A story from Australia about listening and sowing seeds.

The Healing Power of Listening

Warren Cavanagh • Jan 18, 2023

A wonderful and uplifting story about listening from the land down under

The Power of Listening by Warren Cavanagh, Emissary, Community Assembly of Australia

On the eve of sending out a special newsletter to our members to welcome the Assemblies of the World into the fold as a parallel network with the same vision, mission and values, it seemed the perfect time to post a heart warming story written by Emissary for the Community Assembly of Australia, Warren Cavanagh.

This is a wonderful story because it demonstrates the power of listening and the potential for sharing knowledge with each other across our lands and seas, within and between our communities or wherever we happen to be.

I am sure that, like me, you will be moved by Warren's generosity and kindness in being prepared to listen, being able to bring calm and healing energy to a situation and knowing when to plant seeds.

Over to you, Warren:

'I popped out to my local shopping centre recently to buy some fruit and with my mission completed, I decided to sit in the common area of the shopping centre to relax and listen to some music. There was no one there so I put my headset on and started to watch the world go by.

A few minutes later a lady unknown to me came and sat next to me and started talking to me. I removed my headset as she began sharing things with me about her life and her son. She was encouraged by the gesture and continued talking about some very personal and private information regarding her son together with her views on many subjects. It was clear she wanted someone to listen so that she could get things off her mind and I was happy to oblige. I turned my attention towards her and she carried on talking in what seemed to be a river of release. It occurred to me that she may not have had anyone to talk to before then, at least, no one who would take the time to listen.

Before long, a man and two other ladies caught our conversation and came to sit down and listen. They where younger than my new friend who told me she was 73 years of age. These people were around the age of 60 and they became fully engaged in the conversation, enthusiastically off-loading their thoughts and feelings regarding many different subjects too. My friend continued to talk about her son and how he used to be an artist and a good one but that he stopped many years ago. As a mum (mom, parent) she saw his talent but despite trying to talk him back into it, she had been unable to do so. She asked me why would anyone give up something they were so good at? I said very kindly: "Well, don't worry, maybe he will get back to it in his own time."

I was so absorbed in our conversation, I hardly realised there were now others who had sat down to listen and chip in. They were all ears and the original lady was by now sharing her opinions on subjects pertaining to the world situation rather than her son. It started with her puzzlement as to why people working in shops didn't seem to want to serve customers anymore. She was clearly dismayed at this decline in personal service which had always been the accepted way of doing things and which made shopping such a pleasurable experience. She asked why this might be so and why, at the age of 73, she had suddenly lost some of her teeth! I am not sure why but I came out and asked her if she had taken the jab. She knew exactly what I meant and told me she had. My reply was to say to her gently that perhaps it could be this that had something to do with it?

I could see she had never even contemplated this before and she looked horrified. She was in shock but I could see her mind whirring because no doubt she had done nothing different at this time in her life to afford losing her teeth! I could see it was making her think that maybe it was the jab. Within a moment, the conversation started turning into a negative as we quickly entered the political spectrum. Like a trigger, the whole group started grumbling and complaining about Donald Trump. It seemed that he was their first port of call if any blaming needed to be done about anything. At this point, I suggested it might be helpful to look at things from the bigger picture and I said, whether you loved or hated the guy with the orange fake tan or not, what you listen to on TV, radio and social media should always be questioned. I asked them to think about how they could know the script was true and not propaganda? What if the true story was that Trump had been chosen from above to do the job of exposing and cleaning up the corruption that we have all seen for ourselves and know about?

I asked them if they had ever thought about it from a different point of view and my 73 year old friend finally said, "Oh gee, you are right!" With that, the others where nodding their heads like it was a valid point.

For me, this was sensational. To go from sitting on my own, quietly listening to my music and being happy to be interrupted by someone who clearly needed a listening ear, to being able to provide some understanding to an otherwise confused lady, and a group of people who had never been told anything different to the narrative they had been plugged into. It was uplifting and I felt my time with these good people (which turned out to be over an hour) had not been wasted. It made me realise how much of a powerful healer listening can be. Answering in a gentle and supportive way helped the 73 year old lady (and the others) focus on the positive and not the negative. It provided the means for them to see things from a different perspective which I hope they will continue to do.

In the end, my friend left feeling much better in herself and those who had gathered round left with something to think about - something that I hope will make a positive impact on their lives too. By not letting the initial negativity pull me down or affect me, I made sure I was there to be a voice of calm and reason. The positives spoken were enough for those good people to ponder on. It left me feeling like I had been of service, if not for the group that formed around us but at least for this sweet lady who had no one else to talk to about these things.

It was great that I was there at the right time to share the truth and remove some blockages. It shows what can be done when we are open to such things and I highly recommend it.'

Warren Cavanagh

Assemblies of the World

Emissary, Community Assembly of Australia

Introduced by Sue Cartwright

Editor, Community Assembly of the British Isles