While in Portland, OR, I spent an afternoon in a coffee shop trying to think of things I could Google in order to find interesting people to connect with. I suddenly thought: "drumming circles"! That's something I enjoy! So I typed it in, and came across….not a drumming circle, exactly, but a Shamanic Healing Circle (which involves drums!).
They meet the third Tuesday of every month at a house just outside of Eugene. I looked at the date on my phone. It was the third Sunday of the month. I was planning on heading to Eugene the next day. I emailed them with my fingers crossed. The next day I got back a note from Alida Birch, one of the founders of the group. She said they'd be happy for me to come observe.
So, two days later I found myself winding through dark country roads (this time with a map, and half an hour early) toward Alida and Reid's home on the outskirts of town…
I have a tendency to feel uncomfortable and stressed in new situations, and I wondered what this experience was going to be like. From what I had read about it online, it sounded a little outside of my comfort zone…raising energy, calling in the spirits, long distance healing. What was I getting myself into?
To my surprise, that evening was the most comfortable and at ease I'd felt in weeks. Oddly enough, it stirred up memories from my church background of prayer groups and coffee socials with friends and community, and yet was very similar in vocab and philosophy to what I was accustomed to in cranial-sacral therapy and other energy work.
The moderator that night was Barb, a woman with a warm and welcoming personality who infused the gathering with a sense of calm and community. She began by explaining a bit about how the evening was going to go, and what each part meant. We passed a talking stick around the group of 20 or so people, some who were healers and some who had come with health or spiritual concerns. Each person introduced themselves and said a little bit about why they were there.
I think it was the first time I'd introduced myself in front of a group of people where I didn't feel on the spot, or at least some level of stress. I decided in that moment to join in and participate, rather than just observe. Barb wrote down the names of all the people who were seeking healing, and then divided them into a first and second session, about 5 or 6 per session.
As the first session began, each of the 5 or so people chose a healer (or spun an object to see which healer's drumstick it pointed to). The group then partnered off, with each pair finding a quiet spot to work. For the next 20 minutes, the remaining people kept a steady drum beat together. As partners finished off, they came and rejoined the group.
A second session was then held, in a similar manner. I was paired with Anchen, a girl younger than I with a steady calm gaze and quiet demeanor. She and I sat on the floor and she asked me about what health or spiritual issues I was dealing with, what I was looking for in this session, and we talked for a little while. What then followed was a short session which felt very familiar to me - reminiscent of working with my cranial sacral therapists or intuitive healers from Ontario, or having a Reiki session. When everyone had finished, we returned to the circle, and joined hands for the final closing and giving thanks to the spiritual energies that surround us and aid in our healing.
So, was it helpful? I'm not sure! Though I must say that my heart arrhythmia, which had reached epic levels in the weeks leading up to this night, seemed to fade the day after and has almost disappeared. And I feel somewhat calmer, less easily stressed, as I travel from place to place.
Anchen told me that what she had helped remove was something old and familiar and comfortable, that would probably be easy to slip back into again and might need more work. That, too, seems familiar…! :)
And whether it comes back or not, I feel blessed to have been able to spend an evening in this welcoming, loving group of people. To feel calm, and to feel at home.
Thank you to Barb, to Alida and Reid, to Anchen, and to the rest of those who were there.
They meet the third Tuesday of every month at a house just outside of Eugene. I looked at the date on my phone. It was the third Sunday of the month. I was planning on heading to Eugene the next day. I emailed them with my fingers crossed. The next day I got back a note from Alida Birch, one of the founders of the group. She said they'd be happy for me to come observe.
So, two days later I found myself winding through dark country roads (this time with a map, and half an hour early) toward Alida and Reid's home on the outskirts of town…
I have a tendency to feel uncomfortable and stressed in new situations, and I wondered what this experience was going to be like. From what I had read about it online, it sounded a little outside of my comfort zone…raising energy, calling in the spirits, long distance healing. What was I getting myself into?
To my surprise, that evening was the most comfortable and at ease I'd felt in weeks. Oddly enough, it stirred up memories from my church background of prayer groups and coffee socials with friends and community, and yet was very similar in vocab and philosophy to what I was accustomed to in cranial-sacral therapy and other energy work.
The moderator that night was Barb, a woman with a warm and welcoming personality who infused the gathering with a sense of calm and community. She began by explaining a bit about how the evening was going to go, and what each part meant. We passed a talking stick around the group of 20 or so people, some who were healers and some who had come with health or spiritual concerns. Each person introduced themselves and said a little bit about why they were there.
I think it was the first time I'd introduced myself in front of a group of people where I didn't feel on the spot, or at least some level of stress. I decided in that moment to join in and participate, rather than just observe. Barb wrote down the names of all the people who were seeking healing, and then divided them into a first and second session, about 5 or 6 per session.
As the first session began, each of the 5 or so people chose a healer (or spun an object to see which healer's drumstick it pointed to). The group then partnered off, with each pair finding a quiet spot to work. For the next 20 minutes, the remaining people kept a steady drum beat together. As partners finished off, they came and rejoined the group.
A second session was then held, in a similar manner. I was paired with Anchen, a girl younger than I with a steady calm gaze and quiet demeanor. She and I sat on the floor and she asked me about what health or spiritual issues I was dealing with, what I was looking for in this session, and we talked for a little while. What then followed was a short session which felt very familiar to me - reminiscent of working with my cranial sacral therapists or intuitive healers from Ontario, or having a Reiki session. When everyone had finished, we returned to the circle, and joined hands for the final closing and giving thanks to the spiritual energies that surround us and aid in our healing.
So, was it helpful? I'm not sure! Though I must say that my heart arrhythmia, which had reached epic levels in the weeks leading up to this night, seemed to fade the day after and has almost disappeared. And I feel somewhat calmer, less easily stressed, as I travel from place to place.
Anchen told me that what she had helped remove was something old and familiar and comfortable, that would probably be easy to slip back into again and might need more work. That, too, seems familiar…! :)
And whether it comes back or not, I feel blessed to have been able to spend an evening in this welcoming, loving group of people. To feel calm, and to feel at home.
Thank you to Barb, to Alida and Reid, to Anchen, and to the rest of those who were there.