Healingdrummer.com in Columbus Ohio

Today I am in Columbus Ohio. Every where I go I am meeting people who are into sound healing. I men Dr. X who is a cool cat form Kentucky, now residing in Columbus. He has a friend in Italy who does percussion therapy. He hooked us up. The world is a small place hooked together with sound waves. Linking the hearts of artists and healers. What a gift.

To hook up with healingdrummer.com go to www.healingdrummer.com or email me, Toby Christensen toby@healingdrummer.com

Rhythm and Flow

Blog

OK This is my first entry from a plane. I am at 37,000 feet and heading for Columbus Ohio. As I have been running for planes and waiting in airports and waiting in MORE AIRPORTS I am realizing that the Beatles had it right. “All you need is LOVE”. I have had the fortunate experience of meeting many new people on this trip. I decided that I was going to open my energy field to experience travel in a different way. I am paying attention to the rhythm of things and how flow. There are so many different people in the world, when you view each person as a part of the rhythm of life, things get more interesting! I got to the airport late and decided that the lines are so long I will never get to the gate on time. So I took a deep breath and became an observer of flow instead of connecting to the perceived obstacle of time. As I watched and breathed, I realized the amazing synchronicity of the world around me. I realized that there were many Sky Caps and most of the people in front of me had already been helped. It took me 7 minutes to get through a line I guessed would take at least 45.

I got to security and never slowed down. I was at the gate with 30 minutes to spare and while I was standing there met the daughter of a friend and we traveled the first leg of the trip together. As I met with the flow of the airport, I hooked into the rhythm of life around me and was able to accomplish more than expected. Look around you, be the observer and see how you can fit into the flow of life. You cannot move any faster than the doors will open. Watch the pace of the openings and get in sync with them.

For more information about Synchronizing your energy go to www.healingdrummer.com or email me at toby@healingdrummer.com

Ah...the good ole days.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's,
60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked
and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna
from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered
with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors
or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had
no helmets, not to mention, the risks we
took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts
or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was
always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a
bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one
bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, twinkies, white bread and real
butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but
we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS
OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,
as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were
O.K. There was only one phone in the house and
you asked permission to use it.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of
scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we
forgot the brakes.After running into the bushes a few
times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes,
no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no videotape
movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal
computers, no Internet or
Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and
found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth
and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the
worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made
up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we
were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and
knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked
in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the
team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the
law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best
risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of
innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have
had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government
regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so
they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with
scissors, doesn't it?!


www.healingdrummer.com toby@healingdrummer.com

HISTORY-THE LIFE OF THE DRUM

The Drum has a place in the lives of many people throughout the world. It can manifest energy or represent gods. The Drum holds ancient energy, which beckons to the soul and calls for indigenous remembrance. The Menomini, Native American from Wisconsin, believe the Drum is a strong force in the world that should always be treated with great respect.

“The drum (te-we-hekan) is the most sacred object in the Drum Dance powwow for a variety of reasons. It is the most important material embodiment of power. It is believed that the Great Spirit, and all the good spirits he created, put some of their power into the original Drum given to the Sioux women who believed to have introduced the

Ritual to the Menomini” (Slotkin 1975:35).

The Dobe/hoansi are a hunter and gathering society in middle Africa. These people eat the bounty of the land and live in groups of twenty to thirty people. They practice a form of drumming and dancing to harness their energies. “Women dance and enter trances, and men play a supporting role, beating complex rhythms on the long drum that is the central symbol of the dance.” (Richard B Lee. 1993:119-120). In this culture, the drumbeats allow the energy or nu/m within the dancer to rise. An interesting fact is that the drummers of tradition are the women. Recently, a dance and particular drum beat called the Giraffe dance has begun. This dance involves women and some men to enter trance through dancing. Medicine men and women of the bands perform these ceremonies. Many of the participants in this ritual are of varying levels of experience. Participating aids in exposing beginners to their personal nu/m while surrounded by experienced people or for others to learn to control their personal nu/m (energy). Often overwhelmed by the intense trance state, individual may collapse. Others around will care for the individual by freshening them up and helping them to regain a level of recognition where they can either rejoin the ritual or participate in any way they desire. The ceremonial energy is used to summon the healing needed to handle illnesses that inflict the Dobe people. Through additional methods, such as hands on and vocal exclamation, the energy of the healers are shared with the sick of the tribe.

The rhythmic energy created by drumming often has a meditative response on individuals listening. As if swept into oneself, the comfortable sound of the drumbeat opens the minds eye to the divinity within. “Nature, in fact, is such a complex organism that only the intelligence of Spirit can manage it” (Malidoma Patrice Some’, 1999:66). The Dagara people of Burkina Faso, West Africa, are well known for their spiritual practice. They believe that if there is a problem with the physical, one must look to the spiritual for a solution. “That is, in the mind of the indigenous, illness is like an unwelcome guest that wants the place it has taken over to remain the same so that is can be comfortable. Certain healing practices, such as this one, involve altering the energy structure of the person. By doing this, the illness, if there is any, becomes ‘irritated’ at the rude hospitality and moves away in search of another place” (Malidoma Patrice Some’, 1999:262).

