This rejuvenating ritual is based on mineral. Mineral represents communication: how can our purpose be communicated within ourselves to to the rest of the world? Each of us has and lives a story. Some of us feel this story is out of sync with who we really are. This mineral ritual can benefit us in so many by allowing our old stories to be finished and our new ones to begin.

Connecting with Nature

You will need an ordinary stone or crystal for this ritual. Search for a stone in your yard, on a walking path, in the park, or wherever. It doesn’t have to be a fancy stone, but should be comfortable to carry with you. I’ve done healing work with many people who have used a crystal in place of the stone, and it worked beautifully.

For three consecutive days, keep this rock or crystal with you. It can be carried in your pocket, purse, or even in a pouch around your neck. The point is it should remain with you throughout the three day period. For fifteen minutes each day, hold the stone or crystal in the palm of your hand and close your fingers around it. During this period, focus on connecting with the stone, asking it to grant you a new story that can help improve your life. Be open to receive whatever new story comes your way using this mineral ritual.

When you are finished downloading your new story, take a moment to thank the rock for helping you in your discovery. If you found the rock in nature, please be sure to return it.

Start a New Chapter of Self-Improvement

Far too often we get stuck in a rut. We automatically support the stories in our lives that are not necessarily the ones that we want to continue. The problem is it’s easier or more habitual to do this, because we don’t have a new story to replace the old one! We end up stuck in the same, repetitive story.

So use this ritual to start a new chapter. Ask for a new story! Take the time to really focus on how this new story can change the current unhelpful conditions in your life and support you as your continue down your path of purpose.

I would love to hear what each of you gets through this exercise! Please let me know your stories of renewal at toby@healingdrummer.com.

I’ve recently released a new album called Tribal Medicine. This CD features healing rhythms that are intended to restore listeners’ hearts and souls as the sensations of the healing drum infuses the body.

Tribal Medicine offers inspiration through tribal connections. I’ve been told over and over again that while experiencing the album, a sensation of being present at an ancient indigenous ceremony often comes over listeners. It’s a powerful experience to feel the wisdom of African, Native American, and Eastern shamanic healing traditions through healing rhythms!

African Djembe Drums

Each track on Tribal Medicine supports a particular energy and offers different rhythms and sounds that, collectively, make the album a powerful healing experience. Let me tell you about my intentions with the opening track of the album, “Call of the Ancestors.” In the Dagara cosmology that my work is based on, the ancestors are those who have come before us, whose blood runs through our veins. Because we are part of them, they have a vested interest in our well-being. So they are the ones that we call to when we need help.

The chanting in “Call of the Ancestors” brings to mind a person in great need calling upon the ancestors in a language that is beyond words. It is a language of emotion and raw spiritual energy, calling for the ancestors’ help and guidance in life. The voices overlaid on the track are from different cultures: African, South American, and Native American voices all calling to their ancestors for healing of their minds, bodies, and spirits, as well as the world!

Listen to a sample of “Call of the Ancestors.”

Call of the Ancestors

Tribal Medicine features me, Healing Drummer Toby Christensen, on djembe drum and percussion, and the talented Rebecca Holt on vocal toning. Skilled artist Carolina Woodrich shared her stunning original artwork for the album!

To purchase a copy of this healing rhythms CD, please visit my shop. I invite you to engage your body, mind, and soul with the powerful rhythms of Tribal Medicine. Enjoy!

Nechema Robinson, MA, the director of KinderWorld Tracks recently spoke with Toby about his life and healing gifts. The following is the first in a three-part excerpt from this interview.

Says Nechama, “If ever an interview has taken me places I did not expect, it was this one with Toby Christensen, Healing Drummer. From corporate events to private healing sessions, Toby’s work is recognized by people in all walks of life.”

Toby Christensen, The Healing Drummer

Nechama Robinson: [Toby, please introduce yourself].

Toby Christensen: My name is Toby Christensen, and people call me the “healing drummer.” Through my work in Burkina Faso, West Africa, I have developed a process of sound healing called sound attunement therapy. It uses sound energy from the drum as a mechanism to disrupt and reconfigure a person’s energy field so that the things that are not helpful in their lives can fall away, and the things they desire to create they can do so more easily. I travel around the United States and Canada doing private healing sessions, workshops, shamanic training, and interactive concerts. More information can be found at www.healingdrummer.com

Nechama: Sounds amazing! How long have you been doing this, and how did you get into it?

