I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Saturday, January 7, 2017

The Importance of Listening

From the Tarot of the Secret Forest, the Queen of Cups; from the Faeries Oracle, Arval Parrot:
          The Queen's element recognizes her as one of its own as it swirls around her. This lovely lady is known for her compassion; she leans in toward the suffering of others rather than away from them. She is concerned for the emotional well-being of people, and doesn't worry that their pain will rub off on her. If she's as wise as I think she is, she'll know that pity or mutual despair won't help the person she's listening to. A drowning man needs a raft, not another drowning person. Arval the faerie appears to remind me of the importance of communication, especially in the form of listening. His last name - Parrot - makes me think of a skill we learned in counseling classes. To make sure we heard what we thought we did, we would have to repeat back in our own words what the person had said. This exercise helped clear away the debris of assumptions, prejudices and generalizations. Both of these cards would likely agree with these words from William H. Vanstone: "Most of the noise comes from the shallow end."

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8 comments:

  1. Sharyn Mallow WoerzJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:04 AM

    repeating back is an amazing tool, I saw someone using it on a PBS special years ago.

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    1. thesycamoretreeJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:27 AM

      It is; I am always surprised that what I think someone said is often not what they meant!

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  2. EllenJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:39 AM

    I do appreciate the technique to some extent. For me can easily become irritating. Just listening with a nod or two and be silent together could be a welcome variety to repeating back what you hear.

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    1. thesycamoretreeJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:46 AM

      The idea is not to rewind and replay so much (which can be VERY irritating!) but to make sure what I understand is what was meant. I can easily get what is emphasized wrong. For instance, sometimes people don't want a solution, they just want someone to talk about things. :)

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    2. EllenJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:50 AM

      my opinion is probable influenced by a Parrot Therapist who acted like a taperecorder on rewind :)
      I agree how important it is to check if what we understand is the same as what was meant :)

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    3. thesycamoretreeJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:54 AM

      The tape recorder kind makes me grind my teeth!

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  3. UnknownJanuary 7, 2017 at 1:08 PM

    When you realize that about 85% or more of our interaction is non-verbal, real listening is such a vital, big part of communication that most of us don't pay enough attention to.

    We're loosing our abilities I'm afraid to socially interact with all this technology online stuff behind screens. Just look at the way people interact constantly through their phones attached to their ears.

    I'm concerned about kids growing up with few face to face social skills even with their own parents. The internet is a great thing but certainly not a replacement for face to face eyeball to eyeball communication.

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    1. thesycamoretreeJanuary 7, 2017 at 1:21 PM

      I agree with you 100%! It is important to know how to interact face to face with people, and the internet is a mixed bag when it comes to this.

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