What does it mean to listen with all of your senses, every fiber of your being, every molecule that ensures seeing the person before you? It means giving over to Greater Hands that guide you. You surrender your Ego and listen from deep within. Enlightened listening is a knowing that your humanity is touching another’s humanity. People in pain, people with discomfort and di.sease, fear, anxiety and anticipation of the worst, simply want to be heard. Comforted. Attended to. Grounded in grace and someone else’s presence. Your presence is a gift, which is reflected back to you as another gift.

Presence: the state of being present.

I just returned from Los Angeles where I taught a Create to Heal class to residents at the Geffen School (UCLA) of Medicine’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program. A more creative and attentive group I could not find! Compassionate care begins with self care and interns, residents and doctors are not necessarily tuned in to self care. The burnout and depression rate among med school students and doctors is very high, higher than it’s been, for the demands of doctors has never been higher. 

HOWEVER, more medical schools are taking meditation, mindfulness, art and awareness seriously – for their students and also their patients. The residents I worked with are exceptionally talented. I share with you a piece that Marissa Darling, Resident Physician, PM&R created during a “conversation with your heart” meditation. Note the intricate detail and overall beauty: