Event Title:
“Holding Space for Sound Without Meaning”
OPENING STATEMENT
Dr Softfield smiles gently and says:
“Today is not about understanding.Understanding is a colonial impulse.Today is about listening—without translating sound into meaning, intention, or critique.”
A slide appears reading:
INTERPRETATION IS A FORM OF CONTROL
GROUND RULES
-
No paraphrasing
-
No clarification questions
-
No nodding (agreement implies interpretation)
-
No silence longer than 4 seconds (absence can be exclusionary)
Violations will be addressed through Reflective Stillness Breaks.
ACTIVITY 1: UNINTERPRETED SHARING
A PhD student speaks:
“I feel anxious about my thesis timeline.”
The room sits in absolute tension.
Another student raises their hand and says:
“I want to affirm the sounds you made, without attaching them to anxiety, time, or selfhood.”
Applause. Someone wipes away a tear.
ACTIVITY 2: LISTENING CIRCLES
Participants sit in a circle.
Dr Softfield intervenes:
“Careful. That ‘mmm’ carried validation. Let’s try again, but flatter.”
MOMENT OF CRISIS
A junior lecturer accidentally says:
“I hear what you’re saying.”
The room freezes.
Dr Softfield whispers:
“Hear implies content.”
The lecturer is gently escorted out for Re-Attunement Training.
FINAL REFLECTION
Participants are asked to journal:
“What did you hear, without knowing?”
The workshop evaluation form asks only one question:
“Did this feel important?”(There is no option for “no”.)
OFFICIAL OUTCOME
The workshop is declared a success.
The university announces a follow-up series:
-
Speaking Without Intending
-
Reading Without Comprehending
-
Publishing Without Claiming Anything
