Can you hear the part of you that keeps whispering:

When will I get a moment to myself to get lost in that stack of books I bought last year when I was obsessed with sonic ecology and creative research practice? (hi, it’s me).

Will I ever feel lit up by life like I did when I was in that modern dance class in undergrad where my homework was simply- “become driftwood washing upon the shore”?

How come every time I feel hopeful about a new online class, I start plotting my exit when I hear the words “breakout rooms”, “cameras on”, and “tell me a fun fact about yourself”?

Why does my to-do list look like it was written by a 1950’s housewife instead of by a poet drunk on ideas about the nature of existence?

Maybe it's been so long since you've had real time for yourself that you’re not even sure what you need, or if that part of you that once felt lit up by life is gone forever.

Here’s the thing, that part of you is still there, it’s just been buried under the responsibilities and pace of modern living.

And every time you think you’ve found something that will help, it either gets pushed aside by something more “urgent”, or the thing that was supposed to help actually requires more of you than you can have capacity for (like that promising online program that forgot to tell you that most of the every session would include lengthy check-ins when all you wanted to do was dive into the experience of the thing).

You don’t need another rigid online class, you need something that makes you feel like yourself again.

Imagine this…

It’s Tuesday afternoon, you’re trying to not trip over that pile of unfolded laundry on your way out the door, already late to meet the friend you haven’t seen in 3 months, and instead of freaking out because you can’t find your keys, you just pause and let yourself follow the sound of a finch singing outside your window, then you notice the laughter of the kids next door and it reminds you of when you were 7 and how that was the summer you met your best friend and how the days seemed like they would go on forever.

And that 3 minutes of listening shifted the feeling of your entire day.

Your thoughts might sound like ...

"That version of me who felt curious and alive is just gone—I wouldn't even know where to start."

What’s actually true: That part of you didn't disappear. It got buried beneath years of obligations and exhaustion. You don't need to know how to begin, you just need a way back in"

"I keep starting things and abandoning them, maybe I just don't have what it takes to stick with anything."

What I know is: You were actually listening. Some part of you sensed that these things wouldn’t offer what you needed, even if you couldn't name it yet.

"My brain is too scattered for this kind of attention."

Here's the truth: Your brain isn't the problem. Feeling scattered is what happens when you're forced to move at a pace that goes against your deeper nature, the parts of you that crave slowness, depth, and real connection with the living world.

“I shouldn’t need help with this, maybe I’ll just try to start meditating again”.

Here’s the thing: There’s nothing wrong with you for needing guidance and support, we all need it. And, meditation is great, but it's less about quieting your mind and more about expanding your capacity to sense and feel yourself as part of something larger.

The truth is, the kind of attunement with the world you’ve been craving does exist.

And you don’t need to have endless hours to begin.

When you have access to support that meets you where you are without pressure to perform things start to shift.

You might begin to:

Reconnect with your innate curiosity
Experience brief but profound moments of connection
Imagine a different relationship with time
Feel more resourced (and hopeful) throughout the day

It doesn’t matter whether you have an impossibly full life or one with too much unscheduled time — you deserve support either way.

But you do need flexibility with when and how you engage, gentle guidance without expectation, and practices that attune your senses to get there.

Which is exactly why I created Soft Sabbaticals, a series of guided listening practices and sensory explorations to help overwhelmed creative minds experience a deeper sense of aliveness in their everyday.

Why I created this

Hey there, I’m Adrienne!

I used to believe that feeling deeply engaged with the world required perfect conditions like a clear calendar, the house completely quiet, and no one needing anything from me.

I witnessed this belief in my therapy clients as well, deep-thinking creatives who felt overwhelmed by the modern world yet utterly underwhelmed in the ways that make them feel most alive.

We all longed for more solitude, time to be with our rich inner world and insatiable curiosity.

We shared a common lament,”if only I had more time.” But, grief has a way of dissolving the conditions we think we need.

When my dad unexpectedly died, it rearranged my relationship with time.

I found myself trying desperately to hold onto the sound of his voice, his laughter, the way he'd answer the phone.

And in that desperate listening,

I started hearing the world in a more vivid way. The question of more time became irrelevant.

And that sonic resonance with the pulse of the living world returned something to me that I never knew was possible.

That's when I realized—aliveness doesn't wait for perfect conditions. It arrives through our senses in the moments between the fullness of our everyday lives. It arrives through listening.

Soft Sabbaticals

Soft Sabbaticals is a 5-week series of listening and sensory explorations for creative minds who want to reconnect with what makes them feel alive, even when life feels full.

Each sabbatical series expands your capacity to listen and sense with your body, the world around you, and what lies beyond ordinary perception.

