Sunday, February 4, 2024
Healing with Acoustic Resonance
Sunday, September 3, 2023
How Rhythm Shapes Our Lives
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Drumming in the New Year 2023
Sunday, October 2, 2022
The Drum and the World Tree
Shamans believe that this cosmic axis and the Cosmos it unites exist within human consciousness. According to shamanic cosmology, there are three inner planes of consciousness: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds. The roots of the World Tree touch the Lower World. Its trunk is the Middle World and its branches hold up the Upper World. Humans did not invent these inner realms; they discovered them. Far from being a human contrivance, these archetypal worlds are inherent in the collective unconscious, the common psychological inheritance of humanity. They are woven into the matrix of the psyche, for we are a fractal of creation. They are a part of our psyche, a part of us whether we choose to become aware of it or not.
Through the sound of the drum, which is invariably made of wood from the World Tree, the shaman is transported to the axis within and conveyed from plane to plane. As Tuvan musicologist Valentina Suzukei explains: "There is a bridge on these sound waves so you can go from one world to another. In the sound world, a tunnel opens through which we can pass, or the shaman's spirits come to us. When you stop playing the drum, the bridge disappears."
The inner axis passes through an opening or hole through which the shaman traverses the inner planes in order to mediate between the needs of the spirit world and those of the material world. It is an inward spiritual journey of rapture in which the shaman interacts with the inner spirit world, thereby influencing the outer material world. In the shaman's world, all human experience is self-generated. Experience is shaped from within since the three realms or resonant fields that define our experience of reality exist within each of us.
The cosmology of the drum
In the shaman's world, the drum is a most sacred instrument. The double-headed drum is believed to embody the sacred forces of the Cosmos through its sounds, structural features, contents, and connection to shamanic trance. The various parts of the drum also symbolize the structures of the world. Cosmologically, the drum depicts a microcosm of the Universe with its three zones -- the Upper, Middle and Lower Worlds. The two drumheads symbolize the Upper and Lower Worlds.
The rim of the drum symbolizes the Middle World and is connected to the World Tree through the wood of the frame and its association through all trees back to the First Tree. Like the World Tree, which links the earth and sky, the rim links the two sides of the drum -- the yin and the yang. A double-headed drum unites the sacred feminine and masculine aspects of the Universe within itself. It restores the balance of these polar, yet co-creative elements.
The two drumheads also symbolize the two states of existence -- unmanifest and manifest. When a double-headed drum is vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are fused together by resonance to create one sound. The drumbeat is the tuner sound, the sound that fuses the unmanifest and manifest aspects of vibration into one resonance. The sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation.
From a shamanic perspective, caretaking the drum and playing it properly during ritual fulfills the destiny of the human spirit -- to sustain the order of existence. In the rapture of ritual drumming, the shaman brings the World Tree into existence, opening a path of communication with the world above and the world below. Materialized in the drum, the trunk of the tree goes through the Middle World; its roots plunge to the nadir in the Lower World, and its branches soar to the zenith in the highest layer of the Upper World. The drum becomes the axis mundi or central axis through which the shaman maintains the world's equilibrium.
Sunday, August 21, 2022
Rhythm Healing
Rhythm healing is an approach that uses therapeutic rhythm techniques to promote health and well-being. Rhythm healing employs specialized rhythmic drumming patterns designed to influence the internal rhythmic patterns of the individual and harmonize those which are thought to be causing the illness or imbalance. When administered correctly, specific rhythms may be used to accelerate physical healing, stimulate the release of emotional trauma and produce deeper self-awareness. This technique has been used for thousands of years by indigenous cultures around the planet to treat a variety of conditions.
Rhythm healing relies on the natural laws of resonance and entrainment to restore the vibrational integrity of body, mind and spirit. In resonance, the sound waves produced by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves and auric energy field entrain to the sound waves and rhythms. This sympathetic resonance forms new harmonic alignments, opens the body's energy meridians, releases blocked emotional patterns, promotes healing, and helps connect us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression. A single-headed frame or hoop drum works best for rhythm healing -- the larger the drum, the greater the resonance.
