Active Listening Praxis

1. Decide which prayer partner will be the listener and which will be the sharer:
   • The sharer quietly prays: For Honesty and Openness
     • I pray for the gift of openness, Lord, I ask for the ability to share my feelings with another with honesty, and for the knowledge that no one is making a judgment about my life, even if this makes me uneasy. And in all this I experience the joy of knowing that in relationships I am loved by You, the God of love.
   • The listener quietly prays: For Compassion
     • I pray for the gift of compassion, Lord. I ask for the ability to enter into the feelings of another with love, and for the generosity to make no judgment on another’s life, even if this tries my patience. And in all this I experience the joy of knowing that in compassion I am like You, the God of compassion.
2. The listener begins by asking the following questions one at a time for 5-7 minutes.
   • How has your relationship with God changed since you started school?
   • How are you dealing with the stress of being at school and away from home, etc.?
   • How would you describe your experiences with CLC so far?
   • Do you see yourself wanting to commit to CLC for the year?
3. Both the listener and sharer give honest, concrete, and brief feedback for 2-3 minutes, using the following format as a guide:
   • The listener reflects first, asking:
     • How was I present to the person?
     • How was I emphatic in understanding and caring?
     • Which skill(s) could I be more attentive to?
   • The sharer reflects:
     • Did I feel that I was being understood?
     • What was helpful about the listener’s presence, behavior or questions?
     • What could have been more helpful?
4. Switch roles and repeat steps 2-3.

Reminders: Be as present as possible and don’t focus too much on applying the skills. Please return to the large group in 20 minutes.