Using Virtual Reality to Explore Consciousness

Virtual Reality is a computer technology that uses headsets, sometimes in combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment. Virtual Reality is pursuing new frontiers in the exploration of consciousness. Similar to the psychedelic experience, Virtual Reality is opening new paths towards mystical experiences like those that have inspired foundational insights for religious and cultural traditions. Through this powerful technology, we are closer than ever to being able to enter altered states of consciousness by being immersed in the shamanic realm where time travel is possible, where we can participant directly in the evolution of creation, and where we can prepare ourselves for the next great adventure after this life. Researchers are using Virtual Reality to prepare people for death, to induce lucid dreaming, and to treat what our society calls "mental illness." Read more.

10 Effective Ways to Ground Yourself

Grounding is a technique that helps keep someone in the present moment. It is only in the present moment that we can fully live our lives. Grounding techniques can reduce anxiety, quiet the mind, and connect you to your inner voice. These simple techniques can ground you in your own truth and help you get to know your inner self. Grounding is also essential for basic health and survival. Grounding enhances your ability to function effectively on a day-to-day basis. When poorly grounded, your spatial understanding is impaired. You may stumble around physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Here are 10 effective ways to ground yourself:

1. Start With Your Breath. Breathe deeply through your diaphragm and gently exhale any tension you might feel, clearing the energy channels of your body. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Let your abdomen rise and fall as you breathe. This deep breathing signals the body to relax and helps calm your mind and spirit.

2. Meditate. Meditation is probably the most popular grounding technique. Sit or lie comfortably, and then close your eyes. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity. Feel yourself relaxing with each breath. Release all of your worldly concerns, doubts, and fears, allowing them to drift off on the air of the wind, on the breath of life. If your mind wanders, return your focus back to your breath. Maintain this meditation practice for two to three minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.

3. Play a Drum. Drumming is perhaps the oldest form of active meditation known to humanity. One of the paradoxes of rhythmic stimulation is that it has not only the power to move your awareness out of the confines of the conceptual mind into realms beyond time and space but also the capacity to ground you firmly in the present moment. It allows you to maintain a portion of ordinary awareness while experiencing non-ordinary awareness. This permits full recall later of the visionary experience.    

4. Touch the Earth. Just take off your shoes and socks and get outside. Physically touching or sitting on the Earth has a calming and grounding effect. Nature calms, helps you connect to something larger than yourself, and provides a much-needed break from your busy life.

5. Focus on Your Root Chakra. Close your eyes and focus your attention on the chakra at the base of the spine. The vibratory center located at the base of the spine grounds spiritual forces in the body to the Earth and the physical realm of reality. Visualize this energy center as a red disc of light, about the size of a silver dollar, at the base of your spine.

6. Stand Like a Tree. Stand with your feet parallel, about six inches apart, and your toes aimed straight ahead. Your knees should be slightly bent, removing any strain on your lower back. Rest your hands at your side or place them over your navel. Close your eyes and imagine that you are a tree. Visualize your head as the crown, your body as the trunk, and your feet as the roots. Imagine roots growing out the bottom of your feet, extending deep into the ground beneath you.

7. Walk Mindfully. Mindful walking can be practiced anywhere or anytime. Simply take a walk and be mindful of every sensation you feel. Breathe naturally and fully, deeply filling your lungs with each inhalation, but being careful not to strain in any way. When your attention drifts away from the sensations of walking and breathing, take notice of those thoughts or emotions without judgment and gently direct your awareness back to the present moment, back to the walking.

8. Carry a Grounding Stone. A grounding stone is any small stone that helps make you more reality-oriented and pulls you into the current moment. Black obsidian is a good grounding stone to carry or wear in your aura each day. Black tourmaline is one of the most effective stones, as it works for both spiritual grounding and protection. These crystals are easy to obtain as tumblestones, and easy to put one or more of the grounding stones in your pocket every day.

9. Use Your Voice. Repeat a mantra, chant, or positive affirmation. Hearing your own voice actively gets you out of your own head. Repeating a soothing affirmation powerfully grounds you in reality, by reminding you what's most important to you.

