Learning how to listen

My grandpa got a new hearing aid recently. This one actually works really well, but he still can't hear any of our conversations. Although he can physically hear the sounds, he has forgotten how to listen. He asks you to repeat things that he clearly heard (but he didn't hear a word of it). In his own admission, he has to learn how to hear all over again.

We have all been guilty at one time or another of hearing without listening. On my drive to work, I try to listen to sermons or lectures, but I often find myself just hearing it while my mind is ten miles away. Listening can be really hard. Listening is active, while hearing is merely passive. I see it all over: kids not listening to parents, parents not listening to kids, husbands and wives, employers and employees, customers and workers, friends, television and viewer, computer and user--information is exchanged and lives are shared, but a lot of it goes right past us.

Here is my practical question - how do I really listen to others, actively participating in the exchange even though my mouth is shut? I have a few ideas. What are your suggestions?

Spiritually, my soul is sobered by Hebrews 4:2 - "For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened."