Arguing the Case for Sound (A Sound Argument!)

Thinking about all the ways that sound plays into our experience... 

These pictures are from the app "Frequency", one of my favorites. I use it to measure the tones of Himalayan singing bowls. What I love, of course, is that it shows the sound waves.

I love all the different ways we can think about sound- the word, the meaning, the experience. Ideas and people resonate with us- or not! A word, a phrase, a title, an image, rings a bell. I especially like the idea of sound as an adjective that implies stability and strength- such as a sound building... or a sound argument.

Stop, hey, what's that sound?

I don't know. I didn't hear it. I was sound asleep!


"Sound" can be used as a noun, a verb or an adjective. The following is from www.thefreedictionary.com.

sound 1

 (sound)
n.
1.
a. Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.
b. Transmitted vibrations of any frequency.
c. The sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by such vibrations in the air or other medium.
d. Such sensations considered as a group.
2. A distinctive noise: a hollow sound.
3. The distance over which something can be heard: within sound of my voice.
4. Linguistics
a. An articulation made by the vocal apparatus: a vowel sound.
b. The distinctive character of such an articulation: The words bear and bare have the same sound.
5. A mental impression; an implication: didn't like the sound of the invitation.
6. Auditory material that is recorded, as for a movie.
7. Meaningless noise.
8. Music A distinctive style, as of an orchestra or singer.
9. Archaic Rumor; report.
v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds
v.intr.
1.
a. To make or give forth a sound: The siren sounded.
b. To be given forth as a sound: The fanfare sounded.
2. To present a particular impression: That argument sounds reasonable.
v.tr.
1. To cause to give forth or produce a sound: sounded the gong.
2. To summon, announce, or signal by a sound: sound a warning.
3. Linguistics To articulate; pronounce: sound a vowel.
4. To make known; celebrate: "Nations unborn your mighty names shall sound" (Alexander Pope).
5. To examine (a body organ or part) by causing to emit sound; auscultate.
Phrasal Verb:
sound off
1. To express one's views vigorously: was always sounding off about higher taxes.
2. To count cadence when marching in military formation.
[Middle English soun, from Old French son, from Latin sonus; see swen- in Indo-European roots.]

sound 2

 (sound)
adj. sound·er, sound·est
1. Free from defect, decay, or damage; in good condition: Is the bridge sound?
2. Free from disease or injury. See Synonyms at healthy.
3.
a. Marked by or showing common sense and good judgment; levelheaded: a sound approach to the problem.
b. Based on valid reasoning; having no logical flaws: a sound conclusion; sound reasoning. See Synonyms at valid.
c. Logic Of or relating to an argument in which all the premises are true and the conclusion follows from the premises.
4.
a. Secure or stable: a partnership that started on a sound footing.
b. Financially secure or safe: a sound economy.
5. Thorough; complete: gave their rivals a sound thrashing.
6. Deep and unbroken; undisturbed: a sound sleep.
7. Compatible with an accepted point of view; orthodox: sound doctrine.
adv.
Thoroughly; deeply: sound asleep.
[Middle English, from Old English gesund.]
sound′ly adv.
sound′ness n.

sound 3

 (sound)
n.
1. Abbr. Sd.
a. A long, relatively wide body of water, larger than a strait or a channel, connecting larger bodies of water.
b. A long, wide ocean inlet.
2. Archaic The swim bladder of a fish.
[Middle English, from Old English sund, swimming, sea.]

sound 4

 (sound)
v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds
v.tr.
1. To measure the depth of (water), especially by means of a weighted line; fathom.
2. To try to learn the attitudes or opinions of: sounded out her feelings.
3. To probe (a body cavity) with a sound.
v.intr.
1. To measure depth.
2. To dive swiftly downward. Used of a marine mammal or a fish.
3. To look into a possibility; investigate.
n.
An instrument used to examine or explore body cavities, as for foreign bodies or other abnormalities, or to dilate strictures in them.
[Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde, sounding line, probably of Germanic origin.]

Cruising at the Speed of Sound

Yesterday was a day of sound and musical wonders! It started by me giving a woman a session on the Soundweaver (a therapeutic vibroacoustic environment) whose body has been wracked with pain by Lyme Disease. All of her joints were very painful but her knees were by far the most acute. I did an energy balancing using toning, chanting and overtone singing and also did some vocal sounding directly into the areas of the most acute pain. Then I put music on and did some energy work and craniosacral therapy. I used tuning forks (specifically a 128hz Otto tuner) on her knees and various other areas of the body. The session lasted about an hour and a half, maybe a little longer. She had a lot of emotional releases but beyond that, when she got up she said she had no pain in her knees. That was huge.
After the session light was pouring into the room and vibe was so beautiful and peaceful, but strong- very strong. Here is a picture of the room after we were done. 

