Sound Journey with Graham McGoldrick and Fiona McLaren

I guess arriving five minutes late and flapping like a headless chicken, unsure of even how to get into my tightly-rolled, borrowed sleeping bag could have been seen as an indication that I’m perhaps not the most chilled, spiritually toned individual.

It was with some trepidation that I agreed to review a Sound Journey on a Sunday morning usually religiously reserved for other similarly sedentary pursuits.

Did my body’s energy really need re-balancing? Indeed, where WAS my body’s energy – it had been weeks since I’d last encountered it.

My fears were compounded when on entering the room, filled with my blanket-clad companions for the journey I heard Fiona utter the words “…and at the end of the session we’ll have a short voice exercise, some chanting.” Eek! Surely not – participation? More on this later.

As a graphic designer I am proud of my more creative moments but I know I definitely lean towards visual rather than auditory and during the first fifteen minutes of my journey I really struggled with an over-powering urge to peek at Fiona and Graham playing the instruments and as a result found I struggled to engage fully with the sounds. This did pass though and I have to admit I found myself really absorbed in the experience and oblivious to everything around me. It’s a real treat to take two hours out with no distractions and allow your mind to clear and think through your troubles. At least that’s what I THOUGHT I’d do. In reality I found myself focussing on the more positive things and thinking ahead or of pleasant things. I particularly enjoyed the sound of the Tibetan singing bowls. This combined with the mind-clearing, almost shocking crash of the symphonic gong made for a challenging and surprisingly rewarding two hours.

As the session clearly began to draw to a close my mind was dragged back to the earlier mention of the dreaded chanting. Noooo.

We kicked off with an “Ahhhhhhh…” How appropriate for me.

Graham could clearly see I was struggling a little and came over to sit with me and reassure and encourage me a little. Nooo, I was actually going to have to join in now and couldn’t fake it.

The next two minutes however were truly inspiring for me, I found I actually enjoyed Ahhhhing and Ohmmmming enthusiastically! It was a great feeling.

The journey really did leave me with a tangible sense of well-being and feeling a good bit less stressed than when I arrived! I was impressed and more than a little surprised. I don’t see me signing up for any retreats this year but have to admit that there’ve been more than a few raised eyebrows at my Ohm chanting in my morning shower since then.

	1. 19-10-2007 08:27
	Fiona Mclaren says: I have been running a monthly SoundJourney since February 2006. So when I was asked by the 'Witch Hiker' to write about my experience of 'doing' the next journey, I thought "sounds simple enough" (pardon the pun!) yet I've found myself procrastinating about putting pen to paper (well, fingers on keyboard really!)    The 'Witch Hiker' was fascinated and interested to know how I 'do' a SoundJourney which is something I find difficult to explain, or sometimes find the words for (which will probably surprise those that know me). Working with sound is the one thing in my life that I feel is completely effortless, for once I don't have to think about what I do, I just do it! My work is based partly on my knowledge of my sound 'tools', which I work with daily and are very much a part of me and partly my guidance, intuition, instinct (or whatever label you prefer to use).     Over the years, people have said what I do is "whacky", "hocus-pocus", "airy-fairy" etc but how many of you have seen someone and asked "are you ok, you look a bit green about the gills?" or no matter how much a friend or loved one says "I'm fine" you just know that that's not true or when you've walked into a room you just know there has been an argument beforehand. What I do is no different, it's just that with my training (in Sacred Sound, Shiatsu and Reiki) and self-development work I may be more acutely aware, observant and sensitive of people's energy.     As there are no two people the same and no two groups the same, no two SoundJourneys are the same. In this particular SoundJourney my sense (drawn from what I saw, heard and felt) of the group energy was to take the journey into a deep, calming, relaxing, meditative state and keep it at that level throughout the session i.e. no really loud sounds to penetrate and break up energy and no loud, energising, invigorating drumming at the end.    The session started with the Tibetan bell which, to me, basically focusses and signals the mind to settle. Then continued with the Tibetan bowls, a mantra and the symphonic gong to clear the mind and take the journeyor into deeper and deeper states of relaxation. The rhythm and grounding tools e.g. shakers and drums were played in a soft, gentle, soothing, rhythmical way and in such a way as to keep the very still, calm sense but to also ground the journeyor. As there was such a beautiful feeling of calm, peace and love at the end I chose to do an 'aaahh' chant for the heart. Registered Report

Witchhiker

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