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From Physical to Spiritual: Defining the practice of embodied sonic meditation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 November 2020

Jiayue Cecilia Wu
Jiayue Cecilia Wu*
Affiliation:
College of Arts and Media, University of Colorado Denver, USA
*
Email: wuxiaoci.cecilia@gmail.com
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Abstract

This article narrates my practice-based research in embodied sonic meditation, as a Digital Musical Instrument (DMI) designer, a vocalist, a composer, a media artist and a long-term meditation practitioner. I define the concept of ‘embodied sonic meditation’ in the context of electroacoustic sound art with the augmentation by music technology and human-centred design. I historically connect embodied sonic meditation to its roots in Tibetan Buddhism and several inspiring music compositional practices in the Western world from the second half of the twentieth century. I argue that physicality and spirituality are unified in an inseparable non-duality form, through sound, body and mind. I develop a methodology for embodied sonic meditation practice, built on fifteen design principles based on previous research in DMI design principles, neuroscience research in meditation, Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory, and the criteria of efficiency, music subjectivity, affordance, culture constraints and meaning making. I then make reference to three proof-of-concept case studies that use a sensor-augmented body as an instrument to create sound and sonic awareness. I argue that embodied sonic meditation affords an opportunity for sound art to mediate cultures, improve people’s well-being, and better connect people to their inner peace and the outer world.

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Articles
Information
Organised Sound , Volume 25 , Issue 3: On Phonosophy , December 2020 , pp. 307 - 320
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2020.

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Discography

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