March 2022 : Deep Listening
Active and intentional listening: finding greater depth and meaning in music. Starting from a place of stillness, you are not doing anything else but listening intently. Focus on the sounds surrounding you. Bring this practice into one of your every day routines - walking, running, washing the dishes - whatever it may be. Take in the sounds that surround silence.
Introducing music: explore an artists work in depth. Dedicate time to listening to an album from beginning to end. Listen for new layers, from the sounds furthest away to the sounds closest. Listen from a deep, receptive and caring place. As if this artist were whispering a secret to you.
Deep listening is a practice of suspending self-orientated, reactive thoughts and opening to the possibility in the present moment. It is a way of being anchored to the internal and external sensations in your body and in the world. We listen for the parts that we are often deaf to.
Reply with your reflections and the albums that you discovered or resurfaced.
Women In Art:
Celebrating Women’s History Month with 5 inspirational female creatives.
bell hooks - "No black woman writer in this culture can write 'too much.' Indeed, no woman writer can write 'too much' … No woman has ever written enough."
Georgia O’Keefe - “To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage. I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”
Maya Angelou - “I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me, 'I love you.' ... There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”
Hilma Af Klint - “All the knowledge that is not of the senses, not of the intellect, not of the heart but is the property that exclusively belongs to the deepest aspect of your being...the knowledge of your spirit.”
Mary Oliver - “You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”
Notes from Iona
You say that “art can heal the world“ can you speak into this?
I have dedicated the last decade to exploring how art can be used as a transformative, revolutionary and healing tool. As a young poet I was awarded the T S Eliot National Poetry Prize. Writing was a ritual. Fascinated with the intersection of art & social justice, I went on to study History at the University of Bristol, specialising in the transformative & revolutionary role of female artists in post-colonial Africa. During my studies I was the editor & curator of The Epigram Newspaper. Since 2017 I have toured the world with the musical group King Crimson, organising, hosting and writing for events at leading venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, The Beacon Theatre, Teatro La Fenice, among many others. This work has been recognised internationally for promoting artists' rights and art’s ability to provide hope and healing. I have trained in Ayurveda, Western Herbal Medicine and Yoga to gain an understanding of how to heal the human body naturally. In 2020 I created this platform to bring together this knowledge and open dialogue around art, social justice, and well-being.
What’s new in the world of Within Without?
There’s been a lot of dreaming and building in recent months alongside my dear friend, photographer & Zen practitioner Kasia Murfet. We are curating workshops, courses & retreats that offer space for people to connect with themselves, others, and the land through the creative process.
Volume II of Within Without’s annual non-profit print, to be released later this year, is a meditation on the theme “The Legacy of Love”. We have some incredible contributors that have transformed lives as a result their art, and I can’t wait to share this work with you.