How can we experience the relation to our surroundings as processual and at the same time meaningful, and not from a perspective that is solely function-oriented but as the expression of meaning that lies in the nature of our relational being itself? In this paper I explore how an æsthethics of atmospheres in spatial installations can heighten our sensitivity for ecological interdependencies (external) and at the same time for the responsiveness of our bodies previous to semantic reference (internal). In this responsiveness I locate an openness towards patterns in the internal and external surroundings that allow a specific situation to make sense for a perceiving subject.