Episode 80. Sharon Browning – Listening: An Act of Love

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Sharon Browning, Esq. coordinates JUST Listening, a social enterprise fostering personal and social change and transformation through the practice and teaching of mindful listening and communication skills. The work of JUST Listening is twofold: the facilitation of training workshops, retreats, and ‘difficult’ conversations, focusing primarily on those working with marginalized individuals and groups, and the training for and supervision of Listening projects in which volunteers JUST Listen to people on the social margins. She is an attorney, teacher, trained spiritual guide, and motivator.

Favorite Quote:

For the bottom line belief: Love is all there is.

For action/activism: “Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.” — Buckminster Fuller

And I would add…Do this with relentless compassion and radical humility.

Quote from interview:

(Listening) “It’s a very tiny thing, but it is foundational to all relationships. It’s foundational to social change and transformation. We’re not moving anything unless we listen. It really is a macro skill that very often gets treated as a micro skill. I love it because it’s small.”

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips:

Every conversation can change the world. Especially if we listen.

What gets in the way of us Just Listening?

Our Inner monologue
Our Socio-cultural filters
Our Ego

Other key takeaways include:

How do we define “we”? Only plausible definition is the earth and all living things on it.
What would it mean for you to live with Relentless compassion?
What would that look like to live with Radical humility?
Last and most importantly: love, love, love.

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