Interchange: Sacred Sound or Sound Healing

I am wrapping up a full fall semester at the California Institute for Integral Study, Women's Spirituality Program, and beginning my second year in a doctoral degree program. This semester, I took a Sacred Music course with the phenomenal Jennifer Berezan. My final project or paper is on Sound Healing: Its Practitioners, Tools, Efficacy and Meanings. I invited four sound alchemists to join me in a conversation on their work. I composed a series of questions and then forgot them.

This is what I sent them as a way of introduction to the project:

I am writing because you are all sound healers whose practice I value. My paper will be an ethnography pulling from indigenous traditions. I am really interested in African, Indigenous, non-Western traditions.

The questions I'd like you to think about are:

1. What is sound?

2. How do you describe what you do with sound? Does it have a name?

3. How did you come to the work?

4. Please share your practice lineage, that is, your knowledge base and the tradition you follow.

5. When I think about sound medicine, I think about energy-meridians, movement, core or Sacral Chakra work and mind-body-centeredness. What are your tools?

6. Who do you serve and why?

Demonstrations are welcome. I do not mind participating.

I have attached a meditation I created for this class. I often set my poetry to music. I don't always have a particular accompaniment in mind, I just know it when I hear it. It is a mutual attraction. Most of you know me, for two of you who don't, here is a short bio:

Ms. Wanda Sabir, a recently retired college professor, is now pursuing a doctorate in Women’s Spirituality. She is also a poet, essayist, journalist and depth psychologist with an interest in historic trauma and memory – the MAAFA. Initiatives Include: Wombfulness Gatherings (2021-present), Souljourning for Truth Project (2022-present). Her goal is to establish an intentional community for Black wom(b)en (60+). See wandaspicks.com

A Poetic Meditation

My teacher, Jennifer Berezen's song, written last year, before I met her, spoke to me. A visitor to our class this semester, Agu, who plays singing bowls and chimes--a song she composed spoke to me too. However, I do not have the copyright to either piece :-(

"Blessings,"

By Wanda Sabir

In the first draft, I sang it (smile). You have the draft with a singing bowl and a tiny bit of vocals at the very end. It is 6 minutes. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from those whom I have not already spoken to.

Sacred Music Paper Introduction

Working title: Heart Space, A Vanishing Frontier

This ethnography looks at sound as medicine. How do such frequencies extend and expand life and well-being? What was once intuitive, a mother's soothing lullaby is now hertz waves one can create on a computer. Is one's well-being just a knob or a click away?

We are birthed in rhythm. Heartbeats syncopated within a chamber just big enough, just big enough. Sound all around like a hug. It squeezes us awake.

Yes, we are rhythmic. Our conception is divinity choreographed, a dance we learn then expand into a life.

I asked friends who are sound healers to talk about what they do. This research I share is as much in the moment as it is eternal. Sound has always been here. We actively sort through and analyze and discard or ignore the troubled waves that disturb our collective and personal peace.

Everything is not worthy of attention, yet for the hearing among us, it is easier said than done. Filtering is a skill we can learn.

The human voice when not singing is the hardest, I find, to ignore. I keep my phone on silent intentionally as speech is often a disruption I cannot easily recover. I spare myself whenever possible. What's admitted passes through portals blessed ancestrally. I do none of this alone.

I have survived a lot, death twice. Endings or near misses have a sound too. I remember the voices as I went into a simulated death. I remember the colors in my veins, the look of the room, the surrender to fate.

The first time I encountered death was a surprise. All I remember is a loud metal crushing sound as my car was hit and the back seat met the front and my baby screamed.

Healing sounds

Terence Elliott, "Doc. T," certified sound therapist, Kemetic reiki practitioner, says he wished he’d known in 2007 how to help his father who suffered from dementia/Alzheimer’s disease what he knows now about sound therapy's ability to slow the disease's progression. Doc Is HiM (Healing in Music) – doctishim.com.

Damu Sudi Alii's creative work keeps him going. His cancer has metastasized and is incurable, yet he is still here composing melodies, writing poetry and between visits to the emergency room working on a tribute concert next month for his friends Kenneth Byrd and Kamau Seitu, who are ancestors. The concert is at Oaktown Jazz Workshop.

Racquel McNeil Washington, MA, a birth doula, is a friend and former student of a friend. I thought about the babies we carry. Racquel is a mother whose baby died before its birth. The Queen's Collective Birthing honors the mothers and their babies who are just beyond reach. I thought about the sound healing she practices to honor sanctuary and the journey forward into a world where mothers cannot always protect or shield their young ones.

How is sound not just medicine but a protection shield, a buffer, a reminder, a place of spiritual return?

The womb is a place of return too. We can restart whenever there is a soul need. Grief is a place of rest. It's the bench by the water.

Loss.

There is no hurrying past or through human experience. Beginnings and endings and all the life stuff in the middle have its own soundtrack.

Listen.

I met Curtis Robertson Jr. at a ritual healing from slavery retreat a few years ago. I was preparing for a gratitude pilgrimage and my Iya told me this retreat which she had participated in earlier, would help me center. I went. I am now a part of the Deep Time Liberation community. We have a cohort that meets quarterly. Curtis hosted our last meeting.

Curtis is a musician (acoustic bass), composer, nurse, death doula, yoga teacher and meditation leader. I was so honored when he agreed to speak with me.

Let the journey begin.

Kindness is my religion.

God is change.

Good lives above me, it follows me, it papers my path, it seeds my soul. It is all that I need to live well. It is my nourishment. It is what I plant and water.

Aṣe.

Meeting summary for Sound Healing Interview with Racquel McNeil Washington (11/25/2024)

Quick recap

Ms. Wanda and Racquel discussed their spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer, and the use of sound healing instruments for emotional release and chakra balancing. They also explored the potential of sound healing in their respective practices, with Racquel sharing her experiences as a reproductive justice birth worker and medicine woman. The conversation concluded with discussions on Racquel's upcoming book project, her plans for an album with her son, and the use of her YouTube channel for sound healing videos.

Summary

Collective Prayer and Ancestor Invocation

Ms. Wanda and Racquel discussed their early morning meditation and prayer sessions, focusing on the ascension of a significant figure. They decided to record their conversation for future reference. They then led a collective prayer, inviting their ancestors, particularly their grandmothers and great-grandmothers, into the space. They acknowledged the sacredness of the space and sought to envelop it with protection. Racquel also called in her own ancestors, including her great-grandmother, Annie Bell, and those she did not know by name.