Toby: I have been doing this type of drum healing since about 2002. I had been on a trip to West Africa, and when I returned I started having zombie dreams! It was an interesting vision of zombies coming up out of the ground coming towards me, seeming as though I was going to be attacked by them. When they reached me, they laid down on their back. I stood over them and played djembe rhythms, and they were restored to full and complete health. They would jump up to shake my hand and run off!

After several nights of having this dream I called my African teacher. After hearing the reoccurring dream, [he] simply said this: The ancestors are showing you exactly what your life purpose is. Do exactly what you see in the dream! It was then that I began to pull my friends aside and ask if I could drum on them to see what they felt. As this occurred, life-changing things happened in their lives, and people began to call me for sessions.

At the time, I owned a chain of espresso bars and a restaurant—which over the next three or four years I sold. And I have been on the road doing the healing work and teaching since then.

Toby’s Clients

Nechama: What a remarkable story! Who are your clients?

Toby: I would say that my average client is middle income, middle class, college educated and open-minded.

Nechama: How do most of your clients hear about you?

Toby: The majority of [my] clients hear from me through word-of-mouth. Starting off with very grassroots marketing, the word began to spread from person to person. Then I was asked to speak at a medical conference at University of Portland a few years ago, which led to greater visibility. Then it is as though I somehow fell into the cosmic phone lines and people began to call! I began to travel, which led to more calls, and I am now on the road 300 days a year, bringing the healing drum too many places in the world.

In addition to this, I have had tremendous help from people in my community who have helped create my website, blogs, and marketing material, so that when people call I am prepared to offer them the programs that I teach and sessions that I facilitate. It is because of this community and their support that the work has expanded as quickly as it has.

Stayed tuned for part two of this interview: Discovering the Realness of The Healing Drummer.

Thank you to Nechama Robinson, MA, director of KinderWorld Tracks.

Inquiries about Toby’s services can be made to info@healingdrummer.com. Keep in touch with Toby’s events at www.healingdrummer.com/schedule or sign up to receive Toby’s newsletter!

Mineral is about communication; it’s about the stories that we live, that we think about, and that we speak about. Mineral is about connecting to your life’s purpose and communicating that purpose in the world.

This mineral ritual is powerful. Not only have I used it several times, but I’ve witnessed its efficacy in others. This ritual is profoundly simple and can change your life in a very short period of time. The purpose or intention of the ritual is to change the stories of your life that are not helpful, and to activate the stories that you would like to be living in present time.

A line in “Who Says,” the great song by John Mayer, goes like this:

Who says I can’t be free from all of the things that I used to be?

Rewrite my history.

Who says I can’t be free?

I love this line because it speaks a deep truth about how we can change the way we live our lives today and the things that we draw to ourselves. To be free of the things that we used to be requires the release of old stories. Once these old stories are released, it makes room for the creation of a new history! This can be profoundly healing and freeing.

Ritual to Rewrite Your History

So here’s the ritual. First, you need to find a rock. Any old rock will do—you do not have to go to the metaphysical bookstore and buy an expensive crystal. The Dagara people of Burkina Faso say that the stones are the beings that hold the stories of all humanity. We want to pick a stone that is going to hold the stories that we are ready to get rid of. Sit with the stone for a day or two, and go within yourself while thinking about the stories you hold onto and about the past that no longer serves you.

When the time is right, sit down with your stone and speak into it all of the stories that you are ready to release. Here’s the catch: when you release a story and give it to a stone, you can never speak the story again. So make sure that you’re really ready to get rid of that story. As you speak the stories into the stone, allow the energy of that story—whether trauma, drama, or any unhelpful feeling—to drain from you.

Once you have sufficiently released the story, go bury the rock in the earth and thank it for holding the stories you do not have to hold onto any longer. Now you can get some paper and began to rewrite your history. This can be very fun because you get to create whatever story you would like to about your past. As we undo the negative programming of the past and replace it with new information, the way that we live today changes.