Later in the day, after she and her boyfriend (my good friend Walter) left, I put Mike Oldfield's "The Songs of Distant Earth" on in the Somatron vibroacoustic recliner and went for a long journey myself. It's such a brilliant album and totally exquisite as a vibrotactile experience- one of my very favorites. Sounds, rhythms, melodies penetrated my mind, body and spirit from all directions. I traveled far- it was wonderful.
And then there was Mary Gauthier. I honestly cannot begin to say how amazing- how powerful and moving- her concert was last night. I was just knocked out by it. (Check yesterday's post to hear a great song by her.)

A day spent cruising at the speed of sound... So good, so inspiring.

Belly-Dancing Baby (or, The Crying Game)


Queen Mother Belly-Dancer, Barb Donahue
For most of my life dance was part of my personal therapy. It was something I had to do- with live music. So, it was the combination of the music and rhythm. I have always loved free-form dance, which was basically either modern, when I was a teenager or just dancing to rock n' roll. In the last fifteen years my dancing has been less and less frequent. Up until then I had always gone out dancing a minimum of once a week, but typically 2-3 times at least.

The funny thing is, when I met my ex- boyfriend Henry in 1998, who I lived with for 14 years, I rejoiced that I had finally found my dance partner! I loved dancing with him. When we lived in Sarasota we would go out and dance as often as possible, but when we moved to St. Pete in 1999 we never really seemed to find the good music. Also, he was highly sensitive to cigarette smoke so he didn't want to go dancing in bars where smoking was allowed- and I no longer wanted to go dancing by myself because I had someone I loved to dance with. It just felt weird to go out by myself. So, over the years, instead of my joyful dancing increasing, it just gradually fell away (and, needless to say, my weight went the opposite direction).

I split up with Henry three years ago, relocated, and up til now have not gone out by myself to find the music. At sixty, and single, it just feels a little weird. So, in desperation, this past week I went to my first belly-dancing class! Oy... I went because I want to get back in my body, I want to get my body back in shape and because I love to dance. The catch is- there are steps. There are moves! Oh my, how challenging this was for me. It brought up all my old stuff of feeling stupid in front of other people, one of my biggest emotional triggers. I started crying the second the class ended and cried my eyes out on the way home! Of course I told Barbara, my friend and teacher and the other women who were there (since I clearly wasn't going to be able to contain my tears until I left) and they were so sweet and understanding. Barb told me that she has had other women who came to her class, started crying and left and never came back so she was pleased and congratulated me for staying!  Nonetheless, it opened up a deep dark well of old stuff for me.

The thing that became clear to me from this process was that I don't know how to laugh at myself. I never have. My early years were filled with people picking on me, laughing at me,  and making fun of me- to some extent within my family but particularly throughout elementary school. I was tiny, I was painfully shy, I had few friends, and I was very vulnerable- an easy target. I came home from school in tears almost every day for many years. So now, if I am going to do this (yes, I will go back next week) I am either going to have to cry my way through it til all my crying is done- or- I'm going to have to learn to laugh at myself! You'd think at sixty I'd be over this!


(And of course there is all the stuff around all the emotions and trauma we store in our gut, in our belly, not to mention having four kids in five years. That has not escaped me.)

So, my dance therapy turned out to be therapeutic in a far different way than I imagined! My challenge now is to dance my way through the all the emotional stuff to find the joy that is underneath it. I know it's there waiting!

The Vibration of Wholeness


This afternoon I went for a walk at Sachuest Wildlife Preserve in Middletown, RI- one of my favorite places to walk. At a certain point I stopped and made a conscious effort to feel the vibratory frequencies of all the different elements around me- the dirt and gravel path on which I was walking, the air, the blue sky, the clouds, the different varieties of plants, trees and shrubs, the pounding surf, the birds, the rustling of unseen animals in the bushes near the path. I stopped, breathed, tuned in all of my senses, and took it all in- and in that moment realized that the synergistic effect of all these frequencies was
                    
                      ME
                         
                               feeling HAPPY
                                       
                                              wholistic resonance

Morning Bliss

This morning was cold and wet but for me it was beautiful, leading the Newport Chanting Community in sacred songs and chants. They meet in a sweet little chapel at the Emmanuel Church in Newport, RI. The group was small when I got there but as we started chanting more people came until the room filled up. It was very lovely. They learned some new songs and it was evident that many of them were touched deeply by the music. What a perfect way to start the day!

