A Brief Sound Update!

I have been away from my blog for far too long.  And it is very late at night so I will have to make this short and sweet!

It's been a wild ride lately.  My mother has been quite sick so giving her as much time as I have available has been taking up any free time lately! I am so grateful that she is only 1 1/2 hours from me so I can see her quite often.

Aside from that I spent two weeks in Florida, ostensibly to teach one workshop and spend the rest of the time packing up stuff in my old house where my boyfriend Henry still lives. As it turned out I taught FOUR workshops and did a sound journey in someone's home so there was very little time left for packing.  I was so exhausted by the end of the week that I left some of my Tibetan bowls down there because I just couldn't handle taking an extra suitcase even though I could have on Southwest Airlines.

Here is a picture from one of the workshops. This is one of the therapists just after they had received a session with Tibetan singing bowls.

After I got back I spent a few days with Mum, moved back into the little cabin where I spent last summer and then zipped off to the Catskills for a 4-day workshop with John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach.  I am feeling that meeting Silvia has changed my life! What a fabulous weekend!

Silvia Nakkach leading a Medicine Song

From the Catskills I went straight to my mother's and spent 5 days there and today I finally got back to my little cabin this afternoon.  I feel like my life is steeped in sound vibration. I have spent most of my day today either talking about sound with other sound healers, singing my heart out, playing my tamboura and tonight sitting on my bed playing planetary tuning forks which are amazing! 

I am obsessed with sound!

Sound and Synchronicity

It was a wild and busy week last week.  Tuesday I did a workshop at Child & Family Services for some oncology patients from Women & Infants Hospital.  I really only expected about 3 people but instead there were 11 and they all loved it.  It was an introductory program for the purpose of bringing awareness to sound healing sessions being offered at the Integrative Wellness Program. However, since it was so well received I am going to offer it on a monthly basis for the community along with the individual sessions. I happen to have a very soft spot for CFS because when I was in recovery for substance abuse in the late 80's that is where my children and I went for counseling.  I feel like I really got a lot from them and am grateful to be giving something back.

I'm also giving an old friend a series of Tibetan bowl sessions which is wonderful because I hadn't done any since I got up here- only for groups.  So that is a pleasure along with the fact that I am reconnecting with a dear friend who I've known since I was a teenager which makes it even more fun! I give her a session and then we yak yak yak, catching up on all kinds of stuff after being pretty much out of touch for the better part of 20 years! Here is a picture from her last session.

There was actually a ton of synchronicity around this. I was in the health food store a little over a week ago , when I heard a voice say, "Rosie?!" I turned around and it was my old friend Alix.  She said, "I can't believe you're here! I just dreamt about you this morning- I saw a picture of you giving someone a session with all those bowls around them and I dreamt you were giving me one- and just now as I was driving over the bridge I was thinking to myself that I have to get your number and call you as soon as I get home! And here you are!"

That on top of the fact that I had just started reading a wonderful book- "Healing With Tibetan Singing Bowls" by Suren Shrestha- so the sudden arrival of someone wanting to have a series of sessions was especially timely. Suren teaches techniques that have been passed down from healers and shamans in his village in Nepal for centuries. It is a short simple book with some very useful information in it.  I am so grateful to have found a book that actually has the teachings from an authentic lineage.

Up until now I had been able to find very little information about the use of singing bowls as a healing tool. It was my intuition and common sense that told me they must have been because they have such a powerful effect on consciousness, but pretty much everything up to that point had been hearsay, or flat out denial that they were ever used for healing- the much repeated phrase being that the history of the bowls has been shrouded in secrecy"- which I love! What Shrestha says is that the teaching has been passed down orally.

So the last session I gave Alix I used a series of chakras bowls and placed them in the order of the cycle of 5ths starting with F for the root chakra. That is also how Fabien Maman teaches the placement of crystal bowls so I was very familiar with the protocol before but had never used it with Tibetan bowls.  In fact it was the first time I even checked the frequency of the bowls before using them.  Usually I simply walk through the room and pick up whatever bowls call to me and then place them around the body as I am guided.  This time I was very thorough in tuning the bowls first.  Which is not to say that one way or the other was better- but this was good in this case and I would definitely do it again, just as I would do it totally intuitively again. I do not want to get attached to one way of working with them.  There are too many wonderful possibilities and his book opened me up to quite a bit more.