Nature carries the energy of magic transformation. It is about authenticity and living your “true nature.” This ritual is one of reflection, of going deep into your soul to discover more clearly who you really are. What is your authentic dream? Is what you’re doing right now in your life the thing that really suits you? Is the vocation that you currently invest thousands of hours a year in, in alignment with your true self? The answer I’m getting most of the time as I ask these questions is something like, “Hell no!”

Well, if that’s your answer this is the moment to change your life!

Energy of Magic and Transformation

This ritual involves connecting to nature and asking the spirits of nature to help us align with our true self. The ritual goes like this:

Take an object—or several objects—that represent the parts of yourself, your life, or your work that are not in alignment with your true nature. Take these objects to a place in nature and burry them at the base of a tree. As you do, call upon the spirits of nature, as they have the energy of magic and transformation to transform what these objects represent into the energy that is truly in alignment with you.

When you go back to your home, build a small altar to nature. This is comprised of a green cloth, some greenery—whether this is flowers you purchase at the store, or flowers to pick from your garden, or greenery from the trees around you, is that things that represent nature to you—and a few green candles. The shrine is “opened” by lighting the candles, and “closed” by blowing them out.

Ritual to Honor Your True Nature

Once your nature shrine is built, place some items on it that represent what you believe to be your true nature. Ask the spirits of nature to feed these aspects of your life and create the synchronicities to occur “effortlessly and delightfully” for you to come in to your true nature in all aspects of your life.

Each day of the month place a small glass of water on the shrine. This is important, as water feeds nature. Each morning, spend time at your shrine asking for your true nature to be supported. Pour the water from the previous day into a plant or at the base of a tree. Refill the glass, offer it to the shrine, and renew your commitment to honoring your true nature!

When I started this path I am on, I owned some coffee bars and a restaurant. I never dreamed I could do this work full-time. Through training, persistence, and following some suggestions from those who had done it before, I was able to let go of the job that was sucking the life out of me and step into doing what I love!

There is always something you can do to change your life, to bring about the life you’ve always wanted. I’ve found following rituals central to the West African culture to be quite powerful in bringing about change. These rituals can help you realize how to bring your dreams to fruition and how to live by your intentions.

Transformative Change with a Fire Ritual

The second ritual for renewal I will talk about relates to the element of fire. The ritual is as follows:

Write down 10 things that you would like to see happen over the next year year. You can put them in consecutive order-like what you’d like to see for this month, then next month, and so on. But that’s not completely necessary, for many of the things that you want to achieve may not have this particular kind of sequence.

As you write them down, feel into them. Feel what it’s like when these things come to fruition. Feel the joy of accomplishment. Feel the joy and satisfaction of creation.

Sit with this list for three days. At the end of three days, build a small fire. For those of you who live in cold climates—like my maiden Park City where it was -3° this morning—you can build your fire in your fireplace. For those of you who have the ability to create an outdoor fire, build one somewhere where you can be alone.

Once your fire is going, sit with your list while feeling that each one of your dreams and desires are being actualized. Call in the help of the ancestors, spirit guides, angels, and all of the otherworldly beings working on your behalf. Ask these beings to create the synchronicities to effortlessly and delightfully have these things manifest in your life. As you do this, gently place the list in the fire. Ask the element of fire to light the path for your actions that will help to create these things in your life. Watch the paper burn until it is completely consumed by the fire.

Manifesting Your Dreams

Sit for a few moments and enter a period of reflection while you watch the fire burn. Be sure to ask yourself, “What is the first thing I need to do or to take action on in order make these things come into being?”

Now you can begin your journey having the element of fire to light your path while bringing new vision and a deeper connection to the spirit world—which is rallying on your behalf to fulfill the things you wrote on your list.

Be aware that over time some of the things on your list will become less important than they might be the day you do the ritual. Also, new vision may come. Part of connecting to the element of fire is a renewal of vision. Be aware! Let your vision grow and expand.