This photo was taken at the end- you can see that I am pretty blissed out!

Touched by the Warmth


Update: Leading a chanting group in Newport, RI early tomorrow morning.

It is an interesting challenge to try to recreate the feeling in my home that I had at my sound healing center; such a very different venue in all ways except the intention, which was and is to create a warm and welcoming space for all lovers of sound and music to experience and explore the healing power of music, sound and frequency. I guess I am succeeding. This is the very sweet message that was sent out by Carol Dutton, the organizer and host at Emmanuel Church, as a reminder about tomorrow's group. I was really touched by her warmth and sincerity.




 
Dear Friends
I am happy to say Rosie Warburton will be leading our chanting session tomorrow in the All Saints Chapel, Emmanuel Church from 9 am to 10:30 am.  I met with Rosie last week at her beautiful log cabin  in the woods in Tiverton.  When I walked in her door I felt at peace as I looked around her living room which was filled with singing bowls and musical instruments.  Rosie has a separate room for her sound healing sessions.  I felt so very fortunate to be in her presence, chanting with her.  I am truly blessed to have her in my life as I learn and experience healing through the power of sound.  I hope you can join us for a very special chanting session.  May today and every day bring you peace, joy and happiness.  Namaste, Carol












Back to the Present

In an effort to keep current, as well as to share a bit about my travels, I am jumping back to the present here! That may have been a sentence full of oxymorons- but I like the concept of jumping back to the present. ;-)

Anyway, one of the things I have committed to do is listening to lots more live music so last Saturday, the night after Joan Armatrading's wonderful concert, I went to see Geoff Muldaur in Common Fence Point. What a great show- and in such a small intimate setting. I am really enjoying these concerts put on by CFM. They take place in a sort of fellowship hall with long tables that seat 12-14 people. Lots of people bring food and do a sort of potluck dinner before the show. It feels very homey and comfortable even when I don't know a soul!

I have noticed a distinct difference in the way that I feel having soaked up some live music in the last week- a very positive lingering effect.

Installment 4- The Road to Tallahassee

Aidan discovers a new way of playing the singing bowls!
St. Pete... visiting my closest friends, walking in Selby Gardens, walks on the beach, a great motorcycle ride with my friend Brian, sound journeys, healing sessions... an invitation to Tallahassee- which of course I accepted! Really? You guys can pull off a sound journey with less than a weeks notice? Okay! I'll be there!

What a great 5 days that was! Arrived in Tallahassee on Monday, August 10. The Sound Journey was scheduled for that evening. My alternator went just as I got off the highway and pulled up to Ryan's house where I was to stay with his wife, Arielle and their awesome six year-old son, Aidan. I had met Ryan about ten years earlier when I taught a class at Bhakti Academe of Intuitive Massage and Healing, where I had gone myself. Apparently it had a huge impact on Ryan and he dove into the field of sound healing after that. When he heard I was coming to Florida he immediately signed up for the workshop and let several other people from Tallahassee know and they all made the trip to St. Pete.

We transferred my instruments to Ryan's vehicle, dropped my car off at his father's auto repair shop (just another tiny miracle) and went over to the Abundance Wellness Center to set up for the Sound Journey. Ryan let me use his room to do sessions which was absolutely beautiful and full of wonderful instruments from around the world!

That little group of four from Tallahassee was a powerhouse! I had never been to Tallahassee and my life and didn't know a soul there other than those who had come to my workshop. When I arrived a week later they had a full house for the sound journey and sessions booked with me for the next three days.

Here are some pictures from that leg of the trip.
Session with Himalayan singing bowls

After the session...

Healing Sound Journey at Abundance Wellness Center

Notice new element added to Sound Journey instruments

Flower arrangement made for the event- so beautiful!

Aidan chilling...




Music Is My Sustenance

I am making a point to get out and listen to more live music- even if I have to go by myself... Another one of the realities I have to get used living alone for the first time in my life!

Last week I saw Eliza Gilkyson. She was wonderful- irreverant, funny and a fabulous singer/songwriter/performer. Tonight I am going to see Joan Armatrading whom I have always loved and wanted to see live. I wasn't going to go because I knew I'd be going by myself. Then I thought, that is ridiculous. That is crazy. Music is my sustenance! So I am going- and so looking forward to it.

