“R”-
tr ltzho
Hearing, Listening I afid Selflessness
Michael Sasnow
INTRODUCTION
when I look in the minor, I don’t question who it is I see looking back. I just accept the
reflection as being “Me.” I tend not to recognize the deeper reflections within that reflection.
But there, embedded deeply within me and visible if I uke the time and care to look, lie the
profound contributions and influences of my parents, within which lie those of their forebears,
without all of which I would not be who I am. But still, I usually look quickly and see myself as
r t yylst’
-a particular, self _con
tained individual.
Deepening my sensitivity to the depths of truth and meaning held within the outer visible
surface of things is integral to, and accomplished through, the sense of hearing and the act of
listening’ This has involved the struggle to relinquish some aspects of mysel{ including
concepts of who I am, and how things are. In listening to myself, it is easy to simply accept the
thought processes and the ideas and revelations that emerge through them as,,me,,and
,,mine,,,
without being aware, in the moment, of the profound contributions and influences of others on
what I accept and recognize as my own way of thinking and reasoning.
In writing this paper, I deliberateiy chose to delete from the body of the work any direct
references to the authors and teachers whose work was used in this project, I felt that the use of
extensive footnoting would credit those whose ideas have in-formed my own, while bringing a less
academic tone to the paper, allowing it flow more lyrically and music alry and.,hopefully, be more
easily heard and absorbed’ what I realized, however, was that footnoting alone was not adequate
in expressing how intimateiy the work and ideas of my teachers have become interwoven into
what I think of as “my thinking process,” or how tightly those ideas are interwoven into the
content of this paper.
I have been introduced to many seminal ideas during my time as a studenr at the chalice
of Repose Proiect school of Music-Thanatology, which have sparked my own thinking processes.
il
From Therese Schroeder-Sheker, the academic dean, I learned about contemplative
scholarship and the relationship of spirituality and leaming; about /<enosis-the inner emptiness
that precedes the possibility of inner fullness (pleroma); about silence as a deliberate spiritual
practice; about music as an all-pervasive, unifying organizing force, as described by the 6'h
century Roman statesman, Boethius. Therese also opened my eyes and ears to the power of
metaphor, including the human body as metaphor-a central theme of this paper. And it was
through Therese and the rest of the faculty, in my training as a contemplative musician, that I
began to understand the depths of the spiritual practice of iistening. Therese introduced me to
the study of hermeneutics, and the idea of reciaiming words and language. Sharon Murfin,
assistant academic dean, brought in-depth, practical application to this study. Through two years
of intensive training here, my old ways of thinking and expressing have become infused with
something new, offered by the entire faculty, the curriculum, and the work of Music-
Thanatology. While I may move in many directions during the course of this paper, Therese's
work and teaching-along with the influence of the entire faculry-have profoundly influenced
the form and content of this paper. They provide the jumping off point for all that follows, and is
interwoven throughout.
I need also to introduce Dr. Robert Sardello. His wor "spiritual Psychology," delves
deeply into soul and spirit life. Robert approaches the senses as a primary means of engaging
with the world on a soul level, in a practical way in daily life. My appreciation of the senses grew
enormously through his teaching which exposed me to the zodiac-mediated relationship of
hearing and sei{lessness, through the constellation Cancer. Robert's approach to the use and
accessing of imagination as soul work has had an immense inJluence on the way I view the
world. I have also gained new insights through his particuiar spiritual and alchemical
iv
imagination of the human body and its processes. His inJluence can be seen in all of my work
with body images, and informs much of this paper'
My desire is to give full credit where it is due. If I have omitted placing a footnote where
credit is due-to Therese Schroeder-Sheker, Robert Sardello, or the faculry and curriculum of the
Chalice of Repose
proiect School of Music-Thanatology-I apologize for the oversight, and hope
that this introduction places them firrnly where they belong, at the heart of this paper'
Michael Sasnow
December 5, 2000
Missoula, MT
Hearipg, Listening and SeLflessness
What are we feeling when we yeam for another person to listen to us? The need to be
heard-to be truly understood by another-is deep and primal. Active engaged listening and the
abiiiry to truly hear enables us to experience something of the true inner nature of people and
things' It is at the heart of all relationships: with ourselves, with others, and with the physical
and spiritual worlds around us. Deep, attentive Iistening can open both the listener and the one
being listened to a profound erperience. An integral ingred.ient for listening and hearing is
selflessness- From psychological and spiritual perspectives, relinquishing the se5 leads to the
revelation of an inner space of stillness and receptivity, where deeper listening can occur. This
takes on Sreat significance for the musician-clinician, as we deepen our own imagination of what
it is that we are listening for, and what we are offering in response. Hearing listening and
selflessness, as spiritual practices, become transformationai activities which can enhance, and be
enhanced b,v, our work at the bedsiqe.
Etymologies: Hearing, Listening, and Obedience:
Hearing and listening are closely reiated, yet different activities. Hearing, at its most
iiteral physical level, refers to the sense by which sound is perceived, or the capaciry to use this
sense- As a capaciry or actiis, hearing tends to be thought of as more passive, while listening is
more active, entailing an effort being made to hear, or specific attention be-g paid. Listening can
aiso involve paylng attention, in the sense of "heeding"-being truly aware of and gving
consideradon to what one hears. True listening has been likened to "the witnessing of spirit
impregnadng mafter."i When we listen in this wayt we are moved to act on what we hear,
introducing another level of involvement or connection with the process-and wi*r the source of
that to
'aririch
we are listening. When we listen deeply in this wa, we may begin ro experience
an irresistible compulsion to act. Responding in such a manner might be described as a form of
obedience. Hearing listening, and obedience are all closely related etymologically. The root keu
means to perceive or hear. The word "acoustic" derives from this. The root k/eq also meaning
to hear, is the source of. Iisten, as well as loud. Obey comes from the Latin oboedire-to listen to.
This is derived from the prefix ob- (towardsJ plus audire (to hear). The root au- also relates to
perceiving and hearing, gving rise to such words as audible, audience, audio, and aesthetic.
Perhaps careful, attentive listening results in a fype of obedience-where action springs from an
undeniable sense of appropriateness, within which we become less attentive to our o',r.n personal
desires, letting go of
ltselftt
to some degree. "Listening is an exercise in obedience. At best, true
listening is an approximation of selflessness whereby one person opens not only their ears, but
their hearts to the words, both spoken and non-spoken, of another."il At this levef we can begin
to truly hear.
Anatomy and physiology as metaphor:
Physical strucrure and function provide a built-in metaphor for deeper levels of hearing,
listening, and selflessness. Within the literal descriptions of anatomy and physiology, we find
revealed the essences of sacred acts through which we can connect more deeply with ourseives,
each other, and the physicai and spiritual worlds around and within us.
The shape of &e outer ear describes the sense of hearing: a reaching out to the world,
inviting its song to enter deeply into our being. In its labyrinthine journey toward conscious
perception, sound waves will be transformed from molecular vibrati.on in air, into vibration of
fluid, bone, and nerve endings, then into electrical nerye impulses. When these impulses arrive
in the brain, they are coordinated with e4peiential memory to finaily become conscious sensory
3
adventure,, integrated into all ievels of being. This complex functionaliry bridges and transforns:
literally and figuratively, structwally and functionally.
The ear canal penetrates our temple (or temporal bone), ending in the center of the densest
bone mass in the body. While a temple is regarded as containing within it a divine presence,
temporal refers both to time, and to the secular and material worlds. Music-the form of art that
we hear-is referred to as existing in time. Temporal also refers to an essence of impermanence.