10. Take a Shower. This is one of my favorite grounding methods. Heat increases blood flow, slows your heart rate, and calms you down gently. I personally find this technique to be very effective. The heat and water pressure from a cleansing, hot shower always grounds me, bringing me back to the here-and-now.

10 Reasons to Add Drumming into Your Spiritual Practice

Drumming is perhaps the oldest form of active meditation known to humanity. It is a simple and effortless way to still the chatter of the mind, thereby inducing altered states of consciousness. It is one of the quickest and most powerful ways I know to open the heart and connect with a power greater than ourselves. Here are 10 good reasons why you should incorporate drumming into your spiritual practice:

1. To induce natural altered states of consciousness. Researchers have found that if a drum beat frequency of around 180 beats per minute is sustained for at least fifteen minutes, it will induce significant altered states in most people, even on their first attempt. This ease of induction contrasts significantly with the long periods of isolation and practice required by most meditative disciplines before inducing significant effects. Rhythmic stimulation is a simple and effective technique for affecting states of mind.   

2. To produce deeper self-awareness by inducing synchronous brain activity. Recent studies have demonstrated that the physical transmission of rhythmic energy to the brain synchronizes the two cerebral hemispheres, integrating conscious and unconscious awareness. The ability to access unconscious information through symbols and imagery facilitates psychological integration and a reintegration of self.

3. To experience being in resonance with the natural rhythms of life. Rhythm and resonance order the natural world. Dissonance and disharmony arise only when we limit our capacity to resonate totally and completely with the rhythms of life. The origin of the word rhythm is Greek meaning "to flow." We can learn to flow with the rhythms of life by simply learning to feel the beat, pulse, or groove while drumming. When drummers feel this rhythmic flow, especially at a slower, steady beat, they can shift into a state of deep relaxation and expanded awareness. It is a way of bringing the essential self into accord with the flow of a dynamic, interrelated universe, helping us feel connected rather than isolated and estranged.

4. To access a higher power. Drumming directly supports the introduction of spiritual factors found significant in the healing process. Drumming and Shamanic activities produce a sense of connectedness and community, integrating body, mind and spirit. According to research published in the American Journal of Public Health, "Shamanic activities bring people efficiently and directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, focusing the client on the whole body and integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers; it also enhances their sense of empowerment and responsibility. These experiences are healing, bringing the restorative powers of nature to clinical settings."

5. To release negative feelings, blockages, and emotional trauma. Drumming can help people express and address emotional issues. Unexpressed feelings and emotions can form energy blockages. The physical stimulation of drumming removes blockages and produces emotional release. Sound vibrations resonate through every cell in the body, stimulating the release of negative cellular memories.

6. To reduce tension, anxiety, and stress. Drumming induces deep relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Stress, according to current medical research, contributes to nearly all disease and is a primary cause of such life-threatening illnesses as heart attacks, strokes, and immune system breakdowns. A groundbreaking 2005 study demonstrated that group drumming not only reduces stress, but reverses genetic switches that turn on the stress response believed responsible in the development of common diseases.

7. To create sacred space. The drum is also a versatile instrument for creating sacred space. You can use it to summon the spirits into a ritual or ceremony. According to Wallace Black Elk, the renowned Lakota shaman, "When you pray with that drum, when the spirits hear that drum, it echoes. They hear this drum, and they hear your voice loud and clear." Conversely, a forceful beat of the drum can be used to drive away malevolent spirits or intrusive energies that cause confusion, disease, and disharmony. Used in this way, the drum facilitates the creation of a purified sacred space.

8. To reconnect with your inner or spirit self. Drumming heightens the ability of perception and enables you to see into the deeper realms of the self. The moment you bond with your spirit is the moment your heart opens. The first time you glimpse your spirit self, you gasp and cry. You know who you are. That is the moment you begin to heal.

9. To gain insight into an issue that you want to know more about. You can take concerns into a drum meditation in order to access personal revelation. Drumming stills the incessant chatter of the mind, allowing you to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective, not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness.

