Sonic Relations- How Sound is the World? at Triple Ecology Gathering

Triple Ecology Gathering- Sonic Relations How sound is the world? Blog 21st August 2015

© Catherine Meeson words and pictures

A Sharing of Deep Sacred and Healing Ecologies at Kinglake April 24-26 2015

The Triple Ecology Gathering came about by a collective dreaming and happened to manifest  in direct alignment with some workshops I had been offering titled ‘Healing Persons Healing Communities Healing Planet- An Empathic Visionary Practice’. This also came close on the heals of finding the Be the Change Community and doing the Awakening the dreamer Changing the Dream Symposium leader training of Pachamama Alliance. At this time I started to see just how many others were saying the same things as I was and in what fields they were active and these fields had names. They were not just indigenous and tribal peoples, but scientists theologians, activists artists, every shade and colour of humanity one could think of. This was very heartening to me as I had felt very alone in my perspectives and work for a long time. I had been presenting workshops which deal with healing of person and planet through creative arts methods and incorporating a whole lot of spiritual wisdom and scientific perspective from an artists and healers orientation.

So the Triple Ecology Collective was dreamed into being by a small group of mostly women but a few gentleman and we began the work of event planning with a  focus on the three ecologies and also linking in to the global knowledge and lore commons around the triple theme in all its incarnations. On our first dreaming day in Warburton we planted our intention by the river with the trees as witness and the waters to hear our prayers. Our children played by the river, they who are the future  they for who we do this work, as well as the earth herself  and the whole life communities. To summarise- we defined the ecologies as-

DEEP ECOLOGY –IS DISSOLVING THE SEPARATION BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE

SACRED ECOLOGY –ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE NATURAL WORLD  REQUIRES REVERENCE AND  UNDERSTANDING

HEALING ECOLOGY –TWO WAY EXPERIENCE OF HEALING BETWEEN HUMAN AND EARTH

Many people were invited to come camp out with us and host workshops along these themes. Our home ended up being Kinglake which was so devastatingly affected by fire in the black Saturday fires a few years back. Our site host lost his whole Wildnerness Park facilities and had to rebuild. The Trees spoke to us all weekend. The land has not fully recovered despite green shoots everywhere. The trees are amazing beings who must of screamed as their life force receded to the roots and the inner layers of their skins to hold on for dear life as the flames encircled and devoured their foliage to the very tree tops. There is a marked absence of bird life and song, even for autumn, I listened , there were a few birds but not  what one would expect from a lush forest. Tragic. So we were well placed to bring healing intent here to this land where over a hundred people and no doubt thousands of animals and plants lost their lives.. Please enjoy the photos of the space.

Some camped some cabined, and we had tipis for workshops as well as the main hall and the forest. We had a magnificent caterer Sun Hyland  who made absolutely divine food nourishing everyone. It was a weekend of linking head heart and hand, or the thought aspect, and the higher mind to the heart –compassion, to action and will being the  tangible means  of change making.

In alignment with this my offering was  from a Sonic Activists perspective.

Catherine Meeson is a multi modal artist/ musician trained healer and transpersonal therapist with a passion for arts eco activism. She uses creative arts therapy methods in workshops to explore person and place relations with an experiential focus using all sensory mechanisms. She has her own record label Sonic Sanctuary – for her Ambient electro acoustic folk rock and soundscape work. She is currently developing comprehensive course material in Sound Music and Healing field. 

TRIPLE ECOLOGY OFFERING

SONIC RELATIONS-  HOW SOUND IS THE WORLD? ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY REFLECTIONS

‘Exploring knowledge gleaned from a lifetime of study and life experience in the field of sound music and health, Cath will explore Sonic and power relations (acoustic ecology) and how sound affects and reflects the health in ecosystems. It’s biological, Psychological and ecological impact.  This will be experiential and contemplative using sound, image, lecture and white board with process work. She is a ‘Sonics Educator and activist’ .

My presentation was educational and contemplative as I provide perspectives and then ask you to experience engage , contemplate and dialogue finding your own answers I provide the facts from a spiritual science and knowledge of the ancients perspective, also incorporating  conventional science  findings from the diverse sound studies field and music therapeutics. I covered the nature of sound- human and animal perception, sound levels and propagation, sonic behaviour in space, environs, Masura Emoto , Margaret Watts Hughes, Cymatics and the World Soundscape Project, Acoustic Ecology. Prayer intention, Sounds affect on matter, and sounds affect physiologically, psychologically emotionally spiritually and how it impacts behaviour and explorations of how sound mediates relations. And I posed the need for ‘a sonic ethics’, challenging things like the outdoor dance parties which take over natural spaces and bring high level sound systems in affecting all life around them. Such knowledge is the staple of my work and also getting incorporated into my Sound Music Health training, equipping you with the knowledge and information to be a voice and presence for healing, sanity and sanctuary.I assert that the world( as a larger collective entity of persons  and systems) is not very sound.

The Triple Ecology Collective also had the intention to establish a community of practice by networking all interested in this work and establishing a foundation for further events knowledge dissemination and training/ workshops etc.

We are about to begin working on our 2016 gathering and the Triple Ecology  Gathering is also taking root up north where persons are engaged with organising a Triple Ecology Gathering  of their own up Byron Way.

If anyone is  interested in my work I would be happy to come  and do a presentation as a consultant or workshop facilitator  and can tailor work specifically for your event. I offer half day training and weekend workshops. Please peruse my other blogs for more information about my work  and visit my music website below.

Next series of blogs a belated review  looking at Conference Earth Shaping the Future a two day event held last year at Deakin University. Cluster  a new facebook model for Do-gooders enabling social change and mass scale networking and directly engaged philanthropy, and Exploring Eco Spirituality- Faith Ethics and Professional Life with the Australian Earth Laws Alliance plus What Counts as a Good Life for the Planet, for cities and for individuals (notice the triple theme) an event held t St Pauls Cathedral as part of National Science Week a panel of theologians and academics for senior high school  students and community . Stay tuned for these.

Also visit my Youtube channel for examples of my music, performance art- sacred theatre and arts activism. I hope to branch into documentary making and video commentary later in the year as well as film making  and have a third album Contemplating Buddha due for release soon as well as a three act play By the Mandate of Heaven well under way.

LINKS
https://www.youtube.com/user/CatherineMeeson

 www.creativetherapeuticencounters.com.au

www.catherinemeeson.com
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