First Weekend-Long Sound Healing Retreat/Workshop at Wholistic Sound
A Sound Experience
This past week a woman came up here from New Jersey to train with me from Monday through Thursday. We had a great connection pretty much instantly- she was relaxed, easygoing and very receptive- so it was really was a very enjoyable experience on my end. While she was here I gave four sessions- one to her, two which she observed and one in which she assisted by doing reiki while I was working on the person.I wanted her to have as wide a range of experience as possible for her first time here so I ended up having a kirtan the second evening she was here. My friends Lynn Carol and George Henderson were here also, visiting from Florida, so there were four of us already! I invited a handful of people at the last minute and got a great response so we had a really nice group and very sweet kirtan here on Tuesday evening.
Clearly Thomas Reidelsheimer is a deeply sensitive individual as well. Fifteen years ago he made the movie Rivers and Tides about the artist Andy Goldsworthy, which is pure poetry and then followed it up with this extraordinary film in which he illustrates his subject with his own incredible perception of sound and movement that is reflected in every frame of the film. I have watched it at least 5 times and am stunned by its beauty every time.
This is all to say that we had a great three and a half days together, filled with sound experience. It was nice for me to be able to focus so much energy on one person who wanted to engage in all that I had to offer in a short window of time. There is much more and I think we are both looking forward to her return in the fall. I know I am! I am also looking forward to doing other one on one trainings and sound healing retreats for individuals and being able to tailor the time for their own individual process and practice.
Musical Notes
The truth is that I am sitting here at the computer at the end of the day and have no idea what I will write about. I also know that I made a commitment to blog every day and if I miss one day I know where I go- down the slippery slope. If I miss a day, one day at a time my blogging will slowly become a thing of the past. This is just how I am. So, without further ado...Some of the musical notes I have been reviewing in my mind today:
- The fact that sound/music strengthens the body. I have been putting this into practice the last week or so since I read that and posted on this subject. When I feel a little edgy or when I am too much in my head I either put on some music, pick up the guitar or play one of the singing bowls to restore my equanimity.
- An invitation to do a sound journey and possibly play music at the Unity Church in (or near?) Carlisle, PA by someone who experienced my work over ten years ago in St. Petersburg, FL. I did a Healing Sound Journey and played during the devotional service at the College of Metaphysical Studies in Clearwater.
- That has led me to looking at the possibility of setting up a series of Sound Journeys and workshops in the northeast since I may be doing a road trip with my instruments anyway.
- Reviewing last Friday's Healing Sound Journey in Woonsocket with a group of ladies who I think were mostly new to yoga and definitely new to sound healing. Many of them had pretty extraordinary experiences. I played for about an hour and many of them said it seemed like no time at all. They were shocked when I told them how long it had been. I think this is because when you drop into the present and everything else falls away, there is no time.
- One woman said that she had a very sexual experience. She shared with me that she as she had gotten older she was feeling less attractive and very "unsexy". She said that during the sound journey she reconnected with her femininity and it totally shifted her relationship to herself.
- Loving playing my new guitar and exploring new sounds on it, making up chords and playing with different rhythms.
- Chanting, chanting, chanting. Next week I am leading a kirtan at my friend Kerstin's yoga and art studio. So looking forward to it. Today on my way to yoga class I was chanting intensely and drove right by the house where I do yoga. Realized it a couple of blocks past my destination.
- Playing with brain tuners- using them for concentration, relaxation and deep meditation. I have been sleeping really well lately so I haven't needed them for that!
- Thinking a lot about the upcoming workshop in Holland. A little nervous and also very excited. Still contemplating the process and what it will all look like- how much I want to plan and how much I want let unfold organically. Sometimes when I get to hung up on the structure it doesn't go as well. So I am searching for the balance in that process.
- I have Tibetan bowls all over my living room floor! Tomorrow that will change and they will go back in the sound healing room. I was contemplating what ones I want to bring to Holland so I got them all out.
- Still thinking about the amazing concert last night with Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn. That will be something to hold on to for a while!
