A Journey for Answers

    by Lesley Almer

My skin still felt the vibrations bouncing off the walls.  Always at this time, I assimilated and felt the most energy…in silence.  The room was dim. I could see the outline of participants as my tingshas lured them back into their bodies.  By the look on their faces I knew many had a lot to say about their sonic journey.

“What did it mean?” One individual asked after their elaborate description of colors and immersion of water.  Some of my suggestions were received; but I knew they weren’t completely satisfied.  Little did they know, they already had the answer.  Many of us do.  Instead, we seek clarity and confirmation from other sources, diminishing our own intuitive capabilities.

It was time for me to create a new event, something I hadn’t facilitated before.  I wasn’t sure what this concept even looked like.  Whenever I find myself in doubt of a direction splattered with question marks, I dust off my shamanic tools and journey inward.  The guidance was encouraging me to continue a ritual of journeys each day for thirty days.  I plunged into the lower and upper realms for clarity and brought back energies, images and wisdom recommended by my guides.  At the end of this time span, what manifested was a guided shamanic journey for connecting with one’s shaman teacher.

In the summer of 2016, I facilitated this new event and the guided shamanic journey was well-received.  It confirmed the nudges during previous rehearsals to make it widely accessible for anyone interested in exploring their higher consciousness.  Darn nudges, thank you.

When fellow sound healer, Lynda Arnold, asked what I had in mind as regards recording this album, I responded, “A guided adventure.”  I called upon her expertise in music production to help breathe life into the project.  I wanted to incorporate all the senses and make it more of an experience rather than a flat recorded meditation.

Like two inner-children at play, Lynda and I beat drums and included other instruments to animate the layers in the journey.  Every listener was to transport into the lower realm easily, regardless of their experience.  The crystal bowls were to have their voices heard, as well as my integrated vocals.  Once I have the listener in a higher frequency state, I infuse earthly guttural chants of the directional deities to incorporate all aspects of space and protection.

Even now, I discover new symbolism in this guided journey.  Every animal, sound, and image had its purpose.  I researched the meanings behind the animals and revealed mysticism and initiation.  I love synchronicity; and find it happens quite often with this work. 

This guided journey may not be for everyone.  However, for those who are ready for it, I wish them an experience beyond their imaginations and hope this new tool will unite them not, only with their inner wisdom, but with a deep sense of empowerment.

Universal Touch

2999 Westminster Ave., Ste 103A

Seal Beach, CA  90740

562-612-6742

Blog: https://theremlamethod.wordpress.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeBuzZdyG41c17t6OevYnxw

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UniversalTouch67

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/universal_t0uch/?hl=en

Website:  http://www.lesleyalmer.com

Email:  

Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/universaltouch

Linkedin:   www.linkedin.com/in/universaltouch/

Publication Links

Manifest Your Successful Natural Healing Business: A Handbook For Bodyworkers, Aestheticians & All Natural Healers Of The World

http://my.bookbaby.com/book/manifest-your-successful-natural-healing-business

Awakening Your Inner Shaman: A Guided Shamanic Journey

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/lesleyalmer

YouTube Video (A taste of my bowl playing)

https://youtu.be/BLi9s1Pw4Gk 

GALINA SANDERSON

Me, the Singer, is dancing barefoot in the churches of London. That is where the 5 Rhythms movement is happening–more and more people come to dance, but not to night clubs or discotheques. Those places where sweat is mixed with alcohol and tobacco smells are still in power; but they do not empower. These – have wooden floors, high ceilings, stained glass windows and so much white clean space.

It is easy and fun to breathe, scream, hum and moan in these white clean spaces.

5 Rhythms was the child of Gabrielle Roth, an American theatre director, dance teacher-explorer, an urban shaman woman from New York, who wanted bring people into Ecstasy state without substances and introduce them to freedom from the mind. To make it through the body and make the body an object of adoration.

   We are so different. Some dancers have been coming to 5 Rhythms for 8-       10 years; others are beginners - different sizes, ages, nationalities and            incomes, short legged and long legged.  Most of us are not professional          dancers. Some are; but we all love to move in a room where nobody                judges, evaluates or compete. We are all searching – some for inner              alignment, some for community, peaceful mind, some for freedom from            pain, losses and grief.

Five rhythms – Flowing, Lyrical, Staccato, Chaos, Stillness form a wave, a cycle of a dance. We become that wave as the body is carried forward by sound, without the mind deciding where to go and what part to move in which direction. Music, very colourful in mood and rhythm, is heard by all the body, not only the ears. The sound fills your cells and takes you into another reality. This is pure meditation. Meditation in motion. Trance follows.

