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!

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.

I’ve been here for weeks now. It’s probably time that I do some writing. So I want to share with you the fun and magnificence of the island of  Kauai! This is by far the most magical place I have experienced on the planet. Yesterday as I laid on the beach and watch the dolphins play in the surf I was overcome with a sense of gratitude and wonder.  The way the earth welcomes all of us, the way the other beings that share the planet with us welcome us. It is amazing. The interesting thing so far has been the weather. There has been a tremendous amount of rain. In the past this of course would be a disappointment since all I lived for was laying in the sun and playing in the ocean. But this rain has made the island so lush and so alive! The other aspect is that the rain is primarily in the morning and the afternoons have been beautiful and sunny. So the term paradise really fits.  I have been drumming and doing some private sessions, and working on some new music that will be released this fall. I am trusting that the magic of this island will be felt in the magic of the music. The longer I stay more connected I feel to the indigenous spirit of this great island. As I have talked to some of the locals and some historians in the area the power of this place and the blending of cultures leaves me spellbound.

Tonight I will be jamming with my friend Francesco. We are preparing for a performance of one of the local clubs which should be a blast! The mix of old and new, the healing drum with modern music, the voice of the heart and the rhythm of the drum, combined to bring a gift to all that listen. A powerful time on the island full of fun! I will update regularly and I’m looking forward to those who are coming to visit. By the way, there is still room in the September workshop for those who would like to attend!!!

Aloha,

Toby

This is my favorite song my World Unity CD. It is dedicated to the peace makers. So enjoy the sounds and think of ways you can bring more peace and harmony to the world! As a famous musician once said, Give Peace a chance!

While on Kauai last month I had the pleasure of attending the Kauai Wellness Expo. What a great event! I was in some great energy and met a bunch of people who are committed to making the world a better place. One such person and one of my favorite people in the world is Danny Hoshimoto. Danny is kind, loving and the true embodiment of Aloha. He is also a master raw dessert maker! I enjoyed many of his amazing creations while at the expo. Below are Danny and I posing while I take the shot! and Danny creating his favorite Coconut Cream Ambrosia. It is the most delightful food I have ever tasted!!!

Another aspect of the expo are the celebrities that hang out incognito. You never know who you will run into. I have seen music great Taj Mahal, actors Jeff Bridges and Pierce Brosnan, Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead and many others. While walking about I ran into a friend who I just came to know is a world famous Qigong Master, Francesco Garripoli. This guy is amazing. Each morning he leads the people at the expo through a Qigong routine. Here is a little scoop on him from a website I found.  Francesco Garri Garripoli is the Chairman of the Board of the Qigong Institute and enjoys being an author, television producer, Qigong practitioner and wellness advocate. He began his formal training in Eastern healing in Hawaii in 1977 after leaving a full medical school scholarship. His documentary Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century, airs on PBS Television, where he has produced programs for 20 years. Francesco teaches Qigong workshops around the world and through www.wujiproductions.com and is a past Chairman of the National Qigong Association. Author of Qigong Essence of the Healing Dance and Tao of the Ride, Francesco currently resides on Kauai, Hawaii at the non-profit Kahuna Valley Retreat facility www.kahunavalley.com . Here I am with Francesco, he is also a prolific song writer and guitar player.

I also ran into this person who requested to stay anonymous. Any ideas????

We shared some of Danny’s raw chocolate delight and then it was time for me to hit the beach. Thats the report from the Kauai Wellness Expo 2010. ALOHA!

Here is a little taste from the intro of my new book. Stay tuned for more …

In 1998, I went to Africa. In my wake across the Atlantic, I left a flotsam of failed relationships, addictions, dead dreams, phenomenal financial success and catastrophic financial failure. I had recently been homeless; everything I owned destroyed by fire a short time before. So that by the time I arrived in the heart of West Africa, I was an empty man – no sense of home, no identity, no purpose, and no material wealth. A being starving for something different, looking for answers to questions I didn’t even know I had been asking, seeking a different way to pattern my life that brought both the success and the happiness that had eluded me.
And it was there in Africa, in the tiny country of Burkina Faso, that I encountered a way of being that helped me recognize what belonged in that void that haunted me every minute of every day. It was there in Burkina that I reconnected with my purpose, with my heart, and with the drum.

