There's A Beauty In The Process

Everyone wants to be a Gongmaster. Not only that, but everyone wants to become one in a week or two. That's all part of today's world of instant gratification. But this instant gratification is an illusion. It's like fast food: it fills you up, but doesn't nourish you, so an hour later you are hungry again.

 And so too being a Gongmaster. Ah yes, you took a weekend course and learned what you thought was all you needed to know about Gongs, Singing Bowls, or Bells. Now you called up a few yoga studios and are presenting sound healing or sound therapy sessions. Stop fooling yourself. You have mastered nothing!

 The Destination Is Never The Goal


This is only the beginning of a life long process. The destination is never the goal. The journey to the destination is the goal. Think about life: the destination is death. Are we all looking forward to dying, focused on that event? No, we are all out there living, making the journey, and hopefully enjoying it. The same too with becoming a Gongmaster (whatever that really is). 
What is your practice?

 I've been writing lately about the practice. This is the most important element of our lives, of our growth and fulfillment. The practice is the joy of discovery, the joy of learning, the joy of becoming more. Rather than rushing headfirst towards the end, we should embrace the practice. Embrace it everyday. 

 Keep working with your instruments. 
Keep working on your sound.
Keep working on your technique.
Keep reading new materials.
Keep listening to the world around you.
Keep exploring the unknown.

 Then years from now, when you are taking your last breath, you can finally say you are a master. A master of your own life.

 Be the Practice.

 ~ MB
Chop Wood / Carry Water / Play Gongs™ / Practice

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's The Best Gong To Buy?

Image
I field questions nearly everyday from people asking about drums, percussion, and especially Gongs. Whether it's via e-mail, message, or even a phone call. the most popular question is:  “What kind of Gong (or singing bowl, or bell, or ride cymbal, or hi-hats, or drum head, or various other things) should I buy?” And I wish that I could just give everyone a nice, tidy, easy answer. But there are none. Part of my initial reaction to the question is, “How should I know?” This is not like buying toothpaste , where I can suggest a whitening one if your teeth look dull, or a freshening one if you have bad breath. Sound is completely subjective and personal I'm sure you wouldn't like some of the instruments I own and use, because they create the most unmusical sounds. But they work for me and the music I'm involved in. But let's look some typical questions and the criteria for recommendations: What Gong should I buy? - Is this your 1st Gong? 2nd? 27th? That ma...
Read more

528Hz, 432Hz, and Other Fallacies

Image
OK people, it's time to get real and actually do some reading and research, instead of just passing around articles that are so blatantly false! The latest one to come across my desk from Facebook is:  The Healing Benefits of 528 Hz & Other Solfeggio Frequencies . Follow the link and take a minute to read through this article. “I  don't really care if it's true or not, it's just fun and interesting.  I'm sure you'll feel the same.” Can 432Hz save the world? (photo from:  Forever Conscious ) Let's get real here. As a professional musician, I care about whether something like this is “true or not.” I also don't find bogus information masquerading as science “fun.” Let's look at some of the “fun” ideas this article presents: There is NO conspiracy to change our musical scales away from some “ ancient and sacred 6-tone scale” to something sinister and menacing. The Solfeggio system is just one of many, many musical systems used throug...
Read more

Cracking/Breaking Gongs

Image
This comes from a Facebook percussion group I'm in. Apparently it was either an outdoor marching band or drum corps show: “Kid cracked a gong on the first hit of our show Saturday because he didn’t warm it up. Of course. It’s a decent sized crack, and we don’t have $1000 laying around to buy a new one. Is there any easy way to fix it? It's a Zildjian gong, idk how big, I'm going to GUESS 40"? It's cracked right at the edge of the gold ring and the outer ring, and it's about 4 inches long. The mallet we're using is not that hard and should not have done that kind of damage.” Without actually having been there, or seeing the Gong in person (apparently it was a Chinese Chou Gong), I can only speculate on this, but my first impression is that the kid overplayed the Gong by hitting it way too hard. Playing outdoors is difficult, because the sound dissipates quickly. There are no walls or ceilings to create reflections and contain the sound. Outside, you play...
Read more