into all spiritual practices.
[1] Kay Lindahl, “Listening: A Sacred Art and Spiritual Practice” in Presence, 20/4 (December 2014): 19-26.
[2] In mainstream denominations celebrating Holy Communion is reserved for priests/ministers.
[3] Ibid 19
[4] Kay Lindahl, “How Does God Listen?” Woodstock: SkyLight Paths, 2013, 27
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