It has been said “Listening is an act of love”.This simple act of listening, we do every day without giving it a second’s thought, has within it a remarkable potion, the ability to comfort, heal and rejuvenate the speaker.I am not talking about ‘ listening ‘ as we normally practice it- this kind often involves tapping our mental fingers waiting till the speaker is finished so that we can put in our 2 cents  and illuminate the speaker with our wisdom, humor or cleverness. I am referring to the true act of listening where we do not judge, condemn or find fault. A wise friend once told me her definition of love was to give without expecting anything back. True listening is like this. For a few brief seconds or minutes we listen with our heart. The effects can be amazing.Once,years ago, I sat in a seminar of 12 people conducted by Carl Rogers, the eminent psychologist. To break the ice and get us to know one another he went around the circle asking each person in turn who they were, why they were there, and what they wanted to take away from the seminar. As he listened to each person I was struck by the complete and undivided attention he gave that person -pure love- and as he went around the group people were crying and were  opening and deeply touched by this kind and wise man – and the seminar hadn’t even begun. It was and has been a wonderful example to me of what is possible in even the simplest of acts.