By playing a gong gently, we bring forth the fullness of sound. By applying subtle sound to the body, we can coax it to gently release the trauma it is holding.
Love In the Form of Sound
I don't know what to write but it's time so I'll have to stream...
Streaming video, streaming consciousness, streaming words, streaming sound, streaming voices
Let the river flow
Watch the river
Watch the words as I tap tap tap on the keys and thoughts crystallize
Ideas
Out of my head on to the page
Crow caws outside as wooden chair and wood stove creak in unison
Sweet smell of copal
An air of magic and possibility
Possibilities abound
Future events soon to be past paving the way for more
For newness
For growth
For healing
Transformation, rebirth
Spring is here
Yesterday's snow was a little white lie
It couldn't keep the daffodils down
What is coming?
In form? Healing Sound Journeys, workshops, kirtan
Love in the form of sound...
Streaming video, streaming consciousness, streaming words, streaming sound, streaming voices
Let the river flow
Watch the river
Watch the words as I tap tap tap on the keys and thoughts crystallize
Ideas
Out of my head on to the page
Crow caws outside as wooden chair and wood stove creak in unison
Sweet smell of copal
An air of magic and possibility
Possibilities abound
Future events soon to be past paving the way for more
For newness
For growth
For healing
Transformation, rebirth
Spring is here
Yesterday's snow was a little white lie
It couldn't keep the daffodils down
What is coming?
In form? Healing Sound Journeys, workshops, kirtan
Love in the form of sound...
soft shoe
clock ticking
keys clicking
fountain asking for more water
computer humming almost silently
but i can hear it
table creaking
okay fountain
i will give you some water
soft shoes padding across the wood floor
i drink the first glass of water
the fountain gets the second glass
walking past the tv on mute
stephen colbert on the screen
dis-mute
that changes everything
keys clicking
fountain asking for more water
computer humming almost silently
but i can hear it
table creaking
okay fountain
i will give you some water
soft shoes padding across the wood floor
i drink the first glass of water
the fountain gets the second glass
walking past the tv on mute
stephen colbert on the screen
dis-mute
that changes everything
Happy, Grateful and Loving My Life
Feeling grateful for my life and work. Loving working with oncology patients, caregivers and survivors through the Integrative Care Program at Women & Infants Hospital. Feeling oh-so-blessed. Appreciating the beautiful space I am living in where I am able to give private sessions and offer workshops for small groups. Excited about the workshops I have coming up in May and June and the possibility of being able to have participants stay here. Excited about the possibilities that have opened up through the article that was published by the Providence Journal in January. (If you haven't read the article, see below.*) Love the fabulous connection I have made with the hospital to offer programs to their corporate donors as well as with The Cedars, a really lovely nursing home in Cranston, where the administrators are open to and excited about complementary holistic therapies to assist their residents and caregivers. I had a fantastic meeting with their Assistant Administrator, Spiritual Director and a young woman who works with their dementia patients as well as doing private sessions using reiki, reflexology and CranioSacral Therapy. I will be giving a sound journey there on April 22- Earth Day- which I am super excited about. The same week I am doing a Sound Journey at the World Citizen's Cafe in Framingham, MA, also celebrating Earth Day.
Lots of very exciting stuff!
And again, for those who may not have seen it, here is the link to the video posted on Providence Journal's website.
http://videos.providencejournal.com/providencejournal/vljjcu?v=default&e=default&opn=below_article_ticker
*The Sound of Healing Women & Infants group among those adopting the 2,500-year-old practice of sound therapy
Meghan Kavanaugh Special to The Journal
Copyright © 2016 Providence Journal, All Rights Reserved.
Lots of very exciting stuff!
And again, for those who may not have seen it, here is the link to the video posted on Providence Journal's website.
http://videos.providencejournal.com/providencejournal/vljjcu?v=default&e=default&opn=below_article_ticker
*The Sound of Healing Women & Infants group among those adopting the 2,500-year-old practice of sound therapy
Meghan Kavanaugh Special to The Journal
PUBLICATION: Providence Journal (RI)
SECTION: RI Special Sections
SECTION: RI Special Sections
DATE: January 24, 2016
Artist and start-up consultant Shin Ae has always been interested
in the intersection of science and art. It’s what led her to her first
job, working in a cancer research laboratory, and it is ultimately what
led her to explore the healing power of sound when she was diagnosed
with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer more than a year ago.
“Music has always been a really big part of my life, so it made a lot of sense,” says the 42-year-old Hopkinton resident who goes by her first name professionally. Sound healing, in which therapists create certain tones and rhythms to try to match and restore balance to the body’s internal energy, can be traced back more than 2,500 years to the days of Pythagoras. The practice continues today, with Women & Infants hospital, in Providence, expanding its Integrative Care Center offerings last month to include the service, making sound therapy available to cancer patients and survivors, their caregivers and the public at locations in Providence, Middletown, South Kingstown and Fall River, Massachusetts. Shin Ae has thus far chosen the holistic treatment over more traditional ones. “I haven’t yet opted for standard chemo and radiation, even though I was diagnosed at stage 4, because my test results and quality of life are proving that the integrative wellness modalities are helping me return to health, little by little,” Shin Ae says. “Everyone wants to know if sound therapy works or whether I’m being foolish, but it’s up to every person to choose what tools they take with them, and trust them to work.” Shin Ae has been working with Rosie Warburton, a licensed massage therapist and sound therapist with 25 years of experience, who leads Women & Infants’ private sessions and small group classes. Rather than using music to supplement treatments by playing it in the background during Reiki or massage sessions, Warburton makes it the focus of the healing process, using objects like tuning forks, Himalayan singing bowls and didgeridoos. “I feel like the sound is more effective than the touch alone,” Warburton says, explaining that particular tones have been shown to reduce anxiety and slow heart rates and respiration. A tuning fork carrying a certain frequency can even activate the body’s naturally occurring nitric oxide, she said, which stimulates the immune system and brings more oxygen to red blood cells. “There are effects that are universal. … No matter who I use that on, they’re going to experience a spike in the nitric oxide,” Warburton says. “It’s so, so powerful for people.” Warburton stays grounded within the science and reasoning of the treatment, says Shin Ae, who explains that sound therapy helps her locate the physical places within her body where she needs healing. “The chills I experience listening to Bach’s cello suites and Rosie’s acoustical therapies are restorative moments,” Shin Ae says. And while she stops short of recommending any treatment as a solution for all cancer patients, Shin Ae acknowledges music’s ability to transcend language, experiences or diagnoses. “It’s one of the great things about using music for people in pain or people with depression or cancer: It affects you whether or not you want it to, and it affects you in a really good way.” Women & Infants’ group sound-healing sessions are held monthly. For details, contact Jessica Barletta at (401) 274-1122, ext. 47285.
“Music has always been a really big part of my life, so it made a lot of sense,” says the 42-year-old Hopkinton resident who goes by her first name professionally. Sound healing, in which therapists create certain tones and rhythms to try to match and restore balance to the body’s internal energy, can be traced back more than 2,500 years to the days of Pythagoras. The practice continues today, with Women & Infants hospital, in Providence, expanding its Integrative Care Center offerings last month to include the service, making sound therapy available to cancer patients and survivors, their caregivers and the public at locations in Providence, Middletown, South Kingstown and Fall River, Massachusetts. Shin Ae has thus far chosen the holistic treatment over more traditional ones. “I haven’t yet opted for standard chemo and radiation, even though I was diagnosed at stage 4, because my test results and quality of life are proving that the integrative wellness modalities are helping me return to health, little by little,” Shin Ae says. “Everyone wants to know if sound therapy works or whether I’m being foolish, but it’s up to every person to choose what tools they take with them, and trust them to work.” Shin Ae has been working with Rosie Warburton, a licensed massage therapist and sound therapist with 25 years of experience, who leads Women & Infants’ private sessions and small group classes. Rather than using music to supplement treatments by playing it in the background during Reiki or massage sessions, Warburton makes it the focus of the healing process, using objects like tuning forks, Himalayan singing bowls and didgeridoos. “I feel like the sound is more effective than the touch alone,” Warburton says, explaining that particular tones have been shown to reduce anxiety and slow heart rates and respiration. A tuning fork carrying a certain frequency can even activate the body’s naturally occurring nitric oxide, she said, which stimulates the immune system and brings more oxygen to red blood cells. “There are effects that are universal. … No matter who I use that on, they’re going to experience a spike in the nitric oxide,” Warburton says. “It’s so, so powerful for people.” Warburton stays grounded within the science and reasoning of the treatment, says Shin Ae, who explains that sound therapy helps her locate the physical places within her body where she needs healing. “The chills I experience listening to Bach’s cello suites and Rosie’s acoustical therapies are restorative moments,” Shin Ae says. And while she stops short of recommending any treatment as a solution for all cancer patients, Shin Ae acknowledges music’s ability to transcend language, experiences or diagnoses. “It’s one of the great things about using music for people in pain or people with depression or cancer: It affects you whether or not you want it to, and it affects you in a really good way.” Women & Infants’ group sound-healing sessions are held monthly. For details, contact Jessica Barletta at (401) 274-1122, ext. 47285.
Copyright © 2016 Providence Journal, All Rights Reserved.
