The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday

Get there the hard way: by engaging with the world, not skimming over it.

Hearing is a physical process involving sound waves and the body. We know about it because it is easy to study; listening, the interpretation of those sound waves, is harder to quantify. “To hear is the physical means that enables perception,” Oliveros continued. “To listen is to give attention to what is perceived, both acoustically and psychologi

Silence isn’t an endgame. It’s a catalyst, an opportunity to discover truer things about the world outside or inside your head. —DIANE COOK

Hein has his students pick a single sound within a song, listen for it, and tune out everything else. Maybe it’s the bass; maybe it’s the vocal. Or maybe this means zeroing in on the chorus and identifying each sound within that. Hein makes his students create lists and diagrams of their conclusions. What instrument or piece of gear produced that s

Over the coming century, the most vital human resource in need of conservation and protection is likely to be our own consciousness and mental space. —TIM WU

“joyous exploration”—defined as “the recognition and desire to seek out new knowledge and information, and the subsequent joy of learning and growing.”

Expand your attention to include everything that you can possibly hear, without judgment. The ear hears. The brain listens. —PAULINE OLIVEROS

You must devise a story whose ending you’ll never know, even though you are the one telling it.

Set that prejudice aside and take the official tour of wherever it is you live.