A lot of other really exciting stuff has opened up as well.  I have been invited to play the crystal bowls in a salt cave in Ridgefield, CT in June which I am very excited about! I'm so crazy about that Himalayan pink salt- I can't even believe that I am going to get to sit in a cave of it and play my bowls- too freaking cool!  Then someone called and offered their space for me to do another two day workshop while I'm in Florida in May, so that whole scene is shifting. A few days ago I was panicking that only two people had signed up for the one workshop I was offering and now I am teaching actually two more- one day on tuning forks and one day on healing with Tibetan singing bowls.  Also the place where I just saw Shyamji in Newburyport has invited me to do a Healing Sound Journey there, which is great because it means there is a network opening up near my mother which is wonderful.

Lots of great stuff coming up- my first weekend of the Expressive Arts Therapy Program next weekend and at the end of next month a 4-day workshop with John Beaulieu and Sylvia Nakkach which should be pretty amazing.

Oh.... AND my Facebook webpage has reached over 5000 people in the last 6 days! Woohoo!!!

Perfect Vision

Last night I led a kirtan at my friend Karen Kuzminsky's house in Middletown, RI.  What a wonderful evening!  I have to say before I go any further how grateful I am to Jai Uttal for all the wonderful kirtans and workshops of his that I have attended in the last 8 or so years- but especially for the weeklong summer kirtan camp that I was at two years ago in California.  What a blessing. The greatest gift that I got from it was COURAGE- knowing that it didn't matter if I didn't have a fabulous voice, if I wasn't a virtuoso on some instrument or another- if I could just lead a simple chant and sing from my heart, that was good enough.

As it turned out I was sort of put to the test.  I brought my instruments- guitar, harmonium and tamboura- and was just about ready to go when I realized I had forgotten my music! Since I am a beginner on the harmonium I wasn't too thrilled about that.  But I figured that I knew enough chants on the guitar and at least one chant that I could do with the harmonium that it was probably okay- and it was. We had about 20 people and a few kids which really added so much.  Karen's 6 year old son  was so fascinated by the harmonium he practically had his head in it!

But the best part was connecting with a number of people I hadn't seen in 20 years or more.  I knew that the daughter of an old friend of mine was planning to come who was best friends with my oldest son when they were very little.  Now she's a beautiful woman in her late 30's with a daughter of her own. Her mother used to live next door to my ex-husband and me and little Amy would come to the window every morning and call for Sparky.  They lived on the third floor and we were on the second of the house next door.  I have such a strong memory of her precious voice and seeing her face in the window of their 3rd floor apartment looking down to see if Sparky was out on our porch so they could play together.

She hadn't arrived yet when I began. I sang a couple of opening prayers in Sanskrit and was deep into the first chant when I looked up and there was beautiful Amy smiling at me!  I felt such a welling up of emotion that I was quite overcome and tears began to come- I suspect people thought it was because I was so moved by the chant but really I was just so knocked out to see Amy there smiling at me! I actually thought about stopping right then and getting up and giving her a hug but instead I closed my eyes and went really deep and was able to drop into a place beyond that level of emotion to carry on with the music and just let it flow. We saved our hugs and shared our tears after the kirtan and that was such an incredible blessing.  I don't even know yet what it means, what it was for or what it is leading to.  I just know it was, and is, profound.

The grace of the kirtan was that it allowed me to go deeper and deeper- and maybe also that emotion was a catalyst that really somehow carried the kirtan to another level as well. Who knows? It was what it was. The next one will be different.

Every moment is an expression of perfection- every note, every breath. If it isn't perfect, it is our vision that needs correction- not what we're seeing or experiencing, but how we're seeing and experiencing.

Thank you Jai!!!

One Self, Two Birds

Today's Course in Miracles lesson: "I am one Self, united with my Creator, at one with all aspects of creation, limitless in power and in peace."  I have stayed with this lesson for the past 4 days. The practice is supposed to be 5 minutes at the beginning of each hour.  I set my timer and then remember one time, re-set it and then pretty much forget about it for the rest of the day.  Since this series of lessons emphasizes self-discipline I've decided to stay with it until I feel that I have improved a bit more on that side of things.  Given that I've been studying this for over 20 years and am still in the dream I figure it's time to give it a bit more effort. After all, what is the purpose of the Course? And what is my purpose? On March 28, 2006 I wrote in  my journal that I had realized that the purpose of Henry's and my relationship was to help each other wake up. That was 7 years ago almost to the day... At this point being by myself seems to be a better way to work to try to wake up.

Meanwhile, in my waking dream, I am sitting in my room in Middletown and I meditate on my morning lesson.  As I contemplate the words "I am one Self" I begin meditating on all the sounds around me.  The closest are my breath and the heat coming up.  But outside is a conversation between a crow and a cardinal- the crow calls loudly and repeatedly, "Caw, caw, caw" and the cardinal replies with one whistle that rises in pitch. Back and forth they go, never interrupting. There is a cluster of bells from Arco Santi which ring occasionally, producing melodious arrhythmic tones.