Sound itselJ is ephemeral in nature, therefore demanding a particular tlpe of focused attention.
The outer ear and the ear canal resonate in ways that amplify and accentuate certain frequencies,
especially those most important in hearing human speech. While some i.nterpret this as an
evolutionary survival mechanism, might it also be a bcdy metaphor, telling us that, if we choose
ta hctr ;*
the most important earthly sounds to give our attention to are the words of our fellowUv.rwr 19,
human beings, through rvhich they most fully and intimately e-xpress to us who they are?
. as infants, we hear things on a basic survival level. The eardrum of the inJant faces
i
. downward. As we mature and our listening becomes slowiy less seU-centered, the eardrum also
i .hanges orientation, physicaily reflecting our physical, emocional, and spiritual shifts toward
'l
,
verticality. But the eardrum never becomes completely verdcal, as if reminding us that there wi-ll
i' aLways be an aspect of obliqueness in our higher listening funcrions: that a certain aspect of
:
.;
irectness remains betlveen us and rhe spiritual realms, if for no other reason than the fact of
our physicaliry.
The ossicles-three tiny bones that transmit vibration from the outer to the inaer ear-are
named for the objects they resemble: the hammer, anvil, and stimrp. These are tools related to
riding horses: the hammer and anvil used by the blacksmidr ro create horseshoes, and che stimrp
offering suppoft ro rhe rider. Horseshoes and stirnrps are symbols of the posicion of the tamed
horse as ser/anr. The horse is a "flight an;:;:ral," a terc describing its immediate reaction rc dre
4
une4pected. Until shoes and stim:ps are introduced, the horse is wild and unrestrained, reacting
to its own momentary whims and fears. Our capaciry for hearing might be seen this way. As we
mature, we react less fearfully and reflexively to what we hear. We begin responding to a growing
sense of the truth of things, rather than fleeing from the unexpected, or running from the truth.
This can only be accomplished when hearing becomes a servant, as we develop *re capaciry to
put aside fears, aversions, desires, and preconceptions, and listen more openly. When hearing
becomes tamed, we can make the shift from reacting to responding.il As the horse must submit
to its rider, our own deep iistening and responding- "iistening with the l1sa11"- involves the
abitity to rein in the ego, and to accept and trust guidance and direction from a source which we
e,xperience as greater than our individual self. This results in a new experience of baiance.
Within the complex labyrinth of the inner ear, we also find a major source of physical balance
and equilibrium, which allows us to orient and move through the world. ]ust as our physical
abiiities of balance become more stable as we grow from infanry, througlr toddiing, and up
through adolescence/ so does our inner sense of balance dwelop, as we use it to become more
balanced and stabie in our positioning bewveen heaven and eanh, orienting to and moving
through life. As this dwelops, olu capacities of hearing also grow, to perceive the inner truths
within that to which we are listening.
The Labyrinth, and the Holy of Holies:
The bony labyrinth is a wonderful analory linking the purely physical aspects of hearing
with the non-physical. A labyrinth is a structure of interconnecting passages, through which it is
difficult to find one's way. It also refers to something highly intricate or convoluted in nature.
While these nvo descriptions are well suited rc the anatomy and physiolory of hearing, they are
aptly applied to the processes of interpersonal and inner (or spiritual) listening and heanng.
5
There seem to be so many difficulties and impediments related to activg engaged listening and
clear, accurate reception of what one person is truly saylng to another. How arduous a task it
often is for us to listen to and to hear what another is truly saying-or, conversely, to feel that we
have really been heard, when that is our need. How convoluted the communication process can
be-and how easy it can be to lose our balance and orientation in the process, adding emotional
or spiritual vertigo to the process. As with the physical structure, missteps in this figurative
Iabyrinth can be a truly di?zyirrg experience. Mythologically, a labyrinth can pose great hazards,
through which one cannot find one's way without guidance.tu This relates to the idea of seeking
guidance through inner listening found in many spiritual traditions. On a psychological level,
entering the lablrinth has been likened to descent into the subconscious, "with its obscurities
and terrors, its traumas, complexes, and unresolved emotional conllicts.'' This describes many
of the psychological blocks to listening. True listening calls us to move through these.
Perhaps another imagination of the physicai metaphor might move us in a different
direction, offering a vision o{ guidance which points the way through the dark maze of hearing
and listening. Sound input is transformed as it makes its way through the labyrinthcperience more
of the essence of “acoustic culture,” with more imaginal cognition, and the transformation of
events into deep inner experiences, saturared wirh feeling, and expressed with love.d We begin
to e,:perience thag “It is to the invisible *rat listening nuy attend,” and thag through listening
we begin the “…recovery of the richness of primary erperience which is now forgotten. ..’,k We
find *rat, in a very realway, “Life becomes a matter of Listening.”‘
Hearing, Listening, Selflessness: Correspondences in Different Cosmologies:
In Chinese cosmoloSl the Water element” is the essence of Yind energy: inward, cool,
moist, dark, receptive, nourishing, protective, generative-the essential substance from which
form and action can manifest. Water is the ukimate receprive energyt and it is appropriate that
the sense organ it encompasses is the inner ear, which brings the world deeply into us ttyough
hearing, while also sensing impuises that originate deep within our own bodies, through the
sense of balance. Water relates to midnight and winter-the most silent, inward times of the day
8
or year. This reflects the need for inner silence if listening is to be effective. Water essence
nourishes and polvers all sexual and reproductive functions, reflectrng the many paraliels between
sexual conception and hearing.
]ust as sound waves must pass through the outer, middle, and
inner ear/ spenn must complete a circuitous journey through three regions of the female
reproductive tract (vagina, uterus, fallopian tube). In hearing, the sound wave must be received
and transported inward, before being transformed into a different enerry form. Sperm is received
by the ovum,, then transported into *re womb for the growth and transformation of this union.
From the Christian tradition, the archetypal example of listening, true hearing and
selflessness is the Annunciation. St. Augustine refers to llary as being impregnated with the
Holy Spirit through the ear. This Christian archefype also illustrates the eiemental relationship
between hearing and conception, as expressed in the Chinese cosmology. Mary was the essence
of selfless receptivity, which is essential for any type of conception. The proper conditions of
physical receptivity must exist deep in a woman’s pelvic cavity for conception and subsequent
growth, development, and physical ffansformation of the fetus to occur. The proper condirion of
the different elements receptive to sound must function deep within the temporal bones for us to
be abie to physically hea4 and so must there be an energetic space of receptivity within each of
us, if we are to take in that which can be heard. This space of receptivity must exist if the seeds
of possibility
^re
ailowed to enter in a real way. Subsequentl, if really listened to and truly
heard, these seeds can be responded to and nurnrred in ways that allow something new to grow,
deveiop, and transform within us, ultimateiy to be given bkth through us, into the world. And
within the essence of Water lies the spirit of selflessness, in the form of total receptivity within
the depths of silence, leading to the uitimate selflessness: giving one’s own life essence for the
crearion of new life. ff this act of seiflessness is genuine, we take responsibiliry for nurrrrring *ris
new Li[e, t]rat it might dwelop in a heaithy way in the worid.
Mary’s puriry was the essence of receptiviry to the divine. Consequently, her ear could
receive the Holy Spirit. Her puriry of heart (the Fire element-tempered by Water) allowed her
to truly listen on this level, while her physical womb reflected this puriry, allowing something
truly divine to be born into the world. This is the essence of Immaculate Conception. This
story-from Annunciation to Nativify-embodies the essences of and relationships between
hearing listening, and selflessness.
Mary also exemplifies the state of balance-knolving one’s true place between Heaven and
Earth. The emotion related to and processed within the Water element is fear. Fear keeps us
from engaged listening. On the other side of fear, Water relates to awe. We often find the
relationship of these two in biblical writings, regarding our relationship to God. One meaning of
fear is “extreme teverence or awe/ as toward a supreme power.” We fear God; we are in awe of
God. When fear, as we typicaliy think of it, sets in and we lose our balanc e, “h.J^lof awe” gets
degraded to “awful”. When we hold God in awe, we can hear God’s voice in everlrthing. When we
are in fear’s gnp, this inner voice is difficult to hear. “Fearing God,” in this altered sense of being
aftaid of God, inverts our relationship with the divine. We lose perspective, and we lose our
sense of balance. We lose ow sense of position betraieen God and Earth, and we can’t hear God’s
voice or ailow something divine be conceived, nurtured, and brought into the worid. When we
can’t truly hear, we lose contact with ow “guidance system,’/ causing us to lose baiance{ur
sense of true position-and we lose our feeling of direction and purpose. Water is the element
with *re potential to flow around all obstacles, to keep moving, to keep seeking, to remain
connected with its true source. This is the nature of balance, and the basis of active, engaged
Iisrcning. The season of Water is winter. When we are fearfui, Water freezes, and we become
immobilized. We become frigid: we cannot conceive. The voice o{ life becomes lost to us. Water
is seen as the beginning, the foundation of the other elements. Both the womb and the eat ate
‘t0
“beginning points.” When functioning in a heahhy way, each conceives a vital essence that
enables creation to occur. The ear receives, ultimately, the primordial sound, the essence of
creation, which ahvays entails the selfless act of sacrifice.il
Anthroposophy and Spiritual Psychology describe hearing as a spiritual sense'”, relating to
the development of capacities to be open to activities coming to us through the spirit worlds.
The gift of hearing is the sensing of the inner quaiities of the world. lVe hear with our whole
body: all of the senses are involved. “Hearing is an earthly experience of the spiritual, through
which our process of recon-nection with the spiritual worids can start.”* It is our access to what
happens inside something, or someone. When we listen to someone’s voice, we have the chance
to directiy sense another soul: to be present to something of that person that ffanscends our
immersion in the physical world.
The finai aspect of hearing is brought to us from the spirirual realms, from a space of
sil.ence. Physiologically, this would correspond to the finai transformation of vibrations to nerve
impulses in the inner ear, whose acrual physiological mechanism remains a scientilic mystery.
Hearing affords us, through the body, an earthly experience of the spiriu.ral, and needs to be
approached as something sacred. The idea of spiritual assistance as the final step in the hearing
process is also the perfect example of another aspect of baiance-the
,yi-rtve,,
of balance-which
is imagined as the “right relation between effort and grace.”*’ Ukimately, hearing is a divine
gift-we hear through gracet but we must put in the effort of attentive listening for this grace to
be given.
There are remarkabie similarities here to the Blackfeet Indian traditional practice of
“Listening.” This is a highly reflective and rwelatory practice: away of becoming attuned to and
dweiling in the world, that contributes to the creation of the sacred. it is a way of being that
believes in the total interconnectedness of humankind, animals, nacure/ and dre spirit worlds,
11
and in the sacredness of all of creation. According to Blackfeet tradition, when we accept this and
come with humiliry listening in this deep way brings attunement and clarity concerning our own
place in the world, and how to act appropriately. But this does not come through the assertion of
one’s wi[. If we sit and listen patiently, the answer comes, as a gift.d Again, we find the spirit
of selflessness here. Listening as a spiritual act is concerned with one’s harmonious relationship
to the world as a whole.
Selflessness has many different connotations in different circles or traditions, but all relate
to a relinquishment of ego-centered desires. The practice of selflessness must maintain the
tension berween seif-abandonment and egocentrism.d In the Buddhist approach of non-self, self
is seen as illusion. We must come to know that belief in the self as an entiry is the root of our
problems. The path to enlightenment is meditation, which is often characterized as a “listening
practice.” To attain Buddhahood, there must be an awakening of an inner resolve to help all
beings. This is arrived at through meditation, and must be accompanied by a complete release of
self-centeredness, or any belief of an individuai sel{ as a separare, dualistic enrity.* So, from a
very different perspective, we agaia find a relationship beween listening, connection with the
grearcr wholg and selfless service.
Silence and Selflessness:
Selflessness of some sort is consistently cited as a necessiry for effective listening, in
writings from psychologicai and spiritual perspectives. Silence as a conscious spiritual discipline
is also a repeated theme. Silence is a central aspect of hearing and is intimately related to
selflessness. Silence is necessary for the developmenr of dre capacides of [stening and hearing.
This includes both inner silence and physical silence. Listening is the active aspect of the
development of the hearing capacity. Silence provides a space widrin which sound can exist.
12
Without silence providing a boundary for sound, listening and hearing become difficult at best.
Inner listening can only occur when we can still our inner voices, especially the ego-generated
noise that becomes static, keeping us from hearing what is being brought to us from the spiritual
realms. In this sense, inner silence might be thought of as a practice in selflessness: not an
abandonment of the self, but a shift in perspective, wherein we “give the ego something sacred to
do.”o within this inner space of silencg with a reorientation of tJre ego, we can experience
hearing and listening as irrner activities, which “become the language of the capacity for love in
the soul.”s
obedience Revisited: Listening, Love, charity, and service:
As noted earlier, Obey comes from the Latin oboeCire-to listen to. There is an intuitive
connection here for those of many spiritual and religious orientations. The idea of
,,Thy
will be
done” puts this in perspective. When we rmly listen, we begin to perceive, ia a new way, the
reaiiry of a greater whole, in which we are all inter-related and interdependent From this
perspective, old religious nuxims such as’Do unto others as you would have others do unto
YOD,” “As you sow, so shall you reap,” and the Eastern ideas of the laws of Igrma (cause and
effect) shift from being based on hope for reward. or fear of reribution, to a deep sensing of
appropriateness in a greater cosmology.’Thy will be done” becomes liberating insread of
confining.
Service is an integral aspect of selflessness. Soul level service is brought out by the
goodness of others,, allowing us to respond from depths which we can,t ger to on our own-to be
something we can’t otherwise be. “To desire to help is to live in the unquenchable and, at heart,
unknowable concerns of the other person.”d This desire to help resuits in a new way of.
13
listening, in which the energy of the ego can be creatively channeled, as the true longing to serve
becomes more and more heart-felt.
When we begin to listen with our hearts, a nerv journey begins: a journey of hearing,
listening and ionging. Once we begin hearing this way, we begin to long for the journey. How do
we hear our inner guidance, and know what is truel When we first begin to hear the truth, we
may experience
Sreat doubt and fear: truth challenges all of our assumptions, especially those
about owselves and who we really are. We may initially try to rationalize our way out of it. But
once we begin to hear this divine voice of inner guidance, we can choose to keep listening even if
tear remains. When we are willing to let our heart connection deepen, we become more aware of
the presence of divine guidance and assistance. We can release our fears., because we can release
the aspects of self, of ego, that are threatened. As we more clearlyhear and are compelled to obey
this divine voice, we can draw on this source for the courage that engend,ers selflessness, which
allows us to move forward in a ne’ar way without being lccked into oid patterns by ego-centered
fears, desires, and judgments.
Another physical analogy is presented to us by the vagus nerye (the longest in the body),
which passes from the brain through the ear, continuing on through the body to control major
aspects of many visceral responses. This poinc to the connecdon of hearing and listening with
“gut reacdons.” Do we react or respondi The vagus nerve provides parasympathetic impuises to
the heart, allowing it rc relax and slow down. It is with a quiet heart that we can hear the voice
of spirit. “[W]e learn how to quiet old opinions and mindsets in order to be open to the in::er IJe
of another.’om we b.stt to listen in a deepet wayt through which we move from reacting to
responding. In a profound wa, our soul ioume;r is about listening. When we recognize the holy
in our midst, we experience a feeijng of awe that “gives us the coruage to listen, and to let God
awaken in us capaciuies and responsibilities we have been afraid to conremDlate.,,tu
14
Jvlore physical symbolism points us to the relationship between the ear and the heart. The
outer ear, which gathers in sound waves to begin their transformational journey, is called the
auricle. The upper chambers of the heart are also calied auricles. These chambers take in blood
from the veins, before it passes into the lower chambers, the ventricles, to begin its ioumey
through the body. The heart listens to and obeys the call of the greater body, without question
and with geat and constant courage.* Heart and courage
^te
derived from the same root (kerd-).
When we bring the qualities of the heart into our hearing and listening processes, we can listen in
a clear and balanced way, with the courage needed to hear the truth and respond. Through this
process, fear can be transformed into its counterpa rtt awet further transforming our capacities of
listening and hearing. Through this practice of what we might cali “wholistic hearing and
Iistening,” we perceive more of *re subtle interconnections benrieen ourselves, others, and the
world around us. We also begin to sense the degree to which this greater whole depends upon
appropriate action from each of us. Responding more and more from this place allows the
experience of fairh to manifest.
The imagination of selJlessness as “adhering to inner soul and spirit while serving”d is
consistent with the theological imagination of obedience, which is given with free will and joy.
For this to truly happen, we must be acting out of love-a quaiiry universaily attributed to the
heart. Love,as a real force that binds us together as one,must penetrate our ways of listening and
responding. The entire life of Jesus has been characteized as one of obedience. Furthermore,
obedience inJuses the divine law of Christian life: the commandment of charity: Love of God,
onesel{, and one’s neighbors as obiects of God’s love.
“Its fuifiilment is, impiicitly at least, obedience as well as chariqv….This obedience is extensive as charit.v
itseif….As a word-directed being created by the word of God, man is essendally ordoined to listen to God to whom
he belongs and whom he must obey in ail thrngs….Such obedience makes man acuali-ze his own being, for *le root
of action is in freedom, which is only er<ercised in commrtment ro one's fellow human beings and to God.'*
We must first listen and truly hear before we can obey, which is done out of ,ot"l f…do.r,tt
and love, adhering to inner soul and spirit while serving. "/esus'own fideliry springs from his
abiliry to listen. The New Testament word which we translate as 'obey,' actually means to
'hyper-lister5'to [sten intently. The prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict begins:
,Listen
carefully
[Obsculta]…and incline the ear of your heart.,,,
d
The liJe of |esus clearly illustrates this clarify of listening and lovingly obeying and this
theme runs through the Abrahamic traditions. "fn Abrahamic tradition, speech is the medium of
divine self-disclosure; thereforg the fundamental stance of the person of faith is to listen.,,d
Abraham hears and acts on God's word without question. When lvloses hears the voice of God
calling him from within the burning bush, he answers, "Here aml-" This answer to
,,the
s3[/'-45 given byAbraham,
/acob, Moses and Isaiah-has been interpreted as, "I am listening.,,
"This voice-this call-is a clear message which has never stopped sounding. What has changed
."
is that many are no longer listening. And the first command is to hear."
*
i The Shema-the Hebrew prayer which expresses the essence of the fewish covenant with
. God-is "the supreme affirmation of the unity of God, and is frequently called 'the acceptance of
the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven lttmi
ttgr^r,
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,,,
followed in Deuteronomy by, "And you shaii love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with ail
, your soul, and with ail your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Ikbbalah writings speak of
mahshab*the thinking of God. This is considered the most hidden sphere. The prophet
Habakkuk is said to have entered tlis sphere when he says, "Oh Lord! I have heard of yorrr
r€rowQ I am awed." (Habakkuk, 3:2). The mahshaba is represented by tfuee important
symbols:
16
The alef, This is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It represents a parado4 as it is a
silent consonant. It is the beginning of language and e4pressiorl and the
/'root
of the ten
commandments.'1
d
The human ear: It is an image of the a/ef, through which the word of God is perceived.
The Temple of the Sancfuary: The highest porency of God.
Once again, the image of hearing and the ear occupy a central position in relation to
conception and holiness. "The shema in this conte. is equivalent to the highest sphere of
hearing, designated by the eart ot that which God is heard to say, the 'rumor' of God.,,d One
who understands this will be filled with the awe of Cod. The verb s-hema means thinhng and
understanding as well as hearing, and /ewish mystical writings link the spheres of thought and
Lo^-i–
u!4rau5.
Isaiah says that, each moming God "wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The
Lord Cod has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I rurned not baclrurard." (Isaiah 50:4-5).
Once we hear this inner voice of tnrth, there is a compulsion to follow it-along with new
capacicies and response-abiiities: "lncline yolu ear and come to m€; hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant…" (Isaiah 55-3). This "covenant,/-our
commitment to listen with our hearts and to act on what we know to be true-makes it more
and more possible to adhere to inner soul and spirit while serving. And this imagination of
selflessness comes from an inner still:ess or silence, described in Psalm 46. In the midst of ail
the intensiry and commodon we may see around us/ we are instructed, "Be sti]l, and know that I
am God-" This describes an inner space of stillness, of silence, of strengrh, within which we can
hear the voice of the divine. From this space, as we move in the direction of higher spheres of
hearing life indeed becomes, increasingly, a matter of listening. And we increasingly dwelop the
t.
2.
3.
17
courage to obey, and to serve/ selflessly: to say 'es," as did Mary, to whom we are being called to
be' The lvluslim pifurim responds aloud to the call of Abraham with the word Labbaika.
Translated as "Ever at thy service, O God. Ever at thy servicg,, it means, literally,
t,I
am
responding to your caI." The Islamic cali to prayer- the adhan-.shares its linguistic root with
the words for ear,listen, and permission.M
The Vigil: Call and Response:
Our hearing capacities move through a progression. First, we experience the literal,
physical sense of hearing passively, often expending more effort to avoidhearing than in rrying to
hear' When we iisten, we consciously, attentively focus our sense of hearing. As we practice
listening, we move beyond the literal, and our experience and imagination of listening and
hearing expands. After devoting great effon and diligence ro listening we spiral upward, to where
we hear in a new and deeper way, effonlessly. And from here, we move into active listening in a
new way' This new awareness is a gift of grace. It is not caused by the effort we put in-but is
not given unless we put in the effort.*
As we sit at the bedside of one who is readying dremseives for ffansition from the physical
body, our capacities for hearing and listening are critical. Selflessness, from all of the perspectives
mentioned, plays a cruciai role in the emergence of these capaciries. Conversely, deep soulful
iistening is part of the practice of selflessness. As we iisten honestly to our own listening
processes/ we begin to hear the voices of ego–<learer, louder, and more uncomfortably than e.rer
before' Call and response: Everlthing we hear is a cail, rc which we respond on some level, be it
thought, word, or action. How do we begin to discern among ail that comes toward us?
