KarmaTube Video

Being in nature with the abundance of natural sounds is a mediation. For me it's the equivalent of hearing God/Source speak. I listen in silence for everything in my environment, whether it's the sounds of the mailman's truck or children's voices lingering in my head as they ride by on their bicycles filling the air with their laughter.

Friends often ask me what kind of music do you listen to when you're at home alone? They're always amazed to learn that a musician enjoys being in silence. Music is a gift that I cherish. However, I make up in my mind that I prefer silence because like as in meditation, I leave space for the presence of Source. What greater gift is there?

When I listen - I disappear! What a wonderful way to be present.

It's the beauty of nature. Thank you for your stories and for sharing this wonderful forest with us. To reconnect with ourselves, we need to find peace within. When we are truly present and grounded, we can hear the flowing water, the buzzing of insects, and the voices of the animals around us.

I felt the yearning for forest, the one place where i feel bathed and held and settled in my brain. And where all the parts of me come together in one place and I hear, feel and know my breath is taking me back home. I yearned to lay on the wet green floor and hold a pine cone, to feel its story, to sense its journey, its love and compassion together.
The air plane that flew over the green forest seems like a ridiculous mistake to our humanity. I scrunched the front of my top as if squeezing out my tears because i know the air plane won't stop. So what am i listening for now ? what sounds fill my life and hold our hearts with plenty.

I heard so many familiar sounds of the forest, reminding me of the many times we visited Yosemite and went on hikes. The hikes in fall were resplendent with birds chirping in the trees and the sound of the wind gracefully flowing among the trees. In the winter, we would hear the crunch of snow under our snowshoes and take notice of the silence in the fields of snow when we stopped walking. We might then hear a sudden whoosh that was a dropping of the snow from the height of the big Sequoias down onto the snow in the ground. In the spring, the birds would be nesting and chirping away at their chicks, who were not quite ready to leave the nest. In the summer, the river would be making a rushing sound that filled our ears with a bubbling invitation to come sit with the river and cool off from the heat. I would sit in the river and listen to its splash against the large boulders. The river's sound was exciitng and loud. The clear water coming down from the heights and into the valley was both cooling and refreshing. The bounty of nature across the seasons was a feast for the senses as we took in the beauty, smelt the pine, felt the cool of the river and heard the crunch of the snow. We tasted its icy freshness, while enjoying the sight of the magnificent redwoods while hearing the screech of the hawks that soared above their towering grace.

The beauty of a forest, the warmth of the trees, the sound of the birds and the breezes, are all primal and soothing. Thank you, Mr. Hampton, for taking me there.

What a relief it is to disappear in the silence! How deeply meaningful it is to listen to the land. How restorative it is to let ourselves feel the unconditioned rhythms of life! Beautiful video thank you.

What a beautiful video and what an incredible life's work of Gordon Hempton. I felt this deep longing as I watched and listened to the video. My body and mind rested, I wanted it to continue. Also, at the same time I wanted to turn it off and go into the woods and listen. Perhaps that's exactly what this video was supposed to do. Thank you.

thank you, this was profoundly beautiful and poignant. I loved the 360VR filming, to look around the spaces especially in nature was incredibly moving. the idea of so little silence and to listen more closely to nature stays with me. When I was in Alaska last summer, I had to opportunity to stay in a small town and travel remotely, the quiet away from much of human noise was deeply healing.

Everything about this video blew my mind. The author allowed himself to disappear. TO be background to the sounds of the Earth speaking. The video effectively contrasted the business and noisiness of human life and human mind that is always (it seems to me) immersed in the cluttered sounds of business. The video made clear that Silence is not empty or devoid of sound but is a space where Earth's many inhabitants and elements can be heard. Can share the space. I find it distressing that Silence is hard to find. I was very moved by the author standing alone recording the noise on the street. I think it is a kind of awareness lacking in modern cultures, but a quality of awareness so needed at this time.

"When i listen, i become quite, I become peaceful and I disappear"

What inspired you about this video?I am propelled to write music, yet my innate nature is not to speak, to be naturally silent.