Sonic meditations seem to have a healing power not just in artistic evidence, but in psychology research, too. I recently read a paper called “Why Robots Can’t Haka” that cites that activities like dancing, playing music, or humming together improve collective well-being, and that it will be difficult — if not impossible — to replicate that with robots and A.I.

Listening as a fully embodied pursuit, sensory awareness, and Tai Chi all made me think of the mindfulness benefits that come with being in nature or exercising. When I meditate, I find I am able to observe the environment more acutely, appreciating what’s happening outside but also within. Taking a pause from everything around me and thus honing my intuition and self-empowerment is perhaps what the author describes as activism.

Kinetic awareness is also something I was taught in a theatre class at NYUAD. We were regularly performing breathing and listening (to body) exercises to release pressure and let go of external thoughts. This sounds rather abstract, but in practice, it made a big difference. 

In terms of arts and interactive media, this made me think of Janet Cardiff and her projects with audio and sound narration. In 2005, she presented an audio walk in Central Park, that takes the listener on a journey in the middle of Manhattan:

Janet Cardiff’s Her Long Black Hair is a 35-minute journey that begins at Central Park South and transforms an everyday stroll in the park into an absorbing psychological and physical experience. Cardiff takes each listener on a winding journey through Central Park’s 19th-century pathways, retracing the footsteps of an enigmatic dark-haired woman.

Listening has great power, and somehow it is difficult to describe that in words. One must feel that first.