Randomness and Synchronicity
Long busy day full of good stuff! Met with my friend Kerstin Zettmar, yogini and amazingly wonderful visionary artist and set up a kirtan in her studio for April 23. Then went up to Framingham, MA to see my dear friend Sharon McCord who called me the day she arrived to let me know that she was in Massachusetts for a week. We had made a dinner date for tonight. As it turned out after dinner she wanted to go see a couple of other close friends of hers that she hadn't had a chance to really connect with. I have a wildly busy day tomorrow so I was hoping we could beg off on that little adventure but in the end it felt right so after a delicious sushi fest, off we went. And as that turned out, I now also have a gig doing a Healing Sound Journey for Mother Earth on April 22 in the World Citizens' Cafe in Framingham, MA which I am very excited about!
Just Breathe...
Tonight I am exhausted but I wanted to do a quick post before I go to bed. I know there is something that wants to be said.
When I was in my early teens I used to "try" to meditate. The big distraction was my breath! If only I could breath totally silently then I was sure I'd be able to meditate. When I got older I learned an amazing mediation technique. Meditate on the sound and the movement of the breath. What a revelation! The one constant as long as I am alive- I am breathing. It was like some major secret had just been revealed to me.
Tomorrow I do a kirtan. Tonight I came up with a very sweet and simple melody for a chant to Lord Shiva. I am looking forward to sharing it. I am grateful that each day I am getting more response to my work up here. It feels good.
When I was in my early teens I used to "try" to meditate. The big distraction was my breath! If only I could breath totally silently then I was sure I'd be able to meditate. When I got older I learned an amazing mediation technique. Meditate on the sound and the movement of the breath. What a revelation! The one constant as long as I am alive- I am breathing. It was like some major secret had just been revealed to me.
Jai Uttal- Oh Krishna....Sweet Kirtan
I am very tired tonight and my mind is rather pleasantly empty. When I thought about what to write- my commitment to shipping something every day- this beautiful kirtan by Jai Uttal came into my mind. It was a very lovely evening in Miami about four years ago, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, without a doubt one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in. The scene, with the lights changing from reds to blues to purples, the angels behind them, the ethereal painting on the ceiling and the sweet beautiful music, was something out of this world.
Successes and Synchronicity
Today's successes...
Completed on new flyer for Wholistic Sound
Spent hours fixing my harmonium so that I could play it at class tonight
*Thank you Daniel Tucker for the How To Fix Your Harmonium 101 at Kirtan Camp 2011!
Taught the first class on Mindful Yoga and Sacred Chant at Sandywoods with my friend Morgan Ford Brunketurner
*Starting with an hour of yoga and then going on to chanting is definitely a recipe for success! And the acoustics in the room are wonderful!
Set up two kirtans in Newport (March 5 and March 15)
Spread paperwork all over the floor as the first step to pulling out stuff for tax person and organizing!
*Definitely a job for brain tuners- results will be posted!
Through random synchronicity suddenly came across my book on The Tibetan Yoga of Dreams and Sleep
*Very exciting since I am delving into that arena right now- taking a workshop on Sound and Dreams in June with John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach and going to sleep each night listening to Jeff Bridges' Sleeping Tapes, which is an amazing experience. If you haven't downloaded it yet I am urging you to GET ON IT!
Speaking of synchronicity here's a little throwback to 1983 for you! Love the backup singers- those girls are great!
"Synchronicity I"
And on that note- if you like Sting, read his autobiography. He is a good writer and it's very engaging- pretty much about his life pre-Police and leading up to that point. Really good, at least I thought so. Very thoughtful.
Completed on new flyer for Wholistic Sound
Spent hours fixing my harmonium so that I could play it at class tonight
*Thank you Daniel Tucker for the How To Fix Your Harmonium 101 at Kirtan Camp 2011!
Taught the first class on Mindful Yoga and Sacred Chant at Sandywoods with my friend Morgan Ford Brunketurner
*Starting with an hour of yoga and then going on to chanting is definitely a recipe for success! And the acoustics in the room are wonderful!
Set up two kirtans in Newport (March 5 and March 15)
Spread paperwork all over the floor as the first step to pulling out stuff for tax person and organizing!
