Listening with the Body Ritual

The following is a guiding/ritual which seeks to enhance your awareness and focus os how you listen with your body. It intends to explore, inviting you to become aware of and attuned with how your body listen, and what kind of relationship there might exist between your body and specific sounds.

The exercise is for two or more people, where one takes on the role af guide; reading the guide below to the others, holding the space and deciding on the pace.

 

The exercise was first formulated as an ‘upstart-ritual’ during a Testing Ground Residency at Art Hub Copenhagen, Marts 2024, regarding the Listening Body.

[Up-starting rituals: A series of rituals/practices/exercises/check-ins… to mark and attune each ‘workshop’ day. Each ritual will last 15 minutes.]

Play the file and follow the guidance:

Focus on my voice. Give all your attention to my voice and ignore all the other sounds. You may hear them, but leave them alone.

 

Now focus on the sound of the clock and give all your attention to the clock. This sound is now important and shuts all other sounds off.

 

If you lose focus on the clock, return to it as soon as you become aware of it.

 

Now focus on the church bells and give all your attention to that sound. Only this sound is important.

 

Now give full attention to the sound of traffic. Focus only on this sound and don’t be distracted.

 

Now focus on the birds chirping and ignore all other sounds. You can hear them, but give all your attention to this one sound.

 

Now focus on the sound of running water. Give all your attention to the sound of running water.

 

Now listen for the sound of insects. If you are focused on another sound, shift all your attention to that one sound.

 

Now focus on sounds outside of this recording. Sounds that are around you. Give all your attention to these sounds in the room around you and identify the sounds.

 

Focus on the left side. Are there any sounds there? give all your attention to those sounds and no other sounds matter.

 

Now do the same with the right side.

 

Now return to the sound of the clock and listen to the sound with your body. Is there a particular body part that reacts to the sound?

 

Now focus on the traffic. Can you listen with your feet or legs?

 

Change focus and listen to the water. Can the fluid in your body listen to the water?

 

Now pay attention to the church bells with your spine.

 

Now let the sound of insects take over your body. Is there a special place in the body that reacts or relates to the sound?

 

Now move your focus away from the audio file to the sounds inside you.

 

On your left side

On your right side

 

Return to the clock and listen with your face.

Let your chest listen to the birds

The hair to the running water

The stomach for the church bells

 

Move away from the recording and listen to the sounds behind you with your hands.

 

Move your focus to the running water, is there something in your body that prevents you from listening to the water?

To the church bells

To the clock

 

Listen to all sounds at the same time and absorb all sounds, including the sounds around you and in your body.

 

Count number of sounds

 

Now hold hands and sit quietly and feel the absence of the sounds in the body.