The process is called sharing and listening from the heart. It is interesting to compare this with what might be involved in sharing and listening from the head.
When the sharing and listening is from the head it begs for a spoken response. It then quickly becomes a discussion or debate and possibly a therapy session. The goal = to promote a robust sense of self. The truth is made by talking. (chat, counselling, psychotherapy, psychiatry.) This dialogical procedure can easily get caught up in the cut and thrust of debate and unhelpful dependencies can be established.
When the sharing and listening is from the heart there is no need of a response. The mental act of stringing words together causes the speaker to be witness to the issue rather than being caught up in it. This ‘distance’ is its own reward and, as a bonus, acts as affirmation of the goal which, in this case, is to appreciate the illusory nature of ‘self’. In the absence of responses from the listeners the speaker will reflect on her reality from her own perspective and come to know that her mind has a mind of its own. It gets progressively easier to drop off body and mind and to know the peace of no self.
Fascinating. George! It's certainly been my experience that "speaking and listening from the heart" in a group of people who have sat and walked in silence together, causes something healing to happen. Over many years of doing it my own heart has healed. I have learned the essence of non-self -- because I see that every heart and mind has the same basic experiences. Only the stories are different. So how could I feel lonely?
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