PhD researcher Xsara Helmi recently presented at the transdisciplinary conference Sacred Arts 2025: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Artistic Expression and Ritual, hosted by the London Arts-Based Research Centre at the University of Oxford, as part of the Sacred Soundscapes section.
Her paper, The Numinous Ear: Autistic Listening and Aural Diversity as a Gateway to the Divine and Sublime, explores neurodivergent auditory perception as a site of relational and numinous conciousness.
Drawing on Rudolf Otto’s mysterium tremendum et fascinans alongside Carl Jung’s notion of the numinous, Helmi reveals how autistic listening — marked by heightened sensitivity to sonic textures and intricate patterns — disrupts conventional auditory paradigms, uncovering sound’s deeply affective and transcendent qualities. These paradoxical sensory experiences suggest a dynamic, co-creative interplay between sound and consciousness.
Grounded in philosophical frameworks from Merleau-Ponty, Ihde, Nancy, Chalmers, Goff, and Whitehead, Xsara’s research explores whether sound operates merely as stimulus or as an ontological force shaping lived experience. Through her practice-led work, which integrates music composition, poetic inquiry, and documentary film, Helmi reframes aural diversity as a rich epistemological resource rather than a deficit.
To find out more about Xsara’s research, please visit: www.xsara.co.uk/academic
