An Interesting Listening Exercise

Here's a short listening exercise you can try anywhere outdoors.

Find a comfortable spot outside — a park bench, your balcony, or just a quiet corner of the street. Sit down and close your eyes.

Start by clearing your mind. Take a few deep breaths and focus on nothing but your breathing for a minute or two.

Now, slowly begin to expand your aural focus outward. Don't try to identify or judge the sounds. Just let them come to you. Notice the layers: the close sounds, the mid-range, the distant ones.

How many different sounds can you pick out? What textures do they have? Are they continuous or intermittent? Do they move or stay in one place?

Stay with this expanded awareness for as long as feels comfortable. Five minutes is great. Ten is even better.

Optional: try wearing earplugs for about 15 minutes beforehand. When you take them out, the world will sound incredibly vivid and detailed. It's a great way to reset your ears.

This exercise comes from knowledge.lom.audio and is a wonderful way to reconnect with the sonic world around you.