10. To clarify life purpose. When we are unaware of our soul's true purpose or simply not aligned in our actions, we often experience a malaise of the spirit. We can engage the blueprint of our soul path through the vehicle of drumming. Drumming is a time-tested medium for individual self-realization. We can go within to access wisdom and energies that can help awaken our soul calling and restore us to wholeness. Drumming reconnects us with our deepest core values and our highest vision of who we are and why we are here. It heightens our sense of mission and purpose, empowering our personal evolution.

Music as Medicine

Burundian Drummers

Imprinted into the fabric of reality is a fluidity which at the underlying core is comprised of vibration. Just as letters, words and phrases carry vibrational information which transmutes out into our greater universe, so too does music. There may be no greater language with the power to break all universal vibrational communication boundaries than that of music. Music plays a vital role in human culture; it is a key social technology for building and sustaining community. Theoretical neuroscientist and philosopher Walter Freeman tells us that a "significant discovery by our remote ancestors may have been the use of music and dance for bonding in groups larger than nuclear families…" In aural and oral cultures, music and sound would have been a vital element of human life and ritual culture. Ritual in many human cultures involves music, and it often provides the primary structure for activities that construct meaning. Ritual music is a universal way to address the spirit world and provide some kind of fundamental change in an individual's consciousness or in the ambience of a gathering. Experiences of ego loss and trance are important for integrating the individual into the group and maintaining community, and music is a significant element of such ritual activity. Read more.

Music and its Role in Ritual

Shamanism and music combined thousands of years ago. By observing nature, shamans perceived that the power of sound could be used to help and heal others. The first drums and musical instruments were put to shamanic use, as were many of the early singing traditions. According to folklorist Kira Van Deusen, "In a shaman's world music operates in several ways. It helps the shaman and other participants in a ceremony to locate and enter the inner world, opening the inner, spiritual ear and eye. Musical sound calls helping spirits and transports the shaman on the journey. Both the rhythm and the timbre of musical sound help heal the patient through the effects of specific frequencies and musical styles on the human body."

Music is an essential tool in shamanic ritual and healing work. Music is the carrier of the specific intention or desired outcome of the ritual. Music is used to contain the energetic or spiritual aspect of the sacred space, which is defined physically by the assembled people who participate. Dance and song propel the ritual process forward by providing a vehicle for self-expression within the sacred space. Together the musicians create the necessary container that channels the energy generated by the performance in ways that the shaman can guide toward the ritual's intended outcome.

Three elements are constantly interacting in communal healing rites: the shaman who guides the flow and pattern of the ritual, the musicians who contain the sacred space, and the gathered people who participate. Interaction between all three elements is necessary to maintain the energy, flow and intention of the ritual.

Music is also used to crack open the part of the self that holds emotions in check. For example, in funeral rites among the Dagara people of West Africa, drumming and singing are used to open the mourners to grief. Grief is then channeled in such a way that it will convey the newly deceased soul to the afterlife. Without the help of the drummers, musicians and singers, the powerful emotional energy cannot be unleashed. If not channeled properly, grief is useless to the dead and dangerous to the living. According to Christina Pratt, author of An Encyclopedia of Shamanism, "This musical container of the ritual space must be maintained continuously. The musicians do not rest as long as the ritual continues, though the ritual may last one to four full days."

Forest Therapy

Scottish literary giant Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that it’s "not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." Forests have long been a place we go to clear our minds. But the simple act of strolling through woods isn't so common these days. That could change if former wilderness guide Amos Clifford, who founded the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy in 2012, has his way. He's formed a 'forest therapy' group for one reason: to preach the gospel of a new form of preventative healthcare known as "forest bathing" (a poetic term for using our five senses to absorb a forest's atmosphere). Read more.

How Drumming Improves Mental and Physical Health

Drum therapy is an ancient approach that uses rhythm to promote healing and self-expression. From the shamans of Tuva to the Minianka healers of West Africa, therapeutic rhythm techniques have been used for thousands of years to create and maintain physical, mental, and spiritual health. Current research is now verifying the therapeutic effects of ancient rhythm techniques. The American Journal of Public Health reviewed drum therapy in its April 2003 edition, concluding that "shamanic drumming directly supports the introduction of spiritual factors found significant in the healing process. Shamanic activities bring people efficiently and directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, focusing the client on the whole body and integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers; it also enhances their sense of empowerment and responsibility. These experiences are healing, bringing the restorative powers of nature to clinical settings." Read more.

