Environmental Listening: Tuning the World

In a time when noise dominates much of daily life, the simple act of listening can become a profound practice. Not just listening to people or podcasts—but listening to the world itself. The rustling of leaves, the call of birds, the hush of wind through trees. Even the distant hum of traffic becomes part of the symphony. When I slow down and truly listen, I find myself entering into what David Abram calls the more-than-human conversation.

This kind of listening changes something. It draws me inward, enhancing both interoception—my ability to sense what’s happening inside my body—and exteroception, the capacity to feel the world around me. It’s not passive. It’s not just about hearing. It’s relational. Each sound becomes a gesture of being. A call. A presence.

Over time, this environmental listening becomes a doorway into what systems thinkers call structural coupling—a mutual shaping between self and world. My nervous system attunes to the breeze. My breath slows with the rhythm of rain. There is a reciprocity here, subtle but real.

In mystical traditions, this kind of listening deepens further. It becomes an ontological practice—a way of being-with rather than being-over. It is what Martin Buber described as the I-Thou stance made audible. Not objectifying the world, not treating it as resource or scenery, but meeting it in reverence. Listening not to analyze, fix, or even understand—but to be with.

Just say hello and listen!