Knocked out tonight by the richness of this life- brought to mind this beautiful, sweet, sad song by Lucinda Williams. On the edge of weeping...
Thoughts on Healing (One Anyway)
Yeah, I don't have that many- but I do have one. An observation that came as I was working with someone on the Soundweaver recently. Holding a sort of witness consciousness, watching as my hands slowly came into their energy field, gently resting on either side of their head and after some minutes very slowly, almost imperceptibly releasing, hands moving away in slow motion. Moving to the next place on the body I was called to. Could have been the heart, the solar plexus, the knees, the feet, one shoulder or the other- or both. Listening, observing, waiting, letting go, moving on. What is happening in these subtle delicate moments- these listening moments which are full of power, intention and awareness?
At some point during the session I wrote this note: "The trick is to match the client's energy and hang out with it til a total synergy is apparent- then LEAN INTO IT- gently- enough to allow their energy/physiology to shift."
In other words, you hang out until you become ONE with their energy. No pushing, no forcing, being fully present- WITH INTENTION. Using a sound analogy, it is the difference between crashing a mallet against a gong so that the volume is almost unbearable and a shock to the system, or playing the gong so that the sound slowly builds, as if you are coaxing the sound forth and allowing the waves to wash over the listeners and then to recede like waves on the shore.
I used Estas Tonne today for my inspiration and therapy while I was doing some stuff in the kitchen. I wanted to escape but there were things I needed to complete on. Once I put this music on I was captivated and happy to be right where I was.
Shin Ae, Sound Evangelist
I have been trying to write this blog post dedicated to my beautiful and brilliant friend Shin Ae for almost two weeks now. This is as far as it's gotten so I am letting go of all the other things I wanted to express and publishing it. What I really want to share here is my love for the beautiful strong radiant and joyful being that she was and gratitude for our deep connection.
Last night [May 8 at the time of this writing] my friend Lynn and I celebrated the life and memory of our very dear friend Shin Ae who passed away on April 22, after a 2 1/2 year struggle with metastatic breast cancer. We both met her as a patient and quickly came to know her as a dear friend. She did not take her diagnosis lying down. She was a ninja warrior and activist to the very end. This picture was taken almost a year after her diagnosis, at which time she had been given 9 months which she enthusiastically refused to accept- which I'm sure has a great deal to do with why she was able to stay with us for as long as she did.
In February I came to her house to have a visit with her and give her a sound healing treatment. She was a metal worker, a welder, and she loved instruments made of metal- Himalayan singing bowls, gongs and tuning forks- so I brought them all. I set up the gong in her living room, laid bowls on her spine and played them which always gave her great relief and played the tuning forks for her to help re-balance her nervous system.
She was getting ready to head out to California for the Wisdom Conference and told me that she was hoping to get me out there to do a Sound Journey. She had just come back from walking the fashion runway in New York for NY Fashion Week and although she was not feeling well and was fairly weak she powered through it with her indomitable spirit. She told me that day that she was a "sound healing evangelist" because the sound healing had helped her so much in her process for relieving pain and restoring peace when it was most needed. Although I do what I do because I know it is effective it is always another miracle to me when I actually witness the relief that people get from this modality.
I always felt honored and grateful both to work with Shin Ae as a patient and also to connect with her on such a deep level. And I know that's not about me- it was a gift that Shin Ae had, to be able to enter into the space where another human being was coming from, no matter their background, their source point or their operating procedure. She could step in and connect in a way that superceded the mundane and went straight to the heart of things. That was Shin Ae, no bullshit, all heart and a brilliant mind and a gift to all who knew her.
Sound Body Revisited
In 2005 I opened the Sound Body Wholistic Health Center in St. Petersburg, FL. It was a wellness center dedicated to the study and practice of sound as a healing modality. I was sad to say goodbye to it in 2012 but it was time for me to return to New England and continue my work as a sound healing practitioner up here. I deeply miss the center and the community that grew up around it and enjoy revisiting it in as many ways as possible. I just returned from a trip to St. Pete where I reconnected with some of my dear friends and did a couple of sound journeys. I also taught a workshop on Healing With Tibetan Singing Bowls at Yoga4All in Seminole.
A wonderful sound healing community is taking shape in Tallahassee as well since my first visit there two years ago, so I spent some time there teaching, doing sound journeys, visiting and making more new friends who are excited about the possibilities!
Tonight as I was going through some old files I came across a video that I had taken at the center of a drumming class probably sometime in 2010 or 2011. For whatever reason I wasn't able to upload it on Youtube back then but tonight I revisited it and uploaded it with no trouble. It is the classic rhythm Lamba taught by master drummer Papa Malick Faye from Senegal who taught a regular drumming class at the center for at least a year. It was an incredible gift having him teach in such an intimate space. He was an amazing teacher and I miss him. Tonight I got out my drum and drummed along with this video. It felt so good! If you have a drum you might want to get it out before you start watching the video.