Tips to support your first or routine group soundbath experience

Here are some tips + awarenesses to make the most of your first journey in a public setting or refine your current routine.

I have been facilitating sound immersion/soundbaths for almost 4 years now.  I have cultivated this list based off of observations from and repeat inquiries following public, group sessions.  Please come-and-go with this blog.  It is not intended to overwhelm, but rather bolster and inform your first experience so you may achieve the highest outcome for your wellbeing.

Arrive early for space and time to settle in.

Especially if you are unfamiliar with the lay of the land.  Giving yourself the opportunity to settle-in beforehand deepens your restoration.  When someone arrives right when it starts or just a little after, generally they are arriving with a state of panic, stress, fight-or-flight.  It takes significantly longer to wind down from that place and thus prevents one from reaching the depths of rest and relaxation.  Not to mention, it is respectful to all others that have invested in their whole-being wellness.  Arrive early, settle-in deeper.

Err on the side of extra comfort.

Your physical support is vital for optimizing the benefits received from the sound immersion.  Bring extra blankets, pillows and bolstering.  Generally, these sessions are offered places with hard flooring.  It is amazing how uncomfortable it is on the body to lie on the hard floor even within 60-90 minutes.  I generally recommend to bring a yoga mat or portable mattress pad, 2 blankets (one for between you and the floor and one to cover), a pillow for under your head plus a bolster and an eye pillow (this is more for cancelling out the external so you can fall deeper into relaxation). Be cushy!!  Bring and do what you know will make you comfortable.  This will optimize your energetic receiving.  You will want to cushion yourself so that you are able to release deeper into rest and digest states.

Attend your first group soundbath solo.

This is an important one.  When we attend a soundbath with a loved one, especially when we have invited them because we are so excited and curious and want to share the experience or feel nervous attending alone, we show up in “host mode”.  You may begin to worry about their experience, especially if you sense they aren’t settling-in.  This pulls you out from being able to go within yourself and your own restoring journey.  You will not achieve your deepest potential with your first session.  If you are excited and strongly feeling called to sound as a holistic modality, you will very likely surrender to a high degree.  You deserve the initial powerful, transformational effect that your first soundbath can bring.  The journey within is innately a solo one.

Do not be hard on yourself if your mind is racing with thoughts for your first one.

If you are attending a soundbath for the benefit of relieving anxiety, do not be discouraged if your mind isn’t wiped clean the first one.  We are in a demanding society with an overwhelming amount of tasks requiring our attention here and there.  One soundbath is not going to instantaneously clear those thoughts.  It is possible in glimpses, but sometimes it takes more routine frequency (i.e. a weekly or bi-weekly regiment depending on level of anxiety).  Relaxation is a muscle.  The more frequently you receive sound and vibrational immersion, especially in a private session, the benefits will accumulate and you are effectively activating that muscle.  With each session, it becomes easier to settle down.  Each time, you will go deeper.

It is common to feel fleeting agitation and discomfort with certain sounds, but more likely than not you will not routinely experience this.

Emotional release is a normal way that the body’s intelligence processes out stagnancy in deeper layers of our subconscious.  If you have experienced this for your first session, that is excellent!  You are clearing out and making space for your highest potential.  Certain sounds may elicit certain responses within the body that may feel alarming or unwelcome.  Remember that sometimes sound immersion is also called a “sound journey”.  The way I personally facilitate is moving from sound-to-sound, each tone and instrument shifting the journey and adding a new layer of awareness.  The shifting of the sound releases the hold on that sensation.

You are likely not asleep even though you are breathing rhythmically in a way that resembles snoring.

If you have reached the space in-between wakefulness and sleep for your first session, congratulations!  You have achieved theta brainwave state, which is the brainwave frequency just above sleep (delta) where deep cellular repair and restoration may take place.  This causes rhythmic breathing and releases that you may hear but be so deeply “under” in a twilight place that you are unable to move.  I have observed when a recipient is peacefully in this place, it allows others to entrain or sync up to that frequency.  You are therefore a catalyst to helping the room along to the deeper space!  Unless, of course, you are loudly and disruptively snoring, which happens and must not be shamed either as it is involuntary and part of one’s journey.  If you know that about yourself (snore factor) a private session is appropriate and sensitive to the group dynamic.  Funky breathing patterns and sounds are signs for rejoice: you have reached the ultimate destination for nervous system rewiring!

Every soundbath will be different.

The first one can be life-changing, powerful and impacting.  A lot of times as adults, we do not remember not having a chattery mind and reaching such effortless states of inner peace and stress relief. The next session hones-in on what the first session starts and therefore may be more subtle in its impact.  Every moment our body has different needs.  When we receive sound and vibration, the intelligence of our being instinctively utilizes the frequencies to optimize and restore what needs it.  One session may be visceral and physically sensational; another visual and dreamy; another inwardly connected and processing.  Expect the unexpected each time.  Be open and surrender to the magical mystery of your world within!

Courtesies for yourself and all attending:

• Silence your phone or better yet, leave in the car.

• Use the bathroom beforehand

• Reposition yourself mindfully and quietly, so as not to disrupt the experience for others

• Be open to your unique experience and ENJOY!!

Academia vs Apprenticeship How I have learned what I do

There is so much emphasis placed on trainings, certifications and the science within our culture.  I have gone through my fair share ~ becoming a nursing assistant, a med tech, a registered 200 hour yoga teacher, a 100 hour yin yoga teacher, an 85 hour prenatal yoga teacher, a registered nurse, a Reiki master… The knowledge is valuable, but the trainings generally leave me feeling depleted and poorer in a sense than when I began.   With esotericism and the abstraction of sound, stripping it of its magic to explain its “properties” feels wrongful in my heart.  Learning about the digested pulp of what sound is from the narrowed human lens is an injustice to the potency and power that sound affords.  For this reason, I have chosen to receive “training” through Spirit, word-of-mouth transmission + guidance from mentors and also experiential immersions.

A little background on myself: I do not own a TV.  I have not owned a television the entirety of living on my own (8 years) and even when I lived at my parents, I did not watch it.  When I say I do not own a TV, I also mean that I do not stream shows as well and am very discerning about what films to take in.  There has also always been a tendency to read a book if it fully engages and grabs me or I will not read at all.  I especially have chosen to only read a select few poets, due to the nature of being one myself.  My subconscious trajectory in all of this (there are many, but specifically relating to processing) is because I have always wanted my views, words and expressions to be purely reflective of my own journey.  I have largely abstained from mass media for the sake of my own clear perspective.  Obviously there is influence one way or the other, but overall it has afforded me so much time to be with what I am feeling and then put it into words or allow it to flow through me in the form of sound.

