Prior to this reading, I had never considered how meditation could be linked to activism. I found it very interesting how Pauline Oliveros considered her Sonic Meditations ‘humanitarian’, and initially, I was confused by this idea. But towards the end of the reading, the author mentioned how Oliveros participated in second-wave feminism’s idea that ‘the personal is political’. This reminded me of a Transnational Feminisms class that I took a year ago, where I learnt that the world treats women’s bodies as the vessels upon which nations are built. What a women can and cannot do with her body is what defines each country’s national identity.

With this in mind, Oliveros’ Sonic Meditations has a powerful goal and a lasting message, which is to help women become more in tune with their bodies and to use it to listen to the world around them. I particularly found the following quote interesting: “Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears”. It challenges us to change the way we use our bodies on a daily basis, and to be more sensitive to the things happening around us, which could manifest from merely being personal to being political. Oliveros also challenges the restrictions that society puts on the ways we are allowed to move our bodies, which I find especially powerful.