Sound is a good meditation. It is always there.  The rhythm of the breath, the pulses of the body, the blood, the beating of the heart; beneath that the inner sounds which can be heard with deep listening- a quiet white noise with some high frequencies, a steady stream of sound; on the outside, the sounds in the room, in the house and then the sounds of nature from out of doors which cut through everything and delight the nervous system.

Shoulds and Self-Revelation

Just for today I am not paying attention to the shoulds.  I should get dressed, I should check my email, I should work, I should turn my phone on, blah blah blah.  The phone is off, I am in my pajamas- I threw my pants on for ten minutes, ran to the liquor store for a bottle of stout to cook my corned beef and cabbage- and I am mostly sitting in bed drinking tea and reading Jed McKenna's Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment. That's my cup of spiritual reading.  I opened it this morning and all bets were off. Occasionally I look out my window and there is a light flurry of snow.  A blizzard would bring me great joy. Give me an excuse to hole up for a few days- please!

Just now I came in to put on some more hot water, pondering the notions that traipse across my mindscape and decided it was a good time for a blog entry.  Usually I write about music or sound in some capacity.  Apparently not today although I never really know what will show up on the page.  Maybe that will be there too- not like it isn't in my mind- just not at the forefront today, except in the form of needing to call this or that person to confirm a time/date for a recording or a Sound Journey or a workshop... which I am postponing for at least a few hours.  Things are unfolding well enough on their own that I am going to trust that it will continue without my constant attention and occasional interference.

Here is an excerpt from my journal during one of my pauses from reading. (It's fairly heavy stuff requiring an occasional break as I process some piece of my own self-inquiry.)

     "My fuel for the day- oil pulling, a protein shake, green tea (or mate on most days) and A Course in Miracles. This morning I added Jed McKenna and now I'm not going anywhere- until I decide to. And I wonder, if 'I am as God created me' [this morning's ACIM lesson] why do I need any of this? Or does it require a body (and thereby some physical maintenance) to know that I am as God created me.
    "I will cook corned beef and cabbage today...
     "One realization, my family reflects back to me the sum of all my fears about myself. The belief that I am a loser because I don't make enough money to support myself doing what I do. That one came up and reduced me instantly to tears. My defense? What I do has changed people's lives- given them relief from pain, helped them to realize their true purpose, etc. etc.  What does it matter? It is my mistaken belief about myself that says I am a loser. It is my ego- defending myself against myself in the midst of the attack.
     (A little while later...) "I am reading Jed McK and I am getting tweaked. Something deep in my mind... that I can't quite reach. But I am reading and I stop to cry for some unknown reason. That's how I know it is have an effect on my consciousness- not just interesting reading."

Life Sounds Good!

Here I am again- weeks flying by.  The truth is that I spend so much of my time thinking about and working with sound and music that I often don't know where to begin and what to write about- but I know it's important. So today I am just going to let it flow and see what comes out.

We're in a transition from winter to spring.  The weather can't seem to make up its mind here in RI so we gets buckets of snow which lately melts in a day or two.  Today I am looking out my window at green grass and listening to the birds.

I have been obsessively recording outdoor sounds lately with the voice memo app on my iPhone.  Yesterday it was Purgatory Chasm- a split in the rocks overlooking Second Beach where the water flows in- or depending on the day slams in- and then flows out. 

Here is the view- an amazingly beautiful place... I recorded the water flowing in and out but haven't figured out how to upload my voice memos to my blog.  Soon though- I have beautiful sounds of water flowing and all kinds of short tracks of Tibetan bowls, crystal bowls and more. That little invisible mic on the iPhone is pretty incredible!

So many exciting things coming up in the next few months- a workshop with Shyamji in Newburyport, MA in the beginning of April followed by the first weekend of the Expressive Arts Therapy Program I am taking this summer.  Then a long weekend with Sylvia Nakkach and John Beaulieu at John's sound studio in Stone Ridge New York, which should be pretty amazing- it will be a combination of working with voice and tuning forks. I have heard a lot about Sylvia but never experienced her work.  I am really looking forward to it.  Two more long weekends over the summer of Expressive Arts Therapy, week-long Kirtan Camp in August- ki jai!- and potentially 3 other weekends I will be able to attend with Shyamji.  This year is for me! I feel like finally I can sink back into some of the intensive sound exploration with my incredible teachers that I have been wanting to do for a while. 

I just found a wonderful book on healing with Tibetan singing bowls by Suren Shrestha which I am very excited about. It is the first book on healing with the bowls that I have found that seems to have some really authentic information about the ancient traditions of this art. I have about 50 bowls right now, my inventory grows the more I sell! I have been working on recording some, specifically have just done a recording of bowls for helping with insomnia- but again- have not figured out how to upload it so that I can make a CD. I do have the cover photo though!