It was both a blessing and a curse living in a village without running water or electricity. As is their custom, they welcomed me like their own. For two weeks, I ate what they ate, drummed with the tribal drummers, slept on the ground among the people, joked and cried with them and generally experienced first hand the spirituality, community and teachings of the Dagara people. In doing this, they helped me re-birth my genius into the world again. For that gift I am blessed and grateful.
My purpose in writing this book is to share what I learned during my stay in Burkina Faso. I will also share what I have learned in my fifteen years of putting those Dagara teachings into practice personally and how I have adapted those teachings to flow more easily with a Western mind without diminishing their effectiveness. The tools are deceptively simple, but phenomenally powerful and profound. These principles and truths will help you fill your own void, will help support you and celebrate you in discovering your own genius. They will help you see that deep within you resides a power to help you express this genius. The power that holds this magical place is the realization that you are intrinsically good and choose to create life-affirming situations in your life.

Blessings,
Toby

This blog is the operations central for the HEALINGDRUMMER WORLD PEACE PARTY that will take place December 20th. For the past three years I have ended every event with a few minutes of DRUMMING FOR PEACE. What I mean by peace is summed up in the statement below. I’m not asking anyone to change their mind or agree with me in every way I only ask that we focus on our similarities so strongly that we have no time to fight about our differences! Check Back for details.

To honor this passionate cause I produced a CD called World Unity. The following are the words on the jacket. The song posted is Wake Up! It is my call for people WAKE UP to PEACE!!!

“This CD is dedicated to the Peacemakers of the world. It is for those who realize that we are held lovingly in the arms of the universe, and that since we are here not only to survive, but to THRIVE together, then we must begin to act with peace and harmony in all that we do. This is to act peace with the air, the water, the land, the animals, and with each and every one of our fellow humans. May we all find through this music the ability to focus on our similarities so strongly that we have no time to fight about our differences! WORLD UNITY is WORLD COMMUNITY”

Let’s make it happen!

It is with this intention I ask you all to join me in a wold wide campaign and join the HEALINGDRUMMER WORLD PEACE PARTY! Stay tuned and enjoy the music. I will post new tracks every 2 weeks!

Peace

While in Cincinnati last week I had the good fortune, and the good organization of my trusted handler Suzanne, to visit my friend Dana.  Dana is an amazing guy who’s life makes mine look boring! He is one of the great tattoo artists of our time and I have the pleasure of wearing his work on my body here and there. So anyway I thought I’d show you a photo of the new tat!

Here is the master at work. When Suzanne took this shot she had to remind me to breathe, relax and SMILE!!!

And here is the final product!! So my trip was not all work. I did have some fun!!

Consecrated Medicine Drums

This is a powerful new vision I have been given inspired by those who are taking their healing work to a new level!

As Drummer’s, Shaman’s and Healers step into a greater level of power in their healing, the tools they use need to be in alignment with the level of power they are connecting with to do their work.  As I have watched people step into expanding their skills and adding sound to their healing practice it is my desire to provide them with the very best tools possible. With this in mind, I have begun to produce, on a very limited basis,  drums that are prepared in the same way I prepare my own personal tools. Drums consecrated as healing tools. Embellished with sacred objects, ritual and ceremony.

The Consecrated Medicine Drums begin with a consultation with the person desiring one. We talk about the elements that will create the energy that will support their work. We decide how many crystals and what kind, the configuration of the cowry shells, which help expand the healing energy and what other objects are needed. Then I construct the drum after opening sacred space. After the drum has been embellished, the healing 5 Element rhythms are played through the drum and the drum is placed on a powerful healing alter in the middle of a Lemurian Crystal Healing Grid for 48 hours before being carefully placed in the carrying case and shipped to its new caretaker.

These drums are constructed from hand made tribal drums from Ivory Coast West Africa. The finest drums on the planet, and require a minimum of 72 hours to construct and consecrate before they are shipped. When you are ready, shoot me an email at toby@healingdrummer.com.

The cost of these custom drums is $800 plus shipping

Here are some pictures of consecrated drums on the alter.

]]> http://www.tobychristensen.com/consecrated-medicine-drums/feed/ 1 http://www.tobychristensen.com/amazing-reunion-joel-bisset/ http://www.tobychristensen.com/amazing-reunion-joel-bisset/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 22:26:31 +0000 Toby Christensen http://www.tobychristensen.com/?p=226

I have been engaging in the appreciation of those who have positively influenced my life. Of these people there is no one more noble, kind, and compassionate than Joel Bisset.

I don’t ever remember not knowing Joel. I have no idea how or where we met. I just remember that he is in every memory of my younger days. Joel and his family lived close to mine, and we were inseparable. Joel was and continues to be, the support person for the ones who stand in the spotlight. In doing so (to my great joy), Joel has been brought into a spotlight of his own. Joel was always the one who would come to band practice even if he was not in the band. When we needed something or we were hauling equipment to a gig…Joel was always there to lend a hand. A great musician in his own right, Joel taught me tons on the guitar. Second only to Paul McCartney, Joel plays Blackbird like it is nobody’s business.