Our culture is very effective at stripping away mystery and dissecting the mystical to sterility.  I have always left Western medical and science-based trainings feeling like I know less than I began.  It is a very disorienting process for me, even though I became skilled at the game of tests and papers.  There is so much that we do not truly know compared with the anchoring inner knowing found through esoteric apprenticeship.  Hazrat Inayat Khan, mystic and author of “The Mysticism of Sound and Music” has a quote, “ Science reaches at the end what mysticism reaches at the beginning”.  It is true: science sets out to prove a proposed theory based on a phenomenon that has always and already existed.  The wisdom offered from the lips and felt from the sound and vibrational transmissions of my chosen mentors are embedded in my cells due to the inner knowing felt and comprehended when receiving from them.  This is also in part to the trust and respect I have in their intentions and refined journeys that have spanned decades.  I have always existed NEEDING to fully comprehend something on a sensory-feeling level for me to believe it and then it is always accessible to me in understanding.  I’m certain it is like this for everyone, really.  Spirit and source energy, which is the birthplace of Sound, is infinite and boundless.  Western science exists to strip down these magnificent forces, without regard to Spirit, and make what is boundless and infinite, strapped and condensed in order “to explain” it.  Without regard to Spirit, Science is an incomplete, demystified process of explanation.  I am not anti-science; I am pro-spirit and feel there is a way to integrate the two.  As the timeless Epigram of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis goes: “The mediator between head and hands must be the heart!”  There needs to be a bridge between the tangible and intangible in order for there to be true understanding.

The single greatest teacher I have had on this journey is deep listening.  I recently began attending Quaker meeting weekly to fine-tune this muscle and step into the silence.  It is incredible to witness the multitude of subtle layers found within silence when meeting for devotion of Spirit.  This is a skill that was deeply set-in after a 10-day gong immersion camp at the end of 2022 with this certain Mitch Nur I have previously mentioned in the room where I received my first gongbath 10 years prior.  This immersion had no tests.  All it required was your presence and passion, which clearly filled the room.  I will never forget coming home after being away for the 10 days and feeling my response time had slowed after being in a room filled with 20+ gongs, this incredible portal of an instrument influencing my bodily sense of time.  Learning techniques was certainly enriching to the depth and aesthetic of my playing, but overall being with the gong and listening deeply to how and where I play has really expanded the horizons of the soundscape I am able to curate in a sitting.  Some of my other greatest teachers are listening in nature and of course some of the many beautiful ambient musicians out there.  Otherwise, I am entirely self-taught with how I play my instruments.  Really, it is an ever-blooming relationship between myself, Spirit + the instrument in an interplay with the energies of the room or scenario for which I am playing.  It is without a doubt the highest frequency of “training” I have ever personally undergone.  That said, I am looking forward to the potentiality of receiving a wide range of esoteric teachings through reading, listening to lectures of the current sound masters and practicum through 9 Ways Academia led by Mitch Nur in the coming year.

Science is an incredible tool in modern times.  My heart simply cannot allow it to disembowel what is far beyond the explicable: vibration, energy and sound.  I cannot be more grateful to have had my previous trainings as reference to what is not aligned with my path.  Leaving academic settings has been the most empowering choice for me.  Now I listen deeply, feel and understand authentically without being told.  It is a deep inner knowing that we all have and that cannot be taken away.

How Bedside Nursing informs my Sound Immersion facilitation

Once a nurse, always a nurse.  When you are one, you hear this all the time and it really is true.  There are obviously reasons why I became a nurse, left nursing and then transitioned into my most authentic role of giving rest to the nervous system through sound immersion.  I’ve considered titling myself a “rest specialist” or “rest facilitator”; but, alas this is not fully comprehensive.  It is exciting and relieving to share in what ways bedside nursing translates into my current role offering sound.

Illness stems from Spirit and lands lastly in physical manifestation.  This is something I have witnessed and spoken to since I was a nurse aid over 10 years ago.  Whenever I would receive report as a registered nurse and look at all the numbers and data to the case of the individual, it never tied fully together until I walked into the room and felt the energy of the patient.  What is more-or-less exempt from nursing school is how often an effectual nurse needs to interpret the silent and subtle cues from his/her patient.  This is largely how I formulated my personal nursing care model with no help from any guide but Spirit.  It isn’t a surprise, as Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass indicates so eloquently and earth-shatteringly: Spirit is null and void to Western Science when it is the majority of what is.  It is so evident and palpable from where the direction the dis-ease landed, be it emotional, mental or spiritual, when you are in the presence of the patient.  In nursing, there are many regulations limiting what you are able to share beyond describing the pharmaceutical medications you are administering or post-op restrictions, which is very disempowering to so many that are attuned to the truth of the whole picture of the person and holistic lifestyle awareness shifting and (gasp!) eradicating illness.  This is probably why nurses everywhere in the Western medical model, at least in the states, are prohibited from speaking far beyond the immediate script we are enforced to follow.  That was a tangent and probably one of the many significant reasons I left nursing, but all to say sickness does not appear without first breaching the Spirit of a person.  Since speaking of this to so many after I could pinpoint and verbalize it, I learned that it is a major tenet to Traditional Chinese Medicine, an ancient intuitive medical model.  Imagine that!  What most intangibly influences and connects with ether and spirit?  That with which we are made:  Intentional Loving Energy and Vibration aka Sound Immersion!  I have repeatedly expressed how Intentional Sound is the most potent, immediate, effective and very low-to-no side effect “medicine” I have ever administered.  Routine soundbaths provide lasting, effortless change and accumulative, deepening benefits.  Think of it in terms of the two forms of frequencies: dissonant (chaotic and fracturing such as construction and traffic noise or, dare-I-say, beeping of IV pumps, call lights and rushed medical professional voices) and coherent (a flowing stream, chirping birds, the tonality of gong resonance).  Coherent frequencies build-up and allow for reconnection in the nervous system through being able to dive into a deep parasympathetic state.  In an over-burdened,taxing world, rebalancing the nervous system, which innervates every other bodily system, is POTENT.  We are meant to exist inherently in parasympathetic states and then respond in fight-or-flight.  Our society lives in the opposite.  Transitioning from nursing where I was essentially administering what I personally deem to be externalized, ineffective bandaids to people that are so deeply entrenched in the system that they believe they need pills and will not change any aspects of their lifestyles to orchestrating peaceful sound immersion to soothe the spirit of the conscious recipient looking to return to a natural, harmonious state and optimize their overall wellness is a huge sigh of relief to say the least.  The recipients that are open, receptive and in trust of my “care” are the ones that receive the deepest impact from the sound immersion which leads me to my next observation.