,,We
need to be abie to distinguish the music of spirit from the other meiodies that float upon the
18
air."s This rype of listening requires necessary space and silence, and restores the partnership
befiveen mind and heart.
There are layers of deepening encounters with call and response that the music –
thanatologist experiences, from first "hearing of" the field, then moving through academic,
musical, and inner formation. These include progressive experiences of hearing listening,
obeyrng, and seiflessness/ which expand both inwardly and ourwardly, to the extent that we are
willing to remain in the fire of alchemical transformation. As we fuel this fire with the essence of
our own willingness, intent, and trust, we undergo the transfornation of our own base elements
into something more refined, inclusive, precious and inr,-iting-all coming to a focal point wi*r
the actual delivery of prescriptive music as we serve the needs of the dyrng.
A broad range of sound is drawn into a labp'inthine joumey to the inner ear, to be
transformed into a di.fferent kind of impulse that inJorms our cenrers of higher consciousness.
Simiiarly, the varied soundings of our lndividual souis were drawn toward this vocation, taking us
through our own labyrinthine journeys-both inner and outer-toward a deep inner space from
where we ere called, in communiV, to create an impuise rhat both informs, and unites us with,
higher consciousness and the reaims of spirit. Contemplative musicianship calls us, toge*rer, to
the templuln: a place of divine presence, and an open place for obseryation. We create this inner
space-we might experience this as spirit caning out this space-within which we can fuily
iisten and hear: with our ears, our minds, and our hearts. We empty our
,,selves,,
from this
space, as we give the ego a sacred task. Our capacities grow; so that we can move into a more
stable space of adhenng to inner soul and spirit while serving. We become the alchemical ham,
maintaining and deepening both our horizontel and verical connections, while protecting the
sil'ent inner space that ailows soundiag and resonance. We emula1e rhe chalice-a vessel that
both receives and glves. These images speak of interconnectedness, of mutuali W, ofrelationship.
19
They also imply-or demand-radical receptiviry and responsiveness, which develop from selfless
listening, enabling us to connect with our true source, effecting fundamental and revolutionary
changes, in ourselves and our worlds. "In the activity of listening, w€ changg and therefore create
ourselves anew."N
"At every instant, ail universes receiye existence and sustenance from God. It is human beings, howwer, who
motivate this sustenance and transmit it to all worlds. When a person nulli.fies the sense of self completely and
thereby attaches Thought [the mind] to Nothingness [the center of creation], then a new sustenance flows to all
universes. This is a spiritual sustenance *rat did not previously ocist A person must be so in awe of God that the
ego is totally nullified. Only then will this sustenance flow to all universes, filled with evergJring good.'d
This is an expression of total interconnectedness with the divine, and with all of creation
in all of its forms. This imagination of selflessness is the embodiment of spiritual obedience: a
"hyper-listening" and radical receptivity through which we merge our free wili with the Will of
the Divine, becoming the chalice that receives divine sustenance, and, through, radical
responsiveness, pours it back out to all that surrounds it, raising holy sparks back to their source,
and allowing Divine sustenance to flow in a way which would not b€ otherwise possible.
Paradoxically, this selflessness does not negate individua[ry. We each bring something unique to
tJris process, and offer something unique through it, as our egos take on sacred tasks and undergo
their own transformation. Perhaps this facilitates personal movement into a liminai state, from
which-as we become more balanced between heaven and earth-we can better sef,/e the needs
of the dying, in their own very liminal states. eUght our own liminality as we serve at the
bedside provide a point of baiance and connection between the communities of *re living and the
dead? The combination of deep listening and selfless service allows us to move cioser rc our
patients, and hear what the;r tell us. In this space, might we both receive and answer the call of
the Divine through the dying one we servei
The aspects of creating music that challenge us reflect challenges in many other aspects of
our lives: lyricism, dynamics, phrasing, fluidiry, gesture, substance, tone/ consistency. And in a
20
very real tvay, it all comes down to listening. A basic starting point in listening is being able to
hear oneseif. We must be present to ourselves before we can be present to others. "If we are not
present to our olrn lives, then we cannot be present to the word."-d
!!'h.at makes it so difficuit to iisten? Listening is described as a developed skili, utilizing
the whole self, requiring discipline, concentration, patience, presence (being in the present)?
active panicipation, direction of our full attention, concern with getting to the heart of the
mattet comprehension via attunement (going beyond words), awareness of contex! visualizing
the situation as a whole, interest without distraction, humility and courage.n While these may
all be essential, the problem may be found iess in all rhat needs to be done, and more in releasing
that which stands in the way. "It is hard to listen, to hear, iJ rvhat's comiag in gets us involved
in our olrn fears and emotions. It makes us inaccessible."il The reiaionship of both selflessness
and hearing to the constellation Cancer is very revealing here. The crab hides, protected,
separateC rom the worid around it by its o!n afinor. Its '/ery narure provides a metaphor for the
challenges it called ro meet. It is inaccessibie, uninviing, fearn:i, separarc, elusive-much like
the seU-absorbed ego. Appropriarely, che practice associated wid: Cancer and the development of
selflessness is vuinerability.d The willingness rc pur oneself irr a posiion of possibiy being
wounded is necessary for the practice of selflessness, as weii as for the deep inner listening which
is both dependant on it, and essendal for it. Cerainly there must first be a willingness to be
woundeC if we are to die "spirirual deaths….the death or rransformation of oid panerns, habim,
roles, idendties, and the binh of a ne-ar person."n This awakens us to che deathlessness of the
spirit, liberating us from the fears associated with physical dearh. It also awakens us to *re
ephemeral and ilJusory nafure of ego. Through this process-the practi.ce of kenosis, of an inner
emptying Ctac provides a space rhat can become fiiled widr awe of the Divine-we can experience
21
a transformation of the intransigent ego, through which our capacities for listening, hearing and
selflessness can deepen.
"Listeners are vulnerable. Their reality is perpetually uncertain. Their gesture is one of response and
accornmodation, rather than insistence or inflexibility. Music, to the degree that it is sacred, trains'deep, inspired
listening. This strenuous_ listening stretches tlre listener and, in turn, impans a selflessness/ a patience, a stillness
which clears the way for the true perc€ption of phenomen".il'
Love and trust are two forces that allow us to move through fear, to hear what is actually
there, and to serve ofiers while standing firm in soul and spirir. Perceiving love in the worid is
seeing the world "as a revelation of spiritual presences, spiritual beings."n How do we receive
this revelation of spiritual presences? "Revelation presupposes inner emptiness.,,fr
Revelation-the manifestation of Divine will or truth-comes to us when the sel-fless, patient,
quiet, radicaliy receptive inner space is prepared. We return, again, to the intertwined actions of
hearing listening, and selflessness, through which-when lve approach them as sacred acts-we
can more fully perceive the very real existence and maniJestations of love in the world.
We speak of "creating a musical field" as we deliver presciprive music to the dyi:rg. But
there is already a very real field in the room. lVe are each open to and interacting with the world
around us' As we listen with our whole body, consciously aware of che presence of love around
us, we can enter the realiry of the patient, the family, and our music. Perhaps what we call
"creating a musical fieid" is the interweaving of sound into the akeady existing interplay of the
open energetic fie1ds of all the physical bodies and spirirual presences in the room. lf we can be
fully present to subde phenomena, listening wich a quiet, loviag hearr and a still, trusting mind,
something is drawn out of us by the dyrng one, guiding us in providing what is being called for.