Finding the right rhythm
A rhythm healer may have a repertory of established rhythms or improvise a new rhythm, uniquely indicated for the situation. Determining the right rhythm in each case is a highly individual matter. No predetermined formulas are given. The rhythmist needs to create a dialogue between the sounds he/she produces and the responses of the person being treated. The drumming is not restricted to a regular tempo, but may pause, speed up or slow down with irregular accents. The practitioner may stop playing altogether, or suddenly hoist the drum skyward and bang it violently, throwing the disease into the heavens, returning it to the spirit world.
Tuvan shamans, for example, often improvise sounds, rhythms and chants in order to converse with both the spirit world and the healee. The sounds produced by the shaman and the drum go out and certain frequencies and overtones are then reflected back. Information is generally received as subtle vibrations, which the shaman then interprets as sounds, images or as rhythms.
To find the right rhythm, invoke the spirit of your drum, and ask it to come to you and become your ally. State your intention -- what you desire or expect to accomplish -- in a clear and concise manner, and then sit and meditate with your drum for a few minutes. By stilling the mind, you will be able to connect with the spirit of the drum. When you feel ready, pick up your drumstick and begin to play whatever feels appropriate. When you focus on the spiritual intention or the energy of what is being played, it allows the music to become very loose, spontaneous and innovative.
I learned that when I trust my intuition to play the appropriate rhythm, which I do not know in advance, I cannot go wrong. I know that when I open up and play what I feel, the drumming is fresh, different and spontaneous each time. Rhythmic improvisation is a musical expression of the soul. It is a way to let spirit work through you for the purpose of healing and helping others.
Rhythm healing is about finding the right rhythm. Rhythm and resonance order the natural world. Dissonance and disharmony arise only when we limit our capacity to resonate 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 or pulse while drumming. It is a way of bringing the essential self into accord with the flow of a boundless, interrelated universe, helping us feel connected rather than isolated and estranged. To learn more, look inside The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming.
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Experiencing Rhythms in the Body
Sunday, July 3, 2022
"The Shamanic Drum" July eBook Sale
Sunday, May 8, 2022
The Seven Principles of Hermeticism
Throughout its history, Hermeticism was closely associated with the idea of a primeval, divine wisdom, revealed only to the most ancient of sages. In the Renaissance, this developed into the notion of an ancient theology, which asserted that there is a single, true theology which was given by God to some of the first humans, and traces of which may still be found in various ancient systems of thought. As a divine fountain of writing, the Hermetic texts contain the natural laws of the Universe. Knowing these principles will broaden your viewpoint, expand your horizons, and aid you in the pursuit of fuller, happier, more meaningful life. The Seven Hermetic Principles are:
1. The Principle of Mentalism: All is mind, the Universe is mental. The structure of our Universe is thought, mind and consciousness. Consciousness determines the form of our experience. Consciousness is the "theater of perceptual awareness." It is the collective consciousness of humanity that shapes physical reality. We are the Universe made conscious to experience itself. We are mind. We live in a Universe of mind. From photons to galaxies, life is conscious intelligent energy that can form itself into any pattern or function.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Joseph Rael's Sound Peace Chambers
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Our Milky Way Galaxy Vibrates Like a Drum
Leo Blitz, professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues charted this warp and analyzed it in detail for the first time, based on a new galactic map of light given off by the hydrogen gas. They found the gas layer is vibrating like a drumhead, and that the vibration consists almost wholly of three notes, also called modes. These notes would be unimaginably deep by human standards some three million octaves, or scales, below the note called middle C on a piano. This means that if a piano could play these notes, it would require a keyboard about the width of Iceland to do so.
