Sounds of Sanctuary
A Meditation on Coming Home
Balikbayan Worldwide
Moon Meditation
Bahay Kubo (Chicago)
Baba (爸爸)
Searching for Sonic Empathy
A Meditation on Coming Home
Light and Sound Design, Brooklyn NY / March 2025
A Meditation on Coming Home was an ambient set and meditation curated as the opening for Amen, Anito! Debut Album release party at Light & Sound Design in Greenpoint, NY. Combining field recordings taken in Bataan, alongside a selection of ambient music including works by Filipina artists Ana Roxane and Grace Nono, this set was performed as a backdrop for a live, spoken meditation inspired by the feeling of returning home.
On Coming Home
inhale through your nose
and out through your mouth
this is your cleansing breath
it's something you can always return to
it's something we were born knowing
what sound does the air make leaving your body?
let the music continue to guide your rhythm
bring your attention
to a part of yourself that you would like to reconnect with
something you would like to bring more movement into
what does it feel like when you are connected to this part of yourself?
hold this feeling in your chest and let it grow into
a ball of light
imagine the ball of light balanced on top of your head
let it travel gently down your neck to rest on the tops of your shoulders
roll your shoulders forward
roll your shoulders backward
bow your head to the left
bow your head to the right
breathe into any valleys
holding tension or tightness
what have you been carrying today?
you are releasing in old energy and bringing in the new with each exhale
gently deepen your inhale through the nose
exhale slowly through the mouth
how can you move with the sounds that you hear?
on your next breath
roll the ball of light
vertebrae by vertebrae
down on the top of your back
into your belly
resting on your hips
sway gently from side to side
bending but not breaking
the energy that is building within you
let the ball of light expand melt down your legs down your calves
and into the soles of your feet grounding you in this moment
covering your energy
you are made of light
inhale through to the top of your head to the bottom of your feet
remember what it feels like
to listen to the part to yourself that makes you feel connected and alive
even if it's just for a moment
¡ invite you to notice sounds that feel close
sounds that feel far away
to bring your attention to ones feel comforting and familiar
allow these sounds to guide your movement
and remember that you can always return to your breath,
a manifestation of our life force