Paying attention is the key to awareness… Deepak Chopra about listening…
“The execution of any task or project depends on someone paying attention to someone else. Success isn’t created in a vacuum. It emerges from the situation at hand. The situation can be a crisis or a routine project, a management problem or a simple exchange of information. The more skilled you are at paying attention, the higher your chances of success, along with other benefits such as not wasting time and getting along with co-workers.”
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Listening is a great challenge for most of us. We work to improve this sensory skill for a lifetime. Some of us have extra sensory skills called hyper-vigilance or being on alert with intensity most of the time. In my experience, this extraordinary listening capacity can be powerful and comes from your soul. We are either born with this complementary skill of a high level of vigilance or it is caused by experiencing a traumatic event(s) in life, or both. Hyper-vigilance can be a huge benefit to improve listening and awareness if managed effectively. If not, being on alert constantly can be very tiring and annoying to others as well.
My own hyper-vigilance, caused by experiencing childhood and young adult trauma, has been a benefit for the most part in my life, especially on a professional level. Being on alert for danger all the time at home with loved ones is not so beneficial. I have a keen sense of awareness about hyper-vigilance at this stage in my life, including the roots of this behavior. With increased awareness, a person gifted with a high level of vigilance can become a much better listener in positive ways both at work and in the comfort of your home.
For me, becoming a better listener with loved ones and close friends offers the most value in improving interpersonal communications. Even if you are a typical listener with good to excellent awareness intensity, learning more about the extreme nature of hyper-vigilance can provide an extra edge by learning a mindful or soulful approach to listening. What used to be considered a troublesome symptomatic condition of post-trauma stress (PTS) is now viewed as a heightened awareness advantage…with major benefits on a professional level and at home where it really counts…
Steve Sparks, Author, Reconciliation: A Son’s Story and My Journey of Healing in Life after Trauma, Part 1… Click the highlighted text for my author page…
