Living the Practice: An Interview with Leah Green

Today I’m pleased to introduce you to my mentor, teacher, and friend, Leah Green, founder and Executive Director of The Compassionate Listening Project.  For a complete history of the Project and its extensive activities please visit the website: http://www.compassionatelistening.org

Deep Listening Begins in the Fire of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Q: Leah, please give us an idea of how The Compassionate Listening Project got started.

L: I started leading citizen delegations to Israel and Palestine in 1990.   I had been looking for a way to bring something positive to this conflict when I found the writings of Gene Knudsen Hoffman, whose teacher was Thich Nhat Hahn.  He challenged peacemakers to stay connected to people on all sides of a conflict. Our new approach was so successful that Israelis and Palestinians asked us to teach them what we were doing. We crafted a curriculum for Compassionate Listening and then people here asked us to show them what we were doing in the Middle East. So the work in the Middle East has always been like a learning laboratory for us.

Humanity at a Growth Edge with Conflict

Q: What is it about Compassionate Listening that touches you so deeply?

L: Human evolution at this time is linked to our ability to deal with conflict. People everywhere are grappling with how to transcend the old patterns of blame and victimization. It’s a lifelong process and it’s about awakening.  Every time we judge or make it about the other the other it’s an opportunity to practice.  How can we live from our hearts and create peace on this earth? What a gift that I get to focus on these things for my work!

Lasting Impacts of a Simple Process

Q: As you look back over the past 18 years, what do you feel most proud of?

L: I’ve just been reading journals from participants in our German-Jewish reconciliation project. The Holocaust  has been over for 60 years,but the pain has been passed down through generations. The healing that I witnessed in this project was some of the most profound I’ve ever seen.   We saw that the Germans are in fact, carrying more pain than the Jews and I saw that being on the perpetrator side is much harder on the psyche. These younger ones were beating themselves up and they had nothing to do with it. The Jews ended up at times encouraging the Germans to find forgiveness for their nation.

And without a doubt our work has made an impact in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are many peace leaders there who have taken our training and who have incorporated Compassionate Listening into their own work.

An Ever-Evolving Process

Q: What are the challenges Compassionate Listening is facing now?

One of my passions is deepening the process. I think it’s important to convey to people the depth of this practice, that this is hard work. We are born with a highly developed ego in the west.  We judge ourselves harshly. If we don’t clean it up with ourselves, there is no way we are going to mend this universe. There is no way I am going to take responsibility for how I am creating war with my neighbor or my friend if I’m not realizing how I create war within myself.

The Longing for Heart to Heart Connection is Vast

Q: Any thoughts you have about Compassionate Listening and the future?

There is such a hunger for heart-based ways of being in the world that people are longing for. I think it’s true even for those whom we might least expect it.  This deep longing is calling forth many practices for human transformation.

Have a thought about this interview? An experience with Compassionate Listening or another communication modality? Write to us and let us know your thoughts.