The Space of a Soul

I decided finally after so many days of wanting to write and so many days (okay, weeks) of not getting to it, that a short post is better than no post at all.

Yesterday afternoon/evening a group of us had a sweet gathering and send-off for our dear friend Shin Ae Tassia who departed this world on April 22, 2017. Her work as a "connector" continues as she brought more of us together still on this occasion, so many of us whom had not met before.

So much sweetness, so much heart. Worlds bumping up against each other, rubbing elbows. Artists, musicians, mechanics, social activists, healers and others- all extraordinary in their own unique ways. I am always astounded when a dear one passes how many lives they have in touched in so many different ways. And how we continue to get to know them long after they're gone.

A body doesn't take up that much physical space in the world but a soul? That's another matter. This thought is leading me down a windy river. A soul is like a miracle- and a soul is a miracle. I want to substitute the word "soul" right now in this sentence: A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you have not even met, and produce undreamed of changes in situations of which you are not even aware. (A Course in Miracles- Text, 45th Principle of Miracles)

And the curious question that is sometimes asked about people "What are they worth?" Wow! Obviously meant on the most material mundane level... but what an odd question. How do you determine the value of a human, the value of a life, the value of a soul? Soul currency... There's something to think about.

The night before last I did a Sound Journey for some of Shin Ae's closest friends, highlighting her favorite instruments, the gongs and Himalayan bowls. Last night I put it on when I got in bed. It must have been dreamy because I fell asleep within about 5 minutes. I slept deeply, woke up 5 hours later fully refreshed and restored, unfortunately forgetting my dreams within minutes of waking; nonetheless with a heart full of gratitude for the sweetness of this life and the continuity of it all.

Travel Installment 3, plus Sound Healing on the Equinox.

So- when I was driving down to FL- it must have been July 29- I got to South Carolina and was on the phone with my friend Carol Mitchell talking about the possibility of finding another venue to do a sound journey. She suggested I might try Yoga4All in Seminole where my ex-boyfriend Henry and I used to do sound journeys on a regular basis for a few years. Marty Maddox, who owns the studio, did a lot of promotion and we always got a good turnout- typically upwards of 25 people. We also scheduled each event well in advance with plenty of lead time so there was lots of time to get the word out there.

It was about 8:30 pm when I called the yoga studio and I hardly expected anyone to answer but there was Marty on the other end of the phone moments later, telling me how much everyone missed me down there. I said, "Well, actually I'm on my way down there right now" and I told her my sparse schedule- workshop on August 1-2 and a sound journey on the 6th. I said I had some availability the weekend of the August 7-8 and was she possibly interested in hosting a sound journey. She gave it a few seconds and then said, "What the heck. Let's put it out there and see if people are up for it." I was totally surprised since it was so last minute but as it turned out we packed the yoga studio!

The evening of August 7 I was driving over to the studio and Marty called me several times because she didn't what to do about so many people wanting to come the Sound Journey. It got to a point where she didn't feel like she had any more space for people to preregister and at one point she called to tell me that people were actually fighting for spots over the phone! 36 people showed up that night.She had figured she had space for 30 but we managed to get everyone in.

I recorded the sound journey on my iPhone as I always do these days unless there's some kind of a glitch- like I forget to turn it on! I try not to judge or compare the sound journeys as I always trust they are perfect for the time that they occur and for the group that is receiving it, but in this case I honestly felt, when I was performing the sound journey, that it was quite possibly the best one I had ever done. I'm talking about over a 15 year period. I have listened to it several times since and am starting to use it regularly in sound healing sessions which have been very powerful. I definitely looking forward to burning it to a CD and getting someone to clean it up. We'll see how that goes. I can say for certain that there has been a step up in the expression and the healing power of the sound journey.

Which takes me to last night. Last night was the Autumnal Equinox and I led a sound healing meditation at my home with crystal singing bowls as part of a global network of sound healers and peacekeepers that meets every solstice and equinox in a unified intention. I used to lead these Circles of Sound when I had my sound healing center in St. Pete but I hadn't done one in 3 1/2 years. It's not so much that I am particularly into these astrological and astronomical events as it is that, if I am putting myself forward as a leader in the community of sound healers wherever I happen to be, I feel that it is part of my role to participate in any global sound healing events and host them whenever possible.

So I set up an altar on my deck and we had a small gathering. There were six of us outside under the stars listening to the ascending frequencies of the bowls as I played. It was cool outside and everyone was wrapped up in blankets. We could hear birds, dogs and the running of the waterfall in the koi pond behind us. Afterwards we shared prasad and tea. It was a truly lovely gathering and I was so grateful that I had put the message out there for people to come and bathe in the sounds and the intentions of harmony, acceptance, compassion, unity and joy. For some it was a totally new experience. For all of us it was a blessed one.

Finding Peace- A Woodland Sound Journey

 
This past Friday I attended a retreat for oncology patients in Exeter, Rhode Island. I was there as a therapist offering treatments with tuning forks and craniosacral therapy. For the closing of the retreat I did a sound journey in the woods by a fire. What a setting! All the women that I spoke to during the course of the day expressed feelings of gratitude, empowerment and deeper connection to themselves and the people around them.  Here are some pictures of the beautiful spot under the pines where I did the sound journey as the shadows grew long at the end of the day. It doesn't get much better than this! Some women sat by the fire, others lay down on rugs and blankets.



