At the end of a recent yoga and Tibetan Bowl event. I mentioned that our breath is not really 'ours' because it has been part of the universe forever. The breath we inhale might have gone around the universe many times, into oceans, through mountains, animals... It may have been breathed by Buddha, or Jesus or Hitler or Mohammed before reaching us. And our exhalation will go out and circulate for ever as well... One person had a strong reaction to the mention of Hitler and wanted to know why he was mentioned. Here is my response: What do you think??
The Tibetan instruments are all about the interconnectedness of all things. All things, no exceptions. It is much easier to be open to feelings of universal connectedness when it comes to what we know and love... The whole point of sound healing, and especially of the gong.. is to help us to stretch our boundaries to that which feels like a challenge. The belief is that everyone has the seed of the divine within them.. What they do with it can be a manifestation of love or hate. But the seed, the essence is always one of divine perfection. And all of us..have the ability to express love or hate.. we have all human emotion within us and we have choice as to what we do with it. When you hear the gong and you allow its strong vibrations to course through you - you are opening and accepting of what could be a huge and painful challenge should you decide to resist it. The mention of Hitler is only to say, that we recognize it all- the entire spectrum of human behavior because it is part of us all.. I think we all recognize that the direction Hitler took was an abaration but the sound is about getting to a place of compassion that is so deep that we can condemn the behavior but still recognize the essence within any human being. It is not easy but it is the mark of expanding consciousness.