Surround Sound Discussion

[teriseangelina]

I have experience to do photography on wildlife and I video film sounds of nature. I take a walk at the park with my dad and do photography. When i am at the park i hear geese and ducks. The sounds seem beautiful to me, because it always makes me happy.

[Tisha]

Im not sure how to start a post so I will just reply.

I found the surround sound experience to be calming most of all. I actually stopped at a neighbor’s house that I do not know and asked permission to walk and hang out their creek. They obliged and here I am. I have practiced many times at home and was ready to apply the practice in nature. After a healthy walk through a field I was able to find the trail the deer use to get down the steep embankment to the creek. You can tell no people roam back here, only the animals and the plants. Once I put all my hearing into practice I realized that I am still too close to the road as I can hear the traffic, but I was also able to hone in on the rippling of the creek. The sound of frogs jumping in the wat. The sounds of birds and locust and the leaves of the trees rustling against each other. I head a dragonfly wings next to me and it was gorgeous.

I tried to share my energy with the ground below and likewise tried to absorb the energy from the water and the soil. I caught a crawldad and held him for a moment. It was a lovely experience.

[tgvance72]

Hello EBI, my experience with a Surround Sound Session was extraordinary. Before I left the comfort-zone of my home, I set precise intentions for what it was that I wanted to experience, what challenge I wanted solved once an awakening state of mind was reached and a few things I wanted to acknowledge that I am grateful for.

I walked across an uncut hayfield on my way to a sanctuary in the woods, paying close attention to the sounds of the golden colored stems as they brushed against my pants. With arms outstretched, I turned my palms down to feel the tall grasses and lifted my head skyward showing my appreciation to the warm sun that pushed down against the chill of this December day. I thought to myself,” this is a perfect start to something incredible.”

I made my way out of the field and onto a meandering path that pulled me deep into nature and there, just in the distance, I could see a perfect thinking spot, a place that gets all the attention from the universe and none from man. I approached it with respect, as if it were an ancient glen of wisdom…and it was to me. I softly sat in the presence of wise old trees and rocks and dirt that knew the Earth long before humans.

I began the Surround Sound Session just as I had been taught by EBI. With my eyes closed, I breathed in slowly while directing my attention outward to the left until my attention was grabbed by the sound of dry leaves being blown about by the wind. I thought about how those leaves had completed the cycle of the changing seasons. The trees had grown them in the spring for nourishment and comfort and now they served a new purpose on the ground. The trees don’t worry or stress that they are gone because they trust that they will grow more in the spring. That’s just the nature of nature. With another deep breath, my mind’s eye pushed further out and even further with an exhale until I could no longer bring the sounds into focus.

I followed the steps of the session. With slow intentional breaths in and controlled breaths out, I concentrated behind me and then to the left and finally to the front. I completed the cycle with listening above and below me. Each change of direction brought new insights to what I was experiencing. My Surround Sound Session taught me that nature is predictably unpredictable and that’s ok. That is the intentional design of it. That is what makes it so brilliant and spontaneous and it never wants to be anything other than that.

I realized that I’m human and humans have challenges, much like the trees in winter. With patience and awareness, spring will arrive with a new batch of “leaf opportunities” and they will grow into a summer of possibilities. After serving their purpose, those possibilities will fade into the autumn of our lives and go on to serve another purpose somewhere else. For us, this cycle of changing seasons can happen every day of our lives. That’s just the nature of nature that I am connected to.

I finished my Surround Sound Session with whispers of all the things that I am grateful for. There is a whisper about Earth Based Institute echoing through a wooded glen of wisdom even as I type these words. Thank You Michael Jospé, I am grateful for you.