Healing Journeys and Ancestral Practices

Ms. Wanda and Racquel discussed their journeys as healers and medicine women. Racquel shared her experiences as a reproductive justice birth worker, emphasizing her role in supporting individuals through various phases of parenthood. She also discussed her journey with plant medicine, which has strengthened her ancestral practices. Racquel introduced sound healing to her life, incorporating it into her daily routine with her son. She shared a recent experience where a client had a profound journey during a sound bath, which led to a deeper

understanding of the healing power of sound.

Sound Healing Instruments and Techniques

Racquel showcased her collection of sound healing instruments, including sound bowls, tuning forks, and various drums. She explained how she uses these instruments to facilitate sound baths and healing sessions, both in her home and when she takes her orchestra to different locations. Racquel also shared her techniques for using the instruments to elicit different emotional responses, such as using the tuning forks to activate pressure points and the drums to mimic the heartbeat. She emphasized the importance of creating space for emotional release and inviting participants to receive the healing energy.

Sound Healing and Chakra Balancing

Racquel and Ms. Wanda discussed the use of sound healing in their practices. Racquel explained how she uses sound bowls to identify and balance chakras in the body, with loud sounds indicating a strong, balanced chakra and muted sounds indicating a blockage. She also shared her experiences with using sound healing for postpartum women, focusing on the throat, heart, root, and sacral chakras. Racquel emphasized the importance of honoring connections between different chakras and using sound healing to help people tune into their intuition. The conversation also touched on Racquel's personal experiences with sound healing, including a moment when a friend's drumming helped her realize her sacral chakra was blocked.

Racquel's Affirmations and Chakra Work

Racquel discussed her approach to affirmations and chakra work, emphasizing the importance of personal experience and guidance from ancestors and spirit. She explained how she uses affirmations to connect with different chakras, such as "I am divine" for the crown chakra and "I am worthy of love" for the heart chakra. Racquel also shared her use of herbs and movement in her practice, noting that certain herbs like yarrow can be beneficial for specific chakras due to their color and properties. She mentioned that her knowledge is a combination of her training, personal study, and lived experience.

Sound Healing and Virtual Challenges

Racquel and Ms. Wanda discussed Racquel's upcoming book project, which will focus on sound healing, movement, and other healing modalities. Racquel also mentioned her plans to create an album with her son, featuring sound healing and affirmations for children and parents. They also discussed the challenges of recording sound baths and healing events virtually, with Racquel expressing her intention to improve the technology side to offer these services to a wider audience. Racquel also shared her belief in the exponential impact of her work, as she feels that her teachings are often passed on to others, extending her reach beyond the individuals she directly works with.

Sound Bowls for Meditation and Healing

In the meeting, Racquel and Ms. Wanda discussed the use of sound bowls for meditation and healing. Racquel explained how she uses the bowls, including the addition of rose petals and yarrow, and how they can be used to invite different energies. She also guided Ms. Wanda through a short sound bath, encouraging her to observe her breath and find comfort in her body. Racquel emphasized the importance of exploring pleasure and saying 'yes' and 'no' to things in life. The conversation ended with Racquel suggesting that Ms. Wanda take her time to slowly come out of the meditation.

Sound Healing and Indigenous Practices

Racquel and Ms. Wanda discussed Racquel's YouTube channel, which features sound healing videos. Racquel mentioned she sometimes shares pre-recorded videos instead of bringing her crystal bowls to events. They talked about connecting with Dr. Fulami, an expert on Indigenous healing practices. Racquel explains she tries to maintain balance and not overcommit. They end by wishing each other well. Edited AI-generated content.

Meeting summary for Sound Healing Interview with Curtis Robertson, Jr. (11/26/2024)

Quick recap

Curtis and Ms. Wanda had a casual conversation about their personal experiences, with Curtis leading a meditation session and sharing his passion for music. They also discussed the power of sound, the interconnectedness of all living beings, and the role of music in healing and transcending difficulties. The conversation concluded with Curtis sharing his personal practices, his journey into nursing, and his commitment to serving the black community.

Summary

Meditation Session on Healing and Love

Curtis led a meditation session, guiding participants to ground themselves and let go of their worries. He emphasized the importance of self-care and healing, drawing from his experiences as a musician, nurse, and meditation teacher. Curtis also shared his personal journey of resilience and his quest to bring greater wisdom and understanding to himself and others. The session concluded with a discussion on the path of healing and the role of love in this process.

Curtis' Passion for Music and Sound

Curtis shared his passion for music, highlighting the joy and inspiration he's experienced playing with various musicians over the years. He emphasized the importance of a shared vocabulary and repertoire in creating a unified sound, drawing on his experiences with jazz music. Curtis also expressed a sense of loss for the older musicians he's worked with, who have passed away. He concluded by reflecting on the concept of sound, both in terms of the instruments used and the anticipation of what's to come in a musical performance.

Exploring Silent Sound and Interconnectedness

Curtis discussed the concept of silent sound, which he defined as vibrations that humans cannot sense but still feel. He made a connection between this idea and the interconnectedness of all things, citing examples from science and indigenous knowledge. He also emphasized the role of sound in regulating the nervous system and its ability to evoke emotions and create a sense of grounding. Curtis expressed his appreciation for a meditation session that incorporated sound and breathing techniques.

Sound, Emotions, and Universal Connections

In the meeting, Curtis and Ms. Wanda discussed the power of sound and its connection to emotions and the universe. They talked about the importance of intuition and the ability to communicate through energy. They both appreciated the beauty of music and its ability to regulate the nervous system.

Musical Journeys and Influences Discussed

Curtis shared how he started playing the bass at 14, initially as a way to keep the peace among his friends who all wanted to play guitar. He mentioned his early influences, including Gary Bartz, and how he eventually became a professional musician, working with notable musicians like Roy Haynes, Jean Carr, Norman Connors, and Charlie Mingus. Curtis also recounted a memorable encounter with Charlie Mingus, where he was pleasantly surprised by the musician's kindness. The conversation ended with Curtis reflecting on the unique "sound" of the air when surrounded by great musicians.

Curtis' Journey in Music and Legacy

Curtis, who is from Chicago, shared his experiences and reflections on his journey in music, particularly his time working with Lou Rawls. He emphasized the power of storytelling and the collective energy of live performances, describing them as a palpable vibration. Curtis also spoke about the connection he felt with Lou, who was from the same generation as his father, and the sense of lineage and legacy he felt while working with him. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be part of this lineage and to absorb the vibrations of the ancestors and the people who influenced Lou.

Reflective Conversation on Growth and Music

Curtis and Ms. Wanda engaged in a deep and reflective conversation, drawing from their personal experiences and the wisdom of various cultural and spiritual traditions. They discussed the importance of growth, the interconnectedness of all living beings, and the role of music in lifting spirits and transcending difficult topics. They also shared personal anecdotes, such as Ms. Wanda's encounter with Nancy Wilson and her thoughts on Oliver Mtukudzi's music. The conversation ended with Ms. Wanda seeking Curtis's insights on healing on different levels and the concept of ancestors living within us.

Exploring Curtis's Meditation and Practices

Ms. and Curtis discussed their personal practices and beliefs. Curtis shared his daily practice, which includes the "5 Remembrances" to create more spaciousness and mindfulness. He also mentioned his meditation practice, which sometimes involves guided meditations from the Plum Village App, and his appreciation for nature, often spending time in his garden and watching birds. Ms. Wanda expressed her interest in learning more about Curtis's meditation and other modalities he uses in his practice.

Exploring Sound and Meditation Practices

Curtis and Ms. Wanda discussed the use of sound in their daily practices. Curtis shared his personal experiences with humming, singing, and drumming, emphasizing the therapeutic and meditative effects of these activities. He also mentioned his mother's influence on his understanding of sound and vibration, and how she used singing as a way to transition to the afterlife. Curtis also mentioned his ongoing meditation group for black folks, which meets on Saturdays at 8:30 in the morning.

Nature Sounds and Medical Transition

Curtis and Ms. Wanda discussed their shared appreciation for nature sounds, particularly the sounds of leaves and trees. Curtis mentioned his ability to hear these sounds more clearly in his quiet neighborhood and how they contribute to his calm state. He also shared his enjoyment of playing different kinds of music, including blues, jazz, and Latin music, and how he now has the freedom to play whatever he wants. Ms. Wanda asked about Curtis's transition into the medical field, to which he responded that he wanted to work in a field that would allow him to help people.

Curtis' Journey to Nursing and Doula

Curtis shared his journey of pursuing higher education and eventually becoming a nurse. He started taking classes 30 years ago and eventually enrolled in nursing school at the age of 56. Curtis brought his passion for music and meditation into his nursing practice, using them as healing modalities for his patients. He recently graduated from Alua Arthur's "Going with Grace" death doula course, expressing his interest in this field and his desire to be of service.

Personal Experiences and Shared Interests

Curtis shared his personal experiences of losing his parents and how it has shaped his life. He also discussed his journey into nursing and his interest in music and dance as a means of expressing deep emotions. Ms. Wanda discussed her online classes during Covid and her interest in the musician who produced an album at Grace Cathedral. She also mentioned Jamal Ali, a mutual friend, and shared her experience of helping him transition. Both participants expressed their interest in learning more about each other's interests and experiences.

Roles, Journeys, and Support Exchange

Curtis and Ms. Wanda had a conversation about their respective roles and journeys. Curtis expressed his role as a healer and his commitment to serving all living beings, particularly the Black community. He also mentioned his support for Ms. Wanda's doctoral journey. Ms. expressed her gratitude for Curtis's meditation and the introduction of the ancestors. They both wished each other well and agreed to continue their support for each other's journeys.

Meeting summary for Sound Healing Interview with Terence Elliott "Doc T" (11/26/2024)

Quick recap

Doc T and Ms. Wanda engaged in a wide-ranging conversation covering topics such as sound healing, African spirituality, and personal experiences. They discussed Doc T's journey as a sound healer, his musical background, and his current focus on using sound therapy for healing purposes. The conversation also touched on their shared interests in African culture, their plans for future projects, and the importance of rhythm and tone in their lives.

Summary

Art, Experiences, and Grounding Moment

In the meeting, Ms. Wanda and Doc T discussed various topics including art, personal experiences, and a grounding moment. Doc T led a meditation session, expressing gratitude for the new day and the blessings in their lives. The conversation then shifted to discussing Sekhmet, whose day it was, with Terence mentioning that Sekhmet is the goddess of war and peace and her color is red.

Terence's Sound Healing Journey Discussed

Terence shared his journey as a sound healer, highlighting his African cultural and spiritual connections. He discussed his training at the Globe Institute and his studies with Sister Kajara from Atlanta. Terence also mentioned his work with the Amen (?) organization, taking trips with mentees to the African continent. He expressed his desire to create an ebook on his sound therapy work and potentially teach it online. The conversation also touched on Terence's personal life, including his birth in Okinawa, his father's military career, and his connections to various cultural institutions.

Terence's Musical Journey and Sound Healing

Ms. Wanda and Terence discussed his musical journey, which began with his passion for music and teaching. Despite not being accepted into San Francisco State's music program, Terence pursued his passion and eventually became a dean at Contra Costa Community College. However; he stepped down from this position due to personal issues and started writing a book about music and sound healing. Terence then found a new calling in sound therapy and obtained a certificate from the Global Institute. He also learned about Kemetic reiki from Kajira and continued to develop his skills as a musician and sound healer. Terence now plays music in senior centers and leads a drumming group called Brothers of the Drum.

Terence's Journey in Sound Therapy

Terence shared his journey of self-discovery and his current focus on sound therapy and healing. He explained that sound healing involves connecting with the vibrations and frequencies of sound, and he practices both prayer and meditation. Terence uses instruments like Himalayan bowls and crystal bowls to create tones and rhythms that can help unblock and heal. He emphasized the importance of breath and how it connects us to life and energy. Terence also discussed his connection to the rhythm of 6/8, which he finds particularly moving. The conversation ended with Terence reflecting on how his understanding of music and culture has evolved over time. He and Ms. Wanda also spoke about the work of playwright, August Wilson.