Making Changes
Well, I have had some major glitches on my Events page- for example the payment link for my May workshop is not working which is definitely unacceptable. As a result I am rethinking the whole format and platform for my blog and associated pages and about to embark on a big old learning curve. Fortunately I know that there are some really user-friendly web building platforms out there. It seems like every time I have hired other people to build a website for me it has fallen through the cracks so this time it is on me. Bombs away!!!I call on Ganesha to remove all obstacles to my progress and the
power of Lord Shiva to destroy what is old and no longer needed and transform it from ashes into something new and beautiful!!!
Yesterday and Today
Okay- I have updated the Upcoming Events page! Two new workshops in place for May and June, one on healing with voice; the other- Prayers, Blessings and Sacred Sound with my friend D. Crowfeather. They are both going to be very powerful beautiful weekends. (Go to the menu at the top of the page or click here for more information.)
Yesterday I led a beautiful group of lovely souls in chanting and sacred songs at Emmanuel Church in Newport. Today we had a Global Harmonization Ceremony at my house. Sound is powerful. Sound touches hearts and souls. We had an hour-long meditation with crystal bowls today. Afterward we sat in silence for a while- I don't know how long. I felt that I could have sat there forever. It was both profound and deeply quieting.
Yesterday daffodils were starting to bloom in front of my house. Tonight it is snowing. I am inside with the wood stove going but all I can think of is the pristine sound of falling snow- light... delicate... crystalline. One of my favorite sounds.
Yesterday I led a beautiful group of lovely souls in chanting and sacred songs at Emmanuel Church in Newport. Today we had a Global Harmonization Ceremony at my house. Sound is powerful. Sound touches hearts and souls. We had an hour-long meditation with crystal bowls today. Afterward we sat in silence for a while- I don't know how long. I felt that I could have sat there forever. It was both profound and deeply quieting.
Yesterday daffodils were starting to bloom in front of my house. Tonight it is snowing. I am inside with the wood stove going but all I can think of is the pristine sound of falling snow- light... delicate... crystalline. One of my favorite sounds.
 |
| Last winter's snowy landscape |
Vibrational Healing With the Sound of Your Voice
We all have two powerful tools for healing- our hands and our voice. This May I will be teaching a workshop in which participants will learn to use their voice for personal transformation and as an application for healing others as well. We will learn toning and overtoning focusing on how to balance the bioenergetic system and do body scans with the voice, learn sacred mantras for transformation and healing and learn Sanskrit seed sounds, "bija mantras", for aligning and balancing the subtle body. We will also learn some simple and beautiful sacred songs and chants from a variety of traditions.
This is simple powerful effective work that we can all do. You do not have to be a musician, you do not have to "know how to sing". (The good news is, you already do!)
I am excited to offer this workshop in my home where I have room for 2-4 people to stay. The rest will have to find other accommodations if they are not local. Before I opened my sound healing center in Florida I used to teach workshops out of my home. It was so wonderful during breaks to be able to keep the energy flowing between us all by gathering around the dining room table or outside and sharing food, stories, laughter and music together. Once again I have the perfect environment for this! It's been a while...
I do not have the link set up yet for people to sign up but it will be there soon.
 |
| Giving my friend Ine a toning session in Holland, 2012 |
I am excited to offer this workshop in my home where I have room for 2-4 people to stay. The rest will have to find other accommodations if they are not local. Before I opened my sound healing center in Florida I used to teach workshops out of my home. It was so wonderful during breaks to be able to keep the energy flowing between us all by gathering around the dining room table or outside and sharing food, stories, laughter and music together. Once again I have the perfect environment for this! It's been a while...
I do not have the link set up yet for people to sign up but it will be there soon.
Falling Into Place
Falling...
out
of
s
p
a
c
e
into place and time
out
of
s
p
a
c
e
into place and time
Life is good.
Opportunities. Connections. Movement. Growth. Gratitude.
Thank you.
Five Days Later
Once again- a post I started 5 days ago and didn't finish!
(Sunday- 2.28.16) Today is a day of rest. Sort of... Will have to spend some time organizing my stuff to hit the road and head back up to New England in a couple of days. It has been a fabulous trip- and unlike my last road trip down here in August, the car has held up really well. The success of my time on the road however is definitely leading me strongly to think about getting a bigger vehicle.
Last week was Tallahassee- two sound journeys two nights in a row, both with full attendance and a very well attended workshop. I am loving the new community I have connected with there- wonderful new friends that will be friends for life and I am so grateful.(Continued- 3.3.16) This past week- Thursday night... Sarasota Sound Journey, a small but wonderful group- seeing some old friends and making some new friends and a great new connection with Dr. Deanine Picciano, the owner of the Wellness Center that hosted me. Friday I did a Sound Journey to a full house in Seminole and then a one-day workshop for healers and massage therapists.
