Your Sense of Hearing
Hearing is more than detecting sound — it is a kind of receiving, a way of letting the world enter us. We “lend an ear” to offer attention, “hear someone out” to hold space, or “turn a deaf ear” to close ourselves off. Listening is a bridge between the outer world and our inner life, carrying tone, rhythm, and meaning straight to the heart.
Physically, the ear is a marvel of design. Deep inside, three tiny semicircular canals help us stand upright in the world, revealing the ancient kinship between hearing and balance. As Steiner noted, we gain our sense of balance in early childhood, and though it slips into the “night of consciousness,” it continues to work silently — steadying both body and soul.
But hearing is only part of the story. As Don Campbell reminds us, we are creatures of vibration. From the rhythmic beat of a mother’s heart heard in the womb, to the hum of our own voice, to the resonance of drums, bowls, or a friend’s laughter — these vibrations shape our nervous system, influence our emotions, and even affect our physical health. We feel sound not just with our ears, but through our skin, bones, and the subtle currents of our being.
To cultivate the sense of hearing is to learn the art of attunement — choosing which vibrations we allow to enter, and how we let them move us. It is both an act of listening and of aligning, steadying ourselves like a dancer who hears the music and finds her balance in its flow.
Ear Centering Exercise
We naturally tune out the abundance of sounds that are going on around us so that we can focus on what’s important. In this ear centering exercise we will listen to the sounds we don’t usually noticed.
Find a comfortable place to sit, stand, or lie down. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and release any tension from your body. Become aware of your ears.
For about a minute listen intently to any sounds you can hear outside the room. Pause for a few seconds.
And then, for another minute, pay attention to the sounds you can hear inside the room. Pause for a moment.
For the next minute, listen to sounds coming from inside your body, such as heartbeat and breath. Pause.
Now, instead of listening with your ears, use your body to listen to the sounds and activities coming from within. You can move your arms, twist your neck, wiggle your toes, stick out your tongue, or lightly tap your teeth to elicit sounds from your body. When you are done open your eyes.
If you want to do similar exercises get hold of The Centering Book, Awareness activities for children & adults to relax the body & mind by Gay Hendricks and Russel Wills.
This book, first published in 1975, is intended as a teacher’s manual to help students become mindful and attentive in and out of the classroom. The exercises within, can however be used by anyone in any situation. The Authors believe, that in traditional education, the rational and logical parts of the brain are stimulated, while the creative and intuitive part are left virtual untapped. With the help of the activities they describe, students can learn how to tap into their creativity. Exercises include yoga, meditation, dream analysis, imagery, relaxation, and more.
Sounding your body
Before you start this exercise be sure to let anyone nearby know that you will be experimenting with sound and voice. You don’t want anyone thinking that you’re going crazy.
Sit, stand, or lie in a comfortable position. Close your eyes, and take a moment to relax your mind and body. When you’re ready scan your body with your mind’s eye, looking for points of tension, stiffness, or physical discomfort. Select one point.
Make an ah, ooh, ee, or ay sound while visualizing the tension or discomfort in your body being released through your voice. Experiment with higher or lower sounds until you find a pitch, tone and timbre that feels just right to you.
Hum this sound for a few minutes while keeping your attention on the spot. Never strain your voice, and make sure to rest every minute or so.
The point of this exercise is not to heal the body but rather to listen to it. Sometimes, discomfort in the body has an emotional cause, and by humming, it’s possible you may gain an understanding of the emotional origins of your discomfort.
This exercise comes from The Mozart Effect by celebrated teacher and music visionary Don Campbell. His focus is on health, while mine is on mindfulness, so I’ve made a few minor tweaks to this exercise.
If you’d like to gain an in-depth understanding of the effect music can have on the body, mind, and soul then give this insightful book a read. Campbell shows how modern science is beginning to reveal the ancient wisdom hidden in sound and music.
The Mozart Effect by Don Campbell explores the idea that music, especially the compositions of Mozart, can have a transformative impact on various aspects of our lives, from health and learning to creativity and personal growth. The book encourages readers to consider the role of music in their daily routines and how it can potentially enrich their lives.
Imagining Sound in Stillness
I’ve long practiced the Bates Method for eyesight. Dr. William Bates believed that much vision loss is rooted in the mind — and if the mind can contribute to poor vision, it can also help restore it. One of his most curious findings was that when people covered their eyes so no light could possibly enter, they still reported seeing light or shades of grey. The poorer their eyesight, the more light they seemed to see.
Since no light was reaching the eyes, Bates concluded these images came from the imagination. To counteract this, he developed an exercise called palming: covering the eyes with the palms and imagining perfect, pure black. As the mind settled into this imagined darkness, people often found their vision improved.
I began to wonder — could the same be true for sound? One day, sitting at a train station, I listened to the footsteps of people walking past me on my platform. Then I imagined what it would sound like if someone were walking on the platform across the tracks. Each time someone passed nearby, I pictured and “heard” the echo of footsteps from the other side.
Aural Palming Exercise
Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes.
Settle into the silence. Notice faint background sounds: your breath, the hum of a distant appliance, your heartbeat. Allow them to fade into the background.
Choose a sound to imagine. It could be footsteps across a wooden floor, the drip of water in a cave, the rustle of leaves, or the call of a bird.
Recreate it in your mind’s ear as vividly as possible — volume, pitch, rhythm, timbre. Feel it happening around you, as if you could turn your head and locate it.
Notice any changes. Does imagining the sound make you more sensitive to real sounds? Do imagined sounds feel different in your body than actual ones?
I’m Dr. Rodger Douglas, DMH, a South African-born homeopath now based in Osaka, Japan. With a psychology degree from Nelson Mandela University and a diploma from the Hahnemann College of Heilkunst, I specialize in holistic care for fibromyalgia. I serve clients by phone or video across the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe.