Welcome to Day 9 of Insight Timer's Reset and Refresh Challenge.
Your call to break free from the ordinary,
Let go of what's been holding you back,
And step into your life with a fresh perspective.
Let's jump into today's session.
Hello everyone.
Today we're going to be unpacking what it means to feel heard and to be heard in our lives.
If you can,
Grab a journal so that we can unpack some things on the page together.
Life can be busy,
As we all know,
And many of the voices that are external often overlap with our own thoughts,
And things become entangled.
Often many of us are yearning for things and connections that are profound,
That make us feel something,
That have an impact on our hearts and on our minds.
A lot of that comes from wanting to be heard.
And I've been thinking,
What does it truly mean to have someone hear us?
How can we tune into those subtle nuances and pay closer attention to not only what we're trying to say,
But who can hear us most clearly?
Being heard is not just about the words that we say,
But it's also about the presence and empathy that we can offer ourselves and those around us.
I'd like to start our journey by considering this question.
If you have your journal,
This will be a great thing to write down.
It's very simple and practical.
What makes me feel heard?
As we seek to understand ourselves better,
We can cultivate deeper compassion for our inner voice and our relationships with our loved ones.
Reflecting on what makes us feel heard can be powerful.
It's an amazing way to deepen that self-awareness muscle that we're all trying to exercise more often and enhance our capacity for understanding and openness.
I feel that being heard involves more than just listening with our ears.
It's also deeply connected to engaging our hearts and minds,
To paying attention to how we're feeling in our body,
With ourselves and in the company of others.
And it's also about creating these safe and sacred spaces for someone to share their thoughts and feelings with us without judgment,
Especially in moments of conflict.
This is challenging sometimes,
But it's also a thing that we are deeply yearning for.
Feeling heard is a connection.
Feeling heard allows us to soften into the truth,
Not just our personal truth,
But the truth of someone else.
And many of us weren't taught how to do that.
And so we are learning how to unpack how we show up for others and how we'd like others to show up for us.
So looping back to that question,
What makes you feel heard?
Adding another layer to that,
What makes you feel attuned to someone else?
A lot of our senses aren't straightforward.
Sometimes the silence we hear is louder than any words can speak.
And so it takes attunement and alignment to explore exactly what that means for us in and out of relationships.
Here are some thought starters that I'd like you to explore as you're unpacking in your journal.
Presence.
When someone truly listens,
They are fully present in the moment.
That can make us feel deeply heard.
Distractions are put aside.
Judgments are put aside.
Their individual attention is the gift of the moment.
So I'm curious,
How does presence make you feel?
Does it make you feel heard?
Does it make you feel seen?
Dive deeper on the pages.
Non-judgment.
For me,
Being heard is having the freedom to express myself without the fear of harsh criticism or judgment.
So I'm curious,
How does it feel when you speak your truth without reservation?
And how are you learning to do that in a way that is rooted in empathy and compassion?
Another thing I'd like you to dive a little deeper in is validation.
Feeling heard for many of us often involves validation,
A recognition of our thoughts and feelings,
And trusting that they are valid and that they are worthy of acknowledgement.
Can you recall a time when your experiences were validated in this way?
Did that make you feel heard?
Did it make you feel seen?
Lastly,
Having someone listen to us fosters a deep sense of connection.
It's a bridge that connects one heart to another.
So as you're doing your writing practice today,
I'd like you to think about the times you've experienced a beautiful connection through feeling heard.
This can be in relationship to yourself or with someone else.
In our mindfulness practice,
We can cultivate all of these qualities within ourselves.
As we meditate and breathe,
We can remind ourselves to be fully present,
To cultivate empathy,
To withhold judgment,
And to validate our own experiences.
In doing so,
We also become better listeners,
Offering the gift of being heard to those around us.
As we wind down today,
I'd like to invite you to carry the art of listening and presence into the rest of your day.
May we offer the gift of being heard to others,
And may we receive it with gratitude when it is offered to us.
In this way,
We can foster deeper connections and understanding in our lives and in this new year of 2024.
Thank you for being here with me today.
Tomorrow,
We will be exploring what it means to feel and be loved in our lives.
Until then,
Take good care.
