DEEP LISTENING® THROUGH PARENTHOOD

Sonic Meditations for Birth, the NICU, and Beyond

BY ANNE K. HEGE

INTRODUCTION

I present the meditations below to share some of the ways I have explored parenthood. I originally wrote these meditations for myself between 2011-2015, inspired by my Deep Listening practice, as a way to support listening to my body, my environment, my baby, and to tune in to the particular time that is the transition to parenthood. I am inspired to share these meditations because, while on bed rest and later during my daughter's seven weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), I found limited resources regarding how to relieve the stress of early delivery or the strain of the unfamiliar NICU environment. I want to put this out in the world to support others with this experience. I also want to share what has been such a supportive practice to me. After 14 years studying Deep Listening (including two courses at Mills College, three Deep Listening retreats, and one conference), I present this pamphlet for my certification in Deep Listening at the Arctic Circle Midnight Sun Deep Listening Retreat in Sortland, Norway. I am so grateful to Pauline Oliveros, lone, and Heloise Gold for their teachings in this practice. I wish to thank the participants of the retreat for their supportive and useful feedback on these meditations and their suggestions to publish them. Big thanks to my parents, who inspired a curious engagement with everything that is at the root of this practice and for my husband Grant Tompkins, who has been listening with me for a long time. Lastly, I must thank my daughter Dorothea for sharing this adventure with me and for being my favorite listening partner.

- Anne Hege, Sortland, Norway, June 25, 2015