A Shamanic Perspective on Schizophrenia

What does a father do when hope is gone that his only son can ever lead anything close to a "normal" life? That's the question that haunted Dick Russell in the fall of 2011, when his son, Franklin, was thirty-two. At the age of seventeen, Franklin had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. For years he spent time in and out of various hospitals, and even went through periods of adamantly denying that Dick was actually his father. Desperately seeking an alternative to the medical model's medication regimen, Dick introduces Franklin to West African Dagara shaman and writer Malidoma Patrice Somé, Phd. Somé helps Franklin in a way Western medicine couldn't, bringing to light the psychic capabilities behind the seemingly delusional thought patterns, as well as his artistic talents.

The Dagara people of West Africa have an entirely different view of what is actually happening to someone who has been diagnosed as "mentally ill." In the shamanic view, mental illness signals "the birth of a healer," explains Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born. What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as "good news from the other world." The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm.

A different perspective opens up very different possibilities. The Dagara people use ritual to relieve the suffering at the core of "mental illness." According to Somé, ritual can open the way for the individual's healing relationship with helping spirits that supports a cure or definitive movement out of the "mentally ill" state of being and back into the world as an individual better equipped than most to give their gifts to the world. To learn more, look inside Dick Russell's memoir, "My Mysterious Son: A Life-Changing Passage Between Schizophrenia and Shamanism."

Native American Flute Therapy

The Native American flute, a traditional ethnic wind instrument developed by indigenous Native American cultures, is an end-blown flute fashioned either from cane, hardwood, or softwood. The instrument evolved from traditional uses in courtship, treatment of the sick, ceremony, signaling, legends, and as work songs. During the late 1960s, the United States saw a roots revival of the flute, with a new wave of flutists and artisans. Today, Native American style flutes are being played and recognized by many different peoples and cultures around the world.

The Native American flute is sometimes used by music therapists and music educators. Because of its simple and accessible design, virtually anyone can play the flute. A recent study exploring physiological responses to playing and listening to the Native American flute found a significant positive effect on heart rate variability and concluded that the instrument merits a more prominent role in music therapy and that a study of the effects of flute playing on clinical conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, anxiety, and major depressive disorder, is warranted. Read "An Exploration of Physiological Responses to the Native American Flute."

A Shamanic View of Mental Illness

The Dagara people of West Africa have an entirely different view of what is actually happening to someone who has been diagnosed as "mentally ill." In the shamanic view, mental illness signals "the birth of a healer," explains Dagara shaman and writer, Malidoma Patrice Somé, Phd. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born. What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as "good news from the other world." The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm.

A different perspective opens up very different possibilities. The Dagara people use ritual to relieve the suffering at the core of "mental illness." According to Somé, ritual can open the way for the individual's healing relationship with helping spirits that supports a cure or definitive movement out of the "mentally ill" state of being and back into the world as an individual better equipped than most to give their gifts to the world. To learn more, read "The Shamanic View of Mental Illness," featuring Malidoma Patrice Some´ (excerpted from The Natural Medicine Guide to Schizophrenia).

Didgeridoo Therapy

The didgeridoo is one of the world's oldest musical instruments, originating in Australia thousands of years ago. It is a wooden wind instrument that is played with continuously vibrating lips to produce a resonant trance inducing drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. This requires breathing in through the nose while simultaneously expelling stored air out of the mouth using the tongue and cheeks. Playing the didgeridoo strengthens and tones the tissues of the throat, and can also provide good exercise for the respiratory system, as well as a meditation aid. According to a study published in The British Medical Journal, playing didgeridoo helped reduce snoring as well as daytime sleepiness and could improve sleep apnea. People who have experienced didgeridoo therapy have reported that they sleep more soundly and have a stronger feeling of wellness in their daily lives. Read more.

Drum Therapy for Depression

A Finnish study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry finds that drumming alleviates depression. Twice a week, with the help of trained music therapists, the participants in a 2011 research study learned how to improvise music using a mallet instrument, a percussion instrument or an acoustic, West African djembe drum. Study results demonstrated that participants receiving active music therapy in addition to standard care had a significantly greater improvement in their symptoms than those receiving standard care alone after three months of treatment. Researchers believe the addition of music therapy allows people to better express their emotions and reflect on their inner feelings. It has been argued that music making engages people in ways that words may simply not be able to. Read more.

