Hi all,
Saturday evening was a pleasure for me that I had not experienced before. I had planned on going to a full moon drumming with a group some ways south of me. I found that it was not a convenient or comfortable feeling meeting with that group so I opted out, and decided to do my drumming by myself. As you know, the Full Moon Saturday was a very strong event especially since there was a partial eclipse Saturday morning.
Before it got dark, I set up a Sacred Prayer Circle in the yard. This is something I had been wanting to do for a great while. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a native American tradition to set up a circle of stones, with the main stones oriented to the four cardinal points, north, east, south and west. This only took a short while to do as I only started out with five stones, the directions and the center stone. I have a compass to make sure I had them arranged in proper direction.
Then I got a chair and a small table and placed in the circle. I took a sea shell and I have some white sage and I burned the sage and "smudged" the circle to sanctify it for the activity I planned. Smudging is the process of waving smoke in the 7 directions with an appropriate prayer. The seven directions being north, east, south, west, up, down and within. By then it was getting dark and the moon had not yet risen. I began the drumming and shortly in the southwest a brilliant orange glow began on the horizon. I continued to drum as the moon rose majestically in its firey beauty, so large and dominating of the sky. I have seldom seen such a large moon. I drummed until the moon was well up, over the tree line and ascending into the heights. I then finished up and went in to meditate. It was about 9:30 when I finished. The moon rise was right at nine o'clock.
I found this exercise was a very cleansing experience, something I will do often. I have my circle started and will add additional stones gradually until I have the full 17 stone circle.
I may even invite some of my friends to join me in the drummings. That could be very enjoyable, being with personal friends doing the drumming.
Hi, Berry.
This made me smile and smile to read this. I sense a wonderful blossoming in you. Follow your heart as you invite others into your circle. I have also been mulling over the question of how to connect with my Indigenous American heritage, and perhaps a Prayer Circle and some drumming would be in order. If nothing else, it would give the neighbors something to talk about. :)
Much love and light to you,
Kathy
I liked hearing about your ritual and the story of how you got it started Berry-thank you so much for talking about it.
I have a problem with a lack of privacy hindering my desires to do rituals and esp. to drum. Does anyone have suggestions for where I could go and be alone to drum outside? I'm in a dense suburban place. I love to feel the trance it creates in me but I'm a private person and I'm afraid people are not accepting of these practices.
Peace to all of us. Brian
Hi Brian. I say just do it. Who knows, instead of your neighbors being intolerant of your practices, maybe you will spark some interest in them. Also many cities have some kind of drum circle event on a weekly basis at one venue or another. If you feel the desire to drum, then these are some ideas to comsider.
Brian, check out your local Meet Up website for drumming circles. That is how I came across the group I was going to meet with Saturday. I found my personal experience was a much better environment for personal expansion though. Also, living in NC. you must have a lot of parks and forest areas where you can get away. Take a weekend camping trip with just yourself and your drum, and find a sacred place amoung the trees and near a creek and let your heart soar as you find your rhythm on that drum!
Mitakuye Oyasin
Berry
P.S.
I live in a relatively rural area on an acre of property and what I do in my back yard is for all practical purposes private. If one of my neighbors complain I will just remind them that they have their very loud parties and I have not complained. They already know that I am..."strange......". LOL
Cool guys. Will investigate. Berry, I thought when you said "and what I do in my back yard" you were going to finish with "stays in my backyard"........I hadn't thought about taking a little campout-just the thing I would've thought to do as a single lad, before I got married! Brilliant.
As I read your post Berry, my heart ached to be drumming and chanting with you that night. I was here in the Northwest watching the beautiful full moon rise above the hills surrounding Liberty Lake with a light breeze and a bit of a chill in the air (summer does not start around here until July 4th, like clockwork)... Happy Drumming!!!!
i spent the weekend at a yearly conference, where i gave a workshop discussing the circle as sacred, circle as peacemaker, integrated the medicine wheel teachings and meditation and world prayer.
Though it wasn't my customary 'drum circle' (I lead them a few times each month)-my drum was at the center of the circle as it is part of my 'medicine'.
On the way back to our lodgings, that same moon was rising Berry. Luminous, huge and golden, the work of the day and the energy of the experience and participants felt tremendously important and i felt very peaceful. When we raise our own vibration-which the drums do-we raise the vibration of much around us. (but you know that !
)
Dear Brian, when i first brought home a drum my kids were teenagers and they laughed and ran from the room every time i began playing (works well for mom to get some quiet time lol!)
But seriously, i was concerned that it might bother my elderly neighbors (we're in the 'burbs'). Instead, the little lady who grew up in England and is nearing 90, comes over to listen and pray while i drum since her arthritis won't allow her to participate. I haven't encountered anyone yet that has been truly 'bothered' by it and more want to experience it themselves. Drumming alone, drumming with others, either way, there is much benefit in it. For yourself and for all of us as one.
