The Field
The Listening Field is a living installation where land, sound, and human intention come together in a quiet act of regeneration. Set within a rural Wisconsin landscape, the field is planted with sunflowers grown from biodegradable seed paper. Each one carries an offering from a participant.
It's all about
Regeneration
Transformation
Bringing attention to transformation, offering practices in physical and digital spaces that help us connect more deeply with ourselves and with the nature around us.
Holding Space
Opening a sacred holding space for people affected by sexual abuse to explore the stories we would like to release and rewrite on a personal and collective level.
Land Regeneration
Regenerating local Wisconsin land through regenerative soil practices, prayer, song, and intentional care. Participants are invited to share words they no longer wish to carry, and we will handwrite every story on biodegradable seed paper and plant it into the earth.
What is the listening field
Participants are invited to share words they no longer wish to carry.
These offerings are transcribed onto handmade, biodegradable paper embedded with sunflower seeds. Each piece is planted into the earth with care and intention, returning what has been carried back to the land.
As the sunflowers grow, their roots work beneath the surface, helping restore and stabilize the soil. In this way, the act of release becomes part of a larger process of transformation and regeneration.
How It Works
Release
Participants are invited to share words they no longer wish to carry.
These offerings are transcribed onto handmade, biodegradable paper embedded with sunflower seeds. Each piece is planted into the earth with care and intention, returning what has been carried back to the land.
As the sunflowers grow, their roots work beneath the surface, helping restore and stabilize the soil. In this way, the act of release becomes part of a larger process of transformation and regeneration.
Intention
Participants may also offer a second message. An intention, quality, or way of being they want to bring forward.
These messages are translated into sound and become part of an evolving collective composition. These tones are shared with the field, as well as used through guided practices as a collective song of care.
What Happens in the Field
The field moves through natural cycles. Planting, budding, blooming, and return.
As we document the different phases of the land’s regeneration through videos and livestream, we together hold new stories that better serve ourselves, communities and the natural world around us.
As the winter fades to spring, what new seeds and stories will we nourish?
During the blooming phase, visitors may enter the field and walk a circular path designed as a contemplative journey. Sound is woven into the landscape and guides participants toward a sculptural megaphone, where the collective voice of the project is expressed.
How to Participate
- submitting a release - what you no longer wish to carry
- offering an intention - what you wish to bring forward
- Watch the field ambassadors new world stories
- joining live-streamed sound sessions and field moments
- explore practices created by the Manas Collective team
Live Stream
In the near future, the field itself will also be shared through a live stream on this site.
During the growing and blooming cycles, participants will be able to view the field in real time and stay connected to the land, the sunflowers, and the unfolding process as it changes over time.
This live stream will offer another way to witness the work from wherever you are and take part through attention, presence, and listening.
The Field
The Listening Field is alive, and has her own intelligence. We will gently support her transformation, while reflecting on what she (the earth) can teach us as we plant new seeds and allow new stories to grow.
The Listening Field is designed to be a living, evolving “web art” page that facilitate in digital space making to honor nature, deep listening, and collective story telling.
In order for more of us to become storytellers of the new earth’s story, we are using digital spaces in hopes of creating a larger audience dedicated to attention and care for the earth and each other.
Throughout the process, we will document the progress of the land’s transformation and reflect on how it mirrors and is in relationship with our collective growth.
To preserve the integrity of the land and the depth of the experience, in-person visits are limited and offered by invitation only. This helps the field remain quiet, intentional, and in balance with the natural environment.
Phases of the Field
1. Waking Up and Remembering
- Field and soil preparation
- Seed paper making
- The Listening Megaphone creation
- Prayer planting
- Sound signature development
2. Planting & Budding
- Seed planting and early growth
- Bird habitat installation
- Field camera setup
- Beginning sound healing sessions
3. Blooming
- Sunflower field in full bloom
- Labyrinth sound journey
- The collective songs
- Live-streamed sound sessions
4. Return & Reflection
- Plants return to the earth
- Observation and reflection cycle
- Documentary development
- Documentary sharing
Everyone has a story to tell… this is a safe space to share in a way that is collectively honored but not broadcasted.