We are in constant conversation with our surroundings, uploading,
processing and sharing, each of us integral to a vibrant tapestry of life. Our
senses hold the space in which we can take part in this dialogue, they situate
us in the world, providing us with the means for navigation, and the tools to
weave our path. In different spaces our senses work in different and dynamic
ways too. Think of how textures feel, sounds resonate, and colours manifest in
spaces where we feel relaxed and safe, and then the difference when we are
primed for action or reaction.
Within every person there is a whole world of perception. Individual sensory processes are both unique and wide-ranging, different at any one moment to any other human, that exists or has ever existed. So many possibilities and potential
outcomes, all influenced by yet more experiences, actions and memories. We are, in every moment, an evolution in progress, sparkling as energy pulses in,
through and out of us, fuelling our individual journey through life.
Journeys typically have a start and a finish, a direction to
travel and to follow. In our Global North societies, a human journey is all too
often directed to follow a linear path. Our progress is measured and charted, captured
and defined from the moment we’re born. The very fabric of our existence is 'manufactured' from norms, standards and words that span from low to high. In
relation to our senses, we build structure through binaries; hyper/ hypo, over/under,
passive/ active. Yet, in capturing the possible, we also confine.
What if this focused language, aimed at an easy and reliable
construction of reality, through demarcation and delineation, were itself the barrier
that prevented us from truly listening and being in tune with ourselves and
others; these words of objectification become the crude injustice to
the myriad of moments that each of us experience, at any one place at any one
time. We must also ask ourselves who has the right to pass judgement with these
words. Whose privilege is it to limit the limitless possibilities of sensory unfolding
to two-dimensions, when the reality is of lives lived in the whole? When we see
beyond this two-tone palette, we begin to appreciate how hard it is to paint a
picture of self, if we miss out on all the colour of diversity.
Divergence, simply put, is a way
of experiencing and being in the world that differs from a social construction
of typical (Walker, 2014). Typicality is therefore not a fixed or permanent state, but the
preference of a group, varying over time and across environments (Chapman, 2022). The markers of
our given social world, that we think of as so sure and certain, are in fact a
fiction we have told ourselves, and in other cultures do not exist at all. Instead,
each element of our being has its place and role within the relational and experiential
ecosystems that we inhabit. We have no more right to judge this diversity of existence, than
to pass judgement on any part of biodiversity. When we see beyond the mirage of
hierarchy, the matrix we have been sold, we start to see reality in ways that
may feel less secure, but which offer the possibility of emancipation and liberation,
autonomy and authenticity. We see a place where we can be, and where an important part of being well, is being ourself.
To successfully honour the diversity and expansiveness of what it means
for any individual to flourish, we must discard incomplete and narrow
foundations, words and ideas handed down for convenience by the few, shallow in
their approach and controlling in their design. We must instead embark on a
different journey, where our first step is to listen deeply and in depth.
Expanded listening is a broader, more nuanced approach to understanding and engaging with sound energy that includes 'the responsiveness of bodies and materials encountering sound' (Gallagher et al., 2017). Here, bodies refer to both the human and non-human. Expanded listening moves us beyond a primary and narrow focus on human comprehension and meaning. Instead, it as an action, interaction and embodied experience that can connect us to our environment and our environment to us, as well as us to each other, both consciously and unconsciously (Gallagher et al., 2017).
Expanded listening offers the opportunity for expansive listening, where our horizons can match the expansiveness of the lived experiences we aim to respect. Communication can of course breakdown where there are different experiences of the world (Milton, 2012). Expansive listening bridges any gaps through openness and humility. Being alongside as equals, facilitates the flow of information, dismantles the supremacy of categorisation and disrupts (Brea-Spahn & Bauler, 2023) the directional power of one way is best. This gives everyone in the conversation the right to have their voice heard. Expansive listening is therefore also being sensitive to the experiences of others (McGreevy et al., 2024), different to our own, embracing possibility and staying curious to meaning. We listen with our hearts as well as our minds, showing genuine interest, and having strength to say that we don’t have all the answers, but we can look to find solutions together. Journeys through life still have a direction, it’s just one where individuals map their own path, free to be who they have always been and empowered to know that they are already good enough.
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References
Brea-Spahn, M.R, & Bauler, C.V. (2023). Where Do You Anchor Your Beliefs? An Invitation to Interrogate Dominant Ideologies of Language and Languaging in Speech-Language Pathology. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools. 54(3):675-687. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_LSHSS-22-00135 & open access version https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370035437_Where_Do_You_Anchor_Your_Beliefs_An_Invitation_to_Interrogate_Dominant_Ideologies_of_Language_and_Languaging_in_Speech-Language_Pathology
McGreevy, E. et al. (2024). An Experience Sensitive Approach to Care With and for Autistic Children and Young People in Clinical Services.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 0(0).
https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678241232442
Milton, D. (2012). On the Ontological Status of Autism: the ‘Double Empathy Problem’.
Disability and Society. Vol. 27(6): 883-887.
https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62639/
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