That
said, don't rush … listening for silence, or listening to silent
moments takes time. For this experiment, close your eyes to focus
your hearing better, take off your shoes, sit or even lie down –
you get the idea! Can you turn down the volume on your internal
chatter, tune your hearing to the 'silence frequency'?
There
are 12 'silent spaces' sites to explore. All
are open to the public during the day, they don't have to be
visited in any order, or all at one time, and you may wish to visit
them a number of times especially in different weather. For most
people the sites are within walking distance around Lincoln city
centre and probably familiar if you're a resident. However visiting
them with 'listening curiosity' may change your perceptions.
With
focused listening we engage with the world directly in those moments.
Listening for silence is noticing the sounds themselves and then the
spaces between them.
Some
may feel silence as emptiness, a gap they may fall into – don't
continue with anything that makes you feel too uncomfortable.
Silence is different than soundlessness. Ask what is the silence here
for my ears? But understand that there is nothing to acquire - this
is not a consumer activity.
If
you do wish to share your experiences of Silent Spaces,
please email: backlabworks@gmail.com
Use
a mobile web device to access the Site Descriptions and the Map & Key
while you visit the sites, or print out the PDF versions from the links, to take with you.
I
hope you enjoy your experiment in listening – Janis Bowley