Rapport is another huge piece of bedside nursing that also exists immensely within sound facilitation.  You are only able to go so far with a patient, or living human, as much as they trust and respect your competence, insight and personal investment into their wellbeing.  This relationship deepens the more you show your patient that you have their back and best interests at heart through advocacy and consistency of word and action.  The same is true for a soundbath recipient, especially in a private setting.  It is so vulnerable to shut out the sense of sight by wearing an eye pillow or closing your eyes and to totally disengage on every level which happens almost effortlessly while receiving a private session ~ when you trust your practitioner.  The more I develop a trusting relationship with my routine private soundbath recipients, I notice the more refined the sessions become and the more the recipient effortlessly dips into that rest and digest state, reaping deeper and deeper subconscious repair and rewards.  Realistically, a person is unable to truly tune in, return to wellness and clear what is not serving without feeling safe and comfortable in one’s immediate surroundings and in trust of those under one’s care. It is a position I take with total seriousness and awareness. The deepening of the relationship with the recipient also stems from the gift/skill I have sharpened of being able to read the energy being presented that day, which enters into a whole other realm.

“Reading the room” is akin to deep listening and recognizing what is beneficial and what is not to say or do for a patient, a private sound bath recipient or a public group sound session.  In a broader sense with group sound sessions, my ability to “read the room,” which I mentioned previously about first meeting a patient at the bedside, comes into play.  This is something that I enjoy immensely because it leans heavily into the mystical, making it very hard to put into words and verbal explanation.   This brings into Light how nuns and the religious devout were previously the majority if not only nurses of the world.  Once when I was the nurse for a former nun (whom left her convent due to abuse of the children at the school where she worked, very sadly, yet feels very directly akin to my situation), we discussed how nuns are meant to be pure conduits and beacons of God, wherein his, her, their Light may shine through the sister directly onto the patient in every facet and lens of their healing.  Nursing was always a form of spiritual practice to me, an opportunity to put into action the wise, age-old teachings through a pure-hearted channel.  Speaking to this fellow sister who has devoted her life to highest intention brought me into full awareness of how I viewed myself as a spirited nun of sorts, removed and detached from the person and outcome (as much as humanly possible, of course), yet optimizing my care for them, no matter their background and what would be my personal opinion of it.  This way of being in the light and eyes of providing goodness for all is a way in which one “reads the room” by stepping into source consciousness, higher power awareness, whatever you want to call it and allowing one’s actions to be informed from that lens.  This lens is one that makes your efforts and movements almost dreamily automatic without any analytical thought from one moment to the next.  All is happening at once in one fluid motion, just as in nature and just as in everything that is channeled through the stream.  This is also where the interpretation and response of silent, subtle cues arises.  From this place is where every soundbath I have ever given has originated.  Same goes for my patient care, albeit fragmented in this scenario from the botched current course of the healthcare system.  

In reality, nursing is meant to provide a comfortable, safe, warm bed for one who is weary to restore and remember their wholeness and with loving guidance, returning back to whole health.  The truth sadly is the role of the nurse has been devastatingly desecrated to satisfy the needs of insurance and pharmaceutical companies while working under duress of chronic understaffing and high demands.  Hospitals are businesses and no longer safe havens for those in dis-ease.  Being able to remember the ancient roots of nursing in the form of administering soothing sounds in an infinitely more conscious, preventative, calming and sustaining way has provided for my own deep nourishment.  It is my honor to be able to morph my gifts and skills that are innate and also learnt through nursing into a means of providing deep, genuine and supportive restoration during such a demanding phase in human history to so many beautiful souls, also remembering how life is meant to be: enjoyed in freedom of health and happiness. 

How did you get into this? A detailed answer of my personal synchronistic Journey with Sound

So often after someone’s first session, they ask what sounded like wind, rain or the ocean (sea drum from Meinl!) then they also often tend to ask, “How did you get into this?  How did you get started?”  It is a fairly lengthy, beautiful, mystical and (in my opinion) destined story that I will break into a series of writings.  Firstly, how I got into this and secondly how I got started and thirdly will be chosen by the wind!  Spirit deserves the justice of having it all spelled out as she has spelled it all out for me.

It all began a decade ago.  My dad’s co-worker, knowing my openness to spirituality, had invited me to a 2-hour blind-folded gong bath in a tight acoustical space filled with with these portals in all sizes.  A certain Mitch Nur ((Remember this name!)), world-renowned + (amazingly) local ethnomusicologist was leading this event.   I ecstatically accepted the invitation and so it all began.  That experience alone ripped my conceptual reality and consciousness to depths beyond measure and immediate understanding.  It had to unfold and so it did.

My next exposure to the potency of Sound was during a Tibetan Buddhist monk invocation chant for one of their sand mandala creations.  This troupe of monks came from His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV monastery outside Tibet known as Drepung Gomang Monastery in Northern India.  They would tour, sell their wares and primarily create before your eyes an intricate, elaborate and stunning mandala, or visual representation of a facet within a Tibetan universe, from memory.  Mind-blowing.  When they were finished, they would ceremoniously destroy the sand mandala, distribute the sand among the people and take the rest to a flowing stream with prayers of peace for all.  Such a powerful statement and prayer of impermanence.  The monks would chant before beginning or starting a new day with their creation.  I was following this certain troupe all over Pennsylvania for half of a year.  One night in Bucks County, I attended an event where they chanted for 45 minutes.  Giving you a snapshot of my life: I was in a sad-excuse-of-a-relationship, totally sifting between my fingers like sand itself and beginning my life as a new nurse, which is very much a floundering experience of toxic feelings of doubt and incompetence.  It was a rough patch!  I was hollowed out and open, ready for any sort of this spirit medicine and wisdom to absorb and penetrate my core.  After receiving this, relatively, brief interval of full-fledged guttural chanting and instrumentation, I remember driving to my parents house (I was on my own by then) and sobbing uncontrollably in their arms for at least that same amount of time.  Their prayers, medicine and magic in Tibetan tongue had seeped well into my marrow and re-circuited my energy, purging of the unnecessary, letting go of all of the grief, pain and suffering I was harboring within.  Needless to say, the relationship and (eventually) my nursing career both fell apart in exchange for living a much more meaningful, authentic life.  What a tremendous blessing it has been.  It is, obviously, unforgettable how cathartic this experience was for me on all levels and “only from” the collective human voice with divine intention.  I am FOREVER grateful to the Tibetan Buddhist monks for so many reasons, which would require another blog alone to give my due respects to their high offerings.

The last experience, which began in a similar timeframe, is ongoing to the present.  A dear friend of mine, whom I met through the yoga studio that first hosted and introduced me to these monks, was also trained by this Mitch Nur to facilitate sound therapy.  When I was in nursing, I began receiving monthly private soundbath sessions to deeply relieve stress, optimize my energy levels,  improve sleep and overall tend to my wellbeing.  Effortless peace, calm, diminished anxiety and more were mine for weeks after!  Truly the greatest gift and holistic healthcare modality as antidote for the absurd demands on modern nursing. By this point in my life (my early-to-mid-twenties) as a yearly committed camper of Philadelphia Folk Fest and general lover of music, I had been to so many enchanting, enlivening and invigorating shows and never put together why I felt so good the next day!  It never dawned on me how seriously potent and beneficial the INTENTIONAL vibrations of these shows (and my friend’s magical sessions) were to the spiritual, mental, emotional and even physical level.  There was something to this modality of sound therapy that really held me together in my monthly routines.  The unconditional love and spirited intention felt from my friend was an integral piece of this, which is why it is so important to discern with whom you open your energy and again, that is another blog altogether.

These moments, as humbly as I can verbally depict them as a Spirit-devoted human, are how I got into this.  How I got started is a whole other exquisite tapestry, evidenced and informed by the divine inspiration and love of Spirit.  That will be my actual next blog post.  Thank you for your interest and investing time into reading about what opened me to the power of Sound.

The Nourishing Layers of Yin Yoga: throwback blog from 7 years ago

Yin and nourishment are synonymous in a time of constant “productivity” and forward motion. Silence and stillness embody the mystical practice of yin and act as healers to the human layers of body, mind, and spirit. Ultimately, the nourishing factor interconnects simultaneously between these 3 levels:

Physical

The physical intention of yin is to hold a specific shape at your appropriate depth for an extended period of time, which is about 3-7 minutes. This gives the body opportunity to settle into itself, like the wood floors of a freshly-built home.

Connective tissue, a film that envelopes every fiber of your internal structural, reacts to the prolonged pose by tugging in various directions with the assistance of gravity. It is also the bones, cartilage and tendons that keep the body together. The elongated hold catalyzes a future enhancement of flexibility, mobility and elasticity around the joints when the practitioner returns to motion.

Most importantly, Yin touches viscerally. One of yin’s many components is depth. In this case, organ health is the emphasis of sequencing. Without getting too thorough in explanation, there are five major yin organs: the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and spleen. In Chinese medicine, the concept of long holds is to open energy channels, allowing healthy and beneficial energetic flow to the various organ systems. Think of it as a river once obstructed by debris that has had recent rainfall, causing debris to collect at the side. This enables the water to flow even more effortlessly downstream. In the Western scientific model, it allows for increased perfusion, or oxygen/carbon dioxide, exchange, within the tissues.

Mental

The “yin” part of the nervous system is parasympathetic, or rest and digest mode. Have you ever been so relaxed in savasana or another pose that your belly starts to gurgle? Wonderful! You have elicited the complete OPPOSITE of fight or flight mode. This by nature allows the adrenals a break from releasing constant cortisol and all of those other lovely hormones that keep us pumping through our ever-rushing daily lives.

Silence and stillness allows for a void where there is ordinarily stimulation. Phones, computer screens, billboards and radio ads bombard our sensory receptors far too regularly. Having separation from this allows for a sense of peace and calm in the mind, or at least a quieting. It is not ordinary or typical that we bid our bodies and minds a vacation from all of this hubbub. In fact, the calm can go as deep as yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, which is a point between wakefulness and sleep.

Its meditative properties provide you an opportunity to learn acceptance of physical sensations, as opposed to aligning an emotion with that sensation. That is not to say that emotions will not come up. They do, and sometimes very explosively and even more so than in a yang class. The practitioner learns to manage his or her feelings, allowing them to come to the surface. This is the nourishment of the mind.

Spiritual

After participating in a yin class, one may find a clearing in their spirit. Sleep becomes sounder, a general calming affect may be exuded. It is the culmination of the physical and mental properties that resolve for a softer spirit. Intentions in yin are for passivity, tolerance, and embrace of one’s circumstance. The path one leads is a direct result of what is routinely consumed. It is easy to be led astray in productivity of our predominantly “yang” society. If one’s life contains a heaping portion of yin, in theory the reality manifested will be a nourishing one.

Yin and nourishment, to me, are synonymous. In our fast-paced lifestyle, stopping is imperative for balance in the body, mind, and spirit. Make it a priority to gift yourself much needed downtime.

Slow Down for Sustainability of Soul and Soil

Ways to Ground Consciously from immediately attainable to long-term commitment

It feels like the same story day-in and day-out: one action bleeds into another and without much time, we are lost from our awareness.  Checking phones while eating dinner with family; responding to work emails while sitting in meditation; eating while driving; cramming in so much in one day that we have very little time to attend to our own basic needs for survival.  It is so incredibly easy to slip off the path of meaningful presence into disarray.

But really, can we be blamed?  Things are more accelerated than they have ever been here on planet earth and in multidimensionality.  It is no surprise that our footprint is off the tracks.  There is so much our nervous systems need to register in any moment within a wide array of contexts.  It is no wonder there is so much violence, confusion, anger and chaotic, misaligned energy; yet there is another way of being.  Recognize and embody your power in the collective.  Be the change.  Simplicity is key.  Take it down a notch.  Stop.  Look.  Listen.