It's not uncommon for astronomical objects to exhibit some sort of regular vibrations, like musical instruments, so that they can be said to be playing notes. Which note depends on the vibration speed. A study last summer found that a violent quake on the surface of a compact type of star called a neutron star left it playing the note of F sharp.
Although the Milky Way's warp has been known for almost 50 years, astronomers previously dismissed the Magellanic Clouds as its cause because the galaxies combined masses are only 2 percent that of Milky Way. This mass was thought too small to influence a massive disk equivalent to about 200 billion suns during the clouds 1.5 billion-year orbit of the galaxy. But Martin D. Weinberg of the University of Massachusetts joined Blitz to create a computer model that takes into account the Milky Ways dark matter. The motion of the clouds through the dark matter creates a wake that enhances their gravitational influence on the disk. The wake stirs a vibration at the center of the dark matter blob pervading the galaxy. This in turn makes the embedded galactic disc oscillate. When this dark matter is included, the Magellanic Clouds, in their orbit around the Milky Way, closely reproduce the type of warp observed in the galaxy. The model not only produces this warp in the Milky Way, but during the rotation cycle of the Magellanic Clouds around the galaxy, it looks like the Milky Way is flapping in the breeze.
Sunday, January 9, 2022
The Rainbow Bridge
Sunday, October 24, 2021
The Resonance Theory of Consciousness
The resonance theory of consciousness postulates that synchronized vibrations are central not only to human consciousness but to all of physical reality. Resonance is the ability of a vibrating object or sound source to transfer its energy to another object, making it vibrate in sympathy. The term resonance originated in the field of acoustics, particularly the sympathetic resonance observed in musical instruments, e.g., when one string starts to vibrate and produce sound after a different one is struck. All things in our universe are constantly in motion, vibrating. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, resonating, at various frequencies. Resonance is a type of motion, characterized by oscillation between two states. And ultimately all matter is just vibrations of various underlying fields. As such, at every scale, all of nature vibrates.
Something interesting happens when different vibrating things come together: They will often start, after a little while, to vibrate together at the same frequency. They "sync up," sometimes in ways that can seem mysterious. This is described as the phenomenon of spontaneous self-organization. For example, fireflies of certain species start flashing their bioluminescent fires in sync in large gatherings of fireflies. If two pendulums, swinging at different rates, are placed next to each other, they will gradually entrain until they are locked in perfect synchronization. They entrain because it requires less energy to pulse in unison than in opposition. Nature always seeks the most efficient energy state.
This synchronization is a kind of physical communication between entities. Synchronized vibrations allow an exchange of energy and information. In the human brain, synchronization, in terms of shared electrical oscillation rates, allows for smooth communication between neurons and groups of neurons. Large-scale neuron firing can occur at specific frequencies, with human consciousness thought to be commonly associated with various kinds of neuronal synchrony. This shared resonance through specific neuronal electrochemical firing patterns creates an electromagnetic field that may itself be the seat of macro-conscious awareness.
Consciousness through shared resonance takes panpsychism as its metaphysical starting point. This philosophical perspective suggests that all matter has at least some associated consciousness, albeit highly rudimentary in the large majority of instances. In other words, consciousness did not emerge at some point during evolution. Rather, it's always associated with matter and vice versa; they're two sides of the same coin. It is all about vibrations, but it's also about the type of vibrations and, most importantly, about shared vibrations. The more complex the synchronization is, the more complex the consciousness. So, for example, the billions of neurons that fire in the brain together to make a decision and form our experience of the world are extremely sophisticated, yielding a rich and dynamic sense of self or perception. To learn more, read "The Neuroscience of Drumming."
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Drumming at Sacred Sites
At the intersection points of the planet’s energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. According to the Hopi, the world would fall apart without these nodes of concentrated vitality. These sacred places are like nerve centers that distribute vital energy throughout the surrounding natural systems. When a human being goes to a power place, the attention of the Earth Mother is drawn to that area and energy begins to flow to that spot because our bodies, like hers, are electromagnetic. Like acupuncture needles, humans are capable of maintaining the harmonious flow of the planetary energy meridians by making an Earth connection at power places.
