Letting go of...listening with barriers

Speaking of the philosopher, J. Krishnamurthi, physicist David Bohm once said:

 “I was struck by the great ease of communication with him, which was made possible by the intense energy with which he listened and by the freedom from self-protective reservations and barriers with which he responded to what I had to say.” As a person who works in science, I felt completely at home with this sort of response, because it was in essence of the same quality as that which I had made in contacts with those other scientist with whom there had been a very close meeting of minds. And here, I think especially of Einstein who showed a similar intensity and absence of barriers in a number of discussions that took place between him and me.

To listen without barriers. What a beautiful thought. What an enriching experience for the listener. What a beautiful gift to give to the speaker.  So simple, elegant and meaningful… and yet so difficult. For how often do we apply energy to listening and how often do we listen without any barriers?

It would certainly be energizing for the speaker.  For oftentimes when we speak, a large chunk of our energy is spent gauging the other person’s reaction, noticing their resistance, their mental blocks to the ideas. Trying hard to win approval, we find ways to convince the person by finding new ways of expressing.

I want to learn to listen without barriers. I don’t know that I will be able to do so. But the idea is so beautiful, it reeks of greatness. I imagine it must take a certain amount of courage to let go of all mental blocks, of our own comfort zones, of our rigidities and experiences. It would be hard to stay with the speakers thought process and to not make up our mind – accepting or rejecting the ideas midway based on our viewpoint and experience.

It would mean letting go of the self and the ego to some extent. Setting the mind free. Leaving it open and receptive to new ideas. That to me is a beautiful thought...