Implementing immediately accessible to long-term sustainable strategies to slow down your mind, body, breath and heart are keys to another path.  Ultimately they will spare your peace of mind, your family and the health and wellbeing of our Planet Earth at large.

Immediately attainable:

Heartbeat meditation

Find your pulse.  Wherever you may be, you can always stop and find your heartbeat.  This is especially helpful when you find that your heart is racing; your mind is wandering with anxiety; your soul is seeking to find its grip on reality.  As a former nurse, I can confidently advise you gently rest your index and middle fingers on your carotid artery (in the groove of your neck tucked back towards your jawline by the ear) or your radial pulse if you are feeling adventurous (by the bone of your wrist on the side of your thumb).  Breathe with your pulse.  The fun part is when you feel your heartbeat begin to slow down (in the event you are indeed in tachycardia, another nod to my nursing roots).  It is a relatively quick demonstration of the direct impact you have on your whole body wellness through your centered awareness with conscious breath.  It also brings you back to awareness of the omnipresent pulse on Earth.

Walking Mindfully and Without Purpose

Walk without purpose!?  I remember the first time somebody told me that I walk with purpose and the way to “get what you want in life” is to walk with purpose.  Yes, this certainly has a valuable place.  Sometimes.  It has helped me to sneak into festivals and academically, it helped me to graduate.  It wasn’t without cost to my wellbeing overall (except for the festivals, those were 1000% worth it).  It’s the point A to point B mentality.  I remember it all-too-well while pacing the halls, completing tasks at the hospital as an RN.  I am actively in separation with my tendency to walk with purpose.  Walking with purpose prohibits true meditative connection to all of the beauty surrounding you, in my experience.  Instead of walking with need to get somewhere, let's take a walk to enjoy life.  The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh delivers such eloquent instructions on this: “When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the Earth.  We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth… Be aware of the contact between your feet and the Earth.  Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”  When we walk slowly with mindfulness, we are giving not only ourselves but our loved ones including beautiful Mother Earth a gift.

Let someone ahead of you, especially if you are feeling rushed or “don’t have the time”

You know the feeling when somebody lets you ahead in traffic or in the grocery line.  It’s a relief, a little break. It is almost touching to the heart.  It makes you feel like this person cares about your burden being a little lighter.  Maybe I am just highly sensitive, but in a world of numbers, fast-pace and priority of productivity, being given this stress reprieve, this extra 15 seconds feels like a generous gift of Spirit.  You know what’s better than receiving these gifts?  Giving them.  Next time you are feeling flustered and aggravated in traffic, extend the energy of abundance outward by affording someone else the chance at a stress-reprieve.  Let the pedestrians walk and the bikers ride.  When you live this way, you are actively developing a new way of being for the collective.  By consciously choosing to pause, breathe and extend opportunity for your fellow man, you are signaling outward that there is plenty of time and space for all to do and be where they are.  While they are merging, you may also take a deep breath and smile in your choice.  This may not come easily at first, but as you practice it will integrate into your lifestyle.  It benefits the Earth in your conservation of unnecessary fumes (from your vehicle and you) and wear and tear on your car and heart.

Sit outside and do nothing.

Sit in the woods or your yard, somewhere where there is natural beauty unfolding to witness.  There is always something to see and explore; sometimes we just need to sit a bit, listen and watch.  Here’s the catch: don’t bring a thing to do.  Leave your phone inside.  No need for books, instruments, writing or art tools.  Let yourself be and bask in each and every sipping moment as it passes.  Breathe and simply notice.  Ground with awareness of your precious surroundings and self.  Let the thoughts go wild, witness their decay.  Sitting on the Earth is bonus grounding or earthing.  You will settle in and out of presence.  Be soft and gentle with yourself.  You are living it!  You aren't doing it; you are being slow and sustained.

Longer term committed implementation:

Enjoying proper tea time

This has long been adapted in cultures internationally.  Why not the good ol’ USA?  Settling in and taking time to enjoy a proper cup (or pot) of tea is simply being.  This is an opportunity to slow down, take in with all the senses individually and unhurried, and truly feel how the tea is shifting the chemistry and waves within your body.  Incorporating tea ceremony into my daily morning routine has changed my life.  It affords the opportunity to sort out intentions for the day and also has shown me that I am capable of sitting and focusing on one task instead of living in butterfly brain.  Somehow the magic of drinking tea captivates enough to easefully settle into stillness and heightened awareness.  This offering of being still and sipping tea is a prayer of gratitude for each element involved in the process of tea brewing.  This act returns us to awareness of how deeply nourished and supported we are by all natural forces surrounding us always.  When we stop and appreciate, it breathes deeper consciousness into us and fosters the reality that we are all interconnected.  Our choices and our lives directly affect the living, breathing, natural world.  When we sit and commune with the energies of Earth through the elemental journey of Tea, we remember our responsibility to steward, protect and tend these exact energies that enliven us.  It is truly an incredible, all-encompassing synergy supporting yourself through mindful sitting and savoring with these beautiful herbs of the world while also stoking your awareness to the powerful, essential components of Earth simultaneously.

Adapting to wei wu wei philosophy

Wei wu wei is an ancient Taoist way of life meaning “effortless action” or “non-doing.”  If you are familiar with the Tao de Ching by Lao Tzu, it is one of the religious texts main premises.  It is more than possible to sit back and receive all the direction and guidance one needs without putting forth any effort.  In fact, I am sure many of you that are unknowingly on this path would agree that oftentimes trying to force any situation, whether it’s a relationship, job, living situation, whatever, it likely falls apart or does not veer in the direction hoped or desired.  How many times have you known in your gut something was not meant to work out but really “tried” for it and ultimately it disintegrated like sand between your fingers?  Wei wu wei is putting total trust into divine timing and cultivating space within for those energies to enter your life.  I can speak to my own experience: I knew nursing wasn’t my end-all be-all towards the last year of my time in the career.  Call it intuition, call it manifestation but I had received a private sound bath from my dear friend and mentor Jen who also plays the gong.  She informed me that I was the freest in my being when deeply listening to gongs.  That sparked in me the knowing it was time to invest in a Gong.  That night I went on Facebook marketplace and essentially inherited a woman’s sound business investment kit for a fraction of the cost.  I initially invested in the gong for myself.  With all of the other special instruments present now, it became clear that they were meant to be shared and not quieted on a shelf. It all aligned perfectly and through the choice of nondoing and receiving guidance.  When we continually strive (seeking is natural and healthy, in moderation) for answers and attempt to force scenarios, it requires much more energy expense than if we simply trusted, asked and sat back waiting for signs.  We use less resources and are living in alignment with higher frequencies of the universal way, which is harmonious for our home of the Earth.

