Spirituality Studies 9-2 Fall 2023 35 Carmen Ramírez-Hurtado, Victoria Cavia-Naya From our point of view, the Christian tradition also shares these same references, since developing contemplative capacities involve embracing opposites. Life is paradoxical only for a strictly rational vision. If we make space for intuition, for example, the paradox dissolves: the contemplative vision is integrative in its nature and, as such, which is contradictory from the rational point of view is part of a greater whole, wherein each part has its place, free of struggle against anything apparently contrary to it. Here, the need to exclude disappears because the contemplative way of being in the world consists in the harmonious dance of the different. In Western music, the Taoist philosophy of nothingness has illuminated the ideas and works of musicians such as John Cage (Cavia-Naya 1998, 546). In the score of 4’33’’ (1952) the indication “tacet” provocatively suggests that all sounds are music, and at the same time the absence of any musical writing raises questions such as the boundaries between art and life or the very nature of non-action/non-sound in music. From there, a strand of contemporary music has sought to blur the boundaries between sound and music by focusing on the properties of sound, compositional and interpretative indeterminacy, and the purpose of purposelessness. The latter, clearly, is a properly contemplative attitude of Christian spirituality: letting go of expectations allows you to embrace what life brings you without judgment, without rejection. Just as Cage does with music, it is about living life as it presents itself: flowing with it. It should be noted however, that there is a fundamental difference between Cage’s 4’33’’ and Lao Tzu’s complex notion of silence which he calls The Great Note is Rarified Sound, a term that refers to the near-sound or very soft sound related to non-action (Lu and Tan 2021, 92). While the physical phenomenon remains similar to Cage and Lao Tzu, the term Taoist emphasizes a tradition of deep inner reflection, which may (as we have noted) partly overlap with the presuppositions of Christian spirituality, but which is very alien to most Western audiences. It is from this profoundly reflective attitude of the individual, underpinned by their spiritual dimension, that most of the Western audience can be linked to the Western, Christian contemplative practice, which also presupposes work with the body (relaxation), with the mind (concentration), and with the spirit (contemplation). This stillness refers to the search for the silence of the body. If the body is not silenced, it is difficult to silence the mind, let alone the spirit. The Christian monastic tradition and other proposals of present-day Christianity show that the spirit can be glimpsed in this way [7]. The focus of attention is no longer on words, feelings, or thoughts, but on silence (on the Other). Attention is no longer focused on the self but on the unknown. When one remains still one discovers that one is restless, and in this situation the action that is called for to maintain the presence of absence is that of transiting or non-action (letting go, not paying attention, flowing). Assuming that the dual phenomenon sound/silence is a continuum and that listening has both spatial and temporal dimensions, we can understand that the way to the Other (the absolute, spirit) opens up through perception rather than through discursive thought. In the beginning there is always perception through the senses: hearing, touching, tasting, seeing, and smelling. Then, attentive, leisurely listening leads to spiritual perception, which consists in awareness, understanding, and discovery: we become aware of something in reality. The concept of deep listening can be partially adapted to this kind of perception. It is a term that originates with the artist Paulina Oliveros and has been used in the field of contemporary music as a resource for compositional practice. The term refers to the perception that results from paying conscious attention to internally generated sounds and their transmission through external means in the form of musical creation (Oliveros 2005, 10–12). In the field of contemplative meditation, we take the term deep listening a little further than the importance given to it as a compositional resource, the role acquired by sound in the experimental avant-garde, the implicit fascination with the sound environment that surrounds us (enviroment, soundscapes) or the successes obtained from the application of sound through media such as electronics and new technologies. The deep listening proposed here begins with sensory perceptions and extends to more spiritual insights, emphasizing the importance of learning how to dwell in them – leaving behind the past and the yet-to-come future. Perception, consciousness, existence, and abiding in the present are practically synonymous. Remaining in perception means remaining in the present because being constantly attentive to the present will lead us to the presence of the Other (relational). This is how the Christian-rooted, contemplative tradition has historically seen it and, therefore, the goal of the spiritual journey in Benedictine spirituality is “to walk in the presence of God” (Jalics 2003, 24). The use of song as a means of transcending the ordinary and penetrating the transcendent (the Other) goes well beyond the history of Christianity or the philosophies and religions of antiquity. Its practice goes back to the very origin of the human species, as the latest research, reviewed below, shows.
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