In Sewall’s chapter on depth, she refers to a woman named Deena Metzger, who says that “the erotic powers are receptivity, resonance, and radiance.” These are the powers of the senses and are a big part of seeing clearly. We’ve already practiced being receptive to our physical senses through listening, touching, and tuning into emotions.
According to Sewall, receptivity creates the opening for resonance to occur. This week, we’ll focus on resonance, and next week, radiance.
What is resonance?
The dictionary says that resonance is produced by sympathetic vibration, or frequencies that are harmonic. Mostly, resonance is thought of in terms of sound vibrations, but it is really just energy. It occurs when one subject with a certain frequency encounters a second subject with a similar natural frequency. There is vibrational motion between the two, a relationship if you will.
“Perception is an attunement or synchronization between my own rhythms and the rhythms of the things themselves, their own tones and textures.” ~ David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous
We all know that feeling of being attuned to someone or something. This is resonance. It can happen while walking in nature, or in a conversation, or listening to music, or reading a book. Resonance feels like a vibration in the body. It invokes an association or strong emotion. And, it feels significant.
The Power of Music
Music is an embodied, resonant experience. I hear a sound, which creates a vibration, that’s felt in my body. The spaces between the notes gives the notes time to linger and come to their fullest expression. The experience is fully present. There’s no past, no future, only this exhilarating moment of connection.
Not too long ago (pre-COVID), I went with a friend to a live concert by an alt-rock band that I was not familiar with. My friend was introducing me to some Canadian music I’d missed while living in the U.S. for 25 years. The band, 54.40, has been together for almost 40 years. Two of the current members started it right out of high school.
The energy in the full house before the show began was palpable. These were rabid fans, many of whom were long-time followers and had seen them perform multiple times. They were excited to be back for more and you could feel it in the room. As the first beat of the drums began, the crowd roared in recognition of the familiar tune. The lead singer gave expression to the words with a pure, strong voice. Bodies instinctively moved in time to the beat, hands clapped in unison, and some sang along. With music as the bonding agent, there was resonance between the band and the audience that could be felt.
Practice
“Resonation can arise within us when we are resting in the space of openness and simple appreciation and connect with something deeply. Resonance occurs when our being responds to what we have seen in a deep way, so that our body and mind are fully engaged; we have physical sensations, and our hearts open and we feel joy in the act of connecting.” ~ Julie duBose, Effortless Beauty
It’s a good exercise in self-awareness to notice when you feel resonance, that deep attunement and connection. It’s telling you to pay attention and could even be an invitation to respond in some way. Reflect on when you’ve felt resonance recently. What was it telling you?
To get the feeling of resonance, try this first. Listen to a favourite song, turned up loud. Bonus points if you lie on your stomach on the ground with your eyes closed and feel the vibrations. If you can’t think of a song, try this one. It will pluck your heartstrings.
I often say that my photographs are visual representations of encounters, resonant moments where I feel a deep connection. It’s not a sound vibration but I can feel it in my body. Resonance distills the experience into a relationship between visual elements, which often evokes emotion.
Take a walk and let your body lead the way and notice when you feel resonance. Stop and rest in the connection. Make a photograph if you’d like. During a photography workshop here in Niagara, we did an exercise where we practiced letting our bodies lead our minds. This is not easy to do! We began in a large park, where I advised the group to start wandering, letting their body tell them which way to go. Read the post.
I’d love for you to share your resonant moments here in the comments or on Instagram, adding the hashtag #seeingclearly2021.
Resources
Resonance via The Physics Classroom
Watch: Salt reacts to Sound
One of the things I love about photography is the sense of ‘being in the moment.’ It’s a very different experience than when I look at my photos later. There’s a sense of everything fitting together, working in harmony. It’s a remarkable feeling.
And it’s a lovely word, resonance. It’s got a particular feel to it, (the hold of the ‘z’ sound, and the wave of the ‘on’ giving way to ‘an.’). Saying it feels like mouth music.
There isn’t a lot of music that I think of as ‘love at first listen,’ where everything fits together and makes perfect sense, but when it does happen, it feels remarkable, like everything belongs, like it’s always been there, regardless of how new or old it is.
A friend once mentioned to me that he loved a particular album. ‘I don’t know what it is,’ he said. ‘It just pushes all my buttons.’ I think what he was trying to say was that the album resonated for him.
This week I’ve been listening to the new album, Daddy’s Home, by St Vincent. The music is built on all sorts of influences, mostly from the 1970s; the second is that it sounds completely original and contemporary, and I have to work at listening to it; I don’t love it at first listen. There are elements that resonate with me, echoes of other music that I love and make sense to me), — not in entirety, but in a way that makes enough sense that it resonates for me.
Sometimes there’s a sense of harmony (everything fitting together), but also a sense of echo. I know they’re two different things, but I do think they’re closely tied together. And it does make me wonder if, when I take pictures that make me feel like everything is fitting together, it’s also my sense that however original it feels, it’s also the echo of another, earlier feeling. Still thinking about that.
Well, Kim that was some trip. Santana. Samba. WoW. This took me back to my 20’s. I’d forgotten how much I loved Santana. Hours. Hours. Laying on the floor listening to the same album over and over. Samba is woven into my bones. As soon as I clicked ‘try this one’ I was transported. ThankYOU. Now downloaded into my current music library.
Interesting how the forest is magical on a different level at a slow walking rhythmic pace. I stopped, I stooped, I saw. Waiting for me a yellow and black striped snail. I notice in the forest at a slow pace music is everywhere. Slugs, bugs, snails and frogs—calling see me, see me.