Yin yoga, yoga nidra and other stillness-oriented meditations

Yin yoga is the intentional stilling of one's being in prayer of wei wu wei.  It is the allowance of space and time to enter into one’s being and field, guiding and influencing what is next.  Granting oneself opportunity to surrender and simply be is high signaling to the universe that you are thriving and also at peace ,ready for whatever is in highest alignment for you.  This may occur in the body, mind, heart and spirit.  Through this stillness, we learn to embrace the varying discomforts and aches that may arise in mind and body and greet them with compassion and loving kindness.  By slowing down and attending to our physical, emotional and energetic needs, we are optimizing our wellness and therefore reducing stress and risk for stress-related dis-ease.  This enhances the world around us and healthy balance within our relations.  Yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, is deeply restful to one’s whole being and liberates subconscious patterning.  The creation of a sankulpa, or simple positive statement of resolution, at the beginning of practice is meant to seep into one’s depths throughout the course of the yoga nidra journey and become a part of the receiver in the long-term.  For example, if you are seeking peace and state as a sankalpa “My mind is at peace,” your subconscious is infusing your being with the knowing that you are at peace.  By cultivating deep awareness to subconscious patterns and upending them through thoughtful and specific intention setting, you are taking the reigns on your health and wellbeing.  These stillness-oriented mindfulness practices remind us we are whole and we are in control from the Spirit to the body.

Routine gongbaths and soundbaths, but mostly gong baths

If you have ever had the blissful experience of a sound immersion, you will likely remember how time feels so much quicker (or even slower) than “real time.”  There is something to be said about the elongation of time specifically as a gong player and also as a receiver of a gongbath.  I recently took part in a 10-day (all day) gong immersion.  Returning home after this experience, I noticed myself innately slowing down with my decision process.  I began questioning my previously hurried steps.  I then started giving myself the space needed to live a life centered in nondoing as well as completing tasks with total presence and mindfulness.  This speaks volumes to the deeply lasting impacts of submerging oneself in the sound waves of the gong.  It lasts to this day and my deep listening only continues.  Sound immersion and gong baths align and refine our beings to the cosmic and natural way.  It “simply” attunes us to clarity, peace and general slowing for sustainability as this is a high conscious way of functioning in a world at a restoration point.  Sound more readily takes us to that in-between space (the point between rest and sleep) sometimes reemerging, not knowing where we went and also feeIing reborn from the start of the session.  Incorporating sound immersion and gong baths into your wellness routine is an incredible long-term commitment for tending to your nervous system, stress management and overall being behaving in mindfulness on this planet.

Live Life in Cruise Control.

Living in moderation, void of extremes (as much as possible) allows for reduced wear and tear on all layers of your being. 

At the end of the day, you are an autonomous agent of change for the greatest good of all beings.  When you choose to pause, replenish your cup and feel joy, you are directly shifting the paradigm on Earth to a place of sustainability and restoration.

Returning to Radiance retreat Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica February 1-7, 2023: The Back Story

*All bold text are links

It all came to me in a dream.  Truly.  The rosebud of Returning to Radiance was fruited from a dream I had about a dear friend, Katie.  She was sitting on her heels over white sand by a pristine blue ocean.  The beach was surrounded with slope-y, feminine feeling sculptures reminiscent to some set design of Stanley Kubrick.  Katie was silently summoning a divinely-guided group for a retreat there.  Her radiance was emanating outward to those intended to arrive and pulling inward to her own heart.  It was a beautiful magnetism to watch and witness.  Like ebb and flow of the ocean waves surrounding her.  For some back story, Katie also lived in Costa Rica for two months last winter.  In the dream, it was promised and felt the arrival of these folks in whatever forms but I awoke before it happened.  That aspect seemed to want to manifest all on its own in waking reality.

I naturally contacted Katie to tell her about the dream and in my sharing what may seem to be an obvious a-ha came to the forefront of my mind.  I asked if she wanted to collaborate on co-creating retreat by the sea.  Through various discussions we landed on the intent to bring people back to their true selves.  The idea is to shed the day-to-day roles and expectations that our fabricated realities can entrap us.  In this special window of time, we will live in mindful interconnection with the elements while also enjoying a good surf, smoothie and heat from the radiant tropical sun.  

Katie and I met for coffee to discuss further and she mentioned her good friend and collaborator with whom she had just finished another retreat in Vermont.  She asked if she could be included.  It felt like a positive line-up so we all went for it.  And it truly is!  Amber is wonderful at keeping on-task and organization, the type of thing my mind innately avoids.  She has a sweet spirit. I am very confident and excited about what we will alchemize together as a group of three (Jen who plays the Gong with Align Retreat).  Now we are all in process of polishing off the loving details for the itinerary of our first retreat together!  Returning to Radiance is born.

This is my fourth time hosting a retreat and first international location.  Costa Rica is also the first country I visited outside of the United States and Canada!  Now I have about twelve under my belt, but zip lining the cloud forests in Costa Rica is the first in my travel book.  One of the elements to this particular retreat that I am most excited about is the setting: Vida Asana yoga retreat center (where we will be lodging and enjoy organic gourmet meals) is a 5 minute bike ride (available gratis on-site) to the beach!  Not just any beach, but it is one of the few areas of the world that the ocean and the Jungle meet.  Magic!  Also very potent is that Returning to Radiance will build up to a cacao-infused, heart-centered dance under the full moon then we will take the rest of the retreat to integrate with peaceful offerings such as yoga nidra and journaling into our subconscious.  We will shed our layers of expectations and allow ourselves to be free under the luminescence of the moon together!  Every aspect of this retreat is so thoughtfully tailored to the cycles of the season and to the moment.

What is so special is that Returning to Radiance begins on February 1, which is known as Imbolc in ancient Celtic tradition. Imbolc is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.  I've seen it translated from Old Irish meaning “to cleanse or wash oneself” and also as “”in the belly of the Mother,” referring to the seeds of spring rooting and beginning to stir in the Earth.  The intent is that you will identify and plant your seeds for this solar cycle while together in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.  We will take the time to further distill what you intend to sow through mindful practices including daily movement and stillness-based yoga, sound transmissions, special ceremonies and subconscious journaling.  Even though Imbolc is clearly taking place more prominently in the northern hemisphere during February, it is pertinent relative to all in the world given the placement of the Earth in relation to the Sun.  For example, in the southern hemisphere this is Beltaine or May day!  The beginning of seeing seedlings beginning to flower and fruit!  We are taking in the indigenous traditions of Costa Rica to honor the people and land.  There will be an option for a Temezcal traditional sweat lodge which will be facilitated by an indigenous person.  We will also be participating in ever-loving cacao meditation.  Exploration of the lands will be done in a mindful, honorable way as well.  Vida Asana Yoga retreat center where we are staying is heavily eco-conscious with compost and recycling prevalent on-site to respect the surrounding lands.  

Taking into consideration many of the retreatants are arriving from the chilly northern hemisphere, time for reflection and relaxation in the sun will be optimized!  We are allowing total flexibility with how one wishes to curate the days at Returning to Radiance.  We want everybody to enjoy and explore Costa Rica to their individual depth and degree of interest with the guidance of this safe, eco-conscious resort we have chosen.  Everything is ultimately optional so skip out on a yoga session if you would rather swim in the pool or be by the ocean or just need some space to rest!  A typical day will vary greatly and be largely the decision of each person.  A sample day for someone looking to relax and rejuvenate themselves could include breakfast, morning yoga, taking a bike ride to the beach for the late morning, returning for lunch, enjoying a complimentary mud mask, dinner then evening yoga, sound meditation and subconscious journaling.  A sample day for someone looking to adventure and explore the depths of Costa Rica could include breakfast, morning yoga, surfing lessons, lunch, hike at Nayaca waterfalls, dinner, evening yoga and programming.  One can mix and match their days to their liking!  That is the point of a destination retreat: enjoy the surrounding area and unique part of the world to one’s comfort level while also receiving a total boost to one’s wellbeing through nourishing healthy meals, mindful movement and reflection practices, sound immersion and earthy connection.

As someone that has traveled to different countries on retreat (Costa Rica and India!) I found it to be a very user-friendly crash course to international travel while not feeling like a fish-out-of-water.  Being a single person at the time, I explored with old or new friends and had some of the most beautiful experiences on unexpected excursions.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the grounding aspect of lodging being covered, participating in a yoga class at the beginning and/or end of the day and of course not having to think at all about the food.  Being able to optimize my wellbeing through nourishing meals and daily mindful movement helped me to root and connect when traveling can be easily disorienting, especially when it is out of your home country.  It was my beginnings to traveling internationally solo.  If you are someone looking to learn how to travel internationally, this was my stepping stone and I would highly recommend it as one for you!  When I went to Costa Rica, I went with a friend to a retreat center of which we knew through our home yoga studio.  It was as familiar, safe and worry-free an experience as possible.  When I went to India with an organized tour, I ventured off with a seasoned traveler and learned a lot through being with her on our own adventures.  Returning to Radiance will afford you the opportunity to take a variety of excursions and likely meet a friend along the way if you are intended to travel solo and looking to expand your horizons!

A few married and long-term couples have already registered for Returning to Radiance.  What a beautiful opportunity to reconnect outside of the daily grind and routine!  There is something to be said about bonding over the thrill of adventure or peace of respite together.  We have added a deal for a couple of people, whether together or platonic, seeking a private room with one bed to share: one person registers as private accommodation while the other registers as shared.  This allows for a price break while also providing sweet private sanctuary!

Needless to say, the three of us are very excited to co-create this luxurious, fun and restful retreat experience for anybody looking to hard stop, unplug and have some space from their daily life to reflect upon what is to come in this year’s cycle.  All while receiving a total reboot to your whole being.  The timing couldn’t be more perfect!  Early bird special ends on December 1, 2022.  Reserve your sliver of peaceful relief and freedom in a time of non-stop notifications and stress!  You deserve a restful pause from your day-to-day.

Medicine of Non-Doing

The origins of the word “Medicine” are stemmed from Latin verb “mederi” meaning to heal.  The word heal, in my estimation, is outdated and insinuates something is not already whole, but that is another blog post subject altogether :).When looking from this original definition, medicine can apply to well beyond that found within the Western medical model.  Medicine could be a long walk in the woods, a hug from a loved one, petting your dog or enjoying a cup of tea.  Non-doing is the art of being and receiving with minimal output or effort.  This is most commonly seen in the Tao, or Universal Way, with the Chinese concept of “wei wu wei” or effortless action, inaction, inertion.  It is the idea of letting things come to you, not forcing things into place through your will.  This entire way of living is devoted to being and non-doing.  The statement “Medicine of Non-doing” is speaking to the inexhaustible gift of restoring within through simply being and receiving without any outward effort.  Here I will share the innumerable benefits of this potent combination particularly in application with Sound.

We live in a society of noise.  Do this; you’ve received a new notification; check that off the list; billboards.  It  goes on and on and on.  We are constantly on the go, but never reaching an end.  A frenzied rat race on steroids is what the 21st century in America is presenting overall.  People sleep with the television on.  No judgment, just examining how all night long one receives a slanted narrative of commercials, news, whatever the main program is representing.  How could one truly awaken refreshed?  Now what is the alternative…

Living simply and slowly with intention is an example of sustainability for self, all and planet.  Come what may, as they say, minimizing resistance to what is meant to be.  When we step into this way of being, we receive and are open to all possibilities.  Most importantly, we effortlessly tend to our whole being.  Medicine of non-doing is a conscious lifestyle as much as it is a choice for highest wellness.  How does this apply within the confines of science?