Between events I laid low and only saw a couple of very dear friends whom I hadn't seen in a long time and that felt really good, attending to my energy in a way that was regenerative rather than draining for me. Oh, and I stayed in Lynn Carol and George Henderson's house of magic which is the most nurturing and inspiring environment I could ever dream of- in fact it is quite like being in a dream, the juxtaposition of fascinating objects and elements. I always love being there.
Now, 5 days since I started writing this, I am at my friends Mahesh and Mukta's house in North Carolina, taking it slow and easy before I head back up north. Two trips in a row now I have had huge success. The bar has definitely been substantially raised as to what I can expect, intend and ask for in regards to my work. I stuck to my guns for a long time, persistently determined to do work that I love and believe in. It is finally paying off. More and more people are becoming aware of the power of sound and vibrational medicine and the missing pieces in conventional western medicine which treats symptoms rather than the whole person.As I said in the beginning of this, my car has held up well- the "Check engine" light did go on the day before yesterday on my way here but it seems to be running fine so hopefully it's nothing I need to worry about til I get home! Fingers crossed. ;-)
News From the Road
2.24.16
A very good groove- it's a been a week since I wrote that, maybe longer- I have been so busy I never got back to this!
Silencing the Inner Critic With Sound
Things have suddenly been kicked up a few notches. The article in the Providence Journal did not hurt. Since then I have been asked to lead a stress reduction seminar at an event for Women & Infants corporate donors and possibly to become a part of the programming at The Cedars in Cranston, which from what I understand is a nursing home and rehabilitative care facility.
Meanwhile, I have been dealing with a respiratory infection while I am in the process of getting ready to go to Florida on a three-week road trip to teach some workshops, perform healing sound journeys and do private sessions! I have also been experimenting with some of my own music and exploring the effects.
Up until recently I rarely played back my own sound journeys. Last summer I performed a sound journey at Yoga4All in Seminole, FL. It was the day after the terrorist attacks on Paris when I was in a very open and vulnerable space. I make it a practice never to compare sound journeys but I when it was over I felt that it was quite possibly the most powerful sound journey I had ever done and I became curious about it. I listened to it when I got home a few weeks later and was genuinely surprised by both the quality and the effect of the sound and frequencies- I was as taken with it as I had been the night that I did it and felt that it could be very powerful as a healing tool. I began using it regularly for healing sessions with some of my cancer patients.
I have been recording all of my sound journeys for the past 2-3 years on my iPhone but not actually listening to them. Since the surprise of the recent recording I decided I needed to go through some of my others sound journeys and start listening to them and seeing if any were worth transferring to CD. Naturally they are nothing like the quality of a CD recorded in a studio but what I have been discovering is that the effects are profound, even with the recordings in their rawest form!
A few days ago when I was sick in bed, I decided to listen to a short sound journey that I had done at my friend Lynn Carol Henderson's house. Usually the sound journeys are a piece unto themselves and between 50-60 minutes long, but this was just over 20 minutes as it was part of a house concert I had done at her house. When I lay down to listen my mind was very active. Quickly my thoughts subsided and my witness consciousness observed my body and mind becoming very still- this is for someone listening with a critical ear. I was listening to myself playing music waiting for the flaws, the imperfections, the voice of my own inner critic. But what I experienced was a silencing of that entire part of my mind. It was extraordinary. I had no idea how powerful these sounds could be. I understood from the perspective of a totally objective listener who was there for a particular experience but I did not at all expect to have that same experience- the experience that people share with me over and over in their own unique ways after every sound journey.
So this gives me a lot of new information about the real power of these sounds. I have been performing Healing Sound Journeys for years simply because I love these sounds and I love the experience of creating and exploring vibratory frequencies and the nuances and subtleties of pure tones and overtones. I know and trust that they are powerful, that they will have an effect, that they will activate different areas of the brain, create new neural pathways, entrain the brainwaves to alpha and deep theta states- that they are restorative and healing on deep levels, some of which the listener may be aware of either during the journey or later, and some which they may never be conscious of. They may simply know that something has changed on a deep level.
Last night I was unable to get to sleep as I had taken Alka Seltzer PM cold medicine for 3 nights in a row because my head had been so stuffed up. I was desperate for something to clear my head out and it worked and I slept soundly each night. It's amazing how quickly the body becomes entrained to the frequency of medication! Last night my head was clear enough that I didn't need the medicine. I was quite tired and lay down to sleep about 12:30 after reading until I was nodding off. As soon as I turned the light off however, I could feel energy buzzing through my body and I couldn't sleep. I lay there, very still and quiet for 3 hours- awake! Finally at 3:30 I sat up and looked around for my tuning forks with the delta frequency- but they weren't in my room. I lay down again and then thought, Hmm- what about a sound journey? I put the sound journey on that I had recorded at Lynn Carol's.
