I was inspired by a recent teaching by Tara Brach on mindful listening. A link to her 12-minute video is here and also below. I recommend it..

Here is what Tara inspired in me:

It has been said that "Hearing is through the ears, but listening is through the mind and heart.”

Even when we do pay attention, we often hear rather than listen.

Is there someone you have a hard time listening to? Perhaps a colleague, friend, or family member?

Have you developed strategies to avoid listening to this person, like doing the dishes while you hear, or going through your least essential emails?

When a person isn't listened to, they can become irritable and reactive.

Are people self-centered if they think about themselves all the time? Is it being selfish?

Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, introduced the idea of ego as a part of the self that regulates between the wild person that wants everything without delay (the id: libido, envy, desire) and the very restrictive self that says: don’t do anything terrible, you’ll get punished (the super-ego). For Freud, the ego was always trying to make peace between the two other forces.