How to Listen without Prejudice

Without a doubt, listening without prejudice does require the sacrifice of ego. Moreover, it is natural to listen with prejudice. Yet, checking our biases, implicit or otherwise, is necessary to open our minds to new thoughts, ideas, and concepts. Matter of factly, Ray Access, a content marketing firm targeting businesses to succeed, reports, “if you can listen without prejudice, you’ll find there are new things to learn. And you may avoid making preventable mistakes that set you and your company back.” As such, this argues that it is okay to admit when we don’t have all the answers, not to mention how “even old dogs can learn new tricks.”
Because of this, Ray Access highlights the importance of learning from people who are smarter and more successful as this enables wisdom instead of merely greater experience as a result of serial failing. Also, concerning any life lesson or skill, practicing how to be more open, receptive, and objective is a crucial attribute of developing a second nature habit. According to George Michael Forever, George Michael that it was in his best interest to be open to the possibility that the timing of his Listen without Prejudice ’90 album release greatly impacted the career outcome, especially if it was after his last Wham! album, not to mention how the public would perceive him. As such, even when habits are hard to break, (i.e., breaking away from the public perception of Wham! and going in an entirely different direction than 1987’s Faith, his solo debut album), learning from past mistakes is all but listening to the music sans the downfall of prejudice.

Does Anyone Know How to Listen Without Prejudice?

Despite this, as James Leong, author of Listen without Prejudice, asserts, we must consider the following inquiries: “Doesn’t anyone listen anymore? Is there someone you can talk so you can feel heard & seen without judgment?” Essentially, the art of listening without prejudice is not as common as it could be. Consequently, this is equally a societal issue as is personal. Listen without Prejudice explains how to practice active listening to sit with all the negative, discomforting emotions sabotaging lives across the world. Provided that “many of us” are “done feeling angry, anxious and sad,” Leong emphasizes the fundamental need to address the prevalent fears embedded in our fear-based society. After all, Deke Copenhaver, former Mayor of Augusta, articulates that “We’ve all been in the situation where we can’t wait to jump into a conversation to interject our own perspective or point of view” because not doing so makes our heart “beat a bit faster.” Indeed, one of the best ways to listen without prejudice is to be mindful of how we feel by observing our biases and their role in our health.

That said, it is very effective to practice the art of listening, seeing, and learning. And, while it is human nature to be trapped in a cycle of sorrow, pleasure, and regret, this cycle can be broken. Yes, without a doubt, we desire power, receive countless wounds in childhood, and most important, struggle with fear. Yet, J Krishnamurti, one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time, clarifies that everyone is an artist regardless of their profession. As such, he argues that art “means giving everything its right place, putting all our thoughts, feelings, anxieties and so on, in their right place.” Accordingly, he is saying is harmony among, in, and of everything.

George Michael Explains What it Means to Listen without Prejudice

However, society experiences the divide of race, to say the least, right to this day. As a result, listening to genres of music outside of one’s culture proves to be a struggle that further perpetuates prejudice. George Michael expounds upon the meaning of his album and illuminates how, “the album should be listened to by all types and all races, really, with an open mind because I think radio and video in the last 3 or 4 years has veered very much in two separate directions, one for kind of white America and one for black America and I think that its quite an unhealthy trend.” Because of this, Listen without Prejudice ties deeper than music; it reflects how harmonious society is concerning health, community, and life force energy. To reiterate, beyond the timing, George Michael doesn’t care about who’s going to buy his music. Quite the contrary, he simply writes a great album he can listen to and reflect upon, of course, without prejudice in any way, shape, or form.

As such, the remainder of this article delineates the various methods concerning how to listen without prejudice. First and foremost, we must acknowledge the fact that having prejudices does not mean we have to act on them. Also, we are going to make mistakes on our journey, but we are moving in the right direction when we take tangible steps to rectify them. In like manner, Access identifies the six ways to listen without prejudice: “1. Put yourself in their shoes,” “2. Be a gracious listener,” “3. Count to 30,” “4. Repeat what you heard,” “5. Imagine being recorded,” and last but not least “6. Put your opinions on hold.” In other words, note that a closed mind makes it difficult to open to new ideas, so keeping a totally open mind not only encapsulates listening without prejudice but also enhances one’s ability to hear and thus pick up on subtle, unspoken cues.

Pure Art of Listening, Seeing, and Learning

Indeed, when we listen to one another without judgment, without preconceived notions, without biases, without our opinions, we enable ourselves to embrace the art of listening, the art of two (You and I). Furthermore, there is freedom in the art of listening because it gives greater profundity, meaning, and nuance to every word listened to and spoken about. For instance, even though Krishnamurti conveys the “monstrous corrupt world” as a place “where everything is so ugly, brutal, violent and meaningless,” the right communication is an opportunity to think, share, and partake in harmony the accurate, correct way. Also, there is no right or wrong in the absence of prejudice. Without a doubt, as Medium discloses, it is a relief to find someone who is a good listener in an increasingly uncivil world. However, becoming a more open and effective listener takes time. Nonetheless, Medium affirms the ability to “listen to others without interjecting your own preconceived notions into the conversation is one of the most important aspects of becoming a truly great communicator.” As such, one of the best perks of the art of communication is how people understand someone’s message clearer if they do not feel ignored.

Listen Without Prejudice in the Real World

Moreover, perceiving the world sans prejudice goes significantly deeper than merely practicing active listening skills. As a matter of fact, listening without prejudice affects the other senses too and promotes a more objective, unbiased, neutral, and fair lens of the real world. Accordingly, Krishnamurti elucidates how “the art of seeing” is “to see things as they are, not as you wish to see them,” “to see things without any illusion, without any preconceived judgement, opinion, to see actually ‘what is’, not your conclusions about ‘what is.'” Accordingly, this provokes us to challenge our cognitive dissonance and see the world in a more authentic light, not to mention how learning is less about memorization and more about observation. That said, Krishnamurti confirms “the art of learning implies freedom to observe, to listen without prejudice, without argumentation, without any emotional, romantic response.” Consequently, we reap more than a verbal verdict or intellectual understanding; we attain a serene, harmonious life in which we can listen without prejudice. As a result, Leong declares that Harriet Lerner, P.H.d author of New York Times Bestseller “The Dance of Anger,” is encouraging us to listen without the intention of changing the other person, prioritizing silence over speech, being mindful of our burning temptations, and most important, practicing the power of pure, openhearted listening.

In the end, concerning how to listen without prejudice, one must be what they seek from another: harmonious, open, tolerant.

For more information on the meaning of George Michael’s Listen Without Prejudice, Vol 1., check out the links below. Also, you can listen to his entire album on YouTube, Amazon, Best Buy, and MORE!!!

George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice Album HD

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8Lpw39GxwbNohiGTsJEfgBgAVGKdJEJp

George Michael – Praying For Time

George Michael – Freedom ’90

George Michael – They Won’t Go When I Go

George Michael – Something to Save

George Michael – Cowboys And Angels

George Michael – Waiting For That Day

George Michael – Mother’s Pride

George Michael – Heal the Pain

George Michael – Soul Free

George Michael – Waiting (Reprise)

Notes:

Ray Access | Put Aside Your Ego to Listen without Prejudice

Listen without Prejudice

Last FM Music | George Michael | “Listen Without Prejudice”

George Michael Forever | Listen Without Prejudice

J Krishnamurti | The Art of Listening, Seeing, Learning, and Living

Medium | The Art of Communication | Learning to Listen Without Prejudice

Listen Without Prejudice