This is the layout of the bowls from when I made the recording. It was very cozy- it was actually during the weekend of the blizzard and it was a perfect time to hunker down since I certainly wasn't going anywhere. I hung out near the fire and played the bowls for hours on end while learning how to work my cool new Zoom recording device! Very fun- a great way to spend a few days of hibernation.  I know that some people weren't as fortunate as I was during that storm. For me it was a good time!!!

And finally,  this week looks like I will start doing some sessions with the Integrative Care Program at Women & Infants Hospital! So looking forward to that- doing sound therapy for cancer patients which I know will be so amazing.

Right now? It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and the birds are calling me to come outside for a while. Peace out.

Big Ears

My wheels are turning, turning, turning.  So much to write- so little time! Okay, let's start with the musical inspiration for the day.  I found this lovely video on YouTube of a Tibetan bowl meditation, one of the best I have heard.  Now, it sounds to me like he may have some sort of a recorded track running underneath it but I don't know that for sure.  Whatever, and however he has created it, it is really beautiful. So at some point when you have a chance just lay back and enjoy. It's quite long- over an hour- so do it when you need a little restorative or you feel like having a nice background to your yoga practice.

Last night I went up to Warwick, RI to take a class at the community college on self-publishing your book. The teacher had an emergency (we found out today) and never showed up but there were 12 of us there, some of whom had had experience in publishing in various capacities- large publishing company, self-publishing and digital publishing. So we all hung out for an hour or so and shared what information we had.

I went because I started writing a book on sound healing about ten years ago. When I opened the sound healing center I put it up on the shelf above my desk and there it remained for the next seven years. When I open it and read what I have written so far it seems incredibly relevant and I want to pick up where I left off.  I thought it would be really good for me to be around some other writers who were wanting to get published and because I was sure there would be some helpful information for me- but it was really the energy of being around other writers that I felt would be most helpful for me.

It actually worked out kind of nicely despite the inconvenience because now we are all connected and since the class was rescheduled for next week we will all get to meet up again- which is kind of great!

I also had a wonderful reading from Lee Harris today. I have been wanting to get one from him for a year.  Finally this year I decided to give one to myself for a birthday present. I scheduled it at the end of December and the first available date was today! I am very discerning these days about who I get readings from, and somewhat skeptical, I have to admit, because I've gotten so many that in the end just seemed totally bogus. From the first time I heard one of Lee's Energy Forecasts I totally resonated. I listened to some of his other readings from various venues and every time they (he?) felt at times like he was speaking directly to me on a pretty deep level and I decided I really wanted to get a reading from him.  It was amazing and so worth it.

Of course he knew nothing about me but at some point he started talking about the way I listen, the way I pick up on things around me, and the way I hear. Describing me as being almost as alert to what's going on around me as an animal- and then he said, "You have very big ears." Actually physically, my ears are tiny. An old boyfriend once told me my ears were like little dimes! So I knew he was referring to the way I hear- which reminds me of a funny little preliminary sketch  I did of a happy little man who is thoroughly enjoying his ability to hear deeply.

Then he said, "Book." Long pause. "There's going to be a book. You're going to publish a book." Okay Lee Harris, you are right on! Thank you for the confirmation.

Now- back to the big ears... What I realized from this was that the extreme sensitivity that I have experienced all my life is not because of some old family stuff, is not because I am a "spaceshot" who is easily distracted, but is truly because I am ultrasensitive both in my hearing and energetically to what is going on all around me.  I have had a sense of that for a long time but did not know for sure whether it was actually my own defensiveness that was putting that idea forth.  I know that sometimes my tendency to be easily distracted by the sound of a bird, a chime, an animal, a distant conversation, a song playing in the next room- whatever- has caused people close to me considerable frustration.  The way he described it is that I am more like an animal in the wild- the way they are constantly looking around, listening and alert to all the sounds around them.

He also said that somehow through my work I am teaching telepathy. That was very interesting too. As I thought about it it began to make a great deal of sense to me. I know that I am always stressing in my classes the importance of "deepening one's listening." This definitely means, in part, listening more deeply to one's own intuition- as well as listening to the sounds around you and exploring what sounds cause you to feel a particular way.  So for some it may very well have the result of increasing their telepathy.  One person came to me for a session who was a psychologist. During his session he had a profound spiritual healing and subsequently began hearing messages from people who had "crossed over". He realized his calling as a medium which is what he has been doing ever since!

Now... scroll back up to the top and click on those two words "musical inspiration"- or just click here-
for a really amazing journey to inner space. Enjoy!!!