I have written here before about sound and silence. Why it is important to me and how I benefit from it. To recap briefly for any joining at this point, I am partially deaf and I FEEL sound with my body. Because of the deafness, I have Such a Depth of Gratitude for sound and I Adore music and certain frequencies So much and have received benefits such as relief from pain, being able to sleep when otherwise I’d experienced insomnia, healing of things in my own lifetime and Wider including into my family line and beyond, WAY beyond! I have MANY different experiences with sound and each time is Fresh and without expectation. Sometimes I simply fall asleep sometimes I see things or feel things or maybe cry through the session or feel things in my body. I have Also had Full body Soundgasams on More than one occasion!!! (Yeah, they don’t put That on their posters but Sound can reach ALL sorts of places and do all sorts of things!!!!)
I have Such a bee in my bonnet about the Importance of Quality Training in this art as I have begun to watch the possibility of people buying tools such as singing bowls online even and just setting themselves up as a “Sound Healer” or such and offering Sound Journeys and it makes me Laugh! I’ve been to a Range of events where someone has had a few singing bowls and Often my experience of the sound that they offer is uncomfortable and jarring and really unpleasant as people have just banged these sacred tools without knowledge or experience or sensitivity or overplayed them just to get volume but not realising the effect of that or my Biggest bug bear is those who use WOODEN Mallets and the sound is So incredibly pitchy and Painful on my ears and I have more than once Covered my ears to protect them from the discomfort and I couldn’t Begin to relax. ALL of this could give sound work a bad press, a bad name and might put people off from experiencing GENUINE, Healing sound from someone who Knows how to hold space properly and can bring people back gently and safely and take care of the people in the space. It’s an Honour and privilege to give sound to another soul and not just another gimmicky money-making business opportunity to me!
For this final weekend of the course this year, So very much came through for me , So much very deep and powerful healing experiences and realisations and jigsaw pieces slotting together and a feeling of such DEEP Joy being around people (and animals) that I Love. One of the pieces is SUCH GRATITUDE to my Teachers for their support and Guidance through the entire adventure.
My Teachers are Suzy Nairn and Anthar Kharana. These people have Depth and Quality to what they bring. Depth of experience, of training of knowledge. They are Authentic and have Deep integrity. They have Huge hearts and Passion for sound work. They don’t just pop on a quick weekend course and show you how to play the singing bowls and drum… The 6 month certificate course was an incredibly DEEP Dive, certainly for me! I started the course 2 months after I’d been on the Sound Healing retreat to Colombia with Anthar (Suzy was there as well on her second trip to that country). It was one of the most powerful experiences and it Shook up my entire life. Then going into the course, More shaking up of absolutely Everything. My life over then next 2 years stripped away Completely, Everything in it. It was Fascinating to go through but Actually, it was SO profoundly Perfect and my teachers who are also my Family HELPED me So much.
Going through Every single piece of the disarming, disrobing, unmasking, releasing adventures…. I have had my SOUND Tools. I have had the grounded training and Knowledge about how sound works - what sound waves and frequencies can do. It Wasn’t some hippie woo woo experience of playing with pretty singing bowls, it was a scientific knowledge of the healing properties of sound and my Own actual embodied experience. In my research piece I was in the Midst of a depressive episode and I used my drum to guide me home so I wrote about that process. These sound tools have been the greatest gift anyone could have shown me. However, the most magical gift that the course and my teachers helped me with, has been the tender flowering and blossoming of my own VOICE and expression, not just in sound but in all ways of expression.
When I knew I had to use my voice infront of my teachers, I was Beyond PETRIFIED. All the “I can’t sing” and on and on, that Many of us have carried. So to make Any noise in my exam was SO important and Powerful. THAT is what I remember from that day! I remember holding my drum and singing!!!! No one ran out of the room, no one covered their ears, they received the sound that I offered. I feel SO moved at the journey of the voice. NOW, I sing to the waters, I sing to the land, I EVEN Sing at bus stops!!! Sure I can Still be Shy to sing around people, but not Always. I ADORE singing, I ADORE the Feeling of sounding or chanting or mantras or vocalisation in my own body and how that connects with my environment. It Doesn’t Have to be loud, it doesn’t Have to be big and showy. Often my sound is small or simple or quiet and it Breaks me open with the absolute beauty of genuine expression. I am SO grateful for the sound of my own voice and how This course helped me profoundly with that!
And the journey hasn’t ended. My Desire Remains to offer sound in the Community, in places like hospitals or hospices or schools. My journey over the last little while has been through a Deep personal healing and I Know a Change is Coming and it's Nearly time to take the Fruits of this adventure out into other places. I am very Juiced about whatever’s next.
I am SO Grateful to my teachers, to the ANSU School of Sound and to ALL the students and beautiful Sound Family that are growing and blossoming.
I attach the link to the Schools website for Any who feel the call to get some Authentic Quality training in this incredible work. The School will start up again next Spring but you can contact the teachers now if you have any questions.
DEEP Gratitude and Love.
Website - http://www.ansuschoolofsound.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ansuschoolofsound/?ref=br_rs
(Photo of my exam 2 years ago!)