Discord

Last night I played a sound healing concert in a health facility. I wanted to share this unusual experience with you. The room was nice enough but the ceiling was low, the floor carpeted and the acoustics not the best. The sponsors were welcoming, helpful and excited, many of them scientists. I was happy for the opportunity to introduce this modality to a group of people in the health field but as the room filled something felt off. In general I play in yoga studios, or places that have a strong spiritual connection. Here, that connection was not as evident- the people may have had this connection but not the space. When I started the concert my electronic tembura wouldn't work and the singing bowls sounded flat and discordant. People seemed to be shifting around quite a bit, there were babies who made quite a bit of noise, the owner decided to do something with the sound system in the middle of the concert that produced a loud hiss for several minutes...things that unsettled me.. Throughout the concert I was aware the the bowls just would not go into harmony with one another so I decided to play the gong earlier than usual in the evening. That did it for the audience. Within moments the power of that instrument settled people down and I returned to a group of bowls that were much more in harmony with eachother than how I had left them.. In the end, people raved about their experiece but I still felt uncomfortable and my Tibetan bowls definately did too.