The ceremonies of the Dagara people often involve the people of the community, as well as the spiritual leaders, and may also utilize physical representations of elements. They feel that the Spirit is fused with the physical form and that addressing one is addressing both. When addressing the physical the five elements (fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature) correspond with particular areas of the body.

The elements also adhere to the behavior of an individual. Fire associates with the heart and behaviorally tends to have passion and vitality. Water associates with the blood and behaviorally tends to seek peace and harmony. Mineral associates with the skeletal structure, in particular the spine, and behaviorally tends to be the communicator of ancestral, indigenous and ordinary ideals. Nature associates with the lungs and breath and behaviorally encourages easy transformation or change. Earth associates with the stomach and behaviorally tends to be the hub of the wheel providing nurturing and the basic resources that sustain life. The Dagara have particular ceremonies that relate to the five elements.

Often drumming, dancing and singing accompany the ceremony. The presence of the community often provides security and support to the ceremony whether it is being held for an individual or for any other reason. The structure and activities included can vary depending on the elements called upon. To the Dagara people the elements are a vital part of our existence. When healing is needed one must seek the help of the elements and the spiritual leaders of their communities.

One must seek to create a balanced energy in sinc with nature and with Spirit and to create a healthy home for the personal spirit. Only then can we tune in to the divine energy around us and begin our harmonic journey. Toby Christensen’s Sound Attunement Therapy (SAT) builds the bridge between the spirit and the individual to aid in the healing of the self.
For more information about drum healing and sound healing check out www.healingdrummer.com or email toby@healingdrummer.com

SOUND CAN CREATE, INTEGRATE, REGULATE, OR TRANSFORM AN EXISTING ENERGY PATTERN.

Sound has been used effectively by many of the world’s spiritual traditions to alter consciousness or heal the body. Mantras, prayers, and chants all generate a pattern of energy that calms the mind and rebalances the body. Studies show that repetitive sound transforms the alpha and beta wave patterns in the brain into theta. The theta brain wave pattern is conducive to relaxation and has been linked to a sense of heightened creativity. Sound has also been used as an effective tool for opening the body’s various energy meridians and charkas. As Margo Anand observes:

Just as the resonance of one high, operatic note can break a crystal glass, and the right words can open a mind or heart, the right sound can open your charkas. The word chakra means “vortex, center, or resonance”. If we direct a sound that resonates into the center of a chakra, it can open like a flower. Every mystery school from ancient times to the present uses sound for these purposes (1998:237)

The understanding that every process in the body has a distinct bioelectrical rhythm or beat, leads to the perception that when everything is working well—i.e. the physiological energy of the body is in balance and able to flow freely—then health and well-being exist. Conversely, when the bioelectrical rhythm of the body is disrupted or the natural frequencies altered, Then energetic blocks and imbalances start to occur, and disease is often the result. Restoring health means changing a disease producing energy pattern and replacing it with a health enhancing one. As Trieschmann Suggests:

Every cell in our body has a characteristic vibration. When these cells vibrate at a certain rate and in a certain pattern, the body functions well and the person feels good. When they vibrate at a different rate and pattern, the body functions less well and the person feels not so good. It is highly probable that assessment of the differential vibratory patterns associated with health and sickness will be a core feature of the research of the 21st century. (2001:29-30)

As these brief illustrations show, sound has a profound effect upon the physiology and emotions. Other articles on sound healing and drum healing are available to explore how traditional tribal groups use repetitive sound—such as drumming—to heal the mind and body.

For more information check out www.healingdrummer.com

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT SOUND ATTUNEMENT THERAPY

This is a little something from the LA Times...Still, by far the most ground-trembling, body-altering treatment I’ve ever had is one where the practitioner never so much as laid a finger on my person, and it comes via Africa. Travelling drummer Toby Christiansen, who books sessions locally through Yoruba House, has developed an African-inspired technique he calls Sound Attunement Therapy. Toby is a handsome blond guy with surfer-dude looks, but he has studied African drumming and shamanic healing for twenty five years, and has come up with what I can only describe as a sound wave body massage that is as ecstatically pleasurable as it is therapeutic. Toby begins a typical healing session with a native American hoop drum, which he plays close over your supine form. It functions almost like a shamanic stethoscope: the reverberating tone of the drum indicates where your problem areas may be. Once he has ready your body’s particular form of rhythmic impairment, Toby stands over you, with the base of his African djembe drum centered over your heart and begins to play. What follows is the most shockingly sensual full-contact concert experience one could possibly imagine.

Though Toby never touches your body save with the waves of sound emanating from his drum, the sensation is extremely physical. The drum beat seems to paralyze, then liquify, then vaporize your flesh. And then it melts your bones. Toby carries around a sheaf of research studies on the healing properties of sound, and drumming in particular, especially for people suffering from chronic illnesses, but the proof is in the experience, as you feel the song of the djembe literally calling your body’s cells to fall in step with the heartbeat of the universe.

The song Toby plays for each client is unique. “Everyone has their own rhythm, and part of my job is to find it and bring it out,” Toby explains. During both the sessions I had with him over a two day period, I experienced almost hallucinatory dream-like imagery, and after each hour-long session, I walked away with a pleasant buzzing sensation coursing through my body, a feeling that lasted literally for days. And though I went to Toby mainly out of curiosity, I found after two sessions with him that the PMS I’d been struggling with for years completely disappeared.