I Shaved My Ears for This? Natural Sound Deprivation - "Sshh!"

Soulscape at Home

My favorite Soulscape at home is among the trees by the water spillway, where the perennial birdsong, pollinator buzz, squirrel chitter, and frog-mating litanies fill my soul with melody and joy. Nature's sound - biophany - is fast disappearing from our planetary soundscape. There are are very few naturally quiet places left in the biosphere, as soundscape ecologist Gordon Hempton reminds us. Excessive environmental noise adversely affects cardio-vascular and neuro-cognitive health. It increases stress cortisol and causes neural network failure. Noise pollution damages. Silence, abstention from noise, and regular access to Nature's chorus heals. Silence is so healthy for us. Sshh.

Earth's symphony can be healing, if we can hear it. Silence soothes and heals the brain and body in myriad ways, and biophany is essential for healthy human-Nature synergy. When I "shave my ears," or sharpen my auditory focus, it is usually in the practice of Shinrin Yoku, or "forest bathing." I immerse myself in Nature's embrace, meditate and listen to the biophanic chorus. Some days it's a challenge, especially when traffic drowns out the natural cadence, as trucks and trains roar by, or mowers, blowers, grinders and chain saws rattle my nerves.

Add fireworks, or deafening bass speakers, and I'm a mess. The auditory assault is debilitating, not just for sound-sensitive me. I wince at the sheer cacophony of human-inflicted noise on the rest of creation, whose lives depend on hearing the calls of their kin, the shifts of wind, and the warning signals of predators. We are killing our more-than-human kin, but not softly. Loudly. We are neglecting reverence for Nature, our common home, in a most indecent way.

Sshh. Listen. What's opening?

In order to tap into healing biophany, I have to re-tune my focus for the natural soundscape with effort and intention, looking to my more-than-human kin for wisdom. I have to be open. Funnel-weaving spiders, tulips, trees, soil, and many other living beings in the biosphere can teach us the art of being still, if we pay attention. We can sharpen our auditory sense daily. Perhaps after practicing disciplined awareness by immersion in Nature's soundscape we can gain access to that inner stillness that is so healthy for body and mind.

Ethics & Deep Ecology: What ethical responsibility do we humans have to cease and desist our silencing of Nature? Are we culpable for destroying Nature's voice, eliminating biophany altogether from the biosphere? Many are familiar with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), invoking the image of the "silencing of Nature," as a catalyst for environmental ethics. Rachel's cry reverberates still today. Will we listen?

Since Norwegian philosopher, Arne Naess, coined the term "deep ecology" in 1972, proponents of Nature's rights insist that our anthropocentic focus in determining who may rightly "speak" or dominate all language in the natural world is fundamentally flawed. By ignoring the rights of more-than-human kin, we are eliminating any contenders, and it is unethical and ill-advised for the health of our global eco-system. Ethical ecologists have been arguing for the rights of Nature to exist, to be heard, for the good of the whole. "When, however, the issue is the silencing of nature by the rhetoric of 'Man,' we need to find new ways to talk about human freedom, worth, and purpose, without eclipsing, depreciating, and objectifying the nonhuman world. Infused with the language of humanism, these traditional fields of knowledge are ill-equipped to do so, wedded as they are to the monologue of the human subject." (Christopher Manes, "Nature and Silence," Environmental Ethics, Vol. 14, Winter 1992)

Rights of Nature: What are the Rights of Nature? Rather than viewing and treating Nature as property owned and controlled by humanity, those who protect the Rights of Nature uphold the inherent goodness and dignity of all forms of natural life, protecting the right to exist, persist, and sustain regenerative life cycles. There are environmental organizations and legal agencies devoted to safeguarding Nature's Rights from human exploitation and destruction. For example, since more-than-human creatures like birds, woodland species, insects, and water denizens require access and participation in biophany to exist and thrive, how can we mitigate human-generated noise pollution for the good of the wider "We" of creation?

Cultivating a Habit of Reverence in the heart of Nature is one simple way. Here are some ideas:

Biophany For Beginners:

• Pay attention to natural sound. Close your eyes if it helps.

• Stop talking while walking in Nature and listen for natural sound - biophany.

• Minimize personal noise pollution. Scale up to make a difference - family/team/community/neighborhood/region - a little bit at a time.

• Teach children to listen respectfully to Nature's biophany.

• Pause before initiating a noisy activity and consider the needs of all proximate bio-kin who will be affected by the unnatural noise generated.

For Biophiliacs (Nature-Lovers) who need healing/rejuvenation:

• Listen for natural sound - biophany - and tune into it regularly.

• Learn the calls and cadence of birds, insects, and wild creature-kin.

• Go barefoot outside for grounding/earthing.

• Practice Shinrin Yoku or "forest bathing."

• Connect regularly with Wild Places and Creatures.

• Explore Nature through Adventures in the Wild.

For the Over-Achievers:

• Create a natural sound-bath at home.

• Create a biophanic Soulscape at home. Reserve part of your garden, backyard, or front porch as a cathedral to Nature's symphony. Create a sign that says, "Quiet, please. Listening for Nature's Symphony," or "Hush; Nature Calling!" or "Sshh. Gentle on the Ears." Then, create a sit-spot with a swing, stool, cushion, or pillow to make yourself comfortable while listening. Keep a journal/diary of the natural sounds you hear.

• Create haiku or other poetry/art/music to reflect what you've learned and loved about biophany.

• Create an organizational, family, or personal "Noise Scale" indicator. Allow X number of decibels, sustained over X amount of time each day, calibrating for Nature's requirements for basic sustenance as a priority. We might track how much noise we create, measuring for: elevated voice decibels (e.g., yelling, screaming), noise generated by electronics, transportation, power tools, appliances, HVAC, synthesized stereophonic sound, explosives, and incessant talking. Award points for decreasing noise indicators and celebrate with neighbors, teammates, or kin by hosting a Sound Immersion Party. Anyone can make noise - it's nothing but "sound and fury," as Shakespeare's MacBeth proclaims:

"It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing."

Silence speaks volumes in the context of resistence, solidarity, and love.

What if the human legacy to the planetary chorus evolves into listening well, listening deeply, listening for the good of the whole? It's never been more cool to be quiet.

Start a listening legacy with little practices like reading in Nature. Read Thoreau. Read Muir. Read Leopold. Read E.O. Wilson and Wendell Berry. Read Mary Oliver. Maybe Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" will come alive and thrill with natural sound! Whatever hubbub arises in the midst of your day, maybe take a moment to "shave your ears" and listen: Sshh. Nature is calling!