Editorial December 14, 1968 Issue

Be a Good Listener!

Alan A. Aylwin

Christ Jesus implied that effective listening included much more than merely hearing sounds from a material source. He said of some who listened to his words, "Hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." But to his disciples he said, "Blessed are your ears, for they hear."^{Matt. 13:13, 16;}

Good listening is an art in itself. It involves such qualities as stillness, humility, and teachableness. A good listener is not self-opinionated. He is hospitable to new ideas. His thought is free of preconceived notions that would make him deaf to fresh viewpoints.

If good listening is important to progress and harmony in human affairs, it is many times more so in the study and practice of Christian Science. This Science teaches that God is always speaking to His children, His ideas, ever imparting to them harmony, inspiration, and wisdom. The divine voice is inaudible to the material senses, but can be heard as the unrest of mortal thought is stilled and the tranquillity of spiritual sense is attained. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent."^{Science and Health, p. 89;}