The May Drum Circle will be held at the home of Sherry Saben Wolford. For details and information contact ronvannostrand@gmail.com. Bring your own drums or drums are provided.

Drum circles may well be misunderstood. They can seem a little mysterious, but may also prove good for you. There is research available which shows their capacity to strengthen the immune system, to improve moods and reduce burnout from stress, anxiety, depression and feelings of loneliness, to improve the aerobic and cardiovascular systems, to aid in removing mind clutter, to raise awareness of self and spirit, and their use as an active meditation, to assist one in staying in the present moment.

There is an opinion that drum circles consist of people just sitting around banging on drums. Although somewhat true, there is much happening not obvious to the casual viewer. The best part of drumming is any one can do it as long as a few simple rules are observed. They are the same as polite conversation. Listen when others are speaking. Be supportive and try not to monopolize the session by being the loudest. It never ceases to amaze me, the conversations created and the feelings emoted, all without words.

I deem a drum circle successful when four criteria are met; empowerment, resonance, flow, and freedom. The first is the empowerment of the individual. A brief non-denominational ceremony of honor and respect is done at the beginning. This consists of lighting a candle for focus, introductions and the setting of intentions. This serves to remove us from our everyday realities and inform us we are about to partake in something special.  Upon completion, we begin to truly sit in ‘circle.’ A teacher of mine once said, “When we set in circle, there is no one above us, no one below us, we are all equal and we are one.” There is an awareness that takes place of being in the “now” and having the power to create something that has never been before.

String theorists claim we are made up of infinitely small vibrating strings. This may result in us each having our own unique wavelength with which we resonate. Some say this resonance could be somewhat hereditary as in almost every culture there is a personal history of music. Anthropologists claim people long ago, even though having few belongings, almost always possessed an instrument, most often drums. At the Center, a diverse array of instruments is provided for people to experiment in order to find the sound which relates best to them.

Once an instrument is selected, someone sets a beat and one by one we join the rhythm, each adding our part and color to the music-scape. This is what I refer to has ‘entering the flow.’ One error that can occur at this point, but which is easily corrected, is over thinking. The secret is just let go and enjoy your self. Though quite possible to miss a beat, sometimes the beat you think you missed, might take the movement to a whole other place.

Upon finding our resonance and entering the flow, a sense of freedom comes with the realization of our awesome capacity to create within a group setting, which is not often found in our everyday world.

As I have gotten older, I realize that if you listen to the world around us, there is
music or at minimum  rhythm to be found everywhere. From the time we are
conceived when we hear our mother’s heart beat until we begin to find our own.

Join me to connect to this universal beat:

• Drum Circles
• Stress Relief Workshops (click for the Rhythms Within Workshop Flyer)
• Drum Sales
• Celebratory Events