A practice in listening

A practice in listening….

Prior to the meeting, have each group member bring in something to share that they value and be ready to share a story about what significance this item has.

Tonight is a night about listening. So often in life we get into conversations with people and rarely are we totally present. Tonight we are going to focus our attention on listening without responding but just being open and receptive to what is being shared. We come together to share things that we value…to speak and to be heard. To start things off, I would like us to just take a moment to be quiet and listen to our own inner voice and to get centered…So sit back and relax, focus on your breathing…let go of any worries just for tonight…and be present to this moment…and just listen….hear your breath as it goes in and out through your nose, feel your chest rise and fall, hear the stillness with in….if your mind starts to wander, just go back and listen to your breath…..(take 3-5mins of silence)

Then read the following…..

Listening is like weaving a new pattern with two different life stories stretched out on the same loom. After a story is told and received with care, the lives of two people have become different. Two people have discovered their own unique stories and two people have become and integral part of a new fellowship.


There is nothing quite so sacred, so fragile, or so mysterious as the human being. There is probably no service we can render other persons quite as great or important as to be listener and receiver to them in those moments when they need to open their hearts and tell someone their story.


You may open your eyes…

…So let us listen to one another tonight with attentiveness, focusing our attention on the person speaking…not thinking about what we are ourselves will share, but being totally present to each other in our sharing…if we find our minds drifting…just gently come back to the person speaking and focus on their sharing. We will just take time to hear each person and not make a response initially, but we will let our gift be our listening. In doing this we will create a sacred space of holy listening…so sit back and enjoy the freedom of listening and being really heard.

Who would like to share first??

Some ideas for discussion….

How do you listen as a group in Koinonia? As individuals? Did you feel like you were really heard tonight? What was it like to really be heard? How did it feel to just talk without response? Was this freeing or did you feel like you wanted a response? Was the community around you being attentive, enough feedback to let you know you are valued and loved? Do you think this listening strengthen us as a community?

End the evening with quiet prayer… holding hands…say a prayer either aloud or in the quiet of your heart and squeeze the persons hand to your right to signal you are finished. End with the sign of peace.