Sayer Ji, Founder of GreenMedInfo.com, wrote an interesting
blog called "6 Ways Drumming Heals Body, Mind and Soul." According to
Ji, drumming improves our quality of life in many ways. From slowing the
decline in fatal brain disease, to generating a sense of oneness with one
another and the universe, drumming's physical and spiritual health benefits may
be as old as time itself. Ji asserts that drumming brings us to a time when
"... a direct and simultaneous experience of deep transcendence and
immanence [Divine presence and the connection to this presence] was not an
extraordinary, rare occurrence as it is today." It makes perfect sense
that through ancient rhythms we are transported to a time before the written
word--perhaps even to a time before the spoken word was fully developed.
Drumming was used to generate cohesiveness and connection in a time when the
needs of the tribe were more important than the needs of the individual.
I was also fascinated by the section of Sayer Ji's article
that discussed the positive effects of drumming on socio-emotional disorders in
children who live in low-income families. I'm encouraged that something as
simple and ancient as community drumming can benefit us on so many different
levels. In a society in which traditional family and community-based systems of
support have become increasingly fragmented, group drumming provides a sense of
connectedness with others and interpersonal support. To learn more, read "6 Ways Drumming Heals Body, Mind and Soul.".