I felt the stillness settle into my body and twenty minutes later I was asleep.
Meanwhile, I have been dealing with a respiratory infection while I am in the process of getting ready to go to Florida on a three-week road trip to teach some workshops, perform healing sound journeys and do private sessions! I have also been experimenting with some of my own music and exploring the effects.
Up until recently I rarely played back my own sound journeys. Last summer I performed a sound journey at Yoga4All in Seminole, FL. It was the day after the terrorist attacks on Paris when I was in a very open and vulnerable space. I make it a practice never to compare sound journeys but I when it was over I felt that it was quite possibly the most powerful sound journey I had ever done and I became curious about it. I listened to it when I got home a few weeks later and was genuinely surprised by both the quality and the effect of the sound and frequencies- I was as taken with it as I had been the night that I did it and felt that it could be very powerful as a healing tool. I began using it regularly for healing sessions with some of my cancer patients.
 |
| About to begin "Après Paris" Sound Journey at Yoga4All, Seminole, FL 8.7.15 |
A few days ago when I was sick in bed, I decided to listen to a short sound journey that I had done at my friend Lynn Carol Henderson's house. Usually the sound journeys are a piece unto themselves and between 50-60 minutes long, but this was just over 20 minutes as it was part of a house concert I had done at her house. When I lay down to listen my mind was very active. Quickly my thoughts subsided and my witness consciousness observed my body and mind becoming very still- this is for someone listening with a critical ear. I was listening to myself playing music waiting for the flaws, the imperfections, the voice of my own inner critic. But what I experienced was a silencing of that entire part of my mind. It was extraordinary. I had no idea how powerful these sounds could be. I understood from the perspective of a totally objective listener who was there for a particular experience but I did not at all expect to have that same experience- the experience that people share with me over and over in their own unique ways after every sound journey.
 |
| Getting ready for Sound Journey at the Henderson home, St. Pete, FL- August 2015 |
Last night I was unable to get to sleep as I had taken Alka Seltzer PM cold medicine for 3 nights in a row because my head had been so stuffed up. I was desperate for something to clear my head out and it worked and I slept soundly each night. It's amazing how quickly the body becomes entrained to the frequency of medication! Last night my head was clear enough that I didn't need the medicine. I was quite tired and lay down to sleep about 12:30 after reading until I was nodding off. As soon as I turned the light off however, I could feel energy buzzing through my body and I couldn't sleep. I lay there, very still and quiet for 3 hours- awake! Finally at 3:30 I sat up and looked around for my tuning forks with the delta frequency- but they weren't in my room. I lay down again and then thought, Hmm- what about a sound journey? I put the sound journey on that I had recorded at Lynn Carol's.
I felt the stillness settle into my body and twenty minutes later I was asleep.
Creating Clarity
 |
| Demo with tuning fork after a sound journey at Women & Infants Hospital |
I also want to include here the link for the Providence Journal article which finally ran in last Sunday's paper and again, the link to the video.
http://www.providencejournal.com/special/20160124/in-ri-hospitals-program-tuning-forks-and-didgeridoos-help-you-heal
http://videos.providencejournal.com/providencejournal/vljjcu?v=default&e=default&opn=below_article_ticker
I have also gotten another shipment of amazing singing bowls and a 30" gong which is quite extraordinary. Unfortunately I haven't uploaded the pictures onto my computer yet but I will soon. Have been doing lots of reorganizing, opening space in my healing room as well as the rest of my house. Feel like I'm shifting some energy for greater clarity and openness as I step into this new year.
Sound Therapy for Oncology Patients
Very excited that my son just found this video online. Providence Journal was supposed to publish an article today on sound therapy at Women & Infants Hospital but it wasn't in the paper. Turns out, however, that this video was posted on their website on December 24! I had no idea.
Healing Sound Journey at Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, RI.
Healing Sound Journey at Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, RI.
Sound Therapy at Women & Infants Hospital
A while back I was contacted by the Marketing Director of Women & Infants Hospital saying she would like to do an article on the sound therapy being offered at the hospital. I suggested that the best way for her to understand it would be for her to experience it for herself, so we set up a Sound Journey for a group of patients and staff at the hospital. This is the article that was inspired by that event.
Not long after that, the Providence Journal contacted me through the Integrative Care Program at the hospital. They were also interested in doing an article so I performed another Sound Journey there about two weeks ago, which was not only photographed but videotaped as well! I am told it will run on Sunday, January 17, 2016 in the "Thrive" section of the paper- there should also be some footage online.
