LEARN TO LISTEN

On the spiritual path there are many seeming contradictions. You will be told to be very careful and to think before you speak or act. Later on the path you will be told you must learn to act spontaneously, to be quick and wise on the spur of the moment. You are at present at the stage where you must learn to be very guarded, very careful in speech.

The wise person learns so much through silence. You know the story of the wise old owl who sat on a tree and looked and listened? Learn to be wise and silent—to listen. You want to listen to the spirit world, to listen to the words of love spoken by your beloved in the beyond, by your guide, your teacher, and later, by your master.

Learn then to listen first to people on the earth plane—give your whole attention to the one who is speaking to you; listen also to the sounds of the birds and the animals, the song of the wind in the trees, and the song of falling raindrops and of the rushing river.

This is how the American Indians were trained from childhood; and because they were so trained, they were able to hear not only physical sounds, but sounds behind those of earth, the sounds of the unseen world. They could distinguish the voices of their spirit guides and teachers; they could also hear the voices of the nature spirits. It is difficult for you in noisy cities to hear anything of these, yet you must train yourself to listen.

White Eagle (The Still Small Voice)