One of the stories i told saturday comes from the parable of Jacob's ladder as told by Rabbi David Cooper in a talk about 'realization', when Jacob awoke and realized 'God' had been there all along, he said 'God was here all the time and I didn't realize it-what an AWESOME place is this!'
Amidst all the things we could find wrong if we lend our thoughts to them, this really is an awesome place, this world we live in. I choose to see it. Blessings All. Love kristyne
Wow guys, your comments coming out of this is so uplifting. I appreciate the resonance with the drumming experience. Chris, I wish you could have been here drumming with me too. And Brian, I think you will find a place to tickle your drum and find comfort in it.
As far as disturbing the neighbors, most times drumming is not a loud affair. I often drum very softly, almost caressing the skin. There are times when I need to release some undesirable energy that it gets very loud but that is not often and usually inside the house.
I thought you would all enjoy seeing my drum, which I bought a short while ago, unadorned, and painted myself. I have incorporated my personal totem the great turtle and my power symbol, the eagle feather into the design.
Kristyne,
Isn't it a wonder that we could all see and enjoy that same moon with the same awe and appreciation. I see that you are not at all new to the sacred circles. I have desired to make one for a long time and this was the apropriate time to do it. I will be seeking advice from you to further complete my circle. I was not aware that you were so deeply into First Nation shamanism.
I got reports from the group which did meet for that drumming gathering in the Toad Hill retreat. And they posted pictures many of which I found extremely fascinating. I am going to post some of them here as many of the pics show a tremendous number sometimes clouds of Orbs around the festivities. And there are a couple of pics which show, winged orbs!!!!. oval forms with what appear to be wing extentions.
Ahhh! I am unable to copy or paste those pics from my home computer for some reason, so I will provide them tomorrow from my office computer which I know I have them stored.
Until the morrow dear ones,
Berry
This post, among other signs has nudged me in the direction of getting myself a drum. I took a ride over to one of my favorite stores in Woodstock (NY) where they hooked me up with a beautiful drum that is, right now, kind of intimidating. :)
It makes me feel the way my great grandmother must have felt, though, when I stand in the grass in my back yard, and play the drum. This is the first step in a really cool journey. I can just tell.
Thank you, Berry and Kristyne!
Much love and light,
Kathy
I don't think that I have posted any of these yet. My mind has been in a whirl the last few days. The thing I want to emphasize is the light orbs which appeared in the digital photos. These are amazing.
I am sorry they didn't come more clear. Here is a link that you can perhaps view the whole series of pics.
http://www.meetup.com/Light-Beings-New-Earth-Community/photos/971155/
There are numerous pics which show light orbs during the evening. They seemed to become more numerous as the energy of the drumming circle became higher.
I really must start drumming outside...........your sacred circle sounds amazing Berry. I live in a town house and am not sure how the neighbours would react - reading about your experience, who cares I should just do it.
At the moment I just drum in my treatment room and occassionally around the house, you're reawakened my need to drum outside.............thank you.
And Kathy enjoy your drum, it will become part of you. It might help to listen/play along to a drumming cd to help you to feel less intimidated. enjoy ................. :)
valx
Those pics are very cool Berry, and much more vivid in that selection of 62, Thanks!!!
Thanks, Valx! I looked on the internet for "how to" sites, and found one with a Drumming 101 CD/DVD pack that I may buy to get the feel for it. That drum will not sit in the closet.
Berry, I looked through those pictures and two thoughts came up... first, the pictures are amazing! I cannot imagine what those little Casper-looking guys are! They're cute. Second, since you don't have pictures of yourself drumming, you can't see the orbs that surrounded you while you drummed. I know they were there keeping you company. Think about it for a moment (with your highest self). Didn't you feel surrounded and protected, and in good company? :)
Much love and light,
Kathy
http://drumcircles.net/circlelist.html#NY
Thanks for the link, Kristyne! You rock!
Much love and light,
Kathy
Kathy,
As I said in the initial post, I was at the last moment unable to attend that drumming circle. Those are pictures that Cindy posted on the meet up site of the activity and all of the orbs. I was drumming in my own healing circle in my back yard. I suspect that I had a lot of orbs floating around too but I didn't have my camera set up. I recently got a tripod and the next time I do a drumming back there I will set it up.
There is another drumming circle planned for July 24 which I will definitely get to. Nothing is going to interfer with that one. I understand that it will envolve an envisioning of the OverLight, the higher level of this density in which our guides, and ascended masters relate to us from.
Hi, Berry.
I knew you were not in that bigger group, but just wanted you to know that our friends - in the shape of orbs, were likely with you as well. We sometimes forget how special we are, and how much heavenly support we have all the time.
Much love and light to you,
Kathy