We are reminded by the teacher to breathe consciously, to have a certain intensity and speed of exhalation.  Breath leads me and gives me an indication of how fast I can go. At some point, after approximately an hour of dancing, the intensity of the atmosphere reaches such a peak, the tension which accumulated in the body during the week in all of us, collapses. A firecracker Bang! And the sound of release escapes the bottomless bodies. Uuhs and Ahhhs and Humms and Mmms – all of us are in these sounds at that moment.  We laugh together when we dance with a partner, repeating each other’s movements and creating unusual new ones.  We cry too, knowing that even if someone notices, they won’t judge. Crying happens when the freedom of being yourself hits us. 

Usually I quietly hum at the end of the class, when Lyrical section starts. My voice blends into the melody. I feel expanded, free, happy, and a little bit tired. At the same time there is this knowing that my voice lives in this body, in my bare feet kissing the wooden floor, in my flying arms and hands, in the movement of my neck.

Music, voice, energy, body. Everything is a dance.

HARMONIES OF LIGHT by JIM OLIVER                                  

Everyone brings their own unique gifts to the field of sound healing. We offer the environment for healing (to make whole) to occur.

My formal music study began with piano lessons at age 5, then popular organ study at the Hartford Conservatory of Music at 14. Next was music theory, classical organ and piano lessons at Julius Hartt School of Music when I was 17 which was in preparation to be a classical organ major at Hartt College of Music in 1971. Lots and lots of Bach. I also conducted and played with a guitar based folk mass group with 40+ teenagers. Tens of thousands of hours of practice and performance playing in many different venues including churches, night clubs and show rooms. The remainder of the 70s found me on the road with a variety of bands including about 3 years with a Vegas-show road band. A total of 7+ years living in hotels throughout the US and Canada - 52 weeks a year, playing 6 nights a week and travelling on most “days off”.  Through it all, I observed the profound response people have with music of varying types and wanted to offer music that was the “main event” rather than background or accompaniment. In the late 1970s that began to take form.

In 1982 in the course of my explorations into the field of sound, music and wellness, I heard of two ladies that were using water filled balloons placed on specific parts of their client’s body and they hummed into the water balloons. The water provided a more direct connection with the body. Brilliant!

I soon began working with a Kineseologist, Oriental Medical Doctor, Naturopath and Acupuncturist. We explored using specific frequencies and waveforms for specific ailments. We sought to find ways to present the sound in the most effective manner. If we were playing a sound for the lungs or liver or an acupuncture meridian, I would place the headphones on the client’s ankles with an extremely low volume level so they could not hear the sound with their ears. The muscle testing showed the benefit whether they could hear the sound with their ears or have the correct sound connected to their body/being by headphones. We also infused a quartz crystal with the sound and it also tested strong when the appropriate frequency and waveform was implemented.

Being a keyboardist and having access to analog synthesizers was a great plus. I could specify frequencies and waveforms to observe what had a more beneficial effect. In my observation, the waveform has as much to do with the response as the frequency. Based on orchestral instruments, sine waves are more flute instrument sounding. Square waves are more woodwind instrument sounding such as clarinet and oboe. Sawtooth waves are more brass instrument sounding such as trumpet, trombone, sousaphone and tuba. Sawtooth and square composite waveforms are more like strings such as violins, cellos and bass. Each waveform or combination of waveforms resonates with the body, mind, spirit and emotional bodies differently as well as chakras and etheric energy fields. Different waveforms have different harmonic overtones which contribute to the receptivity and resonance of the tones and music. I mention emotions because I feel that emotions are what are “in the driver’s seat”. Tones resonate with certain aspects of the physical being and emotions engage what is affecting people’s moods which then relate to physical manifestation of health and perceived well-being. It is a complete, cohesive experience rather than a conglomeration of isolated elements.

An individual who experienced harp healing with me had the following to say about the harp and color I offer during a session:

“The harp is an instrument of sublime beauty and a powerful tool for healing. Revered throughout the ages for its angelic sound, the harp has now been shown in clinical studies to have measurable therapeutic benefits for reducing stress and anxiety, inducing restful sleep, and helping listeners release physical and emotional suffering.
The use of color as therapy is a truly holistic, non-invasive and powerful therapy which dates back thousands of years; evidence of this can be found in ancient texts from India, China and Egypt. Color is simply light of varying wavelengths and, as such, is a form of energy used in Color Therapy. Christina uses colored scarves based on the client’s vibration to assist with the Harp Healing.”

A harp healing session consists of playing improvised, intuitive harp music (which you’re welcome to record), an invitation to sit at the harp and play your own harp sounds, and an opportunity to choose a scarf or two of vibrant colors to enhance your time with harp healing. Each session is unique and completely tailored to the needs of the person sitting with me. I feel like I’m holding the space, with the addition of music and color, for energy, for healing work.
My work as the harp healer at the O.N.E. Wellness Center in Rochester, NY comes after years of studying many different disciplines. This includes astrology, palmistry, sound healing, music therapy, many forms of dance (Zydeco, African drum and dance are favorites), voice lessons, and harp lessons. Then I had the good fortune to work with Mara, who encouraged the journey to improvisation. I’ve taken many art, painting, crafts, zentangle, jewelry making classes. What they all had in common was working holistically with individuals, making intuition an integral part of this work, and the desire to be deep in the creative process. I still enjoy creating unique jewelry pieces from many different mediums.

When I complete my color therapy course, I will “learn more, each day, about the light spectrum, how we harness its power to heal and when and where is the best time to use it. Color is present in the food we eat, clothes we wear, environment we live and work in, as well as, the colors we’re attracted to each day. These mysteries tell a story as to what we need, in the moment for transformation to occur.” This completely complements my view of intuitive, improvisation harp sounds used to support individuals on their journeys.

M.A. Mental Health Counseling, City University of Seattle: Grief and loss, Bereavement, Pet loss specialties
Harp Healer at O.N.E Wellness Center, www.onewellnesscntr.com
Strings of Light, CD recorded in The Tank in Rangeley, Colorado

www.tanksounds.org

https://members.cdbaby.com/Album/Review/vialb01329894

https://www.amazon.com/Strings-Light-Christina-Ivanna/dp/B07FZTCVVT/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540312972&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Strings+of+Light%2C+CD%2C+Christina+Ivanna

https://christinaivanna.bandcamp.com/releases

Practitioner of:

Tai Chi, Qigong

Member of Sound Healers Association

Member of Upstate New York Bead Guild

Member of Upstate New York Polymer Clay Guild

*Member of National Association of Holistic Wellness

*Member of International Therapist Directory

*upon completion of The Color Elite Color Therapy Course (3/19)

My Experience With Sacred Sound

By Vernice McTigue

“One morning in the middle of last year I woke at 4am with the words and music of part of an amazing song running through my mind. I was compelled to get out of bed and somehow document the words and the music. I was given the name of the song “I Am The Universal Heart”.

I’m able to read music while singing, but have never learned to write music. I was given the words and music to the first part of the song, which is the chorus. I recorded it into my phone and wrote down the words. Over a period of the next two weeks, I was given the remainder of the song. Whenever I sat and opened the channel; it came into my consciousness. I was told this song has a purpose and would be heard all over the world. Its purpose is to open the heart and to raise the vibration of Humanity.

OM MANI PADME HUM Chant for Creating Compassion. 

Jonathan Goldman and Andi Goldman                       

Share the OM MANI PADME HUM chant for creating compassion.  

Dear Sound Friends:

We are living in unique and extraordinary times. One of the most important attributes we can manifest and embody is compassion. There is so much divisiveness occurring on our planet right now. Perhaps more compassion would help assist this condition.

The "Om Mani Padme Hum" mantra is considered one of the most powerful chants for creating compassion. Very recently, I rediscovered a recording from the 2014 Healing Sounds Intensive that featured first, a teaching on compassion by Chant Master and Geshe, Lama Tashi and second, an extended group chant of the "Om Mani Padme Hum" mantra co-created by Lama Tashi, myself and nearly 100 other sound healers at the Intensive.   

It’s quite a unique and special recording – beautiful, powerful and profound.  For no other purpose than to assist in the generation of compassion on this planet, I am making this MP3 recording available as a free gift to you. The recording includes liner notes with information about the mantra and more.

Simply click on this link to download this recording.  I trust that listening to it will help accelerate compassion. If it resonates, please share it with a friend.

Enjoy this version of “Om Mani Padme Hum”, featuring both the teachings and the extended group chanting of this exquisite mantra.

May enlightenment come to all sentient beings!

Blessings of Light & Love through Sound,

Jonathan

Jonathan Goldman

Click Here to Download the "Om Mani Padme Hum" Chant

ARTICLE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The Sound Healing Association commitment is to support our members and share information regarding the use of sound as a therapeutic and transformational modality.

Our newsletter Sound Reflections will share our collective experiences with Sound.  These stories will include experiences in our private practice, our community or in group events.  There’s an endless and varied amount of sound tools and practices in use around the world.  New discoveries are happening every day as individuals continue to tap into the universal consciousness and vibrational support of all things sound! 

Featured stories will help us learn from one another by including articles in a Member Highlight section, Sound Healers on the Move, as well as featured articles from our Sound Library.  The use of sound for transformation is an ancient practice and there’s value in learning from the pioneers who came before us.  Their inspiration can foster new insights and ways of working with sound to enhance our lives today.