The Rhythm Archetypes

The I Ching is an ancient Chinese book of divination, in which 64 pairs of trigrams are shown with various interpretations. Otherwise known as the Book of Changes, this archaic and enigmatic text is the culmination of Chinese thought regarding the nature of reality. The fountainhead of Taoist and Confucian thought, it is a philosophical system of primal insights into the workings and destiny of the Universe. Philosophically it describes the Tao or Universe as a single, flowing, rhythmic being, and all things in it in constant cyclical change. The eternal Tao continuously gives birth to the one universal energy, which expresses itself as two polar but co-creative aspects--yin and yang.
 

The sages of ancient China revealed the most profound secret of the Universe--that yin and yang pulsate within all things and in unison, they are the moving force of Nature and all its manifestations. All things contain varying degrees of yin and yang. The white vibration of yang is light, active, masculine, creative, expansive, and corresponds to Heaven or spirit. The black vibration of yin is dark, passive, feminine, nurturing, intuitive, and corresponds to Earth or matter. The power of yin as a calm, receptive, female energy is the key to bringing balance to the world's excessively yang state--in other words, aggressive, male, extroverted, loud, superficial, materialistic, ego-driven culture.
 

By contemplating Nature, the wise sages perceived all of the rhythms and energy patterns that arise from the interaction of yin and yang. By observing patterns of events arising in the natural world, the social world and the inner world of the psyche, they deciphered Nature's rhythmic code. They then coded these rhythmic patterns into a "book of life." The I Ching's 64 hexagrams represent a code or program of the operating principle of life itself. Each six-lined symbol is the visual representation of a rhythm archetype. The rhythm archetypes are the "sonic seeds" of all that exists.
 

The entire Universe is created through vibration and can be influenced through vibration. T'an Ch'iao, a Taoist adept of the tenth century, expressed this potential when he wrote, "When energy moves, sound is emitted; when sound comes forth, energy vibrates. When energy vibrates, influences are activated and things change. Therefore it is possible thereby to command wind and clouds, produce frost and hail, cause phoenixes to sing, get bears to dance, make friends with spiritual luminescences."
 

The Hexagram Rhythms
 

Moreover, each six-lined symbol depicts a particular drum pattern, which renders the essence of each hexagram into sound. A solid yang line _____ represents one whole beat, while a broken yin line __  __ represents two half beats or a heartbeat. For example, the rhythmic pattern of Hexagram 58, "The Joyous," resembles the opening beats of the familiar processional "The Wedding March." This simple drum pattern is depicted below. Remember, hexagrams are read from bottom to top.

             Line 6        __  __        drum—drum         in white
             Line 5        _____              drum               dressed
             Line 4        _____              drum                   all
             Line 3        __  __        drum—drum        the bride
             Line 2        _____              drum                comes
             Line 1        _____              drum                 Here

Drumming is an innovative way to engage with an I Ching reading. It is a type of focus meditation, requiring total concentration. Drum meditation is a way to access the archetypal wisdom contained in each hexagram. As a form of meditation, drumming activates perceptions that can be attained by no other means. By drumming the hexagrams, one can achieve a level of intuitive understanding beyond linguistic interpretations. Archetypal knowledge is symbolic and non-linear. It does not lend itself readily to logical or verbal expression. It is wisdom that can only be experienced intuitively. The process is an effective meditative technique for self-exploration.

Steven Halpern's "Cannabis Dreams"

Steven Halpern, the Grammy nominated founder of the sound healing movement, released a new album, Cannabis Dreams. Cannabis Dreams is the latest of Halpern's 100-plus music albums that for over 45 years have helped his listeners manage stress, reduce pain and facilitate sleep. I still enjoy listening to his 2001 CD release, Chakra Suite: Music for Meditation, Healing and Inner Peace. Cannabis Dreams is among the first to link healing music and healing cannabis, whose ancient roots trace back more than 5,000 years. The 11-track album features Halpern's signature sound, an electric piano combined with hypnotic brainwave entrainment technology. The music supports relaxation, healing, meditation and spiritual well-being.
 