Tomorrow night I am going out to hear Geoff Muldaur , a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band back in the sixties. I saw him once in 1974 when he played at the Salt Tavern in Newport with his then-wife Maria Muldaur. I love his voice.

Very excited about that, but most of all to see Joan Armatrading tonight, whose music has always touched my heart and my emotional body so deeply. Here she is  singing one of her most poignant songs.

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.



Revisiting the Road, 2nd Installment- A Lesson in Abundance!


Koi pond at Lynn Carol and George Henderson's house
Lynn Carol's art studio
My week in St. Pete was wonderfully full. Every time I've gone back in the last few years I have had so much to do- teaching workshops, closing up the center, moving stuff out of the house I lived in for 13+ years with my ex-boyfriend- and spending time with him because he still one of my dearest friends- that I was not able to find the time to see so many of the other people I was so close to when I was down there. This time I made sure that I took the time to visit everyone that I wanted to see- some of whom it was brief or I saw at one of my sound journeys, others I was able to hang out, walk with or share a meal. It was so wonderful to take that time and be sure that I saw all my old friends.

I stayed with my dear friends Lynn Carol and George Henderson, whose house is definitely my idea of heaven on earth!

Healing Sound Journey at Temple of the Living God
On August 6 I did a Healing Sound Journey at the Temple of the Living God. There was some kind of weird poverty consciousness going on before I got there. They asked me to lower my minimum which I had already discounted 70%! I decided that I was not going to join in their consciousness of lack so I said to my good friend Carol Mitchell who had arranged the gig for me, "Okay, here's what we are going to do- I am not going to charge a minimum. Instead, let's join our minds in this moment and set the intention that there will be at least 40 people at the Sound Journey." She heartily agreed. We set the intention and the night of the event, slowly but surely, the place filled up- 46 people for the Sound Journey! So many of them were dear old friends and people who had come to so many events at my sound healing center when I lived there. It really was the loveliest reunion- and I made what I would normally charge for my minimum rather than the heavily discounted price I had originally given them! The ladies at the church who were taking the money were stunned and delighted. Apparently they rarely get such a good turn out for their events. I would have to say that I was not as surprised as they were, but I was definitely very pleased!

A walk on the beach with my good friend, Brian Ransom               




Expectant journeyers!



Selby Gardens with my old friend Linda Romero

Happy day with my new friends Ilona and Agnieszka, who I met last year in the Bahamas and discovered they live in Sarasota and that we have a whole circle of very close friends in common!

Revisiting The Road, First Installment (My Own Healing Sound Journey)

Three and a half weeks ago I returned home from a trip that was supposed to be just over two weeks long. It turned out to be almost exactly one month. I didn't document it very well so, a little bit at a time, I will make an effort to fill in some of the gaps.

On July 28 I packed up my Subaru Outback with tuning forks, singing bowls and all my magical sound instruments and headed on down the road. I have to add that my car was running very well. (There's a reason I mentioned that which I'll get back to that in another installment!) I had a great, and easy, drive down. Google maps sidestepped all the heavily trafficked areas and I got there way ahead of schedule!

On August 1-2 I taught a workshop on Sound Healing with Toning, Tuning Forks and Tibetan Bowls at the office of my favorite Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr. Soman Nadhan. The workshop was full, not only with local therapists but also four people from Tallahassee who had taken the 5 1/2 hour trek to St. Pete! The workshop was partially for massage therapists to get continuing education requirements to renew their license but my workshops are always open to anyone who would like to enhance their personal practice or their healing practice with sound, so the majority of the class were massage therapists but we also had a violinist whose husband is a sound healer and a vibrational healer who came with her best friend, a sound healing practitioner. It was really a great weekend. Everyone seemed very pleased with the content and the delivery- and we all had a great time together. Some of us, including me, made some great new friends!
Lydia Riedell, a very happy camper with two beautiful new (antique) bowls to add to her collection of sound healing tools.



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.


Dr. Michell Gaynor, Oncologist and Sound Medicine Pioneer, I Honor You


Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, oncologist and pioneer in his efforts to bring the awareness of the healing power of sound to the Western medicine, was mysteriously found dead in the woods near his home a few days ago. I am so sad to hear this news. Tomorrow I am playing Himalayan singing bowls and crystal bowls at a retreat for cancer patients. I will play the bowls in honor of the memory of Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, as a tribute to him and in deep gratitude for the work he accomplished in this field.