"It is through iistening that wisdom, skill, and oppomrniry find form in an act that tnrly helps.
But more than all these, the very act of listeniag can dissolve distance berween us and others as
well- It allows us to meet one another in the puriry of love.'ffi If we can listen fu1ly from a space
22
of inner emptiness/ our prescriptive choices can come as a revelation of spiritual presences, and
provide an appropriate container within which everyone present can move forward.
Another perspective that can be applied to our time in the vigil, as well as to all activities,
is Participio actuosa. "Participatio actuosa is involvement widr the investment of one's self in
the action: song, prayerr listening. It is rational and volitional rather than emotional, affective
rather than sentimental or exhibitionistic."M This full investment of ourselves in our life
activities adds another dimension to all of our practices and experiences. And again, it moves
into an interrelated rycle: as we i.nvest ourselves this way, all of our experiences become deeper
and richer. As fear wanes and trust grows/ we move more intentionally into this full, actuai
investment of self. As this happens, our senses become more engaged, and e,rperience becomes
fuller on a bodily lwel. For examplg we begn to breathe with the patient, or even "breathe the
patient," in conuast to "following the breath." We become more connected/ more aware that we
are, indeed, breathing soul inrc each other. Separation dissolves, and true seiflessness becomes
the medicine in our music and in our presence. lVe listen co and experience the dying one in a
deeper way. We can hear our own responses in a deeper way-both inner and musical-and we
become more able to quickly accommodate the unexpected. Inner stillness and silence allows us
to resonate with the padent and family, to begrn to feel more tangibly rJle invisible connections
and movement in the room. Hearing, lisrening and selflessness, practiced as acts of devorion, can
trans{orm us, allowing us to move more surely through the labynndr of fear, emotion, and ego, to
the Holy of Holies: an inner, sacred, silent, protecred, stable space, from where we can bring
somedring ne',v into the world. And, as we move through our fears and realize tha! we are
answerlrrg a call and have divine help, we long for the journey, andwe realize a new levei of
capacities and abiiities to respond.
23
"Like to the lark which soars in the sky
Singing at first, and then, with utter biiss,
Filled to the full, falls silent by and by,
So seemed to me yon image of the impress
Of that etemal Will by love whereto
Each thing becomes that which it really is.'d'
Can we sit at the point where silence and sound, emptiness and fullness, kenosis and
pleroma merge/ and have the courage, in the moment, to say "yes" to who we truly are? Ildeath
is, indeed the central event of life-the time at which an individual becomes his or her most
definitive self-how much greater might our gift to the dytng be if we can meet them as who we
truly arei Through the spirirual practices of hearing listening and selflessness, we become more
fully our selves, and, from a loving heart, transform ourselves, our music, and ow service to the
dyrng, their loved ones, and the worid itself.
' Schroeder-Sheker, Therese. The Imagination of the Body The Ear. Hearing as Receiving The Labyrinth in the
Temple. Montana: St. Dr.rnstan's Press, 2000. p.16.
I
Weels, Bradford. "The Physician, the Ear, and Sacred Music. " In fufusic: Physician for Times to Come, edited by
Don Campbeil. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, i991. P.48
r!
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese. Lecflrre notes: "The imagination of the Bodln The Ear." February 1, 2000.
" In the myth of the Minoan Labyrinth, King Minos has Daedalus build a labfrinth from which no one can escape.
Placed in che center of it is the Minataur-a crearure, half man, haU bull, conceived by his wife, Pasiphae (daughcer
of the sun), after consummating her passion for a buii from the sea, sent as a gift from Poseidon to Minos. This
occured after Minos refused to sacrifice the buil (to offer it upward, to make it sacred), as instnrcted. So we stan off
with some convoiuted ex/ents arising from not listening to guidance from a higher source, leading to definite
maniJestations of imbalance. The illinotaur itself might symboiize chat which is conceived when misdirected
passion keeps us from [stening. Daedalus and his son Icarus are subsequently imprisoned in the labpinth by
Minos. They escape by fashioning wings of feather and wan lcan:s does not heed his fathels waming not to fly too
high, and falls to his death when the heat of the sun melts the wax holding his wings together. There is much to be
seen here relative to hearing, listening and selflessness. The probiems begin when Minos refuses to listen to
instruccions from the gods. The bull was an answer to his prayers-but his praying was not an act of listen:.ng or
obeying. He can't hear, because he can't get his own ego desires out of the way. Pasiphae can't hear ei*rer, and, by
falling victim to her own ego-lwel passions, bmgs into the world a creacure which, imprisoned at the center of dre
labyrinth, might spnboli:e werything wirhln us that keeps us from truly listening-from receiving inner guidance
and perceivrng tnrdr. Daedalus' story shows us ihat we can become impnsoned in a maze of our own making. To
escape from it, we must go down and in, to the very center (just as with physical hearing). Only from *ris piace can
we receive inner guidance, risirtg upward i.n consciousness-still k .ptng in mind that we must keep our sense of
balance intact, and not losing oru sense of our positioning beween heaven and eanh, as did Icarus.
" EneTclopedia of Religton, edited by Mircea Eliade. "I^abyrinth." Ngar York MacMilan Pubiishrng Company, 1987.
" Gibsoa,
/ames l. The Senses Considaed x Perceptual Systems. Boston, ilLA: Houghton Miffi.in Company, 1966.
24
*
Sardello, Robert. Lecture notes: "Parricidal.,, November 3, 1998.
vt
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese. Lecture notes: "Beyond Repertoire: Aicroasis." Ivlarch 23,lggg
h
Ihde, Don. Ijsrerun g and Voice: A Phenomenology of Sound. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, I 976. p.
14
"…the whole reductionistic tendency which in seeking to purify experiences beiies ia richness at the source.
A rurn to the auditory dimension is thus potentially more than a simple changing of variables. It begins as a
deliberate decentering of a dominant tradition in order to disccver what may be missing as a resulr of the rraditional
doubie reduction of vision as the main variable and metaphor. This deliberate change of emphasis from the visual to
the auditory dimension at first symbolizes a hope to find rnaterial for a recovery of the richness of primary e:perience
which is now forgotten or covered over in the too tighrly interpreted visuaiist traditions.
"It might even be preliminarily suspected that precisely some of the range of phenomena at present most di.fficult for
a visualist tradicion might yield more readily to an attention which is more concerned with listening. For e,xample,
symbolically, it is the inuisible, which poses a series of almost insurmountable problems for much contemporary
philosophy. 'Otler minds' or persons who fail to disclose themselves in their'inne/ invisibiliry; the 'Godsl who
lemain
hidden; my own 'self whj.ch constantly eludes a simple visual appearance; the whole realm of spoken and
heard language must remain unsolvable so long as our seeing is not also listening. It is to the invisible that listening
may attend."
' Sardello, Roben. Freeing the Soul from Fear. New Yorlc fuverhead Books, 1999. P.Z3Z
" In the Chinese Five-Element system, each organ is associated with one of five elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water,
Wood. Each eiement, among other things/ encompasses specfic organs/ senses, emotions and psycho-spiritual
tendencies, issues, strengths, and challenges. Water rules hearing, so is directly reiated to the ear.
