Hello everyone,
For the final week of Sound Circles, our group undertook an exciting activity -- using the deep listening technique we've been practicing, we each found a spot around the pond at For Generations To Come Sanctuary, and took time to discover the sounds unique to each area.
Afterward, we came back together as a group and shared our sound experiences!
And now, I'm happy to share those findings with all of you! Below, you'll see the map of the pond. (Yes the pond really is shaped like a fish, although I enhanced it a bit!) Each number marks a spot where a person spent their time listening.
Beneath the pond map, there are players that let you listen to each person talking about their experiences!
Hello everyone,
It's a short update this time -- for week 3, Janice and I met at the For Generations To Come Sanctuary, and we did a 5-minute sound walk, that took us from the house, down the long winding gravel driveway, to Grass Lake Road and the FGTC address rock.
Below is the recording of our sound walk. We invite you to come along with us! How do sounds contribute to your experience of nature, as you walk around your own home?
Hello again!
I'd like to thank the folks who let me know they enjoyed the sound clips I've posted here, and gave feedback about their experiences of listening to these recordings. Thank you!
And to all visitors, new and returning, I say welcome! This entry focuses on the second meeting of Sound Circles, which took place at the For Generations To Come Sanctuary on September 28th.
That day, we took a group sound walk, and then we explored the soundscape in the woods while individually walking along the woodland trails. We then regrouped at our
picnic table and shared our experiences and observations.
I invite you to listen to some of our sharings, which are presented below! I hope you enjoy hearing the Nature Circles experience!
1. My introduction to our walks in the woods.
2. "Voices From Other Places" Tamara talks about how nature sounds trigger memories.
3. "Engines Or Wind?" I revisit the discussion of how we think and feel about the "human-made" machine sounds that weave into the Sanctuary's soundscape.
4. "Because I Was Here and Made a Sound..." Focusing on sound, and a tree who listens, Antoinette felt a profound sense of existence.
5. "Sound Support" Marianne's awareness of sound enhanced her other senses.
Tom's Deep Listening - The Woods I spent 10 minutes sitting on a hill in the woods, using the technique of "deep listening" to take in the many sounds around me. Here is an excerpt of my sound recording, this may give you a feel for the experience.
Nature Circles are people getting together to have an experience of nature and to talk about it. It is time for relaxation, restoration, discovery and personal sharing. The simplest way to describe a circle is:
Connect with nature Reflect on your experience Share it with others
This down to earth, uncomplicated way of relating to the natural world and to each other has the potential to improve our personal lives, the quality of life in our community and the future of the planet.
About This Series This particular Nature Circles will have a unique focus: sounds of nature. We will explore techniques such as a “sound walk” and “deep listening” to make discoveries in the world of natural sounds, and to share our discoveries and insights with each other.
This sound circles series takes place at For Generations To Come Sanctuary in Ann Arbor, Michigan
In this blog post, there are several audio players that will play the recordings I made at the first gathering of our sound circle.
I invite you to listen to these discoveries and insights shared by the sound circle
participants.
I hope you enjoy this Nature Circles experience!
1. Tom's introduction, meet the folks in our Sound Circle, and Janice talks about discovering “deeper sounds.”
(Also, 2 minutes into this recording, something amazing happens! Listen for the wind sounds made by flocks of birds zipping right over our heads! The flocks zig-zagged in perfect unison! It was one of the natural miracles during our Nature Circles!)
Tom's Nature Sounds Recording I spent 10 minutes sitting beside the pond at FGTC Sanctuary, using the technique of "deep listening" to take in the many sounds around me. I also ran my sound recorder, so that you can get a feel for these sounds.
After the listening session, we reconvened our group to share and explore each of our listening experiences.
2. Antoinette talks of sound paintings. A relationship with the sound landscape.
3. Patty I'm amazed at the group intelligence that gets displayed when people share their experiences. When Janice studied her focus on sound, she remembered the idea of the "quarter turn." Years ago, TV sets had a main station dial, and a secondary dial used for fine-tuning reception -- you made quarter turn to clear the picture.
In the same way, Janice found that as she literally turned her body, and turned her attention a quarter turn, she discovered sounds that had been hidden. Others in our group explored this idea.
4. Marianne
5. Tom
6. Carol and Tom An observation from Alaska: the bugs are the same as the bears.
7. Antoinette
8. Janice and Carol Some nice stand-out quotes:
"I tried to let my thinking go...I tried feeling the sounds."
"I had a panoramic sound experience."
"Once I could get rid of the self-talk, it was a better experience. It's just about quieting your mind, and listening sometimes."
