Listening

By Steve Eaton, October, 2009

being in music
is like being in love
or riding a wave
or seeing a field of sunflowers disappear
into Montauk mist
on a mid September morning
where all that’s left
is a feeling

couldn’t tell you what we played
how the guitar came in when i sang
radha ramana govindaaa
radhe krishna keshava

couldn’t do it again
but the feeling
my eyes are not quite ready
to open up to the silence
yet
and i could hold off on breathing
for an hour or two
worlds in a moment

then walking out into sun rivers
windy trees and berries
the feeling pervades my bared steps
tinges the rest of my walking

being in music
when I sing
gopala gopala gopala krishna
living a tune
walking through a dance
dunes at night
new layers to everything
where music is just listening

Try this listening exercise the next time you’re able to sit still for a bit. Begin by closing your eyes and imagining your hearing range as an orbit field that surrounds you. Make that orbit as small as you can so it only surrounds your inner ear. Notice what you hear, then allow the orbit to expand a bit so it surrounds your head. Notice what you hear, then your whole body, a few feet beyond your body, the room or small space you’re in at the time, then more… envelope the neighborhood, the horizon, this paumanauk island, the country world universe. If you want, you can reverse it back to your inner ear or end at the expansion. It may be interesting to jot down everything you remember hearing at all the different layers of sound. Every time I try this, whether different location or the same, there’s something new that comes through. The music is everywhere and we can be in it if we choose to allow ourselves to listen and celebrate.