In the song “Rock Star” by Nickelback, there are a couple of lines that hit home with some things I’ve heard from others and, quite frankly, some things I feel from time to time. The song is about a guy who wants to change his life but feels it’s too late, so he’s asking for help. The lines that stand out go like this:

…It’s like the bottom of the ninth

and I’m never gonna win

This life hasn’t turned out

Quite the way I want it to be…

So, the questions I ask myself and that I pose to you are: Do these lines relate to you? Do you feel like it’s the bottom of the ninth and you’re never gonna win? Has life turned out the way you want it to be?

The good news is that no matter what your life’s circumstance there are some very real and very transformative things you can do to change your life. One of the aspects of the West African culture that I’ve found to be the most powerful is ritual. I’m going to discuss several different rituals you can do to help realize your dreams and your intentions. The rituals will be in alignment with the 5-Element Cosmology that I’ve found to be profoundly life changing.

Rebalancing and Reconciling Our Lives

Water is the element we call upon for healing of the areas of our life that are preventing us from coming into alignment with our intentions. This is also the element we call upon for reconciliation; when we need to reconcile all the aspects of our life that are not in balance.

Water is also called upon when we need flow in the parts of our loves that seem stuck or unmoving, and we want them to flow smoothly and—as I like to say—“effortlessly and delightfully” towards our intended destination.

Water nurtures and feeds the earth, creating powerful growth and feeding the planted seeds, which grow into great crops of prosperity. We ask that the power of water feeds us so that the seeds we have planted will be richly fortified, and grow quickly and powerfully.

Transformative Water Ritual

The first step of this ritual is to find a flowing body of water—this could be a river, a stream, the ocean, etc. No matter what body of water you find, make sure the water is moving. I have found that a larger sized river is the best.

Next, go to the river with a pint of milk and—if you can—find Indian corn. Indian corn is the best, but if you can’t find it any kernels of corn in any form will do. Offer the milk to the water, as milk is nourishment. Then walk along the water tossing the kernels of corn into the water. As you do so, ask the water spirit to feed the seeds that have been planted so they can grow into healthy, vibrant crops of good health, overall prosperity, and well-being.

After you have performed this ritual, give thanks to the water, to the corn, to the milk, and, most importantly, to the ancestors. For the Dagara nothing happens without the blessing of the ancestors. Thank any and all members of your family that have come before you and now reside in the spirit world. These are your ancestors.

I will discuss more about the ancestors. For now do this ritual and thank both the elements and the ancestors. Stay focused and attentive to what you would like to produce in your life and take action towards that end. Watch things change!

Let me know of your stories of healing and transformation!

Drumming in Arlington VA

So now you know how things got started I would like to answer a few commonly asked questions. If you can think of anything you would like to know that I don’t cover here feel free to make a comment and ask. I’ll be happy to get back to you.

“Are Healing Drummer Private Sessions only for healing physical problems?”

The simple answer is no. The session work can help to shift the energy in every way, and in every aspect of your life. The results of what can occur for you are profound. I look at any difficulty—any “configurations of energy” that are not in alignment with your intentions—as something that is not helpful. What I do is use the sound energy from the drum to disrupt the aspects of your energy system that are not in alignment with your intentions.

In the beginning of your session, we align around your intentions. I then access these intentions to help guide the rhythms to realign your energies—body, mind, and spirit—so that effortlessly and delightfully the things that no longer serve you fall away. What you desire to create can come to you easily.

“I’ve been studying the Law of Attraction and wonder if working with you can help me manifest my intentions.”

Yes, absolutely. You have intentions. You have dreams and ideas. You have goals that you want to accomplish. If you’re not yet manifesting the life you want, your current energy field is not in alignment with what you are wanting to create.

I can help to empower you to set intentions to redirect your energy. One of the beautiful things about this drumming work is that by using the sound vibrations we can direct the energy toward your specific intentions. The rhythms will support you in clearly holding those intentions. The sound energy from the drum will reconfigure the energy in your field so that it comes into alignment with what you intend. Working in this way causes the energy of your intention to draw to you the power to create what you envision. It’s an effective process that I love to co-create with my clients.

“How long are the Healing Drummer Private Sessions and what happens during a

Drumming Up Intention!

session?”

