Tap4Health EFT Practice » witnessing http://www.tap4health.com Offering emotional freedom from stress, anxiety, panic, depression, anger, trauma, PTSD, abuse, addictions, chronic pain, relationship issues and more Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:37:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The Power of Witnessing http://www.tap4health.com/the-power-of-witnessing/ http://www.tap4health.com/the-power-of-witnessing/#comments Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:52:08 +0000 rodsherwin http://www.tap4health.com/?p=814 Have you every really listened to someone without judgement, without opinion, without the need for a solution? Have you ever been listened to this way? Listening is the oldest form of therapy yet can be profoundly powerful as a stand alone technique. Giving someone your complete, undivided, non-judgemental attention, is also known as witnessing.

Listening © Otnaydur | Dreamstime.comAt the recent Anthony Robbins Unleash the Power Within event in Sydney, I had the privilege of serving as part of the volunteer staff (aka. crew). I have many friends from many years of crewing at these events and it’s always great to catch up. Sometimes crew want to talk about something that is happening in their lives that’s a real issue for them. Now, given that I have amazing tools such as EFT at my finger tips, I’m always ready to help “solve the problem”.

Yet this is sometimes not what was wanted nor even needed most of the time.

Instead, I gave people my full undivided attention and listened without judgement and with full empathy and acknowledgement of their situation, their issue, and of them as a human being. This profound present state of listening can be transformational for the one being listened to.

To often in our lives, we are so busy that we can only give some of our attention when listening to someone. A part of our mind is chattering away with our own thoughts about what the person is saying. We may be thinking of solutions to the problems, or how it relates to us, or want to share how we overcame the same hurdle. We may also be thinking about what we are going to do next, what time it is, and what we had to remember on the way home. All of these things are grabbing for our attention while we are listening to someone.

So can you be fully present when listening to someone you care about? Can you put aside all thoughts of the future and the past, all judgements, all distractions, and be completely present to serve as a witness to someone’s story?

I once explained this form of listening in a seminar and one woman humorously exclaimed “If my husband listened to me in this way, I’d think he was having an affair!” In our busy lives we may need to make the time to serve as a witness for someone’s story. If you can’t do it right away then plan a specific time and place to get together.

Have you ever listened to someone this way, or been listened to in a way that really helped? Share your experience in the comments.Related Posts:

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