[Lisa Dahlgren]

Hello, and thanks to tgvance and Angelina for your reflections. I loved the way this is presented by Michael. He seems so aware of the small things that make such a difference. I was out in the woods today and took several minutes to use surround sound in an intentional way. Reaching beyond my usual horizon was really great and then remembering to connect with the whole “sphere” was a terrific experience. My time was punctuated with the crashing sound of a large tree limb falling very close to where I had chosen to sit! There was no missing it, for sure, and the realization of what it was made my heart beat pretty fast. After that I walked in the woods for awhile and became aware of how many relatively large limbs were coming down. There were multiple places with evidence of newly down limbs. It made me realize that this is the time of the year when trees do some natural pruning, and I felt an opening in my mid-section as I realized how much natural pruning I have been going through myself in the last year. I feel like trees are very “wise” in a way, and so was grateful as I felt a closer connection to them-like they were my companions sort of. We are both being wise and naturally pruning away things that are ready to go, so we can put our energy into new growth and reaching even further up in the topstory. How glorious it felt to have a whole forest of companions. And how reassuring to understand my own emotional pruning is as natural as the forest around me. I know that my experience went well beyond the surround sound exercise, but the surround sound exercise was a beautiful way to start the whole connection experience.

[ivyhess]

It is winter here and we have had a lot of snow, so the environment was pretty quiet for the most part. It was really cool to focus on the birds chirping, the snow falling off the trees, and dogs bark. It did really indeed keep the random thoughts out. But I need to find a way to better block out the sounds from feet and vehicle tires crunching in the snow that come up occasional and disturb the peacefulness of my local forest.

[marycb]

I practiced this exercise in several places – standing in a small grove of trees near my house (a wooded little forest area I walk in with my dog), sitting on my patio, and in an arboretum. I was amazed at how the practice was so mind-clearing, so freeing and relaxing.

As a family therapist, environmental social worker, and spirit care provider, the experience was so profoundly grounding. Thank you

[shawna]

Thank you for a new insight on how to be mindful. It also provides another ways to teach the skills to my clients.

[chanowk]

Peace and Blessings All,

I have a specific lookout spot on my half acre urban farm in the city that I performed surround sound. Already thinking of myself as an aware person. Surround sound expanded that awareness to a point where I could hear and imagine things happening blocks away.

From cars, to children playing to doors shutting, cars driving by, it almost felt as if I was in their space.

I also do a youth based agriculture program in which I am going to use this exercise when we go on nature walks together.

It was amazing and will definitely become part of my lookout spot practice.

Thanks!

[Cecelia]

I am a clinical counselor in Ohio. I work at a residential treatment facility that is a working farm. We work with adults who suffer with mental illness. Much of the 300 acre farm is woodland. Often I will take counseling sessions with a resident out doors to the woods and ponds and stream. Nature then becomes the therapist and I am merely nature’s assistant. I am taking this course to expand my skills, knowledge, experience in ecotherapy.

The Surround Sound exercise was great. I have done visual and tactile interventions, but not auditory to this extent. My first time doing Surround Sound was with two residents. We walked the 10 minutes to a pond in the woods and then each of us found a tree to lean against or sit with. As we did the exercise of listening “surround sound”, we each became aware of the nuances and variety of sounds that before now had been taken for granted, or not even heard. I wasn’t sure how the two residents would take it, or if they could even sit that long (5 minutes each direction). But we did it! Afterwards the overwhelming feeling was one of awe. We say we go to the woods for peace and quiet, but this exercise helped us realize that the woods are not quiet! But the sounds did elicit feelings of peace and calm. The most critical comment was that we didn’t have enough time. Coming from one person who suffers extreme anxiety, and the other who experiences ADHD, I found this phenomenal. Of course I also felt that the time was too short.

Another day I sat in my backyard practicing Surround Sound. This time there were no time constraints, no residents to watch over, no programming concerns and obligations. Just me in my hammock in my backyard garden. This experience was quite different than the prior practice. I heard many birds, rustling leaves in the trees, a cat from time to time as well as a barking dog. But I also heard traffic nearby, and ambulance whiz through, children’s laughter, a mower cutting grass. Even so however, I walked away in a more peaceful state than when I began.

This is an exercise I will use from time to time for both personal reasons and for the calming effect it has on my clients/residents.

Great exercise.

[JACKIEP]

A treed spot in the GA backyard I visit hosted my first experiment with Surround Sound. It seemed a very suburban setting — definitely not the wilderness. My intention was to practice the Surround Sound process even without expectation of connecting with nature. Traffic sounds and a lawn mower competed with birdsong. As I focused more on hearing with eyes closed, I was delighted to notice the breeze rustling the leaves behind me.
Afterwards, as I walked back to the house, a black snake almost ran over my toes. Unfortunately, I introduced myself as “Eek!” and it slithered into the nearest bush.

