TRANSFORMATIONAL LISTENING

Question: Is it possible to listen in such a way that the listening itself facilitates the transformation? Is that kind and depth and quality of listening possible?

Given what Maslow wrote in his book on Science, I would say yes.

“To be able to listen without presupposing, classifying, improving, controverting, evaluating, approving or disapproving, without dueling with what is being said, without rehearsing the rebuttal in advance, without free-association to what is being so that succeeding portions are not heard at all—such listening is rare.” (p. 96)

Such listening is rare and that’s because there are many enemies which interfere with the quality of your listening. There is the interference caused by fear, tension, stress, impatience, pre-mature evaluations, the need to be helpful, the need to be seen as smart, competent, the need to be successful, etc. These are the things that get in the way. These are the ego-investments that create filters that cause a person to not really listen.