Exploring Rhythm, Tone, and Chakras

Terence and Ms. Wanda discussed the importance of rhythm and tone in their lives, drawing parallels between music, breathing, and African rhythms. They explored how these rhythms can influence their daily lives and how they can be used to connect with their inner selves. They also touched on the concept of chakras and the idea of clearing stuck energy through sound baths. The conversation ended with a discussion about the crown chakra and the idea of writing a book about these concepts.

Exploring African Spirituality and Culture

Terence and Ms. Wanda discussed their shared interest in African spirituality and culture. Terence shared his journey of learning about African practices and how it has influenced his life. He mentioned his work on a book compiling his research on Sound Healing and his plans to create a movie about his experiences. Ms. Wanda shared her own experiences of translating African concepts into her work and the importance of understanding one's own cultural identity. They both acknowledged the influence of their peers and mentors on their personal growth and development. The conversation ended with Terence expressing his interest in featuring Ms. Wanda's work in his upcoming movie.

Shared Connections and Upcoming Events

Terence and Ms. Wanda discussed their shared connections and experiences. They reminisced about Denise, a mutual friend, and her passing. Terence mentioned his upcoming movie and expressed interest in Ms. Wanda sharing her insights on African spirituality for women in the film. They also discussed the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Maafa Commemoration and Terence's plans to attend. The conversation ended with Terence sharing a song about breathing and connecting with others, which Ms. Wanda found beautiful. They agreed to stay in touch and for Ms. Wanda to send Terence a copy of their conversation. (The summaries are Edited AI-generated content.)

The Essay, Part 1

Ms. Wanda Sabir

Professor Jennifer Berezan

Sacred Music Class, PARW 7020

14 December 2024

Heart Space, A Vanishing Frontier

An Ethnography: Sound Healers: 4 Stories, 4 Experiences

We are birthed in rhythm. Heartbeats syncopated within a chamber are just big enough, just big enough. Sound all around like a hug, squeeze us awake.

Yes, we are rhythmic. Our conception is divinity choreographed, a dance we learn then expand into a life.

Everything is not worthy of attention, yet for the hearing among us, it is easier said than done. Filtering is a skill we can learn.

The human voice when not singing is the hardest, I find, to ignore. I keep my phone silent intentionally as speech is often a disruption I cannot easily recover. I spare myself whenever possible. What's admitted passes through portals blessed ancestrally. I do none of this alone.

The first time I encountered death was a surprise. All I remember is a loud metal crushing sound as my car was hit and the back seat met the front and my baby screamed.

Healing sounds

Damu Sudi Alii's creative work keeps him going. His cancer has metastasized and is incurable, yet he is still here composing melodies, writing poetry and between visits to the emergency room working on a tribute concert in December for his friends Kenneth Byrd and Kamau Seitu, who are ancestors. The concert is at Oaktown Jazz Workshop.

Racquel McNeill Washington, MA, a birth doula, is a friend and former student of a friend. I thought about the babies we carry. Racquel is a mother who experienced pregnancy loss twice after her son’s birth. The Queen's Collective Birthing honors the mothers and their babies who are just beyond reach. I thought about the sound healing she practices to honor sanctuary and the journey forward into a world mothers cannot always protect or shield their young ones.

How is sound not just medicine but a protection shield, a buffer, a reminder, a place of spiritual return?

The womb is a place of return too. We can restart whenever there is a soul need. Grief is a place of rest.

It's the bench by the water.

Loss.

There is no hurrying past or through human experience. Beginnings and endings and all the life stuff in the middle have its own soundtrack.

Listen.

I met Curtis Robertson Jr. at a ritual healing from slavery retreat a few years ago. I was preparing for a gratitude pilgrimage and my Iya Arisika Razak told me this retreat which she had participated in earlier, would help me center. I went. I am now a part of the Deep Time Liberation community. We have a cohort that meets quarterly. Curtis hosted our last meeting.

Curtis is a musician (acoustic bass), composer, nurse, death doula, yoga teacher and meditation leader. I was so honored when he agreed to speak with me.

Let the journey begin.

Kindness is my religion.

God is change.

Good lives above me, it follows me, it papers my path, it seeds my soul. It is all that I need to live well. It is my nourishment. It is what I plant and water.

Aṣe.

Literature Review
This research is specifically for an audience interested in African-centered healers and healing practices. These four African Americans are experts in the field of sound healing. I could not find a lot of books or articles referencing African-centered sound healing. Even newer books did not reference African healing arts. Drumming books did not reference African healers. Only one book focused on African sound healing, Kusamira Music in Uganda: Spirit Mediumship and Ritual Healing by Peter J. Hoesing (2021). In Michell L. Gaynor's The Healing Power of Sound, there was no specific mention of African-centered sound healing. I might have missed it. If I did, please point it out to me. What I appreciated about Elena Avila's Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health was the way traditional cultures see health as mind, body and spirit alignment. Health is also communal. When someone in the community is sick, the entire community is imbalanced. When I was in Rufisque, a city near Dakar, Senegal, West Africa, I stayed with a family of healers who healed mental illnesses through song and drumming and dance. The entire community knew the songs. Everyone would meet at the house where the ceremony was to take place and the person who was ill would lie down on the floor and the women would dance around her as the drummers played. The person would then be moved to a sheltered place to take medicine, rest and get better. Later, when the person was cured, an animal would be sacrificed and a feast would be held as a thank-you to the community.
When we traveled to Gambia, we met a woman from Rufisque and she and my friend sang these healing songs with a smile. It is a similar thing that happens when Black church women get together and start singing hymns. They all know these songs passed along through the generations. Curtis Robertson, Jr. says he heard Wynton Marsalis say on the Ken Burns' jazz series when you get 4, 5, 6 musicians together and they have a common vocabulary, they can travel anywhere in the world and play the blues in F.

Research Questions:

What brought these people to their work? What are their tools? How is the medicine received?

Damu Sudi Alii Interview

Damu Sudi Alii, a pianist, composer, and poet, says music was a philosophical station he was tuned to most of his life. Damu calls what he plays, Black Spiritual Music. It's improvisational and in the moment. Right now, there is an urgency, yet no one is rushing. Time moves at the same pace regardless, so why hurry? Yet, I feel sad because my friend is departing. I can't stop him; I can't follow him. It is out of these human hands or perhaps human hands hold mortality, especially Damu’s, whose hands are magical. His fingers sing.

