Mindfulness coach Wade Brill helps clients turn chaos into calm. Akoio founder Bill Schiffmiller sat down with Wade, a Certified Professional Mindfulness Coach and host of the podcast Centered in the City, to discuss hearing wellness and inner peace.
Hearing is an ability. Listening is a skill.
Wade and Bill are both native New Yorkers, a city infamous for the loud din of traffic, construction, sirens and other noise totally out of your control. Wade shares that the noise used to have a physical effect, causing her body to feel “irritated.” Through meditation and mindfulness, Wade says she learned to “hear the noise of life and let it pass through me and not interrupt me.”
Bill sees a parallel to hearing wellness. Bill notices that speakers sometimes become annoyed when they are asked to repeat themselves or have been misunderstood. In such moments, he has learned to let any frustration pass through and be patient with the process, so as not to interrupt the more important work of building relationships. With patience and empathy, moments of frustration become opportunities for connection. The same practices that help enhance hearing also make one a better listener. For example, Bill suggests to maintain eye contact and to ask speakers to talk more slowly and to enunciate more clearly. Bill credits hearing loss for making him a better communicator and relationship builder.
Noise isn’t always loud.
Noise isn’t always dependent on sound. Excessive visual stimulation, for example, can sabotage calmness. A person hearing through American Sign Language (ASL) can experience noisiness. The noise has both mental and physical effects on our body. Wade says meditation helps “clear the clutter” in our mind so we can think more clearly.
Find mindfulness through meditation.
Meditation was on the rise even before COVID-19. In a post-pandemic world, increasing numbers of people attribute meditation for a reduction in stress and anxiety, together with an enhanced feeling of overall peacefulness. Wade works with companies who offer meditation classes for employees. Forbes even published an article called “How to Meditate Like a Billionaire.” Meditation trains the brain and the body to quiet down. A podcast or video series like Wade’s can be a helpful guide for those who are new to meditation.
Spread the word.
Bill’s conversation with Wade inspired the Akoio team to be more attuned to what inner peace sounds like. We are inspired to be more intentional about the noises we hear and those which we choose to listen to. We’d love to read your hearing story on our community page. Your experience with hearing loss can be a gift to someone struggling to find inner peace with their current situation and a helpful part of their journey to conquer life!
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