As I wrote in my last blog entry, I had just learned the night before that Dr. Mitchell Gaynor had recently been found dead in the woods near his home in New York. He did so much for the field of sound medicine, bringing it to the forefront as a complementary therapy, introducing it to all of his patients, as a means of boosting the immune system and helping patients to quickly drop into a natural state of deep peace. It was very powerful and poignant for me to have the opportunity to dedicate the sound journey to him at a time when I was still feeling raw from the news.

A couple of years ago I gave a patient with very advanced cancer a treatment with tuning forks. She was a beautiful bright spirit who was in a lot of pain with tumors throughout most of her internal organs. She had fought for a long time and knew she did not have a lot of time left. She was still willing and eager to try anything that might give her some relief. I gave her a treatment with tuning forks, never touching her body. After the session she told me her pain was not relieved but that she had experienced deep peace which was a great gift for her as it was something that she no longer had.

 

Dr. Gaynor was right. There is no other modality that can bring a person to a state of peace as quickly as sound. It doesn't have to be long, complicated or dramatic. It can be as simple as one tone from a Himalayan singing bowl or the sound of two tuning forks tapped on the knees and held up close to the ears, vibrating the temporal bones and sending the frequency directly into the nervous system in a matter of seconds. (Dr. John Beaulieu's Body Tuners with the frequency of 256hz and 384hz (C & G) are ideal for this.) Sound is simple, effective and can also such a pleasant form of medicine, so natural that we often don't even consciously notice its effect right away.

Magic, Mystery and the Removal of Obstacles

Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles

Yesterday my car broke down outside a repair shop. It looked like I needed a new transmission. The long shot was that they would change the transmission fluid and the filter and hope that would do the trick. Today the mechanic called and confirmed that yes, I did need a transmission and he was trying to find a used one for me. Eventually he found one but it would take 5-7 days to get it. It would also cost me around $1300 plus another $400 or so for labor. Definitely changed my plans.

Soooo.... I called my friend on The Farm and discussed my situation with her. She was able to change the two scheduled Sound Journeys and postpone them til the weekend so I decided I would rent a car and go there a few days later than I had planned. (I use the word "plan" loosely- this whole opportunity only came up a little over a week ago!) I figured the money I made there would at least offset some of the cost of the repairs.

My car was dead, for all intents and purposes, and would hang out at the repair shop until the transmission came in, which was being shipped from who knows where.

Then, at 6 pm tonight, Preston the mechanic called and said my car seemed to be running fine and I should come down there and pick it up and drive it around for a bit and make sure it was okay. He said he was trying to move it from inside the garage to the parking lot where it would sit until next week. He got in the car to start it up and had a couple of guys in front of the car pushing it while he put it in reverse. At first the car didn't want to move and so he hit the accelerator hard and suddenly it sputtered or something and went into reverse! He ended up driving it into town to check it out and whatever the problem was seemed to have cleared up. The only thing he could think of was that there must have been some kind of gunk that had gotten caught up in the transmission. The filter had a big hole in it, so maybe it was actually the missing piece of the filter. Whatever it was, it's now gone. Maybe Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles, was having a little fun with me!

I got two extra days of R&R with Mahesh and Mukta and Thursday I leave for The Farm! Mahesh and Mukta are both longtime yogis and Mukta is an incredible painter so I get great inspiration while I am here.

Here are some of Mukta's beautiful paintings...

Sustainable Healing

Great day today! Gave a talk and a sound journey to a group of high school students at The Greene School in West Greenwich, RI today. What a cool place- I wish I could have gone to a school like that. The class was a group of seventeen 9-12 graders who are taking a week-long intensive on Sustainable Healing Modalities- and a few other students and faculty who stopped and listened on their way through the room to wherever they were going. They started the day off with yoga and then got me! Which basically meant they got to zone out on some really cool sounds for an hour- not a bad way to start the day.

Sound Around

Very busy last few days. After doing sound journey for a group of bankers the day before yesterday I had someone call and ask if I could give her son a treatment who has been going through a personal crisis. The session went so well and I hope he will continue for a while. The beauty of sound is that it can cut through the story...

Next Wednesday I am going to be offering demo sessions for the Rhode Island Cancer Summit in Warwick. I will be using tuning forks and singing bowls. The opportunity came through the Integrative Care Program at Women & Infants Hospital where I give treatments to oncology patients 1-2 days a week. The money is not great but the blessings are many and the fact that a hospital is paying anything for alternative treatments is pretty remarkable. I absolutely love the work and the amazing people I get to meet through the program- women who are grateful to be alive and
so proactive about their health, caregivers who need some nurturing for themselves- people who are empowered because they have made the choice to care for themselves in a challenging situation. It is pretty phenomenal.

Today I got a beautiful shipment of Himalayan singing bowls in and I know I will be getting more in about 3 weeks. I am very excited about that!

Deep Listening

A very short post today to say that the weekend's workshop went well- 6 people yesterday and 9 today- and it seemed that everyone got something that they felt they could take home with them at the end of the day. Two things I endeavor to share in a workshop- a sense of safety and the presence of joy.

One magic moment- at the end of one of our sound practices, as we were doing some breathing for centering ourselves back in our bodies a train went by. I suggested they listen deeply to the sound of the train with all of its overtones and breathe that sound into their being. It was full of beautiful sounds. Paul said he would never hear a train the same way again. Now he would listen. That was a gift.