(How) Are you Listening
Dear Friends,
Last weekend I had a most welcome intermission from the solitude of working on my book and proposal. With her passionately inquisitive guidance, Jobi Manson of Sefari led us into one of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Sea Ranch (Pomo land) for a creative listening workshop. Salal Creek is one of the larger coastal outflows here -- most of the streams are seasonal… Close to where it flows into the Pacific, there is a large plunge pool surrounded by sequoia growing with uncharacteristically curving trunks. Giant sword ferns grace the perimeter, while the redwood canopy creates a shaded and sheltered container of sound. While the weather disabled the full, original program of the workshop, we still made it there in the bold beauty of the pouring rain. I cherished Jobi’s beautiful invitation to observe our own listening, and to appreciate what it can do for our creativity, self-awareness, and for our nervous systems. My take away “sketch” is shared below:
Walking upstream in the steady, rhythmic rain, the sound of flowing freshwater grew louder – cleansing, ancient, fearless, pure…
Arriving under the sheltering canopy of redwoods, the sound of raindrops on sword fern came into sharper focus – karmic, consecrating, gentle, paternal...
Walking closer to the waterfall, the sweet cascade commanded our senses – thunderous, unapologetic, wise, reincarnating…
Having spent the previous two weeks editing my nature memoir, I took notice of how much I had (unintentionally) written about the impacts of sound on my life. Not one, not two, but three chapters of my book describe turning points that came in the wake of listening deeply to animals. A pair of loons in the Yukon had initiated me into the rare experience of true silence; heralded my first ego death; and had invited me into an abiding sense of kinship and belonging in the wild. A humpback singer in Tonga restored my hope through the most beautiful expression of masculinity that I’ve ever witnessed, and invited me into my own authentic self-expression. A resident pack of coyotes in our most recent home in the high hills of Carmel Valley helped me face my grief over extinction head-on for the first time; taught me that this grief is not all our own; and illumined how living amongst predators can bring out the best in our humanity.
Reflecting on the gifts yielded through my own open ears, I have gained so much faith in the power of listening deeply to our wild world as a means to awakening, growth and wisdom. Our awe is a bridge. If we open ourselves to it, there is so much wholeness and unity waiting for us on the other side.
There are many ways to surrender the self to allow truth and beauty in – meditation, artistic expression, immersion in cold water… Listening to animals just may be my current favorite. It is so refreshing to decenter from the human world. I always feel like a good sister when I give my ear to wildlife – whether it be crickets, tree frogs, or the birds we live with – western meadowlark, canyon wren, quail, jay, woodpecker, robin, screech owl… I promised the whale in Tonga that I would listen to all life with the same innocence, abstract curiosity, and loving presence that I gave him, and I always utter the same words “I’m so glad you’re here.” Now I will give this same ear to water wherever I hear it coursing, cresting, surging, seeping or falling…
Next time you are spoken or sung to, by wildlife or water, try to tune in with your whole heart, mind, body and spirit…
And if you ever get a chance to immerse with Jobi, I highly recommend it! Prior to this encounter in Sea Ranch, I experienced a powerful guided meditation with her on a paddleboard off the coast of Malibu. Sefari’s mission is simple but powerful:
“Sefari was founded upon the notion that we cannot relate to what we do not feel. We create symbolic and transformative immersions that merge nature, art and science in the pursuit of wisdom and embodied connection.”