Appendix C: Revised Behavioral Form of L-SONG
For each of the following statements about listening, rate your actual behavior (within the past month) by circling a number between 1 and 6 for each statement where:
1 = Never or Almost Never
2 = Once in a While
3 = Some Days
4 = Most Days
5 = Everyday
6 = Many times a Day
Note. The term “Divine” in some of the questions refers to your highest values, ideals, and beliefs that give meaning and purpose to your life.
1. I listen to my personal goals. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
2. I listen to my body’s emotional state. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
3. I listen to myself in silence and solitude. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
4. I listen to myself by recounting things I’m grateful for. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
5. I listen to the feelings of others. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
6. I listen to the needs of others. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
7. I listen to how I can help others. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
8. I listen to art made by others (e.g., music, movies, novels) | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
9. I listen to the sounds in natural landscapes (e.g., ocean, forest, park). | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
10. I listen to animals. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
11. I listen to plant life (e.g., flowers, plants, and trees). | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
12. I listen to natural elements (e.g., earth, wind, water, fire, rocks, crystals, and celestial bodies like the sun and stars). | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
13. I listen to the Divine. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
14. I listen during prayer and/or meditation. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
15. I listen for the presence of the Divine in nature. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
16. I listen for the presence of the Divine in other people. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
17. I respond and give feedback to everyone I listen to. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
18. I ask questions of everyone I listen to. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
19. I actively use nonverbal behavior (e.g., eye contact, alert posture, facial expressions) when I listen to others. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
20. I pay attention to how my emotions affect my thoughts and behavior. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
21. I sense my body during daily activities (e.g., eating, cooking, cleaning, and talking). | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
22. I notice how my emotions express themselves through my body. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
23. I feel a sense of oneness with the natural world. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
24. I feel a kinship with animals and plants. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
25. I feel part of the web of life. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
26. During worship, or at other times when connecting with the Divine, I feel joy, which lifts me from my daily concerns. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
27. I feel guided by the Divine during my daily activities. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
28. I feel the Divine’s love for me directly. | 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 |
For reference (not for participants completing L-SONG as part of a research study):
Items 1 – 4 and 20 – 22 are listening to self
Items 5 – 8 and 17 – 19 are listening to others
Items 9 – 12 and 23 – 25 are listening to nature
Items 13 – 16 and 26 – 28 are listening to the Divine
Based on the literature review, additional items were added to the revised behavioral measure to provide better bandwidth for each of the four listening subscales/contexts of L-SONG.
The behavioral anchors for the scale (1 = “never” or “almost never” through 6 = “many times of day”) were modeled after the DESC scale (Lynn Underwood, Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, https://www.dsescale.org/).