I just got a great Idea. I am going to publicly ask Joel to play this song for us and I’ll post the video on this blog!! WHAT DO YOU THINK JOEL?? WILL YOU PLLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEE??????

OK, so, when I reconnected with Terry and Guy, of course I asked if anyone had heard about Joel. Of course Joel will always be a part of our lives! I have come to know he is a father, with very successful kids, a husband with a loving and delightful wife, and most of all, Joel is a kind man of impeccable character, true to his core values, and still willing to go to any length to lend a hand. Joel is the example I use when I define the word “friend”.

My favorite story with Joel is the day we were playing drums at his house and his mother came into the living room and looked at me and said, “You can’t play drums like that, you are white. White people don’t have rhythm like that.” Then laughed cheerfully and went about her business. 20 some years later when I was in Africa, an elder of the Dagara Tribe said, “What dye did you use on your skin to make you look like a European? White people don’t play the drum like that. I know you are really African”. Here I am standing in the southern part of the Sahara Desert thousands of miles from home and who do I think of? Joel Bisset’s mom. She has passed into the world of the Ancestors and it saddens me that I was not able to tell her this story. You never know how a  statement you make or an action you take will affect a person’s life.

I am pleased to see that Joel has become an accomplished drummer and plays regularly at his church. I got a chance to jam with Joel when I was in Seattle on my last trip. He is a KICK ASS drummer. He holds the beat like a mountain! ROCK STEADY!!! We did a couple of percussion solos at the gig and really rocked the house. All I did was show Joel the beat I was doing on my djembe and he got on the kit like a jockey on a race horse.

Joel, I am so glad to be back in touch with you. My heart is filled with joy as I reflect on the great nobility, trustworthiness, and trueness of heart  you bring to the world. THANK YOU!

…and I’m waiting impatiently for a video of you playing Blackbird on your guitar!

Loving a Drum

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I got my first hand drum about five years ago. I was absolutely helpless to resist its lure and so this oversize piece of African art followed me home from a conference. Once it took its place of honor in my home, I studied it intently but never played it – something I laugh at now.The deep carving around the stem depicts what seem to be okapis, but could just as easily be almost any African antelope. It is hand-carved from a single piece of wood by some anonymous African craftsman. The skin is made from the back of a goat and smells of the business end of one – despite my best efforts. It is marbled in browns and greys and it carries the line of the spine, which in tribal lore signifies that the animal was a willing sacrifice. I have since added a hennaed phoenix design to the skin as well. I did not expect that bringing this piece of Africa into my home would reignite my own passion to travel there. I would catch myself looking at it and inventing the story of the carver, the goat, the village and the people who crafted it.

It would be almost a year before I did more than pet this drum and I can still remember vividly the angst of playing it for the first time (mostly because that still exists). But a strong bond developed between that drum and me such that I came to love this instrument in its own right. My ‘playing’ is still fairly spotty and I play less these days than I did a while back. Definitely less than I should. And let’s just say that I will probably never make a living as a professional drummer. But there is a joy in beating on it long past the place where my hands throb. There is a freedom in not caring if I mess up, in letting my hands find weird new rhythms known only to them, in letting my spirit soar out with the wild booming.

According to the West African culture where the drum was made, the drum is one way that a person speaks to the Creator. The skin of the drum is the ear of God, the stem and bowl of the drum the birth canal and womb of the Mother. By playing we give our fear, anxiety, stress and hatred to them. Thru the drum these things are transformed and re-birthed into the world as love, joy, and healing. I have certainly found that to be so.

My collection of drums had grown to four – possibly due to my association with Toby Christensen and the steady influx of really beautiful drums from Ghana and the Ivory Coast. I gifted two of those so that someone I loved could have a way to transform his sadness, so that his son could find love in a life that contained so little. So these days I am down to just two and that feels right for me. One for me and one for you to come over and join me in a really bad ass jam session….or just a bad one. With the drum it doesn’t really matter. Guaranteed to make you laugh!

Curious? Get on over to Suzanne Singh’s (merlin@healing drummer.com) and get yourself a drum. Or maybe take in the drum circle with Toby himself at the Zen center in Hamilton! on Tues (info from Suz as well). It may just change your life.

Feel free to repost this note.

C’mon and drum

On his recent US tour HealingDrummer Toby Christensen taught courses on Shamanism and Sound Healing. He continues his practice as a practitioner as well. Because of his dynamic private sessions Toby’s gift as a teacher is not always acknowledged. Here is what Dr. Johnson had to say

Endorsement: Toby Christensen is so much more then a practitioner, and he is more than a brilliant “teacher”, in sharing his gifts – he introduces you to your own! I took my first workshop with Toby not knowing what to expect. After all, while I have known and appreciated him as a very talented drummer, I had no idea of his depth and clarity within Spiritual realms. What a joy to experience his insights, patience and practical application to the world of Spirit! I learned so much during this first class – techniques I use to this day -,  that I look forward to and take his workshops every time he comes to town.