The Therapeutic Effects of Drumming

Drum therapy is an ancient approach that uses rhythm to promote healing and self-expression. From the shamans of Mongolia to the Minianka healers of West Africa, therapeutic rhythm techniques have been used for thousands of years to create and maintain physical, mental, and spiritual health. Current research is now verifying the therapeutic effects of ancient rhythm techniques. Recent research reviews indicate that drumming accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system and produces feelings of well-being, a release of emotional trauma, and reintegration of self. Other studies have demonstrated the calming, focusing, and healing effects of drumming on Alzheimer's patients, autistic children, emotionally disturbed teens, recovering addicts, trauma patients, and prison and homeless populations. Study results demonstrate that drumming is a valuable treatment for stress, fatigue, anxiety, hypertension, asthma, chronic pain, mental illness, migraines, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, paralysis, emotional disorders, and a wide range of physical disabilities. Research studies mentioned below indicate that drumming:

 

Reduces tension, anxiety, and stress

Drumming induces deep relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Stress, according to current medical research, contributes to nearly all disease and is a primary cause of such life-threatening illnesses as heart attacks, strokes, and immune system breakdowns. A 2003 study found that a program of group drumming helped reduce stress and employee turnover in the long-term care industry and might help other high-stress occupations as well. A groundbreaking 2005 study demonstrated that group drumming not only reduces stress, but reverses genetic switches that turn on the stress response believed responsible in the development of common diseases.

Helps control chronic pain

Chronic pain has a progressively draining effect on the quality of life. Researchers suggest that drumming serves as a distraction from pain and grief. Moreover, drumming promotes the production of endorphins and endogenous opiates, the bodies own morphine-like painkillers, and can thereby help in the control of pain. Endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain and act similarly to drugs such as morphine and codeine. In contrast to the opiate drugs, however, activation of the opiate receptors by the body's endorphins does not lead to dependence or addiction. Although more research needs to be done, endorphins are believed to produce four key effects on the body/mind: they relieve pain, reduce stress, enhance the immune system, and postpone the aging process.

Boosts the immune system

A 2001 medical research study indicates that drumming circles boost the immune system. Led by renowned cancer expert Barry Bittman, MD, the study demonstrates that group drumming actually increases cancer-killing cells, which help the body combat cancer as well as other viruses, including AIDS. According to Dr. Bittman, "Group drumming tunes our biology, orchestrates our immunity, and enables healing to begin. It's simply a matter of letting go, joining in and having fun -- Mind Over Matter!"

Alleviates depression

By helping people express their emotions, music therapy appears to be an effective treatment for depression. Twice a week, with the help of trained music therapists, the participants in a 2011 research study learned how to improvise music using a mallet instrument, a percussion instrument or an acoustic, West African djembe drum. Study results demonstrated that participants receiving active music therapy in addition to standard care had a significantly greater improvement in their symptoms than those receiving standard care alone after three months of treatment.

Produces deeper self-awareness by inducing synchronous brain activity

Research has demonstrated that the physical transmission of rhythmic energy to the brain synchronizes the two cerebral hemispheres. When the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere begin to pulsate in harmony, the inner guidance of intuitive knowing can then flow unimpeded into conscious awareness. The ability to access unconscious information through symbols and imagery facilitates psychological integration and a reintegration of self. Drumming also synchronizes the frontal and lower areas of the brain, integrating nonverbal information from lower brain structures into the frontal cortex, producing "feelings of insight, understanding, integration, certainty, conviction, and truth, which surpass ordinary understandings and tend to persist long after the experience, often providing foundational insights for religious and cultural traditions."

Accesses the entire brain

The reason rhythm is such a powerful tool is that it permeates the entire brain. Vision for example is in one part of the brain, speech another, but drumming accesses the whole brain. The sound of drumming generates dynamic neuronal connections in all parts of the brain even where there is significant damage or impairment such as in Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). According to Michael Thaut, director of Colorado State University's Center for Biomedical Research in Music, "Rhythmic cues can help retrain the brain after a stroke or other neurological impairment, as with Parkinson's patients..." The more connections that can be made within the brain, the more integrated our experiences become.