Blissed To Tears

I did finally make it home to my house of wholistic sound a little over a week ago. A two and a half week trip that evolved into exactly one month- full of surprises, old friends and new, sound journeys, car breakdowns, a visit to a gated community for hippies (The Farm, Summertown, TN) and much more!
Amazing what happens when you leave a house for a month. I could not have imagined how overgrown everything would be! Also factoring in living alone for the first time in my life- no kids, no sweetie, no mom to take care of... an interesting time in my life. Some days I feel like I am a bit lost and floundering and I have to remind myself that I have never done this before, not even knowing at times how to start my day... Yoga? Coffee? Music? Art? Writing? Breakfast? Vitamins? Weeding?

It's not sad and not particularly lonely although I suppose it could become that. More, it's just weird! When someone else is in the house I know what to do even if I think it's not necessarily what I want to do.

Meanwhile this blog is supposed to be about music and sound. And I am sitting at my dining room table loving the sound of the beautiful glass chimes that Josh Poll of Zen Glass in St. Pete, FL made for me when I had my sound healing center, which I finally hung up a couple of days ago. I have an entire box of chimes that people donated to the center which eventually all need to be hung in my new home and place of healing sound pleasures and treasures.
I opened up Facebook this morning and was greeted by this video of a most amazing version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". I was blissed to tears. My total inspiration for the day- how can you not love it?!



Blind Faith

Today I didn't even make it on to the highway. I drove very slowly around the parking lot at the Comfort Inn and decided that something was definitely wrong and I was not comfortable getting on the road. Fortunately it turned out that there was a great repair shop 3 miles down the road from where I was, in Atkins, VA. Two really nice guys who were super helpful and after some time discovered that my new friends at Pep Boys had not put the right rear tire on properly yesterday after they balanced the tires! Seriously? Oh my god! I could have been killed on the highway. I was seriously pissed when I realized it. Anyway, they got me all squared away and back on the road. Got in the car and turned on the radio and guess what song came on?! I started laughing my butt off.

I am now officially in the northeast- crossed over the Pennsylvania line around 8 pm this evening! Should be back home in RI sometime late tomorrow- of course I thought that two days ago and I'm not there yet!

Learning to Love More

Yurt where we had our "Sound In the Round" Healing Journeys
Still working on those obstacles! I spent three days in Summertown, TN at the The Farm, one of the first and, at one time, the largest commune in the country. It was an interesting few days- basically at this point a gated intentional community for hippies. Thirty-five to forty years ago it was a lifestyle that interested me- today, so not! However I met some very lovely people, did two sound journeys and gave several private sessions and that was all good.

Also I have gotten to be around quite a few tiny people these last few weeks and that has been so wonderful- my new friends Ryan and Arielle's 6 year-old son Aidan, a beautiful little boy named Nick who was 3 who visited my friends Mahesh and Mukta with his mother when I was staying there, and Zarina- Katrina and Forest's 11 month-old daughter in Summertown. So I have had several doses of unadulterated preciousness on the trip so far.
Aidan trying out a singing bowl! 

So- back to the obstacles... Ganesha, Ganesha, Ganesha... Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, Om Gam Ganapataye Namah... (Repeat endlessly...) I left Summertown around noon yesterday, for the first time since I've been gone thinking quite excitedly about the prospect of getting back to my sweet log refuge in Rhode Island today. It has been such a wonderful trip that up to this point I have been thoroughly enjoying riding the wave further than I ever anticipated. Well, apparently it's not quite time for me to get home. Within about an hour of being on the road the rear end of my car started shuddering like crazy. I pulled off and thought about what to do and figured I would try to make it a bit further and see if I could find a repair shop to look at it. When I got back on the highway it stopped doing the weird shudder dance for a while and I thońght maybe it was just a bumpy stretch of road... And then it did it again.

I ended up making it to Knoxville where I pulled into a gas station just off the interstate. Fortuitously (as has been the way with this amazing trip) a cop pulled in right next to me. I asked him where he would recommend I get my car checked out. Next exit, Pep Boys- so off I went. I made it there safely. They checked it out and found that the bushings were totally worn out and needed to be replaced. Since it's a 2001 Subaru they didn't have the parts and had to wait until today to get them from the dealership down the road.  So, I am in a room at the Hilton (I decided at least I would treat myself to a nice room!) while my car is being fixed.

Today's lesson... "I do not know what anything is for." Lesson 25, A Course in Miracles Workbook.

My old massage teacher, Dale McNitt, would say "It's always to teach us to love more." That works for me.


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...