Listening For Light

Karen K. Russell, for as long as 20 years, has recorded lessons uncovered to her by seven Angels, instructors who offer recharged confidence, trust and direction. The new book, Listening For Light, is an accumulation of day by day persuasions chose from this work. Mulling over them will change your life from a way of stones to a Path Of Stars.

This first release (2013) of Listening For Light is currently accessible in soft cover and in digital book position.

Karen K. Russell: "The petition to God works started in 1989 in Caux, Switzerland, high on a green peak, in a royal residence where I was going to a global peace meeting. Nineteen separate dialects were being simulcast, the Berlin Wall had recently fallen, old abhorrences were being broken up, peace was being conceived between adversaries. I had no clue why I was there, obviously, however I had been "guided" to take a swing at around then."

Listening with Light

The need 

Typically, only 30% of oil and gas reserves are recovered from an oil field beneath the ocean floor. Increasing recovery by only 2-3% could be worth more than $1bn for the average field. As we approach the end of easy-to-access oil and gas worldwide, more cost-effective technologies are needed to improve the recovery of existing reserves to 40%, 50% or even 60%.

The results 

To identify untapped oil reserves, companies build detailed 3D images of offshore fields. The seismic data is obtained from sensing systems which measure sound waves. These are transmitted through the earth and reflected back from the various layers of rock. But conventional electrical systems are costly, prone to failure and have high maintenance costs. They can also be a safety hazard. Developed with the help of more than £1m from the Technology Strategy Board, the Fosar® system does not need subsea electrical power and could now provide a more reliable and cost-effective way of maximising oil and gas recovery.

By commercialising a fibre-optic technology first developed in the UK for anti-submarine warfare and security purposes, British company Stingray has shown how operators can ‘listen with light’ to detect levels of oil and gas beneath the sea. The Fosar system consists of a permanently installed network of optical sensors (potentially running hundreds of kilometres across the sea floor) which send signals to recording equipment above. The sensing arrays are small, lightweight and easy to install in deep water and around subsea installations.

A series of successful trials was held in the North Sea which led to the commercial launch of the Fosar system in May 2009. As oil reserves dwindle the race is on to extract what’s left. With the market for permanent oilfield monitoring estimated to be worth between $500m and $1bn a year by 2015 it is no surprise that the venture capitalists and oil companies who have already invested more than £10m in Stingray are watching future product developments keenly.

Active listening

Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to feed back what he hears to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what he has heard in his own words, to confirm what he has heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both parties. The ability to listen actively demonstrates sincerity, and that nothing is being assumed or taken for granted. Active listening is most often used to improve personal relationships, reduce misunderstanding and conflicts, strengthen cooperation, and foster understanding. It is proactive, accountable and professional.

When interacting, people often "wait to speak" rather than 'hear' attentively. They might also be distracted. Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the "function" of communicating objectively as opposed to focussing on "forms," passive expression or subjectivity.

There are many opinions on what is "active listening." A search of the term reveals interpretations of the "activity" as including "interpreting body language" or focusing on something other than words. Successful communication is the establishment of common ground between two people—understanding. Agreeing to disagree is common ground. Common ground can be false, i.e., a person says they feel a certain way but they don't. Nevertheless it is common ground, once accepted as understood.

Dialogue, understanding and progress can only arise from that common ground. And that common ground cannot be established without respect for the words as spoken by the speaker, for whatever reason.

Thus the essence of active listening is as brutally simple as it is effective: paraphrasing the speakers words back to them as a question. There is little room for assumption or interpretation. It is functional, mechanical and leaves little doubt as to what is meant by what is said. "The process is successful if the person receiving the information gives feedback which shows understanding for meaning. Suspending one's own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully attend to the speaker.

Active listening

Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what they hear. The ability to listen actively can improve personal relationships through reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, and fostering understanding.

When interacting, people often are not listening attentively. They may be distracted, thinking about other things, or thinking about what they are going to say next (the latter case is particularly true in conflict situations or disagreements). Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the speaker. Suspending one's own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully attend to the speaker.