Listening is not waiting for the other person to stop talking, or rehearsing your response until it's your turn. Listening is an art form and requires a combination of passive, non-invasive hearing, and, an active and very present 'here and now' consciousness. Or is that Hear and now? Same with the inner life. We have to listen to our bodies, our heart, intuitive impulses and other signals we get from within. Listen clearly, openly. Avoid the tendency to interpret or justify or explain what you are hearing. Just listen. Then figure out what it means.