Thomas Merton once asked, "What can we gain from traveling to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?" I love this quote. To me, it so well illustrates a downside of modern culture.

We have computers that with a mere click can access all sorts of information; we are "connected" through email, phone, and more; and yet how connected are we with our innermost selves? How often do we stop and listen within? So many of us wouldn't even know how to do this if we wanted to!

And yet, stopping, and listening within can be profoundly healing. We so often search outside of ourselves for answers that really can only be found inside of ourselves.

Albert Einstein alluded to this when he stated, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

According to Joseph Campbell, "The world is full of people that have stopped listening to themselves or have listened only to their neighbors to learn what they ought to do, how they ought to behave, and what the values are that they should be living for."

To me, the most valuable aspect of the Focusing process is that it teaches us how to be good listeners to our deepest inner selves. The process itself is simple. Unfortunately, learning it can often be more challenging- simply because we've spent most of our lives not listening to ourselves.

Rather, we've become accustomed to actively pushing back, and ignoring those voices that feel somehow uncomfortable or inconvenient. Like any habit that has become so thoroughly entrenched, it may take awhile to unlearn it so that another more life affirming way of being can be taken on.

Focusing has a lovely way of helping us to do just this. Try noticing the various personalities that arise within you as you go through your day. Such as the voice that may be scolding you for not exercising. Or the one that says you're not getting enough done. You know the ones I mean.

When you notice this, try acknowledging it, in a gentle, and kind tone of voice, by saying something like "Oh, there's something in me that is scolding me. It must have a good reason for being here." You will discover what a difference it makes to do just this much.

When you learn Focusing you'll learn many more steps for listening to these "voices," and for welcoming the quieter, deeper voices that have not yet had a chance to share their wisdom with you.

If you're new to Focusing, you can learn more about the process here, or by visiting the International Focusing Institute's website.

Deepening our understanding of listening through the Jewish Calendar

As we all know, the Jewish Calendar, based on both the solar and lunar calendars, is rich with symbolism. According to the Sefer Yetzirah, each month of the Hebrew year has a sense and an emotional quality, amongst other things, associated with it.

For the month of Av, the sense associated with this month is hearing. The word for hearing in Hebrew, shma, can mean to understand, to integrate what we hear into our hearts and consciousness.

The emotional quality associated with this month is humility. These two components, hearing and humility, are key ingredients in Focusing. Jewish tradition puts them together, recognizing that our sense of 'hearing' is limited unless it is accompanied by the emotional quality, humility. With the two working in tandem, we are able to listen deeply to ourselves, and to each other.

May we all be blessed with the ability to listen within gently and lovingly so that we might hear the richness of our own inner being.

A few more quotes on listening within

"Oh, seekers listen. Wherever you are is the entry point."

Kabir

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."

Ram Dass

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the starts, and they pass themselves by without wondering."

Saint Augustine

About the author

Based in Jerusalem, Ruth Hirsch MSW, MPH, CMT is a Psychotherapist, Focusing Trainer, and Certifying Coordinator for The International Focusing Institute. She has maintained a private practice for 21 years, working with clients and teaching. Since 1994 she has been training therapists, coaches, and other healing professionals in Focusing both as an individual life-enhancing practice, and as an adjunct to enhance their work with clients. She specializes in working with English speaking Jewish women world-wide in person and by phone.

You may learn more about Ruth and her work at