Sessions are one hour long and cost $150. We’ll spend the first ten minutes or so talking, looking at what you would like to see happen in your session. I often will ask, “After our session, when you walk out the door, what is it that you brought in today that you would like to release? And second, what is that you would like leave with that wasn’t here when you arrived?” I encourage my clients to focus on the healed or transformed condition that they would like to be in when their session is complete. I find that since energy attracts like energy, if you focus on what you don’t want you just get more of the same.

I often ask people, “What is it that you would like?” and they answer, “I don’t want to be sick anymore.” That’s a good thing to know, but it’s a counter-productive intention, since energy flows where intention goes. So, what I encourage people to focus on is what they do want. Once my clients begin to understand the power of focusing on their positive intentions, they start to express intentions like these:

• Iwantperfecthealth. • Iwantvitalenergy. • Iwantabundantfinances. • IwantajobwhereI’llbehappier.

And many, many more.

We always work to create a proactive statement so that the energy we are attracting is the energy of the solution—the positive creation—you would like to see come into form.

From there, I invite you to lie down on your back on beautiful mat that is very comfortable. Your eyes can either be open or closed, and many choose to close their eyes and allow their attention to focus inward.

Healing Drummer Private Sessions

I start with either a hoop drum or a rattle, initially walking around in a counterclockwise direction. This begins to activate the energy field of your body with the sound energy of the device I use. Most of the time, I feel led to use a Native American hoop drum, which is a round, wooden drum with skin on one side. As I walk counterclockwise, we start to unwind the energy that has kept you bound, deconstructing any problematic patterns and activating your energy field, which is now holding the positive intention for transformation.

Next, using support straps, I put on my djembe, which is an African drum often called “the healing drum.” My feet are on the outside of either side of your hips and I face the direction of your feet. This position allows the bell or exit place of the drum’s sound energy to flow directly toward your heart area. My teachers in the West African Dagara tribe say that we begin the healing and transformation process by first activating intentions that we set at the beginning of heartfelt desires, so we honor your heart.

Before I begin drumming, I show you how to tap my leg.It is our safety signal. That way, you can always easily get my attention if needed for any reason. It’s rare that anyone needs to do this, since people usually experience the power of the drum as very pleasant, but it’s helpful for people to know they’re safe and can communicate with me whenever they need. Knowing you’re safe will help you to completely open to the drum’s healing energies.

I stand over you and begin to drum. This is where the drum energy begins to build and starts transforming your energy field. I drum anywhere from thirty to forty minutes, straight and continuous. It’s a very intense healing and transformation energy.

After the drumming is complete, I set the djembe aside and pick up the hoop drum or rattle. Again, I most often use the hoop drum. This time, I circle you clockwise, which brings the healing energy into present time. This important part of the sacred ritual seals your body in the energy of sound so that the transformed energy stays with you.

You’ll find that through your dreams, thoughts, meditations, and contemplative times that the effects of the session will continue to unfold—stimulating energetic transformation for at least three to five days after the actual drumming session. We begin a process and you will continue to carry. That’s one of the beautiful things about the healing drum’s sound energy activations.

We then talk about what occurred. You have the choice to share any thoughts and feelings that arose. If you like, you can keep some or all of what you experienced to yourself—it’s totally up to you. I will then share what happened for me. Oftentimes when I’m drumming I will receive what I jokingly call “home work,” things you can do outside the session that will enhance the processes we’ve begun. Sometimes I encourage specific actions you can take that will help give you a clear path, a solution, toward the intentions you’ve set.

You’ll also be more than welcome to ask me any questions that may have arisen during your

Drumming In Hawaii

session. I’ve found that sometimes the drumming stimulates deep questions that you may have never considered or haven’t thought of in a long time, so you’re welcome to ask whatever your heart desires.

Finally, I make sure that you’re feeling good and ready finish the session. Then we complete our time together.

All of the feedback I’ve received over the years has been very positive. While powerful, the entire process is gentle and completely safe. One of the things I love about this work is that your being interacts with the sound of the drum, so there’s no laying on of hands or physical contact. The rhythms work with your energy system—body, mind, and emotions—in alignment with your intentions.

