Listening................................

Hearing, generally speaking, is one of the five senses, the one that centers on our ears and our brain's processing of the sounds it receives.  It is involuntary and momentary.  Hearing is something that happens to us.  Sounds force our attention, and we "obey" them instinctually through our body's responses.
      Listening, on the other hand, is something we choose.  Listening is a practice of focused attention.  Hearing is an act of the senses, but listening is an act of the will.  In listening you center not only your ears but your mind, heart and posture on someone or something other than yourself.  It is a chosen obedience, like soldiers falling into line the moment their commanding officer calls them to attention.

-Adam S. McHugh,  The Listening Life:  Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction