The colour of drumming

The building is nestled in a professional business park. There are technology companies, food distributors, a commercial real estate office, not exactly the spot you'd think of to have a Wellness Center and church. But there it sits. If it wasn't for the sandwich board on the street, one could drive by an never know it was there.

I'd been to the wellness center a few times to check the spot out for acoustics. The building itself is clean and professional - a lot like the congregation that attends services there. I wasn't sure that this was the right place to bring a pagan, devotional drumming workshop but I was told that they were looking to shake things up a bit and "having that pagan energy here will do us good", said one member of the staff.

On the day, we created a circle of chairs, created an altar with candles, small musical instruments, a bowl of water, rocks and fabric, and set out our drums. Myself and the other teacher held each other for a few moments and gave ourselves over to the intention of the day...and the magic began.

Participants came in and found a spot to sit. We explained what we would be doing for the day and began with a round of names. We played with the syllables of the words we use to identify ourselves until they became their own song, their own beat. We kept changing how our names sounded and somehow altered what they mean. We moved into stretching and hand clapping, into endlessly counting off - 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 - to see where math and music overlap.

Over the next four hours we explored the elemental energy of drumming and in that search we began to infuse the building with something of ourselves. We literally shook the walls and, it's my belief, that we actually restructured the molecular make up of the place. Instead of tearing down the walls of Jericho as it were, it felt as if our rhythms were colouring the walls and carpets, overlaying the beige with something exciting, creating a support system for the building that was organic and alive.

Participants in the class have since commented that while the beats were happening something was shifting in them, moving through them, purging, creating room for a new energy. Congregants noted the following day that "something" about the church had changed, it felt lighter, swept out, like spring cleaning had happened.

 I am beginning to understand, on a profound and subtle level, just how powerful drumming can be and how effectively it can be used to shift energy.

Happy drumming...