When I spoke to Damu he was two weeks away from his big reunion concert, Sunday, December 8, 2024, at Oaktown Jazz Workshop at Jack London Square in Oakland. He said his rehearsals were prayers. Damu hadn’t been feeling well, so he had Spencer Allen (pianist and drummer) standing by just in case he wasn’t able to perform. That lovely Sunday afternoon, Damu was as we say, “striding in high cotton,” the room filled to capacity. He’d only expected about forty friends. He said, but those friends also brought other friends. The concert was as much a tribute to his dear friends, Kamau Seitu (drummer) and Kenneth Byrd (flutist) as it was for Damu (pianist).

It was a good thing.

We sit outside tomorrow which eventually arrives. Is it as we expected? We can only hope. His latest album is entitled: Serenity (2023).

In it he writes:

“Serenity" --My destiny, among the sun, and moon and stars—I'll fly away.

On that great day, don't cry for me--my soul will be free, we'll meet again. It's not the end.

Oh, the agony, sometimes pure ecstasy, bound up in this Black body God made especially for me.

400 years-- blood, sweat and tears, fighting to be free--

That's been my reality.

But when my time is over on the battlefield of life, I'll fly away to glory to contemplate the toil and strife.

Look down on my brave people pressing on and fighting still

'Til God gives us the victory.

I know my God will.

Oh, the victory when we all find serenity;

And all the joy and peace and love we feel within our hearts extend to all humanity.

Then truth will light the way, and love will save the day.

And all people will be free. That's the way God meant the world to be.

When the vocalist stops, Damu performs a beautiful piano solo.”

Sunday, Damu sang the song. What a treat, not that the vocalist on the CD is not excellent. His voice lent special meaning to the words.

Listen to the interview on Wanda's Picks Radio
https://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2024/12/06/wandas-picks-radio-show

Spirit Calling

The spirit world led Damu to art, what he calls, “the pathos and ethos of a people.” He needed to express himself. His worldview was segregated south, all Black schools, censorship. His family, who worried about their precocious, angry, young person, didn't realize the boy's desire to play piano was an inarticulate cry for help. He got his wish in school where he was mentored by the school band teacher. Damu stayed busy composing and playing music, then when he enlisted in the military after high school graduation, he was able to continue to play music.

Damu said he was surprised at how prolific he still is in his 70s. He says he likes the insight music gives him. It keeps him informed and helps him fulfill his purpose. Sudi, his second name, means one who fulfills his purpose. “Art,” he feels is really " his purpose. “I have a message for the people.” He says.

Damu, who is a great fan of Prophet (my word) James Baldwin quoted him as saying “’Our creations are not only our glory. They are also our only hope.’” In “The Creative Process,” another Baldwin essay which speaks to the immediacy of life and love and truth, the writer says that often the price of artistic production is solitude. Creativity lives in the silence.

“[T]he conquest of the physical world is not man’s only duty. He is also enjoined to conquer the great wilderness of himself. The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.”

Damu’s artistic life is certainly a reflection of this.

Another person Damu cited who also defined the artist’s role in society, Marshall McLuhan, states, “‘Artists are like the antenna of the human race.’ We are the lookout." Actually, Ezra Pound said this, cited by McLuhan in his Second Edition of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. The complete quote is: “The power of the arts to anticipate future social and technological developments, by a generation and more, has long been recognized. In this century Ezra Pound called the artists ‘the antenna of the race.’ Art as radar acts as ‘an early alarm system,’ as it were, enabling us to discover social and psychic targets in lots of time to prepare to cope with them. The concept of the arts as prophetic contrasts with the popular idea of them as mere self-expression. If art is an ‘early warning system,’ to use the phrase from World War II, when radar was new, art has the utmost relevance. . . .”

The end of the Pound citation is “but the bullet-headed many will never learn to trust their great artists.’” What a shame, right? The artists’ struggle for his integrity is to become more human. It's a gift, Damu says and a charge. We receive inspiration from spirits. He tells me I helped him name water spirits: Orishas, Oṣun and Yemenja.

Damu says, “when he washes his hands it's like a conversation with spirit. While he's washing his hands, he'll hear words, lyrics, poetry.” He mentions in the “Metu Neter ‘The Tree of Life,’ Geb is the material world.” He says, “Water, fire, air, earth, four elements are not as dense as our bodies, especially water and air.”

“I really feel the spirit of water, fire and air.” He says.

The Tree of Life, Damu references, is the Metu Neter, Ancient Kemetic scripture. It is a philosophical tradition or way of thinking about life or spirituality that originated in the Nile Valley Civilization. I found the Tree of Life really fascinating, especially given the topic, healing sounds and sound as sacred. In Tai Chi Chuh there are six healing sounds corresponding to a posture and movement. In the Metu Neter, we are told in the process of creating “physical reality sound vibrations are projected into primordial matter” There are “Nine Emanations that shape all Physical reality from Atoms to Galaxies. . .”.

So what does this mean? It means that one, creation is ongoing and two, there are sounds that produce aspects of the divine such as “Omnipresence, ‘Au” sound; “Omniscience, ‘Hu” sound; “Omnipotence, ‘Kri” sound; One-ness, ‘Shri” sound; “Duality. . .”. There are nine sounds. Within the same Tree of Life there are descriptions of the “eleven spheres which make up the Spiritual Anatomy of Man.”

I mention this because Damu mentions “Heru” and “Geb”, both Neteru or spirit beings, also called angels, ancestors, or Orisha, depending on the tradition. “Neter Geb, Sphere 10 is the manifestation of the earth in the universe as locus of man’s consciousness. Neter Heru, Sphere 6, is the manifestation of the individual will in the universe” Neter Heru is important because the free will expressed here to either obey or disobey divine law which is “the basis of Human Divinity” is a choice to live according to one’s highest good or bind oneself to the lower spheres.

The preferred spheres are enumerated (0-5): Amen-the Source of All Life and Consciousness, Neter Ausar, Neter Tehuti, Neter Seker, Neter Maat, Neter Herukhuti. These Neter that are elevated are not connected to the earth. With Heru (6) midway between 0-5, Neter Geb, Earth, is tenth. Geb is the son of “Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture). Geb is also the twin brother and husband of the sky goddess, Nut. I digress.