“When you conduct a Healing Drummer Private Session, where do you place your attention?”

While we won’t usually communicate verbally during a session, our beings work together. I have an intention for you, which is to have the intention you expressed be manifested. So, in addition to drumming, I place some of my attention on your intention. Using my shamanic training in the African and Native American traditions, I tap into the resources of ancient wisdom and ask to receive whatever is necessary to facilitate your healing and transformation. I ask for the wisdom to come through, and it always does. For me, the experience is a shamanic journey, one that honors and enlivens your intentions to heal and transform.

As you listen to the drum and sense the energies in whatever ways are most comfortable for you, you can also allow some of your awareness to focus on your desired results. Truly, since you’ve set your intentions, whatever you do will work. Some people stay very focused, while others allow their mind to drift and flow.

5 Element Drumming Rhythms

“What rhythms do you play on the drum?”

I start with the 5 element rhythms that I’ve studied and played for many years. They provide the foundation for balancing the physical, emotional, and energetic systems. Then I begin to work from those rhythms. There are patterns I call “sub-rhythms” that are specifically dedicated to your own energy field. This is where the drum—combined with your and my awareness—becomes a collective unit seeking to bring in the energies that will help bring in the solutions to your specific situations. The rhythms that come are unique to your session, unique to your own energy field, ones that help shift your energy so that smoothly and joyfully what no longer serves you falls away, and what you desire comes to you.

“I know drums can be loud. Does the noise ever stress people out?”

Drums can be loud and occasionally some people feel a little bit of apprehension. I do have earplugs available; however, what I’ve found in nearly every session I’ve conducted over the years is that people that are pleasantly surprised that, even with the volume and intensity of the drumming, they become calm and peaceful. The physical sound waves impact your body, which is like a massage with sound that creates a very relaxed state. Then you have the rhythm, which has a profound effect on relaxing your mind and emotions.

“Do I need to have a problem and/or questions formed in my mind before I show up for a session.”

Not necessarily. A favorite story is when a medical doctor from the east coast came to see me. At the start of our session, he said, “You know, I don’t really have any problems in my life. As a matter of fact, I think I have an absolutely perfect life. What I want to do is lock that in, have more of the same, and continue to enjoy the path that I’m on.” I considered that a beautiful intention and we got right to work, creating a powerful session.

Yes, I conduct healing sessions…and…the essence of healing is transformation. Often, the focus of a session isn’t on overcoming an illness. Drumming that reinforces positive intentions to continue improving, expanding, and learning to flow with life’s mysterious unfolding is a wonderful reason to schedule a time to work together.

I’m also reminded of a woman who came to me for a series of treatments for a physical malady she was experiencing. As the rhythms of the drum and our shared intentions shifted her energy field, the problem was no longer part of her life. At that point I said, “This is great. It doesn’t look like you need to come back anymore.” Then she replied, “You know what? I want to know how good I can feel. I want to know how much better I can get. I’d like to keep coming in for regular sessions.”

So, scheduling Healing Drummer Private Sessions is a useful way to support yourself—to support your life and wellbeing—and help a good life become even better. It’s really helpful to strengthen your energy field, making you stronger and more powerful.

“Is there anything I need to do before a session to help prepare?”

The Rhythms Flow!

Sure. Getting clear about your intentions—what you’d like to receive in your session—can be helpful. The more aware you are of what you want, the more we can focus on achieving those outcomes. Still, I have people who arrive for their session without a specific intention, and that’s fine, too. They might present a general goal, like discovering their life purpose and overall direction in life, and we can definitely work with that aspiration.

If you’d like to invest some time before your session, simply look at the situations in your life—the general energy of your life. Ask yourself, “If I could improve things, what would I want to have happen?” Then notice what arises in your awareness, from specific outcomes to a general sense of what you’re wanting. Those are beautiful kinds of intentions to bring to your session.

“Is it a good idea to schedule more than one session?”

Oftentimes, we see a profound shift in the first session. If a person wants to do only one session, they will receive value. When asked, I recommend at least three to four sessions. I dedicate about 80% of my time to traveling, and it’s common for me to come to an area once every few months.