[rhonda]

This exercise is a variation of a Mindfulness in Nature exercise I’ve done in the past. Loved the aspect of shifting directions and listening at a distance to focus listening and ignore chatter of less inspiring noises.

My first attempt was in a small pocket park off of St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, very much an urban setting. It was incredible to hear the mix of Nature noises like wind, birds, and trees with the street car, cars, children and dogs. When I focused my attention below it had an incredible effect on both what I heard (leaves rustling, others walking nearby) and on my ability to relax into the experience.

What a wonderful reminder to make conscious choices of what we focus on during our lives and of the power of Nature to induce calm amongst chaos.

[gaiaceousgardens]

I’ve tried a variety of mindfulness techniques throughout my life, but the particular approach of surround sound is new to me. Until I began practicing it, I did not know that I could go back and forth between hearing isolated sounds in specific directions and then combining them into a kind of sound symphony. What an incredible ability our minds and sensory organs have! I’ve meditated for years and still struggle regularly with the ability to truly find a place of mental quiet, but while focusing on specific sounds and directing my awareness in each direction, forming a sphere around me, I was focused and quiet in the most beautiful way. I’m enjoying this practice!

[sashute]

I tried the surround sound exercise in a chair in my backyard. My first impression was very negative as on my left side I heard a lot of traffic. It pretty much drowned out the other sounds, and I realized the location and time of day it was not a great opportunity to enjoy the sounds.

Then one evening I sat in a chair in the front yard. The traffic sounds were rather soft from the left side, and the crickets were loud on the right side. This was definitely a better opportunity to commune with nature.

I needed to get away from my home and went to Martinez to hike along one of their paths. I tried the exercise while walking with my eyes closed and then with them often. I was delighted to hear the sound of my footsteps on the gravel pathway and wooden bridge and decided to record them. I also enjoyed the sound and feeling of the wind blowing around hat and head. They were occasional bird sounds and rustling sounds from the grasses in the area. Train sounds also came into my awareness. I took a number of audio recordings of these sounds, which were picked up fairly well. It was a much more pleasant experience than what I had at home. I took some photos and video, and the visual is my more dominant sense. It was hard to ignore the olfactory sense, with the wonderful smell of the salt water in the strait and the smell of horse manure along the path. I thought it would be wonderful if sometime in the future you could record smells and play them back.

I also became aware of the sound of my breathing, my heart beating, and when at home in the evening the high pitched sound of my nervous system. It is amazing the amount of sound that is around us and within us, and I found it helpful to single them out, each one.

[Sarah]

I worked on this while on a hike outside of Vail this weekend. It was interesting to listen from all sides… I found it very odd that my left side was clear and ‘open’ and my right side seemed very blocked. It was pretty excluded where I was and I focusing on the sound of the fly buzzing around me, the wind in the trees and the stream. When I heard voices far behind me, it was rather disturbing- I find myself so in tune with the nature sounds that the sound of a mother scolding her crying child was very jolting.

[jodycoram79]

Reading through others experiences is inspiring. I wanted to dive right in so I tried the exercise indoors. I was impressed to learn how well I can focus my hearing toward a certain direction. This is a very good exercise for it’s meditative qualities. I’m anxious to get into the woods and try this again.

[Kendall]

I did this exercise while on a walk with my dog. I usually get very in my head while walking. Almost in this hypnotic state- like when you drive a car home at night and you’re just home all of a sudden, not able to recall the details of driving home because you’re in this automatic mode. Instead this exercise shifted my mindset to wake up to the world and my surroundings. I felt connected, grounded, and aware of my environment in a way that I hadn’t been before (even though I walk the same trail almost every day).

I could hear all kinds of birds, the waves of the ocean crashing on the shore in the distance, a little bit of the road traffic behind me, my dog, my foot steps, my breathing, and so much more! It made me understand why people might like birding so much too haha! Because for the first time, I actually took in all of the music of the forrest and realized how much more vibrant it makes the world. Loved this one!

[Kristen]

I had the same thoughts in regards to the auto-pilot racing of my thoughts, and how un-grounded and disconnected I feel when this happens, even though I am rarely even aware of it. I found the Surround Sound activity to be a really simple to access more connection and groundedness, just like you mentioned.