Water Spirits Call Damu

Motherly love and nurturing are represented by Neter Auset who is translated as Yemonja in the West African Ifa tradition. Neter Het Heru is Oṣun in the Ifa tradition. Damu is called to water spirits. Once he has names, Oṣun and Yemonja, he says he used Google speaker to do research which led him to Heru, a fire spirit. Damu said, “Art helps put our minds in a higher dimension.” Perhaps the dimension Damu references here is the “Tree of Life”? It is fascinating that consciousness has a sound. Spirit beings can be literally in tune.

“When I hear Donnie Hathaway's 'Music for My Soul,' my soul gets happy,” Damu says. He compares this happiness to his experience in a holiness church. When congregants start dancing in the aisles and speaking in tongues—this too is called “happiness.” W.E.B. Du Bois and other western scholars saw this ecstatic worship as something unique to African people. For these people, spirit walked in sanctified spaces.

In these churches ushers stood by to catch people, pick people up, hold people who might swing their arms wildly, guide people running up and down aisles to keep them safe.

Damu and I agreed, once a person has an encounter with spirit the person is changed. Music conjures spirit. Artists have a responsibility to not abuse their gifts at conjuring. Damu says, “Two souls dwell within my breast, the one tries to defeat the other. There is a battle for the human soul. Recruitment is ongoing.”

Music is transformative

“I was destined to play music. I am a music spirit.” Damu reflects. Lots of obstacles kept him from being able to play music. He asked for piano lessons. His dad told him the family could barely feed him and his sister. Yet, setbacks didn't deter him, poverty as a child or ill health as an adult. Damu has a contingency plan even now as he prepares for a concert he might not feel well enough to perform.

Damu celebrates his creativity and new insight. He marvels over his recent ability to hear music in his mind and compose in notation. He calls it "pitch memory." Damu had admired this skill in others and now it is his own. He says this is the best transcription of music in his life at a time when things like his health are declining. He wrote the song “Serenity” three years ago. “It is a worthy composition.” He admits modestly. As he sits at piano “the vibration, the spirit takes over like the woman shouting in the church.” Damu shares. “I play music and the spirit takes over.” It is otherworldly.

He says, “I hope there will be moments like that Dec. 8.”

There were lots of moments like this Sunday, December 8, from the first note to the last.

John Coltrane’s “Naima” was on the set list. Damu dedicated it to his younger daughter who shares the same name. In our conversation, Damu spoke of the spiritual intensity in John Coltrane's “A Love Supreme” and Pharaoh Sanders's “The Creator Has a Master Plan”. His concert evoked the divine as the Damu Sudi Alii Quintet+ opened the tap with a credit card. It was all good.

Black Spiritual Music

Damu’s sister didn't like his choice of music on their shared radio. We also talked about a person who told Damu he didn't like any kind of music. He couldn’t comprehend the sentiment. “Music is healing...soothes the savage beast,” he says. Even so, sometimes trauma can be associated with a song.

Damu answers when asked if his music has helped a person through a rough time, “yes.” Barbara, widow, co-teacher with Damu told him when she listened to Serenity, that she enjoyed the music and it helped in her grieving process. Barbara, a flutist, performed at the concert too.

Damu shared he was writing out charts for the horns, for Kamau's music. The song is “No More Exploitation.” He’d had the charts, but since he lost his vision he could not find the charts once his family moved him to a new apartment a couple years ago. Erich Hunt, bassist and member of the ensemble, checked the charts for Damu then picked up music and delivered it to Barbara along with a Serenity CD. She said, “Oh Damu, that's such a beautiful CD.” Damu said it’s important to get such validation from peers.

Another person who told Damu how much Serenity meant to her was Mama Oyin, who is one of the founders of the Ile Omede childcare. Damu and Barbara taught music at the school there for a number of years. Mama Oyin ran the preschool out of her house initially, and took care of Damu's son, Jabari, then four. She helped Damu when he was a single father. She lives in Atlanta now. Everyone who knows Damu in this community knows Jabari. On Sunday, at the concert, the temperature rose a little higher as Jabari, now in his 40s played, Jade Sunset, an original composition on the Serenity CD, he also produced. Damu got up and danced as Jabari played. It was a moment when spirit and sound met in embodied oneness: father and son.

Mama Oyin said Serenity brought tears of joy to her eyes. She then shared the music with a mutual friend who lives near her—the response was similar.

Shape Shifting

One's circumstances can certainly shape one's destiny as Damu Sudi Alii's life does from childhood to now. His spiritual throughline is expressed through Black Spiritual Music his preferred renaming of jazz or Black Classical Music.

Racquel McNeil Washington Interview

Racquel McNeil Washington says each time she reflects on her journey it is renewed: her birth, death, rebirth story feels new. She says her reproductive justice work began in high school. She was the person who gave her friends information about contraceptives and safer sex. She also held girls' hands at abortion clinics. As a young woman she knew these Black girls had a right to control and make decisions about what happened to their bodies and that "they deserved support in all of these phases."

Later when she had her experience with pregnancy loss and needed support, she could not find it. Her therapist told her she did not know how to help her patient who experienced two consecutive pregnancy losses in 2017, 2018. It was tending to the needs of the son she had that helped restore Racquel as she reached out to her community to locate resources to help her recover, to heal from this grief. In 2023 she published Embracing Light After Loss: Guided Journal for Healing After Pregnancy Loss and started the Queen’s Collective Birthing Support Group.

Racquel says in a recent interview, she wanted to provide support for women through their grieving process. She says in retrospect, she didn't immediately see the connection between abortion and pregnancy loss. However, they are the same. Women who are mothers experience “different ways of moving across the spectrum of parenthood that ends with you not holding a baby in your arms. Folks make these decisions for a variety of reasons.” Proper information and support make the consequences a bit easier (my words) to handle.

Grief is grief. Loss is loss.

In her healing journey, Racquel immediately started to look at food as medicine: why and what her family cooked. After her son was born, she deepened her herbal practice. She was searching for natural products for his skin. She was also looking for natural products to help with her postpartum journey, to support both mother and child's nervous systems. It's an ever-evolving process, Racquel says. "My journey with plant medicine practice has strengthened my ancestral practice. And my journey as a parent has also strengthened my ancestral practice."