What I find is that the first session will begin to transform your energy field and wake up aspects of your being that you may not been aware existed. Shifts begin to occur. You enter your second session more aware of the process and what can happen. It’s common that the results created in the second session are much more powerful than the first, simply because you can let go and relax into the process more deeply. This way, we build on the transformations catalyzed in the first session.

Bringing in The Transformation

One thing that is really useful to remember is that we are always in a state of transformation. We’re always encountering energies that support us and those that attempt to thwart aspects of our lives. There are people and energies that are very loving and there are those who would like to see us falter and fail. Part of the power in Healing Drummer Private Sessions is that you get to take in a phenomenal amount of energy that radiates into your field and supports all aspects of your being, helping you to create the life you desire.

To learn more about me and the Healing Drum, and to see a video of a private session, go to www.healingdrummer.com

To experience one of these transforming sessions contact me at toby@healingdrummer.com and we will schedule a time for you.

It was my pleasure this winter to escape to sunny Santa Fe New Mexico to present at the International Sound Healers Conference. In addition to being exposed to some great healing modalities and a wonderful sponsoring organization I had the opportunity  to jam with a group of vendors in the booth area. I played with Flutes, Gongs, a Pipe Organ and even a Harp! It was a wild time. Here is a little clip of what would spontaneously erupt through out the day!

The guy playing flute was so cool. He and his mother make the most amazing bamboo flutes. I of course had to have one. So when I get good enough to play in public, I’ll lay some licks down for you! Don’t hold your breath. The harp player is out of the frame but he had beautiful harps of all kinds and played brilliantly.

I also had the pleasure of hanging with some of the sound healing greats like Don Campbell, author of “The Mozart Effect”, David Hykes, Tom Kenyon and Siberian Shaman, Nikolay Oorzhak.

I also got to jam with Christine Stevenson and Kim Atkinson. We were able to commandeer a room at the hotel and turn it into a chamber of sacred rhythm!! What a blast.

When I get the video from my presentation I will post some of the highlights. It was an honor to be included with so many amazing people who are bringing healing transformation  to the planet with sound.

As summer fades and the coolness of fall encroached on our warm sunny days I review the blog entries from Hawaii and it seems like a long time ago and yesterday simultaneously. I have been back on the road and am so pleased at the way things are developing around the country.

The release of World Unity has really created a stir and has opened doors for us to be involved in an international program to promote peaceful and powerful leaders from the youth of our planet. UNITY is the key. I was facilitating with Dr. Shelly Stelzer. As we were merging healing techniques from various cultures someone in the class asked about mixing modalities from different races of people and cultures.

I thought her response was profound. “There is only one race and that is the human race. There is only one true color an that is red, it is the color of the blood that runs through the veins of each and every person on the planet.” In my work with cross-cultural organizations I remember this as we begin to discuss the events in the world. We must think and act globally. The issues we face are not confined to only one race or nation. I love the words of a Michael Franti song:

Please tell me the reason for the colors that you fly. Love just one nation and the whole world we divide. We can chase sown all our enemies, bring them to their knees. We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.

My intention for the remainder of the year and 2009 is to bring the healing drum to as many countries as possible and drum in unity with as many tribal and cultural people as I can.

At the World Unity CD release party in Cincinnati I was blessed to have a great jam session with a cool cat from Nigeria. Another awesome synchronicity that has happened is a connection to a great ritual master and shaman of plant spirit medicine. His name is Fabaku and he is guiding me into some powerful indigenous teaching and the use of powerful medicine from Africa, South America and Mexico. As the world unifies to bring healing to the planet our own personal lives become richer as well.

I am very excited as well to be working with Flaco, a powerful brother from DC who is mentoring youth and guiding them through powerful initiations and rites of passage. We were fortunate to have him at an event I facilitated in Alexandria Virginia. As you can imagine, the drumming was fierce!!! Thank you my brother for blessing us all with your magic!!!

Here Flaco and I get ready to rock a group in Alexandria VA.

I am off to Canada next and am looking forward to connecting with our neighbors to the north, spreading the power and unity of the drum with all I meet. Stay tuned for a report from Calgary.

Peace and Blessings to you all!