About This Site
If you were to ask people if they are good listeners, most would tell you they listen well. Most would say that all it takes to listen well is a pair of ears.
Listening well, however is one of the hardest skills to acquire, yet it is one of the most crucial that one can develop in life.
This site and blog are dedicated to exploring listening, how to become more skillful at it, what it costs us in life and work when we don’t listen well, and how we can improve ourselves and others’ lives by noticing more of what goes on around us.
About Me
I am Richard Anstruther, a native of England, and the owner of Affinity for Life and HighGain, Inc. I have been an educational entrepreneur for several decades, teaching advanced listening skills to organizations. I am proudly certified by the International Listening Association as a Certified Listening Professional.
Listening became my passion after having seen the immense value it offers. Listening is not just about listening to other people; it causes one to also listen to oneself. Listening fosters a real sense of being connected to what’s going on. It increases one’s sense of self and nurtures a feeling that one is a part of the greater matrix of life. There is an ocean of wisdom out there if you know where and how to listen for it.
Before coming to America I lived and worked in Africa & Asia for four years. At 22, I hitchhiked across the Sahara Desert, worked in Southern Africa, and traveled through east Africa and west Asia. For the past 16 years I have lived on 4 beautiful acres in rural Sebastopol, Sonoma County. After living all over the world, I, like Luther Burbank, believe that “from what I have seen, this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned.”
My other interests include dogs, the wildlife on my land, current affairs, stimulating conversation, walking, bicycling, landscape gardening, reading, environmental issues, meditation, and dining with friends.