Through weekly guided practices, brief poetic directives throughout the week, curated sound recordings, and companionship from me, you'll feel attuned and alive—in conversation with the world and reconnected to the part of yourself that craves depth and profound belonging.

What makes this different

Designed for full lives

This works with how your life actually is. Brief touchpoints throughout the week that fit whether you have spacious time or just in-between moments. Even listening to an invitation without "doing" anything starts shifting your attention.

Guided, not solo

This isn't a self-paced experience where you're left to do it on your own. I'm present throughout the five weeks offering brief invitations, responding to questions, and companioning your experience as it unfolds.

Flexible engagement, zero pressure

No rigid schedule. No specific days or times you need to show up. Engage when the moments arrive for you. And if you want to share your process, there's a quiet space for that. But visibility is entirely optional. No pressure to perform, produce, or be seen.

Anchored in creative lineage

These listening and sensory explorations are grounded in the practices of artists and sonic researchers. They also draw from text scores, poetic directives used by Fluxus artists and experimental composers to interrupt habitual patterns and awaken the senses.

Here's what you'll experience

Five Weeks of Guided Listening Explorations

Week 1: The Listening Body - Attuning to your body as a listening vessel

Week 2: Listening for the Poetics of the Everyday - Listening-with the animate world around you

Week 3: Listening with the Unseen and Unheard - Encountering acoustic worlds beyond human hearing through sound recordings and imagination

Week 4: Listening Beyond - Listening into the vastness with silence, space, and cosmic bodies

Week 5: Listening as a Creative Act - Crafting your own listening invitations as a practice of shared aliveness

Password Protected Website

The central hub where all content lives—each week's focus, practices, artist context, and listening invitations. Designed for ease of navigation, accessible from any device.

Private Podcast

A dedicated podcast feed where you'll receive:

Brief weekly episodes introducing each week's focus, artist context, and core practices.
Listening invitations throughout the week—poetic text scores read aloud that you can practice with or simply listen-with.
Sabbatical Hotline responses where I answer questions that arise

Listening Practice Field Journal

A Notion journal template for you to reflect on your listening practices, attach links, images, recordings, or anything that supports your process. It's optional, and yours to duplicate and keep forever.

Sabbatical Hotline

A place to ask questions throughout the experience. I respond through brief podcast episodes so everyone benefits from shared learning.

Curated Are.na Space

A private Are.na space with two purposes:
First, it's where all the curated resources live—artist links, field recordings, optional readings, and rabbit holes for deeper exploration.

Second, it's an optional space to share your own process if you want to—a sound you recorded, a sketch, a brief reflection. Or simply browse what others are sharing. No likes, no comments. Just a quiet space for resources and witnessing.

How it works
This experimental series is a 5-week experience with new practices released each week. You can access everything through the password-protected website.

If you’d rather just listen, the private podcast will have all you need. The Notion Practice Journal and Are.na channel are designed to compliment your experience and completely optional.

Investment - $75 // split payment available

When you join:

You'll receive a welcome email and an invite link to join our Are.na group where you’ll find curated resources - books, pdfs, links to artists whose practices we’ll explore, audio field recordings, and questions to support your experience.

The first week of practices release on Tuesday October 28th.

Each Monday after, you'll receive an email when that week's focus is live—available on the website and through the podcast.

Still Have Questions?

"How long will I have access to the materials?"

You'll have lifetime access to:

The private podcast feed with all episodes and listening invitations
The Are.na space with curated resources (and you're welcome to keep adding to it)
Your personal Notion listening practice journal (duplicate it and it's yours forever)

You can return to these practices whenever you need them.

"Will there be future sabbaticals?"

Yes! This is the first of what I hope becomes an ongoing practice space. What comes next will be shaped by what resonates with this experimental series. You're helping me discover what wants to emerge and shape what’s to come.

You'll be first in line for whatever comes next, with pricing that honors your early participation.

"Do you offer refunds?"

Due to the experiential nature of this offering, no refunds are available.

“Is this therapy?”

This is not therapy, even if it feels therapeutic. I am not in the role of therapist for this container. This experience is best suited for folks who feel resourced enough to participate in an experiential learning space that is minimally facilitated.

Ready to Begin?

Aliveness doesn't wait for perfect conditions. It doesn't require you to have everything figured out first. It arrives through the simple act of turning your attention toward what's already here—what's been waiting for you all along.

If you're ready to feel like yourself again, to be in relationship with your life rather than just surviving it, to discover that listening can return you to what matters—this space was made for you.

You don't have to wait for perfect conditions.
You can start exactly where you are.