*Definitely a job for brain tuners- results will be posted!
Through random synchronicity suddenly came across my book on The Tibetan Yoga of Dreams and Sleep
*Very exciting since I am delving into that arena right now- taking a workshop on Sound and Dreams in June with John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach and going to sleep each night listening to Jeff Bridges' Sleeping Tapes, which is an amazing experience. If you haven't downloaded it yet I am urging you to GET ON IT!
Speaking of synchronicity here's a little throwback to 1983 for you! Love the backup singers- those girls are great!
"Synchronicity I"
With one breath, with one flow
You will know
Synchronicity
A sleep trance, a dream dance,
A shared romance,
Synchronicity
A connecting principle,
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible.
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectible
Yet nothing is invincible.
If we share this nightmare
Then we can dream
Spiritus mundi.
If you act, as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity.
We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity.
A star fall, a phone call,
It joins all,
Synchronicity.
It's so deep, it's so wide
Your inside
Synchronicity.
Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause
Synchronicity
You will know
Synchronicity
A sleep trance, a dream dance,
A shared romance,
Synchronicity
A connecting principle,
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible.
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectible
Yet nothing is invincible.
If we share this nightmare
Then we can dream
Spiritus mundi.
If you act, as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity.
We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity.
A star fall, a phone call,
It joins all,
Synchronicity.
It's so deep, it's so wide
Your inside
Synchronicity.
Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause
Synchronicity
And on that note- if you like Sting, read his autobiography. He is a good writer and it's very engaging- pretty much about his life pre-Police and leading up to that point. Really good, at least I thought so. Very thoughtful.
Back In The Saddle Again!
A whirlwind of "soundy thoughts" going through my head. Spent so long working on my new flyer today that I actually thought I had blogged already!
I see some things that still need tweaking. More refinement when I am done with this short update...
Saturday, February 14, as well as being Valentine's Day, is also World Sound Healing Day, an event initiated by world renowned sound healer Jonathan Goldman in 2002. I am still feeling slightly disheveled in my new pad, even though it looks and feels great so I hadn't set up an event here to join in. I gratefully accepted an invitation to lead a chanting group in Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday morning where we will start off by toning the heart sound "AH" along with hundreds of thousands of other people across the globe who will be sending a Sonic Valentine to Mother Gaia. The global intention is to heal Mother Gaia, her waters and raise the consciousness of all beings on the planet. We will follow this with an hour or more of toning, chanting and kirtan.
I am so happy to be able to do this as we did it every year when I had the center and I have taken a couple of years off due to major life changes. I feel like I'm getting back in the saddle- and it's a saddle that feels like Home!
Several organizations are involved in measuring the effect of prayer, meditation and other spiritual activities on the electromagnetic field of the earth as well as the consciousness of her people by gathering statistics on the numbers of violent crime at specific times across the globe. To see some interesting information on this, click on this link: http://www.healingsounds.com/world-sound-healing-day-4
I see some things that still need tweaking. More refinement when I am done with this short update...Saturday, February 14, as well as being Valentine's Day, is also World Sound Healing Day, an event initiated by world renowned sound healer Jonathan Goldman in 2002. I am still feeling slightly disheveled in my new pad, even though it looks and feels great so I hadn't set up an event here to join in. I gratefully accepted an invitation to lead a chanting group in Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday morning where we will start off by toning the heart sound "AH" along with hundreds of thousands of other people across the globe who will be sending a Sonic Valentine to Mother Gaia. The global intention is to heal Mother Gaia, her waters and raise the consciousness of all beings on the planet. We will follow this with an hour or more of toning, chanting and kirtan.
I am so happy to be able to do this as we did it every year when I had the center and I have taken a couple of years off due to major life changes. I feel like I'm getting back in the saddle- and it's a saddle that feels like Home!
Several organizations are involved in measuring the effect of prayer, meditation and other spiritual activities on the electromagnetic field of the earth as well as the consciousness of her people by gathering statistics on the numbers of violent crime at specific times across the globe. To see some interesting information on this, click on this link: http://www.healingsounds.com/world-sound-healing-day-4