The seed concept for this album was planted in 1982 when an anthropologist handed Halpern an extraordinary cannabis strain used by an indigenous Alaskan shamanic healer. "One toke, and I heard music in a very different way," says Halpern. "It inspired an improvised grand piano jam that was different from anything I had recorded previously. I wondered if certain other strains might inspire a new composition if used exclusively. The answer turned out to be Yes."
 

In 2015, Halpern was invited to be a Celebrity Brand Ambassador for a leading Cannabis dispensary. Although the collaboration was short-lived, their top shelf strain, called Mystic Haze, evoked a meditative, healing and spiritual high, and inspired the several variations of the title track on Cannabis Dreams.
 

The album was completed when Halpern read about the new spiritually-uplifting strain released by entrepreneurial musician Carlos Santana and Left Coast Ventures. "After hearing music in meditation after sampling this strain, it was obvious I needed to include a new track inspired by Mirayo by Santana," he said. "I was able to book time in a recording studio on 11/11/20, and two extraordinary compositions now complete the album."
 

The spirit of each strain speaks through the music. Deep alpha brainwave entrainment tones are subtly mixed into the music, which entrain your brain to higher coherence to further support your immune system functioning. The artist suggests that one "grabs a set of headphones for the full psycho-acoustic effect." Cannabis Dreams is Halpern's heartfelt "thank you" to the master growers who keep improving on the spiritually uplifting and creativity-enhancing strains.

The Modern Shamanic Sound of Namgar

"Nayan Navaa" is the superb new album from Namgar, a band that plays modern sounds rooted in traditional music from the Republic of Buryatia in southern Siberia. The Moscow-based band led by renowned female Buryatia vocalist Namgar Lhasaranova features Buryat, Russian, Tuvan and Norwegian musicians. Together, the band presents a unique multi-ethnic musical mix that includes shamanic vocals, throat singing, galloping rhythms, rock, jazz, and mesmerizing soundscapes.
 

The melodic music Namgar creates was passed down to Lhasaranova from her grandparents and father, who sang to her as a child. The inventive arrangements are new, but the stories told in the songs are as old as the indigenous Buryats themselves, with tales and myths of ancient Mongol fighters, champions, horses and famous battles. The lyrics are based on traditional Buryat and Mongolian songs, reflecting Buryat nomadic culture. Topics include hunter, wedding, family, and yokhor round dance songs, as well as songs about horses, ancestors and shamanic rituals.
 

The group uses various traditional instruments from Buryatia and nearby regions such as the yataga (a 13-stringed zither), the chanza (a three-stringed lute), the khomus (jaw harp) and the morin khuur (a two-stringed bowed instrument), along with modern instruments like electric bass and drums to craft its unique sound. Lhasaranova has a beautiful, impressive voice. Her power, energy and amazing vocal range go beyond words and language, taking her listener on a journey to Siberia and the world of the Buryats, people whose roots reach back to Ghengis Khan and the Mongolian Empire.

"The Shamanic Drum" eBook Sale

Mark your calendar! I am taking part in the 13th annual Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale, taking place Thursday, July 1 through Saturday, July 31, 2021. For the entire month of July, all of my ebooks are 50% off list price: The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming, I Ching: The Tao of Drumming, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits, Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide, and The Great Shift: And How To Navigate It. Choose from multiple file formats including .epub, .mobi for Kindles, and PDF. Click on the following link to my Smashwords author page and you will receive the 50% discount automatically by adding my books to your cart: Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale.
 

Why does Smashwords call it "Summer/Winter"? Here in the Northern hemisphere, it's mid-summer. Readers are loading their e-reading devices for summer beach reading and long-awaited vacations. South of the equator, readers are now in the middle of winter. They're ready to curl up in front of the fireplace and enjoy a great read too! Smashwords is the world's largest distributor of indie ebooks. They make it fast, free and easy for any author or publisher, anywhere in the world, to publish and distribute ebooks to the major retailers and thousands of libraries. The Smashwords Store provides an opportunity to discover new voices in all categories and genres of the written word.