I want to put this on my blog because it's something that I used to do for my music class last semester that was sort of relevant to something I used to do at the School of Practical Philosophy when I was attending the classes. God I sure do miss going there!
My music professor asked us to write a listening journal, he wanted us to pay attention to sounds. At the School of Practical Philosophy however, they use this sort of thing as a way to calm down or to take a few minutes just to get back into the moment and sort of just be present. I think it's a most excellent idea and do it from time to time when I feel like my mind is racing or I feel like I am anxious or sad or to out of control with my feelings and need to just get back to the present and realize that no matter what is going on in my life, the only thing I have real control over is this very moment. Hard as it may be, it's a reality that we all need to come to terms with, and when we learn these little tricks and realities of life, we become more in tuned with life and all the wonderful magnificent things around us.
I wrote the journal below to give to my Professor, he gave me full credit so I figured he must of enjoyed reading it, or maybe he didn't read it at all, but I most certainly enjoyed writing it and hope that he or she who comes across this post, will enjoy it as well. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS MOMENT, THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS!
Listening Journal - Sunday, October 9, 2011
It was about 10:00 am. I was sitting in a hotel room in Costa Rica, because I was taking my 40th birthday vacation getaway. I was staying very close to the beach, so at one point I was listening to the sound of the water, and immediately remembered my assignment.
My music professor asked us to write a listening journal, he wanted us to pay attention to sounds. At the School of Practical Philosophy however, they use this sort of thing as a way to calm down or to take a few minutes just to get back into the moment and sort of just be present. I think it's a most excellent idea and do it from time to time when I feel like my mind is racing or I feel like I am anxious or sad or to out of control with my feelings and need to just get back to the present and realize that no matter what is going on in my life, the only thing I have real control over is this very moment. Hard as it may be, it's a reality that we all need to come to terms with, and when we learn these little tricks and realities of life, we become more in tuned with life and all the wonderful magnificent things around us.
I wrote the journal below to give to my Professor, he gave me full credit so I figured he must of enjoyed reading it, or maybe he didn't read it at all, but I most certainly enjoyed writing it and hope that he or she who comes across this post, will enjoy it as well. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS MOMENT, THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS!
Listening Journal - Sunday, October 9, 2011
It was about 10:00 am. I was sitting in a hotel room in Costa Rica, because I was taking my 40th birthday vacation getaway. I was staying very close to the beach, so at one point I was listening to the sound of the water, and immediately remembered my assignment.
Instead of closing the windows to the room, I opened them and the screen doors as well, I wanted to be able to listen to all the different sounds. I heard the waves in the background, the sound of the ocean was soothing. It was a woooshhhhh woshhhhh woooshhhhh sound. It appeared that the howling of the wind and the beach woooshhhh were joining together in harmony. It was peaceful.
In addition to hearing the sounds of the waves and the wind come together as one, I also heard a squirrel chucking away at a coconut. It sounded like a scraping noise, scraping of teeth against something squeaky. In addition to the sound of the squirrel there were also the various bird sounds. The birds sang in unison. Sometimes however, it sounded like a call and response, one bird would sing, the next would answer it was so beautiful, paying attention to natures beautiful sounds.
After a few moments I was lost in the sounds that surrounded me and I closed my eyes, I was so overwhelmed I felt serene. Across from my hotel room that was on the ground floor was also a home made basketball court the locals had made on their back yard where they could enjoy a basketball game. There were some small children playing with the ball so I could hear the banging of the ball to the floor and the sound of the kids chatting. It was really cool stopping for a few minutes and just taking in all the magnificent sounds, sometimes you just have to stop and listen.
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That was my journal for class. Sometimes in life, when we take time out to notice, we will be overwhelmed by the beauty that is all around us... PLEASE STOP AND LISTEN SOMETIMES, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! Below is a little IPhone video I made of the little squirrel on the tree.... Just lovely!
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