Induces natural altered states of consciousness

Rhythmic drumming induces altered states, which have a wide range of therapeutic applications. A recent study by Barry Quinn, Ph.D. demonstrates that even a brief drumming session can double alpha brain wave activity, dramatically reducing stress. The brain changes from Beta waves (focused concentration and activity) to Alpha waves (calm and relaxed), producing feelings of euphoria and well-being. Alpha activity is associated with meditation, shamanic trance, and integrative modes of consciousness. This ease of induction contrasts significantly with the long periods of isolation and practice required by most meditative disciplines before inducing significant effects. Rhythmic stimulation is a simple yet effective technique for affecting states of mind.

Creates a sense of connectedness with self and others

In a society in which traditional family and community-based systems of support have become increasingly fragmented, drumming circles provide a sense of connectedness with others and interpersonal support. A drum circle provides an opportunity to connect with your own spirit at a deeper level, and also to connect with a group of other like-minded people. Group drumming alleviates self-centeredness, isolation, and alienation. According to music educator and leadership consultant Ed Mikenas, "Drumming provides an authentic experience of unity and physiological synchronicity. If we put people together who are out of sync with themselves (i.e., diseased, addicted) and help them experience the phenomenon of entrainment, it is possible for them to feel with and through others what it is like to be synchronous in a state of preverbal connectedness."

Helps us to experience being in resonance with the natural rhythms of life

Rhythm and resonance order the natural world. Dissonance and disharmony arise only when we limit our capacity to resonate totally and completely with the rhythms of life. The origin of the word rhythm is Greek meaning "to flow." We can learn to flow with the rhythms of life by simply learning to feel the beat, pulse, or groove while drumming. When drummers feel this rhythmic flow, especially at a slower, steady beat, they can shift into a state of deep relaxation and expanded awareness. It is a way of bringing the essential self into accord with the flow of a dynamic, interrelated universe, helping us feel connected rather than isolated and estranged.

Provides a secular approach to accessing a higher power

Shamanic drumming directly supports the introduction of spiritual factors found significant in the healing process. Drumming and Shamanic activities produce a sense of connectedness and community, integrating body, mind and spirit. According to research published in the American Journal of Public Health, "Shamanic activities bring people efficiently and directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, focusing the client on the whole body and integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers; it also enhances their sense of empowerment and responsibility. These experiences are healing, bringing the restorative powers of nature to clinical settings."

Releases negative feelings, blockages, and emotional trauma

Drumming can help people express and address emotional issues. Unexpressed feelings and emotions can form energy blockages. The physical stimulation of drumming removes blockages and produces emotional release. Sound vibrations resonate through every cell in the body, stimulating the release of negative cellular memories. As a counselor of at-risk youth, Ed Mikenas finds that, "Drumming emphasizes self-expression, teaches how to rebuild emotional health, and addresses issues of violence and conflict through expression and integration of emotions." Michael Winkelman, a leader in neurotheological perspectives on shamanism, believes that drumming and other shamanic altered states of consciousness activities can also address the emotional needs of addicted populations. In his 2003 article, "Drumming Out Drugs," Winkelman concluded that, "Drumming circles have important roles as complementary addiction therapy, particularly for repeated relapse and when other counseling modalities have failed."

Places one in the present moment

Drumming helps alleviate stress that is created from hanging on to the past or worrying about the future. When one plays a drum, one is placed squarely in the here and now. One of the paradoxes of rhythm is that it has both the capacity to move your awareness out of your body into realms beyond time and space and to ground you firmly in the present moment. It allows you to maintain a portion of ordinary awareness while experiencing non-ordinary awareness. This permits full recall later of the visionary experience.