Her son made her aware of ancestral presence. He can both see and hear spirit beings. Racquel’s grandfather died when her father was seven, so she never met him, but her son sees and speaks with his great-grandfather. "He calls my grandfather, 'Grandpa Ghost.' And when he started seeing him and talking about him, I knew he was able to tap into that world. I didn't get to meet him, so it was profound to hear him say, 'he here. He in my room. He coming with us.'"

This Racquel says, tangibly deepened her ancestral connection. She put up an ancestral altar, began to make offerings and spend intentional time with them. She said she began to "acknowledge they were walking with her." She also began to ask for help with situations she couldn't handle. She’d say, "Look, I know you guys got this!" Just this assertion helped ease her anxiety. It was what Mary Watkins, scholar, calls “accompaniment.” Racquel’s accompaniment was a spiritual witnessing, rather than support from her therapist or a professional in pregnancy loss, but it worked. Racquel says that her friend offered sound healing through her yoga services and that she liked it, and then three or four years ago she was offered a scholarship to train with Dr. Fulami Devoe, Holistic Alchemy, Self-Care Ritualist. Always in her thoughts when such opportunities arise is how this training will expand her business and extend her service offerings to her community.

She and her son attended the training, so he is also a sound alchemist as well. Not only are folks from the invisible realm present these guides have placed an ambassador in her world in the form of this little being, her son. He is also a medicine person, a spirit being too. When she goes out, and again because he is always with her, her son is picking up instruments and giving the sound bath as well. Once they got these new tools they incorporated the tools into their own lives. Racquel wakes her son with sacred sound.

Racquel started with tuning forks and a small Tibetan singing bowl. She already had the singing bowl. She and her son would sit together and do their meditation. Sometimes the mother and son alternate on whose giving and receiving a sound bath. Racquel has recorded videos on her website and is working on a recording or audio CD.

We talk about a recent appointment with a client who was postpartum. Racquel says sound healing is a "gateway drug to rest."

"I have yet to meet a well-rested mother."

“Last week my client and I spent time talking and processing her childbirth before the treatment.” Time got away from the two of them, so Racquel said, "she performed the shortest sound bath ever."

“Her initial instructions to the person are to check their breath, get comfortable in their body, and lastly to take a journey with the sound.”

Racquel says she made the recommendations spiritually. Sometimes she says prayers aloud. Afterwards, for the first time in her practice, her client freely shared her journey. "I know people go places,” Racquel said. She can see the movement in their bodies, “but [she] doesn’t know where they are going."

This time though she got the story! Racquel says, “As I played I could see her going and coming back, opening her eyes...but I didn't know what was going on. She says, “I called the ancestors in to give her what she needed and to remind her they were there and to support her in all the ways she needed. When the sound bath was over, [the woman] sat up. She was crying before she sat up. She then told me the places she'd been.

“She described each instrument and what it brought out:

She said one reminded her of the music box with a ballerina she played with as a girl.

She got messages about her parenting and current parenting and healing that needed to happen.

When she was transported, she got to see her grandmother holding her baby. Her baby transitioned in October. That was hard, but it was also comforting to see [the baby with its great-grandmother] together.

“I thought this was beautiful and ironic and timely, because I was going to be talking to you this morning. I was playing the sound bowls for all seven chakras, Koshi chimes. I have a lot of instruments.” Racquel then showed me all the different instruments she uses with a story. She has Frogs in three sizes. They are hollow inside. The crystal bowls are delicate, so she doesn't take them out all the time. Ocean drum can be a gentle sound like rain or water. Racquel said she sometimes shakes it vigorously to bring something up in a person to release, move through and wash away. She has a tongue drum for babies. It has slots and a mallet. Playing the tongue drum helps babies learn how to regulate their emotions. She has a hanging chime set and another chime she uses to signal the end and to bring people back into the room, a rain stick, a shell shaker, four Koshi chimes, a set of tuning forks. The om fork is good for balancing and cleansing. She says they are all tuned to a Hertz frequency (528 Hz is good for trauma healing; 963 Hz is the God frequency; 432 Hz reduces stress, promotes relaxation). She also has Universal tuning forks for sweeping and clearing energy at start of session.

As this interview was in Zoom, Racquel also showed me how when she hits on the body. It vibrates. You can see it vibrating. It also makes a slight ringing sound. I have experienced tuning forks before in body work sessions.

Racquel says, “She can also use the fork to activate different parts of the body. For individual sound baths she uses the fork to sweep and clear energy, to make space for what's about to happen. She also puts on pressure points, chakra...the head opens intuition and clears the mind.” She puts the fork on the “throat Chakra to open the throat and say the same affirmations you would say for these Chakra.” Most importantly, she puts the fork in people's palms before she starts the treatment to invite them to receive the medicine, so they are not blocking the treatment.

There are also different points for stress and anxiety, and relaxation and things like that. She starts at the head and moves down to the person's feet. Once she finishes with tuning forks she moves into the instruments. Her sessions are one hour. So, with the young woman who she saw who shared her journey, she prepared her quickly: swept her energy and then Racquel asked her client’s ancestors to receive the healing and [hers] to help her do it really quickly.

We laugh.

Racquel then shared another drum. Her Tibetan sound bowl is on her altar. She also has a Moroccan shaker. Some instruments on her altar don't move with the set that she has upstairs. These are for personal use and ancestor practice. The drum that she shares last, “mimics the sound of the heartbeat. She uses it to bring people back to their body.”

She says, “With its cadence or rhythm, she's able to change up the energy within the person for a variety of reasons. You could make a person excited if you beat the drum fast, and then you could use the same rhythm to help them calm down.”

This is something that she pays attention to in her practice. She said, "I know people are coming to me with some level of trauma, so I play the instrument to bring it up so that we can move through it if that makes sense?

I answer yes.

When asked how she reads the person’s energy she said she really can’t explain it. It is not clinical like taking a pulse. It is an energetic conversation between herself and the person’s body and spirit.

