The Way of the Gong™

Imagine yourself inside your sound bubble. You are by yourself, but you are not alone. You are connected to all other living things, here on Earth, and elsewhere. You are connected to the Stars, the Galaxies, the multiple Universes.   You are connected to the whole of creation. The vibrations connect us. This is the ancient Music of the Spheres (Musica Universalis) as prescribed by the great Greek philosopher, Pythagoras. The great paradox is that we are both separate and connected at the same time. There is geometry in the humming of the strings ... there is music in the spacing of the spheres.  - Pythagoras  One of my favorite books is,  The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are   (1966), by the legendary philosopher, Alan Watts. Here is a great quote about our connectedness: Every individual is a unique manifestation of the Whole, as every branch is a particular outreaching of the tree. To manifest individuality, every branch must have...

Think of sound as a bubble, but a bubble that is bigger inside than on the outside (a TARDIS if you will, Dr. Who fans). This is 4th dimensional thinking. Sound is more than sound, it is an expression of the fabric of the Universe. Everything is made up of vibration. Things vibrate at different states and our senses pick up on them: touch, scent, taste, sight, sound—these are all our experience of the vibrations around us. But as humans, we have a limited sense ability. Beyond what we can sense, there are other vibrations: ultraviolet, infrared, ultrasonic, infrasound—frequencies both above and below our normal range of experience.  photo  by   lieveheersbeestje As much as we hear with our ears, we also hear with our whole body. Our bones, muscles, organs—in fact, our very cells hear sound vibrations. When listening to Gongs, Singing Bowls, or Bells, don't just limit yourself to using your ears. Listen to your body. Feel the vibrations. Feel the bubble of sound ar...

We live in a fast paced world where we are plugged into everything: cell phones, computers, cable, and a host of information overload devices. Sometimes it's difficult for us to just stop. Stop and listen to the stillness. I know how hard it is. It's even scary, like if we stop, our life, or the world will stop. But that won't happen. Everything will go on, even if we step out of the rush for a while. All it takes is trust. But that trust isn't always easy to follow. I think about when I present a Gong session. I'm always wondering in the back of my mind if the people are ok. I'm wondering if I should play another Gong, or Bell, or Bowl. Maybe they'll get impatient if I don't make a sound quick enough. But it's just my own fear of slowing down that's saying this. Be in the moment. Be in the stillness. In fact, welcome the stillness. Play one note, let it fade away, let it disappear completely. Then wait a little more—don't hurry—the...