Provides a medium for individual self-realization

Drumming helps reconnect us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression. Music educator Ed Mikenas believes that, "the advantage of participating in a drumming group is that you develop an auditory feedback loop within yourself and among group members -- a channel for self-expression and positive feedback -- that is pre-verbal, emotion-based, and sound-mediated." Each person in a drum circle is expressing themselves through his or her drum and listening to the other drums at the same time. "Everyone is speaking, everyone is heard, and each person's sound is an essential part of the whole." Each person can drum out their feelings without saying a word, without having to reveal their issues. Group drumming complements traditional talk therapy methods. It provides a means of exploring and developing the inner self. It serves as a vehicle for personal transformation, consciousness expansion, and community building. The primitive drumming circle is emerging as a significant therapeutic tool in the modern technological age.

What is Shamanic Drumming?

Shamanic drumming is drumming for the purpose of inducing a range of ecstatic trance states in order to connect with the spiritual dimension of reality. Ecstasy is defined as a mystic, prophetic, or poetic trance. It is a trance-like state of exaltation in which the mind is fixed on what it contemplates or conceives. The drum serves as a concentration device, enhancing one's capacity to focus attention inward. It stills the incessant chatter of the mind, enabling one to enter a subtle or light-trance state. Shamanic drumming carries awareness into the transcendent realm of the collective unconscious, the infinite creative matrix of all that we are and have ever been. It is an inward spiritual journey of rapture in which one interacts with the inner world, thereby influencing the outer world.

Practiced in diverse cultures around the planet, this drum method is strikingly similar the world over. Shamanic drumming uses a repetitive rhythm that begins slowly and then gradually builds in intensity to a tempo of three to seven beats per second. The ascending tempo will induce light to deep trance states, and facilitate the shamanic techniques of journeying, shapeshifting, and soul retrieval. Transported by the driving beat of the drum, the shaman or shamanic practitioner, will journey to the inner planes of consciousness. When ready to exit the trance state, the practitioner simply slows the tempo of drumming, drawing consciousness back to normal.

The drum, sometimes called the shaman's horse, provides a relatively easy means of controlled transcendence. Researchers have found that if a drum beat frequency of around three to four beats per second is sustained for at least fifteen minutes, it will induce significant trance states in most people, even on their first attempt. During shamanic flight, the sound of the drum serves as a guidance system, indicating where the shamanic traveler is at any moment or where they might need to go. The drumbeat also serves as an anchor, or lifeline, that the practitioner will follow to return to his or her body and/or exit the trance state when the trance work is complete.

     

The shaman's trance is an intentionally induced state of ecstasy. Shamanic trance is characterized by its flexibility, ranging from a light diagnostic state, to spirit flight, and to full embodiment by spirit. Shamanic practitioners use intention and discipline to control the nature, depth, and qualities of their trance states. Practitioners may progress through a range of trance states until they reach the level that is necessary for healing to occur.

The capacity to enter a range of trance states is a natural manifestation of human consciousness. The ability to enter trance states doesn't make you a shaman; it makes you human. What makes shamans unique is their mastery over an otherwise normal human trait. It requires training, practice, and devotion to master any expressive art. Shamans master the art of ecstasy to see the true nature of the universe. Shamanic drumming continues to offer today what it has offered for thousands of years: namely, a simple and effective technique of ecstasy. I invite you to try a shamanic journey and to look inside my book The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming (paid link).

Owl Vision - Ayahuasca Journey

"Owl Vision" is my new video release featuring a track from my Power Animal Drumming CD. The visionary animation was created by Brazilian recording artist Psysun. Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant brew known throughout the Amazon for its powerful healing and visionary properties. Ayahuasca has been used for millennia by South American shamans to divine the future, journey to the spirit world, and induce healing. The great Owl (Urcututo) guards the shamans while they are curing. Owl medicine includes prophecy, wisdom, stealth, silence, intuition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, shapeshifting, and keen vision that can pierce all illusion. Call upon Owl to unmask and see what is truly beneath the surface -- what is hidden or in the shadows. Owl is a messenger of omens who will call out to let all share in its vision.