'r The balance and interplay between Yin and Yang lies at the heart of Chinese cosmology, and is addressed in any
tsrt concerning Chinese philosophy or medicine. In a general sense, Yin encompasses what are thought of as the
more femaie energies, Yang, the male. In health, there is a dynamic baiance between chem, widr the seed or essence
of each existing widrin che depths of the other.
d
Schneider, Marius. "The Narure of the Praise Song." in Cosmr'c Music: ilIusical Keys to the Interpretation of
Rrtfity. Eciired by |oscelyn Godwin. vermonc Inner Tradirions, 1989. p..32.
'"_As descnbed by Rudoif Steiner (Anthroposophy), and eiaborated b,v Robert Sardello (Spiritual Psycholory).
"Spiriarai Psychology'' refers to a particr.lar wholistic imagination of human life, which seeks "to unite our spiritual
longings with the depths of soul life in a manner applicable to daily life." (Sardello, Robert. Printed notes: "iare of
the Senses: The Art of Soulfui Liirng." Nor*r Carolina: School of Spiritual Psycholory: October, 1998.
According rc Sardello, 'The human senses forrn *re axquisite tepestry of rhe human body, weaving the wonders of
the world rnto the folds of ir:.ner life. It is impossible for us ro live soulfully in &e world without being deliciously
engaged wid: it We are somewhat conscious of what sensing brins to us from rhe surrounding world, but not
neariy as conscious of the depths of ttre act of sensing and of the liveliness and beaury of the sensory worids."
Rudolph Steiner, a researcher into soul and spint iife, described cwelve senses. His work, as elaborated by Sardeilo, is
particulariy applicable here. The senses are funccionally tinked th:ough the Zodiac. Steiner described nvelve virslles,
aiso asuologically linked. Encompassed within ttre sign of Cancer, we find ',he sense of hearing and the vim:e of
seiflessness.
The welve senses are divided into *uee categories:
i. The corporeal senses, through which we experience the rigbt reiarion of soul ro body. These are the senses of
touch, [ife, balance, and movement.
2. The alchemical senses, through which we experience interacdon with the.arorid. These are the senses of smell,
taste, vision, and warmth.
3. The spiritual senses, chrough which we axperience the relacion of ttre spirirual world to the body. Spiricual
senses are involved with the dweiopment of the capacity for creating. These are the senses of speech, thoughr, I
(individuality), and hearing.
We do not possess the capacities/ on our own, of any of the spiritr:al senses. The actuai process of hearing, for
axample, can only be accomplished with angelic intervenrion-
1J
-Sardello,
Robert. Printed notes; "Care of the Senses: The Art of Soultul Lirring." North Carolina: School of
Spiritual Psychology October, 1998. P.20.
il
Sardelio, Robert. Printed notes: "spiritual Psychoiogy of Virnre." Nort-h Carolina: School of Spiritual Psychology:
October, 1999. P.8.
*ll
Carbaugh, Donal. "'|ust Listeningl: 'Listeningl and Landscape Among the Blacldeet." Western loumal of
Communicaion. Summer, 1999. p.250
-d
Sardello, Robert. Printed notes: "spiritual Psychology of lirrrre." North Carolina: School of Spiritual Psychology
October, 1999. P.10.
'h Kunga Tenpay Nyima, Deshung Rinpoche. The Three Levels of Spirirual Perception: An Oral Commenury on the
Three Visions (NanS Sum) of Ngorchen Konchog Lhnndnrb. Edited and translated by Victoria R.M. Scott. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, L995.
o
Sardello, Robert. Printed notes: Pracri'cal Spiriual Psychology Transformations of Emotional Life Through the
Virtues. Nordr Carotna: School of Spirirual Psycholory: October,l999.
*
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese. The Imagination o{ the Body The Ear. Hearing as Receiuing The Lab7rinth in rhe
Temple. Montana: St. Dunsan's Press, 2000. P.17.
o'r
Sardello, Rcbert. Printed notes: "spiritual Psychology of Service." North Carolina: School of Spiritual Psychology:
October, 1999.
d
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese. The Imagination of the Bady The Ear. Hearing as Receiuing The Labyrinth in the
Temple. Monana: Sc. Dunstan's Press, 2000. P. 17.
s'
rorris, Kar5-leen. Ama:W Grace: A Vocabulary of Fatrh. Ne,v York Riverhead Bools, 1998. p.l-14.
*
Sardello refen to dre hean's processes as being mainiy related io balar:ce, illustrating another parallei to rhe ear.
For the hean, dris reiates co maintaining baiance in *re blood, as well as in balancing nerve and mentai processes
wi*r metaboiic functions. This is done using informadon sensed by *re heart when the blood enters the auricies: ir
is here that the heart "listens" to the state and needs of the body, to which it constandy responds.
n
Sardello, Rcbert. Frintedhandout,'nVorkingWith the Vim:es." Octcber, 1999.
*r
rVew Carhalic Enqrclopedia "Obedience." New York Mccraw-F{ill Book Company. Voi.X, p.604
*'ll
Grir*old, Frank T. "Listeningwith the Ear of the Hean: Achieving Uniry of rMind and Heart to Gain
Spirituaiiry." Cross Cunents. Spring, 1999. p.5.
*Ibid
E
Srrl'6"tt.r, |e:n. "The Command is to Hear: an intenriearwith Rabbi Adin Stainsalc.." Parabola. Spring, 1999.
P.26.
*
Ertgrclopedia ludaicz. "Shema, reading of." ferusaiem: The Macrlillan Company, 1971. Vol.i 4., p.l37o.
*d
Schoiem, Gershom. Origins of rhe l{aballeh. USA: }eaiish Publicadon Sociery, 1987. Beriin: Walter de Gruycen
andCo, 1,962. P.LZB
*'d
ib id, p.l2g
**
Cray, H. "Abraham's Ca11," Parabola, Spring, 9a. p.5L.
zo
*
The virnre of baiance is described by Sardello as the right relationship bet'*cen effort and grace.
d
lonsdale, David. Listening to the Ivlusic of the Spirit The Art of Discemmenf. Notre Dame, IN: Ave &Iaria
Prccq lOQt P))
M
Schrceder-Sheker, Therese. The Imagination of rhe Body The E;u,. He:tring as Receiving The Labyrinth in the
Temple. rlonuna: St. Dunstan's Press, 2000. P.17.
*irl
Cooper, David. God Is A Verb. New York Riverhead Books, L997 . P.22{ quouing Rabbi Lwi Yit:hak of
Berdichev.
*rt
Griswold, Frank T. "Listenilg with the Ezr of. rhe Heart: Achieving Unirl of Mind and Heart to Gain
Spirituality." Cross Currents. Spring, 1999.
'r Barbara, Dominick The fut of Listening. Sprngfield, Il: Charies C. Thomas, 1958.
'r Koile, Eic. Listening as a Way of Beroming, L977. p.63
tlll
As explained in, Spiritr.ral Psychology, selflessness demand.s that we let dowrr our ego-generated defenses, lening
this flow of soul move behveen owselves and others, even in the face of the possibiLiry furobability?) of being
wounded. How does '.he crab move into this seemingiy dangerous spacel If we set the Zodiac up as a wheel, rhere
is a specific reiationship berween each constellation and dre one across from it. One way we can work on living a
particular virn:e is to recognize the need to use the power ot '.he virnre in this related constellation. Across from
Cancer we find Capricom, and the virn:e of courage. Courage allows '!rs to meet the fear we find here: not to banish
or vanquish fear, but to commit each day to once again meeting and'arorking widr this fear, for the sake of our soul
and spirit life. Courage aUows us to "calmly stand at the abyss and ke:p going." It is a way of living in the midst of
fear. Also, to live a vim:e, one must aiready have'arorked with the essence of -;he virnre in the preceding
constellation: il this case, faithfulness. If we have begun worhng vrrth seUiessness/ we have probably done pre'rious
work with faithfulness, from which we can draw suength. The image cf fairhtuiness in Spiritual Psychciog.v is
"st:nding finn in soul and spirit." We need, then, to commit to stanriing rinn in soui and spirit life as .are move ilto
the realm of serrrice.
d
Kramer, KerinetJr Paul. "DyingAwake: The Pracrice of Spirirual Death." Srud'es in Formative Spirimality The
lournal of Onping Formacion. Nwember, 1989. p.311.
