The goals of the composer’s meditations included “expanded consciousness” and “humanitarian purposes; specifically healing.”
Beginning in 1971, Oliveros began designing short programs for each meeting. This was out of necessity: the group had begun to experiment with nonverbal communication, as the scholar Martha Mockus describes in her book on Oliveros. The archived program for the sixth session, dated November 30, 1971, is typical:
Mirror
Kinetic Awareness—Make your last audible breath a sung tone
Circle—Visualize your signature letter by letter slowly. Simultaneously hearing your name. Do this forward, then backwards. (Without sound) See your signature in a selected color. Do these with eyes closed and eyes open.
Bowl Gong Meditation. If you lose track of the pitch or want to verify your memory hit the gong again.
Walk once around the room as slowly as possible backwards
Teach yourself to fly as long as possible
