Inquiry with James Tousignant, September 16, 2026
We met at the Pavilion, where our facilitator, James Tousignant, started by introducing the topic, “The Art of Listening,” inspired by Krishnamurti’s words:
“It is only in listening that one hears the song of the words.”
Commentaries on Living, Series I – Chapter 67 – ‘Desire and Conflict’
James proposed to look at three different levels of listening, from attending to the meaning of words, to noticing feeling and sensation, and finally to a more spacious awareness in which one is no longer so occupied with interpreting what is heard.
The exploration moved naturally between K’s work and James’s own experience of it. He spoke of “felt sense,” sensitivity, presence and “not knowing,” and suggested that K’s words may carry something beyond their literal meaning. At one point he described K as “a very good receiver transmitter, expressor of that flow,” and spoke of his presence as something that could still be encountered through his words.
One participant shared that she sees James’s aura, and it only happens when someone speaks from their heart. Other participants brought the theme into more terrestrial territory, asking about thought and feeling, identity, perception, and the difficulty of listening when expectations are already present. A practical example concerning tenant inspections opened an interesting discussion about projection and whether meeting someone without a fixed image of them might allow something different to emerge.
The conversation repeatedly returned to spaciousness and not knowing. “I really don’t know,” – James said, describing it not as an intellectual position but as a different quality of awareness and a way to approach difficult situations. In this way, the meeting became an exploration not only of listening, but of how we approach K’s words – and of the many layers of meaning that can arise when personal experience becomes part of the way a group encounters a teaching.
We ended quietly, with the facilitator’s invitation to allow “whatever needs to arise” to arise.
- Anastasia Shtamina