So this is all very exciting!
Sound Therapy at Women & Infants Hospital
by Susan McDonald
“When
you feel the sound resonate in your body, it’s definitely having an
effect. When the frequency of the bowl is the same as the body part, it
vibrates and vibrates and vibrates until the body lets it go,” explains
Warburton (pictured here), a licensed massage
therapist and sound therapist who has started conducting sessions at
the Integrative Care Center.
Anyone interested in
group or individual sound therapy sessions through the Integrative Care
Program at Women & Infants, integrative therapies are offered in
Providence, Middletown, and South County, RI, and
Fall River, MA. For appointments in Providence, call (401) 274-1122, ext. 7143; in South County or Middletown, call (401) 846-0042; or in Fall River, call (508) 235-3500.
Not long after that, the Providence Journal contacted me through the Integrative Care Program at the hospital. They were also interested in doing an article so I performed another Sound Journey there about two weeks ago, which was not only photographed but videotaped as well! I am told it will run on Sunday, January 17, 2016 in the "Thrive" section of the paper- there should also be some footage online.
So this is all very exciting!
Sound Therapy at Women & Infants Hospital
by Susan McDonald
Women & Infants offers sound therapy for cancer patients and survivors
In a dimly lit room,
lying on yoga mats with pillows and blankets for comfort, a handful of
women were listening. So were their bodies.
Eyes closed, the
sounds flowed over them – the deep tone of the Aboriginal didgeridoo
wind instrument; the sonic reverberations of the Tibetan singing bowls;
the whistling of air passing over the two reeds
in the drone flute; the aquatic sounds of fingers rubbed along the top
of the dolphin bowl.
This day in the
Integrative Care Center at the Program in Women’s Oncology,
the sounds were the therapy, offering a unique feeling of wellness to
the women, all of whom have battled, or continue to battle, cancer.
“I thought I was
relaxed at one point, then another part of my body would go down,” says
Dori Gerhardt of North Kingstown after the session.
That was music to Rosie Warburton’s ears.
Holistic sound, she
continues, is a non-invasive blend of healing modalities using sound,
music and frequency to restore balance and harmony to the physical,
mental and emotional bodies.
For the sound
therapy group session, Warburton sat for a bit surrounded by the tools
of her trade – bowls of metal and crystal, flutes, and a Freenote
xylophone that operates on the pentatonic scale so there’s
no wrong note. During the session, she walks quietly and slowly among
the women, often standing before each to create various sounds ranging
from high-pitched to lower and more primal. Periodically, she offers
soft words encouraging the journey.
The goal is to release tension and even pain, balance the body’s energy and calm the spirit.
“Sound just does it.
You can go so deep in a short amount of time,” she says simply. “Take
the didgeridoo. It stills the thoughts and when your thoughts come back,
it’s connecting you to your feelings. You
feel more grounded. And, as it’s grounding you, it’s taking you out of
your body at the same time.”
Different sounds
speak to different parts of the body because of their frequency. If she
knocks a tuning fork against the palm of her hand, for example, she can
place it on joints, muscles and various acupuncture
points to render relief from aches. It worked for Roxanne Lucas of
Providence, who has neuropathy in both of her feet. Placing the
vibrating tuning fork on the joints in each foot brought her instant
relief. Minutes later, Gerhardt was experiencing the same
relief when the tuning fork was placed on her wrist, which requires a
brace for the effects of her Lyme Disease.
“I can feel it tingling down in all of my fingers. That’s great!” she exclaims.
Warburton smiles as she works on helping people understand the healing powers of sound.
“All matter has a
resonant frequency it will vibrate at, including the bones, organs and
other parts of the body. When you can find that frequency, you can
release trauma from the body,” Warburton explains.
“One tuning fork has the same resonant frequency as nitric oxide, and
therefore stimulates the relaxation response, increasing oxygen flow,
activating the parasympathetic system, and decreasing pain, stress and
anxiety.”
In addition to the
group sessions, Warburton also offers private sessions at the
Integrative Care Center, using a combination of tuning forks, massage
and craniosacral therapy. The results are “incredibly
relaxing” and can help to increase range of motion while decreasing
inflammation in the client. She also visits with women hospitalized with
cancer at Women & Infants to help ease their discomfort.
Visioning With Sound
Today I was inspired to create a workshop to usher in the new year- Sacred Sound & Visions for New Year. It is completely last minute. Today is Tuesday. The workshop is Saturday. The 11th hour, as they say... but it was one of those ideas that grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let me go. In my experience those are the ones that generally manifest the most magnificently! (You will find a description of the workshop and the link to sign up if you click here.)
