: A clouded mind, preoccupied with its own fears or desires, cannot truly hear another.

: To truly understand another, one must first engage in the difficult work of understanding themselves. The Role of Silence

Fromm argues that listening is not a passive activity but an active "art," similar to understanding poetry. For Fromm, the therapeutic process is fundamentally the —a skill that requires the analyst to offer themselves as a trained human being capable of deep connection. Fromm's 6 Rules for the Art of Listening