Swanwick Star Issue No. 6 (2013)

Dr. Ravi Ravindra's Exercise on Looking

During Dr. Ravindra’s workshop, he suggested that the participants go out into nature and find an object to investigate like a tree or a flower. The object was to be examined in three different ways and the effects of such observation to be noted.

First of all, participants were to make a scientific-like report about a tree, for example, and put it down in writing. Just “objective” facts were to be noted. Then, after a break of a few minutes with perhaps a short walk, people were to return to the tree and observe it with the intention of writing a poem about it, and actually doing so. Once the poem was complete, there was to be another short break before coming back to the tree for the third time and observing it as if to hear what it was communicating or expressing to the observer. This was more like opening to it as a living being or expression of life and again writing down the results of such observation.

When everyone had finished the exercise participants met as a group and shared their experiences. It apparently proved to be most interesting for everyone involved and the results of the different ways of looking and listening were quite pronounced.

 

David