The vision that came to me around the workshop is to begin by offering a healing sound meditation- a circle of sacred sound if you will. That will be the vehicle for people to journey and see what arises in their consciousness- a vision quest of sorts. Sound is the carrier wave for intention. That is why it has been used in healing ceremonies and rituals for so many thousands of years.
Once the intentions have been set the participants will create vision boards to affirm and reinforce their intentions, putting into concrete form images that represent, ultimately, not just what they want or where they would like to travel or the new car of their dreams, but how they want to feel.
One of my favorite passages in A Course in Miracles comes under the heading "Setting the Goal" in Chapter 17. One of the things I love most about it is the point that in all things the ultimate goal should be truth.
"The value of deciding in advance what you want to happen is simply that you will perceive the situation as a means to make it happen. You will therefore make every effort to overlook what interferes with the accomplishment of your objective, and concentrate on everything that helps you meet it. It is quite noticeable that this approach has brought you closer to the Holy Spirit's sorting out of truth and falsity. The true becomes what can be used to meet the goal. The false becomes the useless from this point of view. The situation now has meaning, but only because the goal has made it meaningful.
5 "The goal of
truth has further practical advantages. If the situation is used for
truth and sanity, its outcome must be peace. And this is quite apart
from what the outcome is. If peace is the condition of truth
and sanity, and cannot be without them, where peace is they must be.
Truth comes of itself. If you experience peace, it is because the
truth has come to you and you will see the outcome truly, for
deception cannot prevail against you. You will recognize the outcome
because you are at peace. Here again you see the opposite of
the ego's way of looking, for the ego believes the situation
brings the experience. The Holy Spirit knows that the situation is as
the goal determines it, and is experienced according to the goal."
Beyond the Solstice
How the time flies! Great sound healing event at Women & Infants Hospital last Monday on the heels of a Solstice Celebration in Cumberland at the Bija Institute. Beautiful space, good turnout, great people. The acoustics were amazing in the very center of the yurt!
The Sound Journey at Women & Infants was photographed and filmed by the Providence Journal as part of a piece they are doing on Sound Therapy at Women & Infants Hospital. We expect it to be in the paper and on their website on January 17. Very exciting!
Meanwhile Christmas has come and gone, a new year is upon us and the days are growing longer... Blessed be.
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| Sacred space awaiting... |
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| Erica Nunnally leading a yoga flow in the yurt |
Tuesday Afternoon (On Saturday Night)
Enjoy.
Grabbing The Muse By the Balls
I just read this statement by Seth Godin.
SUSDAT
Abbey Ryan has painted a new painting every day for 8 years.
Isaac Asimov published 400 books, by typing every day.
This is post #6000 on this blog.
Writer's block is a myth, a recent invention, a cultural malady.
More important than the output, though, is the act itself. The act of doing it every day. When you commit to a practice, you will certainly have days when you don't feel like it, when you believe it's not your best work, when the muse deserts you. But, when you keep your commitment, the muse returns. When you keep your commitment, the work happens.
It doesn't matter if anyone reads it, buys it, sponsors it or shares it. It matters that you show up.
Show up, sit down and type. (Or paint).
I loved it when I did Your Turn Challenge and was blogging every day. The muse hasn't left but it certainly feels like time has been slipping away. So I am grabbing it back in this moment.
I have in fact updated my website in the last few days which you can see if you go to the Upcoming Events and Workshops. Also the "Sound Therapy Program" at Women & Infants Hospital (which, quite simply, is me) is going to be featured next week in the Providence Journal. They are coming to the hospital on Monday to take pictures of me doing a Healing Sound Journey and interview me and one or two of the patients. I am quite excited about this!
I'm also going to be doing a wonderful solstice event on Monday evening with a pretty amazing woman I met recently- Erica Nunnally. I am really looking forward to it. I loved her relaxed groundedness and openness when I met her- someone who seems to be very comfortable in her own skin as well as being a person with intention, integrity and focus- a great combination!
Check it out here: Lumina: A Celebration of Winter Solstice
I have been staying up too late every night for the past few weeks but somehow not getting done many of the things I would like. In this moment I am taking the time to show up and do something that is important to me- getting back on top of my blog.
Isaac Asimov published 400 books, by typing every day.
This is post #6000 on this blog.
Writer's block is a myth, a recent invention, a cultural malady.
More important than the output, though, is the act itself. The act of doing it every day. When you commit to a practice, you will certainly have days when you don't feel like it, when you believe it's not your best work, when the muse deserts you. But, when you keep your commitment, the muse returns. When you keep your commitment, the work happens.
