Writing As I See The World

Drum-Dance-Energy-Trance

Crazy weeks. June is one hectic month.  Still cooling down from the run with lots of percolating thoughts.

I knew the drum 'recital' event was going to be cool.  How could it not be?  Joining 50 drummers, all students of Zorina Wolf, at the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford University in Palo Alto was an exciting prospect, to say the least.  Being there with close friends and fellow tribe members clearly had the makings of a great experience.

I had no idea.

First, the place.  The New Guinea Sculpture Garden defies description.  You really need to be there to get it.  I tried to find photos online that conveyed some sense of the place (click on the garden link above and scroll down), but ultimately, it is about spirit.  Photos cannot begin to convey just how powerful this place is.  I walked into the garden with Brad, my cousin Torsten, and friend Bill, and it felt electric. 

I am reminded how blessed I am to have stumbled into Zorina's class.  How friends Keith and Craig kept mentioning it, and how long it took to get me there.  One class and I bought a drum.  Djembe permeated my soul.  Zorina is a person so deliciously out there doing what she loves to do... very clear... saying what she thinks ('Well that sounded like shit... but I know we can do it!')... while also amazingly patient ('Great!  Now try moving your hand just a little further onto the drum and see what happens').

Excitement built as we set up.  Further as people arrived.  Zorina offering gin (only really good gin) :)) to the spirits in our opening circle of drummers.  Singing as we made our way into the garden to our drum circle.  Anticipation as we leapt into rhythms.  A bit unsure and cautiously at first... not really being sure where we were going.  Quickly getting over that as the audience responded and people started dancing in the circle of drummers, anchored by huge totem poles.

Being swept away.  My smile could not have been broader.  I felt such an incredible upwelling of joy!  Seeing Alan, Carla, Sam, Brad, and Bill, among the dancers brought so much joy to the surface.  Watching the dancers get into the rhythm, being part of the rhythm with my fellow drummers, exchanging glances and smiles.  Sensing, knowing without thinking, just how amazing this thing was that we all created together.

The interplay of dancers and drums.  Being conscious of the dancing pace.  Feeling the energy of the drumming reflected back and going back out again.  Feeling the rhythm.  Feeling the energy build.  Feeling.  Sensing.  Aware.  At some point there was no thinking in this mix.  Being on autopilot.  Feeling the energy through my body, my hands, my drum, the drummers around me, the dancers, the sculptures, the earth.  Not creating distinctions, simply being with it.  Feeling the joy.  Feeling the love in that very moment.  And the next.

Building and building the energy, feeling the rhythm, hands flying, bodies flying, embracing joy and going with it, feeling every ounce.   Back and forth, dialog coming from someplace deep inside our bodies.

YES!!! 

YES!!!

YES!!!

Closing with more singing.  Sharing food afterward.  Knowing we had all just shared something incredibly special.  Our creation.  Our shared soul-baring journey.

More photos.

Africa Africa Africa Africa Djembe Rhythm

It's been awhile since I have posted.  This is not reflective of my thought processes.  I actively think about Africa, including how I might incorporate bits of Africa into my life.  One line of thought includes using my health care background in a way that benefits Africans.  Still working through that one.  There are any number of potential possibilities of non-governmental agencies doing work on the continent.  We'll see.

Last night was my first djembe (jem-bey) drumming class.  My friend Craig suggested that I try it out, and, well... I got into the space of... do I really want to commit to being ALL THE WAY down in Palo Alto every Thursday night?  It's very silly, and I recognize it as a ludicrously limiting thought.  If a friend said that to me I might start laughing.  But it was there in my mind chatter.  And once I realized what I was doing I said ... well I guess that is what I'm going to do.

The idea of learning how to play the djembe is something that comes to me from different directions.  One, an interest in rhythm.  I love rhythm and drumming and the way it can carry me to so many places.  There is something intrinsically intuitive about the language of drumming that appeals strongly to me.  Two, my friends Keith and Craig have really gotten into it, and more recently my friend Tho, and they all love it.  Third, Brad and I recently went to see The Visitor, a film I highly recommend, which includes djembe playing and how it connected the main character with his creative essence. 

So I went with Craig to the Unity Church in Palo Alto last night.  I played a drum borrowed from Zorina, the instructor, and I was SO cool!  I jumped in and started swimming.  The class has been ongoing and I dropped in, so there weren't many basic tips for playing.  Craig sat next to me in the circle of 19 drummers, so I could ask a few questions beforehand and watch his hands.   Zorina occasionally called out encouragement to me.  And I grooved!  It was great!  And sometimes really funny.  I would find myself being totally into the rhythm and the pattern and the hand movements and jamming along, and then suddenly I would realize I was doing it and at that moment I would lose it.

I would stop.  Listen.  Feel it.  Look at Craig's hands and jump back in.  The first lesson of drumming is to not think about it.  The moment I started thinking about it I would get lost.  Thinking gets in the way of the rhythm.  Rhythm comes from the soul.  It's like thoughts cut off the rhythm.   Rhythm seems to have a difficult time penetrating the thinking, or maybe thoughts are too slow, or maybe it's a left-brain, right-brain thing. 

Whatever it is, I love the metaphor:  How much thinking removes me from feeling the rhythm all around me.

And then we started adding singing to the drumming.  And then imagine adding dance to the singing and drumming.  You can't think.  You flow with it.

I can't wait until the next class.