Sangha of Auspicious Companions

The Listening That Heals

For many of us, when someone else is speaking, our minds are busy. As we take in what they are saying, we may be quietly, and often unknowingly, holding court inside our own heads — agreeing, disagreeing, comparing, diagnosing, solving. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, a pioneer in the fields of healing and integrative medicine, had a name for this inner noise, as well as a remedy. Her medical students call it “generous listening”. To listen generously, Remen described, is to drop every agenda; we’re not even listening to understand, but simply to witness what is true for this person, right now. What happens in that space is remarkable. “In a space of safety, people can discover what’s true for them for the first time. It comes from deep inside them, where they’ve held it protected,” she described. “This kind of listening heals people.” Remen, who passed away on August 8, 2026 at the age of 88, reshaped how generations of physicians understand their calling. But this particular invitation belongs to anyone who has ever been in a room with another person and chosen, for a moment, to go quiet inside.

Be The Change

Inspired by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s spirit, in one conversation today, practice dropping your inner agenda entirely: no agreeing, disagreeing, fixing, or comparing. Simply listen for what is true for the person speaking, right now, and let that be enough.