Great healing can be accomplished by drumming at sacred sites. Earth and humans exist in a reciprocal, bioresonant relationship. Through the planet’s resonant web, we affect our environment; our environment, in turn, affects us. By interacting with sacred places, we are capable of generating a world of peace and harmony. Power sites are places that call out to the soul; they can have a collective calling or be unique to an individual. Seek out power places. Your power spots can be identified by your desire to go to them. Their significance to you is always revealed by your planned or accidental presence at them. And when you are there, your vibration feels higher, stronger, more joyous and free. Every square inch of the Earth Mother is sacred and a potential connecting place for someone.
Mountains, rivers, and waterfalls are powerful places to drum. Indigenous people believe that mountains are inhabited by powerful spirits that watch over the people. Each mountain has its own spirit, its own name and its own domain which they protect. Mountain spirits are called upon for assistance, blessings, and protection. Mountainous regions charge you with energy and counteract imbalances or negativity. Mountains are generally electrical (yang) and projective in nature, emanating great spiritual power. Mountains are places of spiritual renewal where Heaven and Earth meet and from which all directions emanate. They are good places to drum for planetary healing.
Waterfalls are electromagnetic in nature. The water itself in magnetic. The falling water produces electrical energy. The two forces combine to form electromagnetic energy. Such energy is of a balanced, harmonic nature. Waterfalls are places of spiritual power that can truly expand our spirits. The spirits and energies of waterfalls are especially suited for balancing and recharging your personal life force. And when the sun is right, waterfalls generate misty, iridescent rainbows.
You can create a powerful vortex of energy in your own home by setting up an altar where you can pray, meditate and drum at least once a day. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space. A sacred space can be any location in your home where you can be by yourself and be fully self-expressed. A simple altar can be created with a cloth, a candle and other symbols that mean something to you. Like the ancient temples, such a sanctuary space serves as a drawing point for the healing energy needed by the planet.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Milford Graves, Visionary Drummer, Dead At 79
To learn more about Milford Graves, read “Taking Rhythm to Heart.”
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Working with Shamanic Drums
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Weaving Music into Art
Sunday, December 6, 2020
What is Rhythm?
Rhythm is music's pattern in time. Music cannot happen without time. The placement of the sounds in time is the rhythm of a piece of music. Because music must be heard over a period of time, rhythm is the most essential aspect of music. Having a sense of rhythm separates good musicians from those that don't. For the drummer, rhythm is about keeping time for they are one in the same. The pulse of the drum is the pulse of time. The drummer is the timekeeper. Keeping time is the most important function of any drummer.
The Soul of Rhythm
Neuroscience research has demonstrated the therapeutic effects of rhythmic drumming. The reason drumming is such a powerful tool is that rhythm is rooted in innate functions of the brain, mind and consciousness. Our relationship with rhythm begins in the womb. At twenty-two days, a single (human embryo) cell jolts to life. This first beat awakens nearby cells and incredibly they all begin to beat in perfect unison. These beating cells divide and become our heart. This desire to beat in unison seemingly fuels our entire lives. Studies show that, regardless of musical training, we are innately able to perceive and recall elements of beat and rhythm.
We respond to rhythm whenever we sense it and seek it out when it is not present, for we are innately rhythmic. Every rhythm has its own quality and touches you in a unique way. These qualities, in fact, exist within each of us, longing to be activated. It is this process of internalization that allows us to access the inaudible yet perceptible soul, so to speak, of a rhythm. One of the paradoxes of rhythm is that the audible pattern is the inverse of the "inaudible matrix." Every rhythm has both an inaudible and audible aspect -- silence and sound.
