The Center For Deep Listening

Deep Listening Intensive 1 Course Overview

Deep Listening Intensive I Course Overview

Course Description

This course introduces Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening® practice through the three modalities of Listening, Moving, and Dreaming. Together we will explore how to expand awareness, deepen attention, develop creative practices, and build community through sound, body, and imagination.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will:

  • understand the foundations and philosophy of Deep Listening
  • have developed deeper awareness through individual and group creative practice in Listening, Movement, and Dreaming
  • have prepared, if desired, for Intensive 2 as part of the path toward certification to teach Deep Listening.

Course Structure

The course meets online for 13 sessions over three months, with each session lasting two hours. In addition to class time, participants should plan for three to four hours of personal practice, journaling, and written reflections each week. A daily Deep Listening practice is encouraged.

Participation Agreements

Active engagement is central to this course. Participants are expected to attend all sessions, with one absence permitted. The group connects, shares, and practices together via camera and microphone during sessions, therefore the use of camera and microphone is encouraged when appropriate to support group connection. Successful completion of the course also requires completing assigned readings, maintaining a Deep Listening journal, and submitting regular written reflections. Commitment to practicing all three modalities—Listening, Moving, and Dreaming—is essential.

Required Readings

  • Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice – Pauline Oliveros
  • Listening in Dreams – IONE
  • Deeply Listening Body – Heloise Gold

About the Modalities

  • Listening: We will explore listening as a multisensorial experience through Pauline Oliveros’ Sonic Meditations and text scores as a means to deepen creative processes and cultivate awareness.
  • Moving: We will engage in a blend of movement meditations, creative sound/movement improvisations, and T’ai Chi/Qi Gong practice – drawing upon the teachings of Heloise Gold – to develop “full-body listening”. This modality includes practices such as a daily one-minute listening/moving dance and weekly mindful walk, towards cultivating a friendly and abundant relationship with our listening bodies.
  • Dreaming: We will develop awareness of dreams and their sound phenomena through personal dream journals, regular sharing in small groups, and participation in community dream pods. Our practice in this modality is based on the teachings of writer, performer, and dream keeper IONE. 

Certification Path

Completion of Intensive I qualifies participants to apply for Intensive II. Those who complete Intensive II may be considered for certification, which allows them to facilitate Deep Listening® workshops.