'rM Weei<s, Bradford. "Tne Physician, the Ear, and Sacred. Music. " ln Musjc: Physician for Times to Come, edired by
Don Campbell. Wheaton, IL: Quest Bools, 1991. P.53.
*
Sardeilo, Roben. Freeing the Sou/ frcm Fear. New York Riverhead Books, 1999.
n
Vaientin Tomberg, (Source: personal communication with Thelese Schroeder-Sheker, August 12, 2000).
x'vlr
Ram Dass and Gorman, PauI. How Can I Help?.Srones and Re:Tecdons on Sewice. Irlew Yorr*L Alfred A Knopi
1998. p.112.
"ln the ciarity of a quiet mrnd, there is room lor all that is actually happenrng and.arhatezer else mighr also be
possibie. Though we may be mindful of myriad details, ow amencion n€r/erwaivers from the specilic ,;ituaci.on or
person in need. The intimary of our aftentiorr becomes a hean-to -hean i.ifeline made firm and fast; no one need fall
from the edge (p.t08)….Ultimately, this kind of listerung to rhe intuirive mind is a kind of surrender based on
trust…We m:"st that iCs possibie to hear into a greater ssralitywhich ofers insrsht and guidance….As we leam ro
listen wiri a qruet mind, dere is so much we hear. L:side ounelves'r'v€ can begin to hear *rat "still small voice
within," as cire Quakers call it, the voice of our inarrnve hean wh-ich has so long been drowned out b,v the noisy
thinhng mind. We hear our skills and needs, ow subcle intenuonaiid.es, our lirnits, our innate generosides. Lr
odrer people
"rie
hearwhat help cirey reaily require, what license d:err are acuaily gtnng us to help, what potentral
force rhere is ior change. We can hear their saengdrs and &eu paia We hear'*'hat support is available, what
zt
obstacles mustbe reckonedwith(p.Ill)….It is through listening thatwisdom, skill, and opportuniry find form in an
act that truly helps. But more than all these, the very act of listening can dissolve distance between us and others as
well. It allows us to meet one another in the purity of love.,, (p.l lZ).
'!'n Maccarthy, Peter D. "Listening and Liturgy." sacred lvIusic. Fall, r993. p.35
"
AliShiere, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Trans. Dorothy Sayers and Barbara Refnolds. New Yorlc Penguin Books,
L962. Paradtse, Canto )C(.
rKarl
Rahner, as per Therese Schroeder-Sheker. Lecture: "Culrural Thanatology: Kramer and Rahner." g/LT/98
BIBLIOGR,PHY: BOOKS
Alighiere., Dante. The Divine Comedy. Trans. Dorothy Sayers and Barbara Reynolds.
Nelv York: Penguin Books, 1962.
Barbara, Dominick. The Art of Listening. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, i958.
Berendt, ]oachim Ernst. The Third Ear: On Listening to rhe World. Transl. Tim Nevill.
NewYork: Holt and Co, 1988.
Christensen, Erik. The Musical Timespace: a Theory of lvlusical Listening. Aalborg Denmark:
Aalborg University Press, L996.
Cooper, David. God Is A Verb. New York Riverhead Books, 1997 .
Ford, Richard Q. The Parables of lesus: Recovering rte fut of Listerting.
Ivlinneapolis, IvlN: Fortress Press, 1997.
Gibson, James J. Tie Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems. Boston, IvL{: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1966.
Guyton, Arthur C. Textbook of Medical Physiology. W.B. Saunders Co: Philadelphia, 198i.
Handel, Scephen. Listening: An Introduction to the Perception of Auditory Events.
Cambridge, N[A: The MIT Press, 1989.
Hollinshead, W. Textbookof Anatomy. NewYork Harper and Row, L97,+.
Ihde, Don. Listening and Voice: A Phenomenology of Sound.
Athens, OH: Ohio Universiry Press, L976.
|ourdain, Roben. IvIusic, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captwes Our Imagination.
Ne.n York, NY: Avon Books, 1997.
Koile, Enc, Listening as a Way of Becoming, 1977.
Kunga Tenpay N'yima, Deshung Rinpoche. The Tfuee Lsrels of Spiitual Perception: An Oral
Commenury on the Three Visions (NanS Sum) of Ngorchen Konchog Lhtndrub.
Edited and translated by Victoria R.lv[. Scott. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.
Lonsdale, David. Listening to the Music o{ rhe Spiic: The An of Discemment.
Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1992.
Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese ivledictne.
New York: Churchili Livingstone, 1989.
NlcClellan, Randail. The Healing Forces of Music: History Theory and Practice.
&lassachusetts: Element Books, 1,99 L.
Ivloore, Thomas. "Annunciation" in The Angels, edired by Robert Sardello.
Dallas: Dallas Instifute Publications, 1994.
Ivfusic: Physician for Times to Come, edited by Don Campbell. lVheaton, IL: Quest Books,
199t.
. Weeks, Bradford. "The Physician, The Ear, and Sacred l{usic."
. Hykes, David. "Harmonic Chant-Giobal Sacred lvlusic."
. Wilson, Tim. "Chant: The Healing Power of Voice and Ear-An interview with Alfred
Tomatis, IvID."
Nichols, Nflchael P. The Lost Art of Listenins. L995.
Norris, Kadileen. Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.
Norris, Kadrleen. Dakota. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999.
Sardello, Roben. Freeing the Soul from Fear. New York Riverhead Books, 1999.
Schneider, Ivlarius. "The Nature of the Praise Song." in Cosmic Iv[usic: Ivlusical Keys to the
Interpreteion o{ Reality. Edited by }oscelyn Godwin. Vermont: Inner Traditions, !989.
Scholem, Gershom. Origins of the Kaballah. USA: ]er,vish Publication Sociery, 1987.
Berlin: Walter de Gruyten and Co, 1962.
Sceindl-Rast, David. A Listening Heart: The An of Contemplative Liuing.
Ne'ar York: Crossroad Publishing Co, 1984.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: ARTICLES
Carbaugh., Donal. "'|ust Listening': 'Listening'and Landscape Among the Blacldeet."
Wesetn loumal of Communication. Summer, 1999.
Gray, FI. "Abraham's Cail," Parabola, Spring, 94
Griswolci, Frank. T. "Listening wit the Ear of. *re Hean: .Achieving Unity of Mind and F{eart ro
Gair Spirituality." Cross Ounents Spring, 1999.
Kramer, Kennedr Paul. "Dyrng A'rake: The Practice of Spirirual Death." Srudies in Formative
Spiituafity: The loumal o{ Ongoing Formaaon. November, L989.
fackson, Stan-iey W. "The Listening Healer in the History of Psychoiogical Healing."
American lournal of Psychiaty, Dec L992.
.,[acCarJry, Peter D. "Listening and Lit:urgy." Sacred ;Iusic- Fa]1,, 1993.