When in Park City Michael Franti did a great song where he brought the kids in the crowd up on stage. Here is his video of the song. I encourage you all to support Michael’s music!! He is an Extraordinary Peacemaker!

OK, here it is! I promised at the International Sound Healers Conference that I would post this so here we go!

Well I have made my way to the island of Kauai where I will be living for the next month. I am renting a house from my friends Kirk and Sandy. Special thanks to them for providing this wonderful creative environment for me to bring new music and healing into the world, Thanks Kirk and Sandy! Here is a photo of the HealingDrummer Studio, Hawaii.

The weather here is FANTASTIC!! 80s and slight breeze every day. My day consists of catching rays in the morning at the local beach, then hitting the mixer in the afternoon and evening. The island is a great transition from the mountains of Utah. I have been very busy in Park City getting the final touches on my new CD. The final tracks have been completed and they are heading into full production. The new release is titled “WORLD UNITY” . It will be ready for release the beginning of August so keep checking www.healingdrummer.com for presale benefits. Here is the image that will become the cover art for the CD.

WORLD UNITY is my best CD so far. I am very excited for you all to hear it. The project was started over a year ago in the old studio in Vancouver, WA then moved to the new location in Park City. It also contains tracks gathered on my trips throughout the world. This CD has a different flavor than anything put out so far. It is much more complex than the other HealingDrummer CD’s and really has an authentic World Music flavor. It combines instruments from every continent playing side by side with the HealingDrum. Most tracks are upbeat and very inspiring. Aaron the Webmaster and CD producer will be putting some sound clips on the HealingDrummer website ASAP. Those of you who have attended my events have heard me say this about drumming in general, but I have held a strong intention for this CD to have a very powerful impact on the planet. I have dedicated the CD to those of us who take the time to acknowledge the similarities we have with each and every person on the planet, and in doing so we have no time to fight about our differences. As Michael Franti says, “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it into peace”. I hope World Unity inspires you to do your part to unify the world in peace.

While working on “PEACEFUL HEART” I have managed to get a break in. Here is a picture of Secret Beach where we hiked to swim with the wild dolphins. I have been blessed to have net a wonderful group of locals who are taking me under their wings and sharing many of their sacred places with me. Special thanks to Danny Hashimoto, Na Oka, Robin the “Beach Man” and the others in the community who have been so hospitable. The spirit of Aloha is alive and well here.

On the island I am working on the next two CD’s. One to be released in September called “PEACEFUL HEART” this is a CD designed to bring healing to those who need a place of peace and calmness. It is also a dynamic use of sound energy for Body Workers, Reiki Practitioners, Massage Therapists, Energy Workers and a great tool for those who meditate or just want to create a calm, nurturing space. Being at Secret Beach today was a great energy to connect to while I compose this CD. This album is a combination of synthesizer,Drum, and beautiful voice overlays. Lisa Needham, a vocalist from Park City laid the vocal tracks before I left for Hawaii and I must say they are inspiring. The blend of the instruments and her voice create a hauntingly entrancing mood that opens the energy system and relaxes the body. I am anticipating the release of “PEACEFUL HEART” around October 1st. Keep checkin in at www.HealingDrummer.com for the release dates and promotions.

As “PEACEFUL HEART” comes to completion, Tracks are being laid for “Djembe Groove”.A most unexpected union has occurred, the HealingDrum is dancing to the rhythm of pure joy provided by the Ukulele!  Yes, you red correctly. The uke has joined the HealingDrum family to bring the energy of joy and laughter to the music of “Djembe Groove”. One of the first contemporary musicians to bring the Ukulele to modern music is George Harrison of the Beatles. In his words, “Everybody should have a uke its so simple to carry with you and it is one instrument you can’t play and not laugh! It’s so sweet and so old- some are made of wood, some are made of Armadillo’s.  I love them,the more the merrier. everyone I know who is into the ukulele is “crackers”. So get yourself a few and enjoy yourselves. Love from George (Keoki) Harrison”

Taking George’s advice and longing to bring joy and laughter into the world I sought out the best ukulele resource in Hawaii. Sam Bonanno at Larry’s Music Boutique in Kapaa. After two sessions of uke school with Sam I acquired a couple of ukulele’s that will be featured on the new CD. Here I am with Sam Picking out my new toys!!!

Well this is it for now. I look forward to hearing your comments as we walk the path of Peace, Joy and Laughter together.

Peace,

Toby