As a society, with said noise, we are operating on fight-or-flight response overload.  Every notification, ad, traffic jam, heated argument, meeting, etc. is a trigger for stress or a release of the hormone cortisol.  As beings living on this beautiful planet Earth, we are meant to exist in the Rest and Digest, or parasympathetic, mode innately and Fight or Flight, or sympathetic, mode secondarily.  Waking to an alarm is an immediate sendoff into the direction of one versus the other.  All of this release of Cortisol in each instance of perceived Stress (remember this term: perceived stress) creates an accumulated buildup when not addressed with rebalancing measures.  Chronic, unmanaged stress (alongside non-mindful lifestyle choices) creates chronic inflammation or heat within the body.  Chronic inflammation leads to the many prominent diseases within American culture: heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, obesity and so much more.  To manage your stress is to manage your life and wellbeing.  This is just focusing on the nervous system within our 11 body systems.  How is medicine of non-doing the antidote to all of this?

Receiving whole and complete, coherent, non-chaotic input and reducing personal output is a surefire way of reducing stress load and also opening towards restoration within all levels of being.  It is the very definition of medicine in non-doing.  This receiving therefore decreases our chronic inflammation and possibility for any host of self-inflicted dis-eases.   There are many ways in which one may experience this replenishment to their core.  The number one is through general pause or break from the continuum of noise.  The primary equation of restoration requires the Ss of stillness, space, safe sense, silence and/or intentional sound.  It is imperative that one receives these energetic transmissions or finds rest in an environment that is safe, comfortable and warm to them.  We will primarily focus on the modality of Sound.

As a specific example of rest and relaxation that Jen who plays the Gong offers, Yin yoga is a discipline that focuses on holding poses for a prolonged period of time with intent to lengthen connective tissue, improve mobility and calm the nervous system.  Consciously choosing a state of stillness for an hour is a very foreign experience within our over-paced, productivity-driven society.  It is either the quickest, most blissful or longest, most hellish hour depending on your state of being.  Irrespective to anything else, it is incredibly rebalancing to our “Go”-oriented society.  It eventually activates Rest and Digest mode in all yogis consciously choosing to be in each pose.  Yin yoga coupled with sound immersion gives one the sense of ethereal embodiment.  One is completely connected to their physical bodily experience on account of the deep stretching while also being given a reprieve from the mental and emotional bodies with having the sound as somewhere to inhabit.  This is just the beginning of the light that sound brings to our typically clouded minds.

A well-intentioned and orchestrated soundbath affords a multitude of benefits for all layers of the recipient which acts as medicine in non-doing.  The benefits are innumerable, multidimensional, subtle and gross as well as immediate, profound, low in side effects and effective.  At the very least, it invites any recipient a deeper sense of relaxation in activation of parasympathetic nervous system.  It can and easily does move far beyond into the realms of satisfying sleep and peaceful dream states, further resting and digesting.  Clarity, calm, diminished anxiety and improved moods are common byproducts for the mental body.  Sound can bring about feelings of empowerment and decisiveness within the individual.  The vibrational path opens energetic space within our psyche and spirit for more possibility while diminishing self-doubt and connecting us to higher consciousness and ways of being, effortlessly and without thought.  Remembering the phrase from earlier: sound immersion increases our threshold for perceived stress (meaning we are able to tolerate much more before even releasing cortisol).  Using sound for rest and relaxation by default reduces stress AND reduces our stress response.  It is therefore a proactive form of holistic wellness and a preventative for stress-related disorders as above mentioned.  It is magic and science.  The specific examples, signs and symptoms and populations this reaches are far and beyond this article but this is the gist of my experience as a receiver and provider of sound at its purest.

What is my credentialing in all of this?  My name is Jen, the Jen who plays the Gong.  I worked in the nursing field for over 10 years, 6 of which as a registered nurse, half of the time in long term care and the other half in acute care before my resignation at the end of 2021.  Anatomy and Physiology was one of my favorite, most retained subjects which translates so well to this subject matter, particularly the knowledge on sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous systems.  Through my nursing practice, I grew accustomed to energetically tending to the needs of humans, many of whom could not speak for themselves for a variety of reasons.  Bedside manner has become this incredibly detective and refining tool of what REALLY does this person need on any of our complicated levels.  This easily translates into my role as sound practitioner, yoga instructor and any social situation in being aware of energetics.  Not to mention witnessing the state of the healthcare institutions at which I was employed.  To no one person's fault, they are terribly sterile and killing to the human spirit.  This is why I routinely mention safe, warm, comfortable environment.  How can one sleep with the TV on or also call bells, beeping machines, medical staff talking loudly to keep themselves awake?  

I have also been a registered yoga teacher for a decade, especially attuned to the depths of yin.  This yogic world offered me space to deep dive into the gamut of spiritual offerings including soundbaths.  My first sound immersion experience was a 2 hour, blindfolded offering with a room filled with gongs.  That was the beginning of a deep exploration within my own sensitive soul and the spirit world.  In hindsight these offerings tending to the Spirit were the perfect parallel to my western nursing reality.  It was also my first exposure to medicine in non-doing.  In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Kimmerer suggests in so many words that science is void of Spirit and that is the biggest disservice.  That is how it feels with the Western Medical model and why I was obligated to resign from it and enter into the world of sound and proactive holistic healthcare.  

How is Jen who plays the Gong further incorporating the medicine of non-doing?  Of course there are the mainstay offerings of private soundbaths for individuals and groups plus public gatherings centered around sound immersion with or without yin yoga and so on.  Given the current chaotic climate of the world plus my nursing background, I have decided to hone in on selectively collaborating with wholesome, genuine and exemplary holistic health practitioners.  This means I am offering sound in pairing with a host of other profound and powerful modalities that are stilling by nature for the recipient.  Examples include community acupuncture and soundbath; reiki and sound immersion; soundbaths in conjunction with talk therapy;  biodynamic craniosacral therapy while receiving sound; massage of all kinds and soundbaths, etc.  The beauty of sound is that it can pair with virtually anything since it is pure and emanating vibration yet effortless to receive and process by the individual.  A list of these current and former collaborators may be found here on my website.  It is a subject and offering of which I feel most passionate in terms of impacting outcomes, given the current state of our Western healthcare system.

There are many ways to optimize your own wellbeing with medicine of non-doing within the context of Jen who plays the Gong’s offerings.  You may schedule your own sonic plunge private soundbath immersion, private party of ceremonial sound or register for a public gathering coupled with any modality mentioned above.  In the 21st century of screens and never-ending deadlines, we owe it to ourselves to pause, be still, release and restore from within.  This is the Gift in routinely choosing Medicine of Non-doing.  May you choose to be free from rampant stress and suffering.