I Like to Try New Things
Trying new things.
Experiment one: Shamanic drumming session.
Entering a very bland feeling room containing about 13 people all sitting in a circle, the thought crossed my mind that the setting might not be ideal for this kind of "spiritual journey" to take place in with any great effect. I found a seat and removed my shoes as everyone else had, while trying not to make a sound as the leader of the group was discussing chi and chakras. I consciously stop myself from entertaining any thoughts and judgements about what he was saying "I am being open minded" I remind myself.
He finishes what he's saying and then asks everyone to stand in a circle, dread sweeps through me when he asks us to introduce ourselves with a name and a few words of our choosing. I don't hear much of what anyone is saying because i am busy grasping for something to say..I began wishing I hadn't cleared my mind before starting this thing. When it's my turn I nervously mumble something about being open to new things and meditation..I stop before I start to ramble.
Horror over, he then says he is going to teach us some chants. At first it's really awkward, but when I stop thinking about how I am singing about sky and earth spirit in a room full of strangers it becomes easy and just flows out. We all have a drum and at first we just start pounding out a somewhat monotonous, evenly spaced beat..this immediately tells us who in the group has rhythm and who probably has trouble tying their shoelaces.
The first two jams of drums and various chants go from an uneasy watching of what other people were doing and being unsure of what beat to do and when to stop, to something that feels oddly natural and sweeps everyone in the room into a kind of collective awareness. I fascinated me how the beats changed and how many different feelings you could get out of just one instrument..it would flow and change, speed up and slow down..get louder at times. You have to listen to the people around you to stay with what was happening and it was fun to change the beat yourself and hear it travel and echo back at you from the rest of the group. Everyone had an input and a responsibility to hold the form of what was being created.
I think we were there for 2 hours or more, but having a sense of time is difficult (and quite irrelevant) when you are engrossed in something like that. It was intense at times and I hadn't expected it to have that much of an effect on me. From the awkwardness of the first encounter with these strangers to the last circle at the end..the feeling could not have been more different. I found myself wanting to hug every person in that room and couldn't stop thinking of things to say when it came my turn to speak about what I felt. Every other person seemed to feel the same, all bursting to say what they liked best and thanking the rest of the group with real sincerity.
What I got from it was a reminder of the importance of connecting with people in real life and of course, the benefits of keeping an open mind and trying something new once in a while.
10/10 would definitely do again..already put my name down :)
Experiment one: Shamanic drumming session.
Entering a very bland feeling room containing about 13 people all sitting in a circle, the thought crossed my mind that the setting might not be ideal for this kind of "spiritual journey" to take place in with any great effect. I found a seat and removed my shoes as everyone else had, while trying not to make a sound as the leader of the group was discussing chi and chakras. I consciously stop myself from entertaining any thoughts and judgements about what he was saying "I am being open minded" I remind myself.
He finishes what he's saying and then asks everyone to stand in a circle, dread sweeps through me when he asks us to introduce ourselves with a name and a few words of our choosing. I don't hear much of what anyone is saying because i am busy grasping for something to say..I began wishing I hadn't cleared my mind before starting this thing. When it's my turn I nervously mumble something about being open to new things and meditation..I stop before I start to ramble.
Horror over, he then says he is going to teach us some chants. At first it's really awkward, but when I stop thinking about how I am singing about sky and earth spirit in a room full of strangers it becomes easy and just flows out. We all have a drum and at first we just start pounding out a somewhat monotonous, evenly spaced beat..this immediately tells us who in the group has rhythm and who probably has trouble tying their shoelaces.
The first two jams of drums and various chants go from an uneasy watching of what other people were doing and being unsure of what beat to do and when to stop, to something that feels oddly natural and sweeps everyone in the room into a kind of collective awareness. I fascinated me how the beats changed and how many different feelings you could get out of just one instrument..it would flow and change, speed up and slow down..get louder at times. You have to listen to the people around you to stay with what was happening and it was fun to change the beat yourself and hear it travel and echo back at you from the rest of the group. Everyone had an input and a responsibility to hold the form of what was being created.
I think we were there for 2 hours or more, but having a sense of time is difficult (and quite irrelevant) when you are engrossed in something like that. It was intense at times and I hadn't expected it to have that much of an effect on me. From the awkwardness of the first encounter with these strangers to the last circle at the end..the feeling could not have been more different. I found myself wanting to hug every person in that room and couldn't stop thinking of things to say when it came my turn to speak about what I felt. Every other person seemed to feel the same, all bursting to say what they liked best and thanking the rest of the group with real sincerity.
What I got from it was a reminder of the importance of connecting with people in real life and of course, the benefits of keeping an open mind and trying something new once in a while.
10/10 would definitely do again..already put my name down :)