Silence and sound are the two fundamental aspects of our vibrational world. Silence is the unmanifest essence of the unseen world. Audible sound is the manifest form. It is the inaudible intervals between audible beats that allow us to hear the grouping of beats in a coherent cycle or pattern. We sense the interval as the offbeat, or light element, and the audible beat as the heavy element. The drummer establishes the audible beat, whereas the silent pulse quality unfolds by itself in any rhythmic pattern.
Master percussionist, Reinhard Flatischler, in his book The Forgotten Power of Rhythm, established that all people perceive the unmanifest essence of this silent pulse in the same way, regardless of how the drummer shapes the audible pattern itself. As Flatischler puts it, "As the inaudible part of a cycle, this pattern exists in a universal archetypal realm. The audible shaping of the cycle, on the other hand, exists in the realm of uniqueness and individuality. In rhythm, both sides unite and thereby allow the individual to make contact with the world of archetypes."
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Earth: The Free Will Planet
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Energy Body Clearing
Whether we realize it or not, we are attracting harmful energetic vibrations from our environment. Picking up negative energy that is not ours can make our energy body less balanced and can cause blockages to the natural flow of energy in our body. We may feel tired, unbalanced, anxious, depressed, or even sick. We can clear our fields through various cleansing techniques, leaving us feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Energy clearing also releases negative, limiting, or otherwise outmoded patterns of belief that aren't serving us anymore. Here are five effective energy body clearing techniques:
1. Smudge Yourself Daily
Smudge yourself and your home each day. Smudging is a method of using smoke from burning herbs to dispel negative energy and open the energy channels of your body. Sage, cedar, and sweetgrass are traditionally used for smudging. Light the herbs in a fire-resistant receptacle and then blow out the flames. Then use a feather or your hands to fan the smoke around your body and home. I recommend cracking a window or door for ventilation and for releasing unwanted energies.
2. Cleanse Yourself with Holy Water
Learn how to make your own consecrated, or holy water, and use it for cleansing, protection, and blessing. Essentially, holy water is water with salt added during a rite of blessing. Pour some holy water into a spray bottle. For an energy body cleansing, spray it toward yourself from arms length (avoiding your eyes, of course). To bless and protect your home, spray holy water around the perimeter of your dwelling and yard. Many people will dismiss the power of holy water based on its association with the church. This is not about religion; this is about a pragmatic solution to an age-old problem. The fact of the matter is that holy water is your best protection against negative and dark energies.
3. Cleanse Yourself with White Light
Light--imagined or real--is a powerful energy body cleanser. White light can be called upon by anyone for cleansing, healing and protection from negative energies. Lie or sit comfortably. Do some deep breathing to calm and focus your mind. Visualize a sphere of white light emanating from your heart. Just allow it to expand outward until it completely fills and surrounds you. Envision the white light purifying and restoring your body, and displacing any negative or foreign energy. Really focus on seeing it clearly in your mind, and keep building it up so it's brilliant and glowing. You can keep expanding the light, sending peace and love out into infinity.
4. Take a Sea Salt Bath
Sea salt has remarkable cleansing abilities. Having a soothing bath containing sea salt when you feel energetically overwhelmed can really make a huge difference in the way you feel. Just a handful of sea salt dissolved in a hot bath is a reliable remedy for clearing and recharging the energy field. You can use regular sea salt, Himalayan salt, Epsom salt, or other. Preferably, soak for at least 30 minutes, and say a quick blessing over the water before you get in. Keep a generous supply of drinking water on hand as well, and bless that too!
5. Raise Your Energy Body's Vibration
Drumming, chanting and prayer raise your vibration, open the heart and connect you with a power greater than yourself. Chanting has no limitations of time and space and can be done anytime or anywhere. Chants move us to a level of awareness beyond form, a place where we discover our own divinity. Regular prayer is a cornerstone of spiritual practice. Praying brings us Divine help, reduces our ego, grants us forgiveness of mistakes, and more. Repetitive drumming, chanting and prayer cleanse the energy body, boost the immune system and produce feelings of well-being, a release of emotional trauma, and reintegration of self.