Crafting a Shamanic Mask

My "Rainbow Man" Mask

Shamanic mask making is a very ancient art of bringing out your inner or spirit self and embodying it into a mask form. Crafting a spirit mask of your face can be a very empowering process -- one that enables you to see into the deeper realms of the self. You can journey within to access wisdom and archetypal energies that can help awaken your soul calling and restore you to wholeness. The process reconnects you with your deepest core values and your highest vision of who you are and why you are here. Summoning the energy of the true self, you then channel your discoveries into painting and adorning your mask of personal transformation. Wearing a shamanic mask heightens your sense of mission and purpose, empowering your personal evolution. To learn more, read Faces of Your Soul and visit The Art of Plaster Life Mask Making. To view my shamanic mask collection, click here. 

Drum Therapy for Cognitive Development

Copyright 2011 by Pat Gesualdo

Drum Therapy and the DAD Program help the special-needs population with cognitive development and cognitive restructuring by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Children with learning disabilities often develop negative thought patterns--and rather easily, I might add, because they are aware that they lack the same abilities that their non-disabled peers have. As a result, they often compare themselves to others and rate their own level of ability, or lack thereof, to that of their peers. This can cause the special-needs child to easily develop depression and/or anxiety.

The modalities of Drum Therapy help in several ways. First, they help to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. The negativity that surrounds the special-needs child can be overwhelming. Most of these children are told they are stupid, dumb, or lazy by their parents, teachers, and/or friends. This can occur on a daily basis. I experienced this myself from many school teachers, peers, and drum teachers. Thankfully I had love and support from my family and a few very special teachers who were dedicated to helping me. Many special-needs children, especially those from the inner city, have no support system at all. This creates a huge problem for them and for society as a whole. Negative thoughts become a major cause of low self-esteem, which then turns into negative behavior.

Drum Therapy also helps an individual develop a positive outlook. If a person keeps thinking the same negative thoughts, they will keep finding themselves in the same negative situations. Drum Therapy helps people to develop and keep a positive outlook.

In addition, Drum Therapy helps a person to develop positive and successful early milestones. Early negative experiences can impact a child's life negatively when they get older. Children, especially those with a disability who grow up with pessimistic people around them, usually make bad decisions as adults. Drum Therapy helps develop positive social skills, especially with early intervention.

Drum Therapy assists disabled children and adults develop physical and cognitive functioning and a positive outlook. It does this by replacing their negative thoughts with positive ones. This helps them to attain higher goals in drumming and in life. All Drum Therapists are trained to help Drum Therapy participants to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. In order to do this, a person must become an objective observer of themselves.

The drummer, by nature, often views drumming and the drumset with a "me against it" perception. It's important that the special-needs student does not develop this outlook, though, because they often feel they are "fighting themselves" to begin with. The combination of “me against the drumset" and "me against myself" can make it extremely difficult for a special-needs student to advance their physical and cognitive development, never mind their drumming skills. Drum Therapy sessions help all participants to develop physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

Drum instructors must always remember that special-needs students are fighting a constant battle with physical and cognitive functioning. In order to help the special-needs student avoid developing the "me against it" relationship with the drumset, drum instructors must reinforce that the drummer is always in control of his sticks; the drummer is always in control of the sound his drum will make; and the drummer is always in control of the immediate area surrounding his drumset.

Drum Therapy also helps all participants to set goals. Though your special-needs drum students do need more help, you should have them set the same goals as mainstream students. Don't treat your special-needs students any differently. Special-needs students want to be treated like everyone else, and can definitely sense when people feel sorry for them. Setting goals will help the students, and it can help the drum instructor to identify one or more drumming problems, such as coordination or speed development. It will also help the special-needs drum student "see" the goal that the Drum Instructor is trying to help them set.

Remember, reaching for goals and becoming a better drummer is much easier to attain when students can see that there is finish line to reach, and that they are not merely playing rhythms and patterns.

As always, please feel free to contact me at info@dadprogram.org with questions or for further information on becoming a certified Drum Therapist.

Pat Gesualdo is an award-winning drummer, author, and clinician who has performed and recorded for various Columbia, Warner Brothers, Atlantic, RCA, and Paramount Pictures artists and special projects. He was nominated to Who's Who In America and was an associate voting member for the Grammy Awards. He is the author of The Art Of Drum Therapy. For more on Gesualdo and the D.A.D. program, go to www.dadprogram.org,www.myspace.com/dadprogram, www.zildjian.com, or www.myspace.com/patgesualdo.