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Surround Sound Discussion
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I did this activity in my backyard. I live in a fairly suburban/rural area with a large unbuilt forest land behind my house.
I was stuck by how loud the human world sounds were. An airplane, the cars on the road nearby. It was very distracting. At the same time, I could hear the little bird noises close by as well. As I relaxed into the process, I started to connect more and more to the quiet bird noise. The bird were churuping at each other, checking in.
I realized during this activity that I got more and more still and quiet as it went on. Opening my senses to the natural world was relaxing and grounding.
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I have practiced this technique in the past and use it each morning while the environment is more quiet. I walk a local trail and by focusing on the sounds around me I’m better able to appreciate the wildlife and movement of trees. It also provides awareness of activities much further away such as trucks, aircraft, people, storms, dogs, birds, and alarms. By listening more closely, my vision is also enhanced and I recognize patterns in nature and things that are unnatural, such as bottles, cans, and debris that people have left behind. I periodically pick up these items out of respect for nature so others can enjoy an unspoiled environment. Growing up in the desert and mountains, and working professionally to protect the ocean environment, heightened my awareness and enforced a habit of caring for the environment in whatever way is possible.
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I have used directional listening practices for years while in the woods. I have sit for hours on end watching and listening for wildlife to venture into my chosen area. Being a visual creature by nature, I rarely closed my eyes during these forays. But using the surround sound principles has given me a totally different experience with deeper connection. Surround Sound principles have allowed me to feel what I have only heard previously.
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Work your way into having your eyes open. Start with a short amount of time – back and forth between open and closed while holding the surround sound
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Michael Jospe.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
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My experience with surround sound started with focus of choosing the area. It’s a decision in more urban areas to take time and decide where this can be done. The space I chose is actually the land where the supposed “Manahatta Purchase” took place so I approached it with great respect, drawing on some of the indigenous energy.
I sat on the rocks at the rivers edge. I reached out to the left past the train and traffic to the birds, wind, and leaves blowing on the ground. I somehow internalized the sound of the river on a cloudy day. from the other sides, I could differentiate the birds on the water from birds in the trees or on the ground. I felt the wind carrying the sounds to me. As I changed focus, the sounds started to layer, one direction on top of the otherwhile still being able to distinguish them. At one point I felt like I could hear all the way to Jersey. I heard the water lapping at the shore beneath me and at another point, felt the bird calls vibrate in the water.
Some observations I had in my body were that my eyes, even while closed, moved toward the direction I was focusing on. I was still using the other senses to listen. I also noticed that the awareness behind me was already heightened and ready for defense since metropolitan dwellers are trained to “always watch your back”. I focused on dialing back the hyper-defensive systems to simple awareness that garnered more calm.
I have started using this during my morning Tai Chi practice, listening into the direction I am moving into. I notice the differences in my surroundings day by day.
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When your eyes are closed, allow your “mind’s eye” to be active…see what you hear…Allow for those images to be part of the information you use to determine if you’re in a safe place. You may need to both visually confirm (go and physically look) and breathe through your limbic responses to learn what is really an accurate warming and what is based on conditioning.
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Thank you Mike. I used it the other day on a path frequented by bikes. Sometimes I was just aware and listening. Other times the awareness let me know a something was coming. I always managed to turn around before the bike was close.
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Nice! That’s good tracking and regulating, Herb. Those discernments are very much connected to the Native Scout awareness and leadership we talk about in the intro course!
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I loved tuning in one direction at a time, including above and below. It takes much more concentration to do this with eyes open.
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My first experience was interesting. I sat on my back steps and listened to my left and heard my neighbor’s air conditioning. When I switched to the right, my other neighbor’s air conditioning went on. Frustrated, I moved to my front porch where I could at least hear the birds but the traffic from a nearby highway was very distracting. I decided to go the local park. I sat down on a bench and closed my eyes. The first thing I noticed was a bird very close to me on my left and his friend further away on the right. I also heard the wind rustling the leaves in the trees. Almost like a wave of sound as it came toward me. When it came to listening below, I imagined roots growing from my feet intertwining with the roots of the trees. I felt the amazing connection with the trees not only where I sat but all over the world. So powerful!
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Surround sound listening is similar to what I practiced during forest bathing in the past, and I have thoroughly enjoyed resurrecting these sessions. The birdsong right now is over-the-top joyful, and I am noticing how grounded and even-tempered I have been feeling since starting the daily practice last week. The challenge for me will be to stay in my body and start making connections to what I am hearing and see if it affects me in more specific ways.
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So glad you are committed to daily practice!
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I’ve done this invitation many times and it’s so effective. For that moment it removes all the stories in your head and bring your whole attention to the present moment. As a forest therapy guide, we call it “POP” : “Pleasures of Presence”. It allows one to go through each senses, but the sounds is the most powerful one since you really have to invite everything that is around you. I live in the City of NY, I do walks in public parks. You have to invite your community into the journey because it’s part of the experience, all of it: Music blaring from a car, air planes overhead, kids running and yelling, motorcycles zooming by in the distance. It’s all there, but you’ll eventually notice how nature will slowly turn up its volume just for you.. It’s a pretty powerful gift!
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Thanks for sharing, Alex!
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Suround sound was a new experience for me. I was amazed at how much it quitened my mind opening my awarness to the power of deeper listening. I found myself immersed in an experience of anticipation which reinforced for me the importance of waiting through listening to what lies below the surface of what a client is saying – akin to the subtlety of the ‘far off sounds’ Tuning into the experience of anticipation enhanced my sense of curiosity.
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Great observation. 360 listening starts to open up what we call Deep Listening. Where “listening” becomes more than just hearing sounds and words.
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During the surround sound experience, I noticed my mind and body slowing down and I felt increased contentment. Something I mentioned on the worksheet is that some of the areas where I practiced I’m near I70. The sound of cars has become something I have wanted to escape and I seek places to hike or go where I won’t hear them. I was surprised that during this exercise, the sound of the cars just became a sound, not an annoyance. I enjoyed hearing the wind in the trees, the birds and bugs, the wind chime and others voices off in the distance of people that were hiking. The experience led me to sit for a while each time after I was done and feel the sun or watch a butterfly move from daisy to daisy. This exercise is meditative and something I’ll share with my clients.
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Wonderful observation, Becka. Thank you sharing.
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