Deep Listening is listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life, of nature, or one's own thoughts as well as musical sounds. Deep Listening represents a heightened state of awareness and connects to all that there is. As a composer I make my music through Deep Listening
Deep Listening is listening to everything all the time, and reminding yourself when you're not. But going below the surface too, it's an active process. It's not passive. I mean hearing is passive in that soundwaves hinge upon the eardrum. You can do both. You can focus and be receptive to your surroundings. If you're tuned out, then you're not in contact with your surroundings. You have to process what you hear. Hearing and listening are not the same thing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Deep Listening emphasizes the active engagement required to truly comprehend our surroundings, distinguishing it from mere hearing.
The quote by Pauline Oliveros highlights the significant difference between hearing and listening, where the latter entails an active, engaged process that involves deep attentiveness to all auditory input. Deep Listening encourages individuals to not only absorb sounds passively but to be fully aware and responsive to their environment, suggesting that true understanding comes from a conscious effort to engage with the myriad of sounds that surround us.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a workshop on communication skills to emphasize the importance of active listening.
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