Lear by Pauline Oliveros – Listening Within

Already at the first listen of "Lear", the thought came to me that this song could perhaps be suitable for music therapy treatments or music meditation. In order to let the sounds have their effect on me, I tried to calmly allow myself to be guided by this musical recording with an open mind. I felt as though I was shifted into a dream. However, what emerges before my mind’s eye is not to be compared to a dream during sleep, where sudden and unexpected jumps, unnatural accelerations and decelerations or visual distortions occur, because this state is more like a waking dream, a daydream: the limits of space and time are overcome but there is a rather logical correlation and what is seen is relatively detailed. Since the pitch and tempo in "Lear" are more or less continuous and are not altered dramatically, melodic rises and falls are not really present or at least they are not very striking.

 

While listening, my imagination is in a waking consciousness and is controlled and dominated by the song. I find myself in a completely abandoned place, a ghost town, and the condition of this area and its post-apocalyptic landscape lets me suspect that this place suffered a disastrous catastrophe. Nevertheless, I am free of panic or fear or any other discomfort because the misfortune that had happened here lies in the past and now something new and better will arise which affirms a ray of hope and a restoration of lasting peace. "Lear" has certain tunes that sound like angels singing and, as a result of these angelic voices, my imaginary world becomes further out of touch with reality and produces the sensation that this place is a utopian vision of a paradise – a perfect world without conflict. Towards the end of the song, the dreamlike trance slowly recedes into the distance and my flowing thoughts awaken from it and return to real life.

 

In a flight from reality, the dreamer succumbs to an illusion in which the dreamer’s not attainable longings and subjective concepts of happiness can be lived out and indulged in. Dream constellations assist with the processing of actuality which in turn has positive impacts on mood, relaxation and attentiveness. Unpleasant feelings and anxieties can be relieved. "Lear" is capable of stimulating the senses, extending the horizons of perception and allowing for an increased susceptibility to sounds, frequencies and tones.