Daniel Bowling describes the many ways that we filter what we hear, which prevents us from really listening. By recognizing when we are listening through our sense of self and our conditioned thoughts and reactions, we can become aware of, and short-circuit, the patterns that disconnect us from life. This enables us to follow the Buddha's instructions to Bahiya -"there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized."