Adnan Sarhan, my spiritual teacher, was a consummate Shamanic drummer. His drumming workshops could transport you to another realm. Even the tapes of his concerts can put you into sleep more exquisite than any sleep you have ever had before. The sound and vibrations of the drumming wash over your body and absorb into every cell. Your heart aligns with the heartbeat of the universe.

In this drumming sound bath, negativity is banished and wounds, physical and emotional, are healed. I have felt it, seen it, and heard stunning stories of physical recovery. A psychologist from Puerto Rico gave one of Adnan's drum recordings to his son after a car accident. His son played the tape every day. His son's doctors were amazed at the speed of his physical recovery.

After my first Sufi summer camp with Adnan, I shared a New York apartment leased by another student of his. She rose early in the morning, about 1 hour before I needed to rise, and went into the kitchen to make her breakfast. I was sleeping on the floor in her office right next to the kitchen. As there were no doors between these two rooms, I would wake to her morning sounds. By listening to one of Adnan's drumming tapes on headphones I was able to drown out noise and obtain some additional sleep.

I used the same trick when I was sharing another apartment with two other students of Adnan. This apartment was a floor-through of 4 rooms lined up like boxcars without doors. The drumming tapes helped me sleep, removed any negativity, and soothed the frayed nerves caused by New York City living.

Adnan's drumming tapes were most often recorded during dance shows. He attracted some of the best Middle Eastern dancers in the world because his drumming would shift their dancing from technique-motivated to spirit-inspired movement. Every dancer radically improved her performance by dancing to his drum.

When you dance with Adnan’s drum you and the drum become one. Your movement informs the drummer and the drum informs your movement -- without thought or effort. Adnan’s drumming could take you to places your dance had never gone. This is the main reason I practiced to become a better dancer. I wanted to solo dance with his drumming.

Listening and dancing to Adnan's drum were not the only ways to gain benefit from the Doumbeck drums of the Middle East. The first time I attended one of Adnan's weekend workshops, he brought a load of Doumbeck drums for us to play. Arranged in a drum circle, we were taught how to properly hold the drum and produce a simple sequence of sounds:

Boom-tacky-tacky-tacky-Boom-Boom-tac.

We repeated this sequence for over an hour. The sounds of all the drums blended into one massive drum vibration enveloping and transporting us into the other realm of consciousness. Our group drumming is a shadow of Adnan’s drumming – like baby babble is to adult conversation. Yet it had a profound effect on us. 

Group drumming is one of Adnan’s most powerful Sufi practices. It requires complete focus to repeat the sequence and stay in alignment with the rest of the group. The hand and arm movements become part of the sound. It is both visceral and auditory. 

In my early years at Sufi camp, the group drumming sometimes went on for hours. I rarely lasted the whole time because my shoulders, back, and hands would start to ache. Occasionally I would switch hands from leading with the right to leading with the left. This renewed my focus while giving my right arm and shoulder a break. Eventually, even this was not enough relief. Finally, I would lie down and float into bliss on the sound of the group drum. 

Drumming groups at camp do not last as long as they used to. Perhaps we are all growing older. Or maybe like Adnan, we improve with age and can induce mindshifts with less effort. Thirty minutes of drumming is often sufficient. Question: Have we grown in spirit or just finally realized, due to the new physical limits of aging, that bliss does not require hard work and suffering?  Drumming is the form. The state it induces is the essence. Length of time, it turns out, is inconsequential to its effect.

Unfortunately, there is no way I can do a drumming circle in my Zoom class. Everyone would need their own Doumbek. Also, the Zoom sound delay would make it difficult to achieve the unity that is essential to the result. You can, however, experience drumming circles at Sufi Camp which begins July 1^st and runs through August 31^st every year in Torreon, New Mexico. You can stay as long or short as you are able. See Sufi Foundation.

In the meantime, please join me tomorrow for another 90-minute immersion into breath and the moment.

This Friday, we are adjusting our meeting to European time which has not yet sprung forward: March 15th at 10 am PST.

On Sunday, we split the difference -- a half hour later for us, and a half-hour earlier for Europeans. Sunday, March 3rd at 8:30 am PST. World time goes back into alignment on March 31st

The Zoom link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89999494833?pwd=V2pOS28yYUdXM3hkaW1rVWIvSjBUdz09

Meeting ID: 899 9949 4833

Passcode: SUFI

Here's a time converter link to check the time in your location.

Be peaceful.

Michelle

Dr. Michelle Peticolas

Life Transformation Coach

Empowering Women to Reinvent Their Life After Loss

Secrets of Life and Death

https://www.facebook.com/secretsoflifeanddeath.com