Shut Up and Listen!

 

Heart Intelligence

“Know all the theories. Master all the techniques. But as you touch a human soul, be just another human soul”

Carl Jung

          Sometimes it’s hard for folks who are educated in a particular area to follow this guidance from Carl Jung. Some of us have spent a lifetime studying and reading and packing our brains with information and experiences. We are eager to share what we know with anyone who will listen. The one thing that we haven’t learned is that not everyone comes to us to be “educated.” Many people come simply to be heard; to have someone witness their dilemma, their struggle, their joy, their pain. I am the world’s worst to start explaining what they need to do or know about their situation. I know there must be gobs of folks who would just like to slap my mouth shut.

          I remember Gene—an ultra-smart guy I went to High School with. Nowadays we would recognize him as being someone on the high end of the Autism Spectrum, but we didn’t know anything about that at the time. Gene would correct people’s grammar, and he would fact-check the teachers in real time and make absolutely certain that whatever anyone said in class or beyond was in keeping with truth and accuracy. Everybody hated poor old Gene! He got no respect for his brilliance whatsoever. That’s how we typically feel about know-it-alls.

          It’s a good rule of thumb to not offer advice unless someone asks for it. (I need to write that on the top of my hand.) And, oh, boy, is that hard to do. Just listening, just being present to that other person, is gift enough. And if they ask what you would do in such situations, be honest about it—if you don’t know, say so.

          When one soul encounters another soul at the level of authenticity and empathy, that is sufficient. Healing happens even in the absence of words. There is an energetic exchange that goes directly from heart to heart that knows more than our thinking brains about compassion and healing. I hope I can remember to keep my mouth shut today, and just be one soul encountering another.

                                                            In the Spirit,

                                                            Jane