What is Deep Listening?

Deep Listening: The First Step on The Wisdom Way

As the nights stretch longer here in the Northern Hemisphere, a quiet invitation stirs in many of us- to slow down, soften, and truly listen. Not just with our ears, but with our whole being.

In this week’s Wisdom Drop-In: Mondays at the Well, we explored deep listening - a foundational principle of The Wisdom Way, and a doorway into your own soul’s knowing. This 30-minute online weekly gathering is free and open to all, weaving gentle practice, reflection, and soulful journaling.

🎥 Watch the extract on YouTube here

What Is Deep Listening?

To deeply listen is to create space - for life, for truth, for soul. It’s not just about hearing others. It’s about softening the inner noise and receiving the moment as it is, through body, heart, and presence.

We live in a world that speaks fast, moves fast, consumes fast. But wisdom doesn’t rush. Wisdom whispers.

In The Wisdom Way, we say:

“Listen Deeply. Live Courageously. Love Fiercely.”

And it begins here - with presence, with stillness, with listening.

Why Listening Is Hard (And Why It Matters)

Did you know we speak at 120–150 words per minute, but our minds think at 600–800? No wonder it’s hard to stay present. We race ahead, finish sentences, interrupt, filter, project.

Yet deep listening asks us to empty out - of assumptions, expectations, and the need to be right. It invites us into humility, wonder, and soul-aligned response.

Listening with Your Whole Being

This isn’t just mental. It’s somatic. It’s spiritual.

• Mind: Spacious, curious attention

• Heart: Openness to be touched and moved

• Belly: Grounded presence and gut knowing

• Senses: Attunement to tone, energy, silence

We can listen to more than people. We can listen to the land, the sky, the breath, the body, the mystery itself.

A Simple Practice to Begin

Try this 5-minute ritual:

1. Sit or walk slowly. Let your body settle.

2. Bring awareness to the sounds around you - don’t label them, just notice.

3. Gradually listen for the silence behind the sounds. Let it widen within you.

4. Ask your body: How may I enhance my listening capacity in this moment?

5. When you're finished journal a few lines about how listening feels in your being.

Insights From Our Circle

When we explored this together live, a participant offered:

“To listen is to hear what is usually silent.”

Another spoke of boundaries - how deep listening isn’t about being available “on tap,” but about right timing and sacred space.

Listening to others begins with listening to yourself. And self-listening, especially when it brings up pain or truth, is an act of courage.

From Listening to Living & Loving

🜂 Listen Deeply: Be present. Empty out. Receive.
🜂 Live Courageously: Act on what you hear.
🜂 Love Fiercely: Let your presence be generous, boundaried, and brave.

Keep It Alive in Daily Life

• Leave a note on your door for when you go out: How can I listen today?

• Before speaking, ask: What needs to soften in me?

• Walk in nature without headphones or agenda. Let the world speak to you.

Want More?

Join me live every Monday, 20:00–20:30 CET, for Mondays at the Well - a free, weekly drop-in space to reconnect with your inner wisdom through presence, story, and journaling.

💌 Register here – All are welcome.

And if this resonates, I invite you to explore The Wisdom Way - a soulful path of living in rhythm with your heart, embodying grace, and leading from love.

🌀 Explore The Wisdom Way Sanctuary

With deep listening and love,
Georgina