Are we listening? Chris Forte on how he decided to pay attention.
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This morning at yoga the instructor shared this story which inspired me to come up with this title and write this week’s blog on this topic.
Two friends, one Native American and the other American were walking down a busy street in Manhattan, NY. As they were walking the Native American said to his friend do you hear that cricket? The friend kind of looked at him puzzled as all he could hear was people rushing around, traffic, a typical day in NYC. He said to the Native American are you sure? He said yes and said follow me, they crossed the street and saw this tree and low and behold when they went under the tree there was the cricket.
The friend was amazed! He said to the Native American, how did you hear that? The Native American simply said I choose what to listen to. The friend couldn’t fully comprehend the lesson. The Native American used this as a valuable teaching moment. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of change and threw it down on the busy sidewalk of Manhattan and soon as the changed hit the sidewalk all the people looked around to see if it it was their change that they dropped or looked at the opportunity to pick it up. The friend got the lesson, what do we choose to listen to?
As I walked home for yoga. I chose to listen to the birds chirping, the rain drops falling from the tree and the wind blowing. What voice is this? Is it nature? Is it the Universe? Is it God? In truth we each have the power within to make that decision but the first step one may ask, am I listening? For most of my life I would let those whispers go right by thinking of what to do next, what’s on the to do list, the checkmark to cross off. What I like to call sleepwalking through life as opposed to being awake, being present, being with God.
The first step in hearing the voice of God in our souls and heart, is to make that choice to listen. Oh God has been talking to me in many ways over the years, I made the choice to listen elsewhere. Those days are behind me now as I move forward on the quest of building the ultimate relationship with my friend God. God talks to me through nature, my children, through my former wife, through family and friends, God talks to me through business, God talks to me through negative people that no longer serve me, God talks through all. How I choose to listen is up to me?
God communicates directly to me through my heart not my mind. God blessed me with a beautiful mind to create, learn, teach and grow. The mind has many thousands of thoughts that go throughout it everyday. This is why a little meditation time daily is important. To give our minds a place of stillness, of rest. Meditation helps bring more creativity and gives us the ability to use more of our brain.
However, the number one reason why I meditate is I know when God speaks to me. God doesn’t speak through my mind. God speaks through my heart. This has taken me a while to decipher and is still a work in progress. All I have to keep doing is choosing what I want to listen to and how to listen to it. I think its time to choose God, all the time. It’s through the Heart where God speaks.
Live Brave,
Chris
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This article originally appeared on Chris Forte’s Blog
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