“She says, “It's spiritual, energetic and ancestral. I engage in conversation. I pick up on verbal and nonverbal cues, and honestly, I sometimes get messages, from spirit and from the ancestors. It is taking me a while in all these practices, to get really comfortable because I've engaged in traditional learning. The original learning I've gotten through lived experience. This learning through lived experience is through spirit. I have not gotten this training through traditional methods.

“I did have the sound healing training, But I'm working against this whole impostor syndrome. Is it that Black people can't have impostor syndrome? I will go through I don't know what I'm doing why am I here. Then I'm reminded that it's in me.”

I agree, it really is.

“Yes because I cannot explain the rationale to somebody else in a way that they can understand, it doesn't mean that it isn't real. Does this make sense?”

Yes, I respond. I know exactly what you are talking about. Considering how she calls the ancestors into the room with her and the patient or the person who is getting the treatment she's probably getting messages from a variety of spiritual sources. I'm thinking the tuning into the spiritual frequencies that are within the person and around the person also helps her in in deciding how to approach a particular healing session. If you're moving through spirit there's no need for words. You pick up an instrument, pick a tool and it works. You get immediate feedback.

Racquel said, “right.” “I have tuned into the way the instruments give me immediate feedback. The bowls are each tuned to a particular frequency and I feel they are a window to help me understand where there are blockages in different parts of your spirit, your chakras. For me when the bowls sing really loud, that's an indication that that chakra is functioning strongly and is in balance. If the bowl is not making any sound or making very little sound, then to me that is an indication that the chakra needs work. Sometimes I can play the bowl long enough, that the chakra will get tuned and back in balance.”

“Sometimes I make a prescription for practices a patient needs to do to get the chakra in balance. It may include giving a person affirmations to say, a recommendation for teas and herbs to support that chakra. My first recommendation is always foods and affirmations to engage those chakras.”

After that she prescribes herbal remedies, food, physical movement—yoga and dance, plus other activities.

She gives an example. “My sacral chakra was blocked for a long time. I thought my bowl was broken. I was like, I'm going to send this bowl back because it's not playing. One day a friend came by and played the bowl and it was loud, and Racquel said, "it wasn’t the bowl, it was me." Racquel then used the sacral chakra bowl in treating others sometimes it would play and sometimes it would sing really loud.

My friend who shook the ocean drum came over and was playing the instruments. I was lying down. It's not often I get a sound bath, because I do it. People are not offering as much. Racquel said that when she lay down and her friend was playing the sacral chakra bowl and she started getting aroused, it was her, not the bowl that needed tuning.

“That baby was singing” and she hadn't sang like that for Racquel. She says. So, the healer would play the bowl and see how much louder she would get or was she muted again.

The healing can be specific. In the postpartum period, Racquel focuses on all the chakras, but the ones that come up for her are the throat, heart, root and sacral chakras.

“The throat is people needing to speak up and ask for what they need or say what is on their mind. As women, many of us, hold back, suppress refuse to act. I tend to lean into the throat Chakra.” She said. The technician activates this chakra and makes sure the throat chakra is wide open for us.

The Heart

Racquel said, “When we're experiencing grief we tend to want to close our heart. I play the heart chakra bowl to help people open up to receive in a variety of ways. The sacral chakra is the place our womb was housed, specifically during the perinatal period focus here helps with [perhaps emotional] balance. The sacral chakra is also the seat of creativity, power and all of that, she says.” She wants to help women stand in that. The root chakra is connected to family, home, life and balance.

“I do like to bring in crown chakra and third eye specifically for mothers, to tune into their intuition and honoring that and learning to honor that.”

She plays bowls in combination to honor such connections like the throat and the womb or sacral chakra. Honoring the connection between the heart and the womb. Honoring the connection between one's intuition and the throat. She plays different bowls in combination with one another. She also recites affirmations aloud or in her head. She is also praying in her head and talking to ancestors. The direction a healing takes depends on how she is being lead in that treatment moment. Sometimes she feels like the instruments are enough. Other times people need more encouragement to get what she is trying to give.

Sometimes she lets the instruments and spirit speak. Racquel is working on an album. We spoke about herbs and their colors and how the colors activate the chakras with similar colors yellow and yarrow a protection plant, good for enforcing boundaries, and solar plexus, the third Chakra, just above the navel is the center of energy in the body.

Racquel is healing the body in front of her and the energies that accompany the person. She speaks of her generational healing focus. If we are our ancestors, as Professor James Small and Thich Nhat Hahn state, then healing the one is potentially healing the all.

To be continued.

Bibliography

Alii, Damu Sudi. “Serenity” on Serenity, 2023, compact disc.

Amen, Ra Un Nefer. Metu Neter Vol.1: The Great Oracle of Tehuti and the Egyptian System of Spiritual Cultivation. Brooklyn: Khamit Media Trans Visions, Inc., 1990.

Avila, Elena, with Joy Parker. Women Who Glow in the Dark: A Curandera Reveal Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2000.

Baldwin, James. “The Creative Process,” In Creative America. Ridge Press, 1962.

Elliott, Terence. Spirit, Rhythm, and Story: Community Building and Healing through Song. Murrells Inlet: Covenant Books, 2019, digital edition.

Gaynor, Mitchell L. The Healing Power of Sound: Recovery from Life-Threatening Illness Using Sound, Voice, and Music. Boulder: Shambala, 1999.

Hoesing, Peter J. Kusamira Music in Uganda: Spirit Mediumship and Ritual Healing. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2021. http://jstor.org/

McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Second Edition. MIT Press, 1994

Small, James. “Honoring Our Ancestors” in “Caravan to the Ancestors” at Houston National Black United Front, 12:00, https://www.facebook.com/nbufhouston/videos/professor-james-small-speaks-on-honoring-our-ancestors/1100436720603367/

“The Tree of Life & The Emanations of Physical Reality” in Afrikan History, Kemet, February 1, 2022, afrikaiswoke.com

Hanh, Thich Nhat. “How to love and understand your ancestors when you don’t know them?, Plum Village, 12:29, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdodGeRNjt0

Washington, Racquel. Embracing Light After Loss: Guided Journal for Healing After Pregnancy Loss. Coppell: The Queen’s Circle, 2023.

Watkins, Mary. “Psychosocial Accompaniment,” in Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2015, Vol. 3(1), 324–341, doi:10.5964/jspp.v3i1.103

Interchange

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Sacred Sound or Sound Healing

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