All sorts of people are after our attention, some with good intentions, some not; some with good advice, some not; and some with wisdom, and some not. When we are children, we are often compelled to listen to those that are our authority figures, whether they be our parents, or older siblings, or teachers, or whatnot, of which we listen and thereby typically obey, perhaps willingly, perhaps not. There does comes a time, though, when what we listen to, and what thereof we are obedient to, is oftentimes at our discretion, for to listen to everyone all of the time and then to follow what they so say, would make us susceptible to simply allowing ourselves to be blown by the various winds and moods of the times, thereby vacating and surrendering our own volition to those others. This thus signifies that who we listen to is going to be a significant part as to what we are thereby able to accomplish in our given life, so therefore we need to be selective in those voices that we listen to and thereby take to heart.
The one big advantage that human beings, as well as books, or other types of media have in their influence over us, is the fact that those things are tangible; in the sense that we can hear them, listen to them, and read them; of which, oftentimes we are thereupon allowed to interact one with another, human to human, and because this appears to be so seamless to us, this seems to be the best way to listen and to be listened to. As true as that might be, the one problem with exclusively human interactions, as well as our listening to good lectures or the reading of good books, is that there are invariably going to be flaws, misinterpretations, and agendas within those engagements, of which, these mistakes and these errors, could well be harmful to us. That is to say, even those of immense wisdom, don’t always get it right; and so, it behooves us to be discerning in what we thereby listen to and adhere to; in addition to the salient fact, that each one of us, should always be desiring to find that fountain of wisdom, that always gets it right.
This signifies that it is to our benefit, to try to calm our minds in such a way, that we are able to let go of the distractions that take us away from that which is always with us, if we would only have the patience and desire to listen to and to hear that small still voice within that speaks to us, each and every day. After all, we are only potentially as good as the information that we take in and process, correctly; and if that information is incorrect, then the results forthwith are going to be less than desired. So then, while it is true that listening to God, is never going to be in the same format as listening to a fellow human being; we need to recognize that we are spiritual souls encased within a finite material body, and when we are thereby able to successfully rise above our material limitations to take in that which encompasses us completely, we will place ourselves into the position, of removing the veil, and thereby being on our way to becoming truly enlightened.