Listening to Ourselves
Theme for the Week
Reflection By Scott Stoner
Your inner voice is the voice of divinity. To hear it, we need to be in solitude, even in crowded places.
- A. R. Rahman
Each Monday we will introduce a theme for the week related to our overall theme of listening. This week our theme is “listening to ourselves.”
We start with the focus of listening to ourselves because we believe that how we listen to ourselves sets the pattern for how we listen in all other areas of our lives, including how we listen to others, and how we listen to God. If we are curious and open in listening to ourselves, we will be curious and open in listening to others. If we have a pattern of not listening well to ourselves, we will likely repeat that pattern in other areas of our lives, as well.
As the quote from A. R. Rahman states, when we listen to our inner voice, we are listening for how God is always whispering to us. When attended to, that inner, divine voice can serve as a compass to guide our lives. It can also serve as a guide for how to listen to others. Rahaman also reminds us that creating time for solitude and quiet within ourselves is essential for being able to hear the divine inner voice.
In yesterday’s reflection, Dawna Wall wrote about soul wrestling. She described well the biblical stories of people wrestling with their inner selves and with God as they seek healing, guidance, and wholeness. Sometimes soul wrestling is necessary to help us remove barriers that impede our ability to listen more fully to ourselves.
Making It Personal: How might you create some regular time of solitude to listen to the inner divine voice this Lent? Are you aware of any barriers within yourself that impede your ability to listen well?
Follow along with us this Lent season with our daily devotional and engage in discussion in our closed facebook group moderated by Robbin Brent, Jan Kwiatowski, and Scott Stoner.
In this group, participants will have a chance to share their responses to the prompts in the daily readings, and also the chance to receive additional material for reflection.