It doesn't matter if anyone reads it, buys it, sponsors it or shares it. It matters that you show up.
Show up, sit down and type. (Or paint).
I loved it when I did Your Turn Challenge and was blogging every day. The muse hasn't left but it certainly feels like time has been slipping away. So I am grabbing it back in this moment.
I have in fact updated my website in the last few days which you can see if you go to the Upcoming Events and Workshops. Also the "Sound Therapy Program" at Women & Infants Hospital (which, quite simply, is me) is going to be featured next week in the Providence Journal. They are coming to the hospital on Monday to take pictures of me doing a Healing Sound Journey and interview me and one or two of the patients. I am quite excited about this!
I'm also going to be doing a wonderful solstice event on Monday evening with a pretty amazing woman I met recently- Erica Nunnally. I am really looking forward to it. I loved her relaxed groundedness and openness when I met her- someone who seems to be very comfortable in her own skin as well as being a person with intention, integrity and focus- a great combination!
Check it out here: Lumina: A Celebration of Winter Solstice
I have been staying up too late every night for the past few weeks but somehow not getting done many of the things I would like. In this moment I am taking the time to show up and do something that is important to me- getting back on top of my blog.
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| My mother at her writing desk, probably in the early fifties. I wonder what she was writing. |
Pearls Before Swine
One of my earliest introductions to wholistic sound, sound that has the power to heal the body-mind-spirit was Tom Rapp's album "One Nation Underground". The band was Pearls Before Swine. I was no older than 13. The album came out in 1967. It was an album and a group that opened up my mind and my emotions, unlike anything I had heard up to that point. When I heard them I couldn't get enough- I listened to their albums over and over.
Tonight I am revisiting that album- I wanted to hear the song "Snow Queen" which is from a different album, "Beautiful Lies You Could Live In" (1971), an album I listened to over and over as a teenager. When I went to YouTube, however, the first thing that came up was "One Nation Underground". I heard the first note and was hooked. Interesting to look back at a time in my life that was so charged, so full of idealism and angst, right in line with the times. As I listen to them now I hear music that shaped my mind and my consciousness and is a piece of who I am today.
When I was 17 I was suspended from boarding school for going out and listening to Pearls Before Swine when they were playing at The Salt Tavern in Newport, RI. It was well worth it! I was the instigator on that outing- no one else knew who they were. I wrangled three of my friends, one of whom was 18 and could order beer, to go with me. As it turned out, our waitress had gone to the same school we were all attending and she called the headmaster after bringing us a pitcher of beer! At some point I got up to use the restroom and when I came back he was sitting at our table with the rest of my friends. He smiled, said hello to me and let us listen to the rest of the set before he made us all leave. I think he actually let us finish our beer!
I loved all of their albums- each one became my favorite, one after another. They were like revelations to me, touching places inside of me that I didn't know existed and allow me to open to my self.
Tonight I am revisiting that album- I wanted to hear the song "Snow Queen" which is from a different album, "Beautiful Lies You Could Live In" (1971), an album I listened to over and over as a teenager. When I went to YouTube, however, the first thing that came up was "One Nation Underground". I heard the first note and was hooked. Interesting to look back at a time in my life that was so charged, so full of idealism and angst, right in line with the times. As I listen to them now I hear music that shaped my mind and my consciousness and is a piece of who I am today.
When I was 17 I was suspended from boarding school for going out and listening to Pearls Before Swine when they were playing at The Salt Tavern in Newport, RI. It was well worth it! I was the instigator on that outing- no one else knew who they were. I wrangled three of my friends, one of whom was 18 and could order beer, to go with me. As it turned out, our waitress had gone to the same school we were all attending and she called the headmaster after bringing us a pitcher of beer! At some point I got up to use the restroom and when I came back he was sitting at our table with the rest of my friends. He smiled, said hello to me and let us listen to the rest of the set before he made us all leave. I think he actually let us finish our beer!
I loved all of their albums- each one became my favorite, one after another. They were like revelations to me, touching places inside of me that I didn't know existed and allow me to open to my self.
Tom Rapp was the creative force behind Pearls Before Swine. I found this fascinating article about him online. He is a lawyer now. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/rapp.htm
No Two Alike
Just listed two courses on CEBroker- Sound Healing for Massage Therapists and Intro to Healing with Toning, Tuning Forks, and Tibetan Bowls. One is a 12-hour class the weekend of Feb. 20-21 at Abundance Wellness Center in Tallahassee. The other is a six-hour class in Seminole at Yoga4All on February 26. Still have more to do but I feel like this is a good start.
No two bowl layouts are alike... I could say more about this... Or you could just come to one of the workshops! Just click on Upcoming Events and Workshops on the top menu...
