[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.