Gong Washed

Today was my first gong wash or gong bath!  All I knew about gong washes before today was that lots of people said things like "Don't miss it!" "Oh, if you have a chance to go to a gong wash, GO!" I wasn't sure what it was or what to expect, but my experiences at The Studio Cleveland have been great so far, so I had faith this would be worthwhile.  

The set up was like this:

\We all sat in front of it, some lying, some seated, some on cushions.  I felt like a meditation noob for a moment there.  It's always nice to be humbled by inexperience.  Gives me something to look forward to.  Anyway, the wash began with bowls. And then gong master Steev Inglish slowly built the sounds.

As the hour and fifteen minute meditation progressed, I settled in and moved into a supine position.  You are supposed to lie with the crown of your head toward the gongs and your feet away, which helps the gunk flow out of you as you detox.  I tried not to point my feet at Ben.   Heaven knows no one wants my toxins. Yeesh. 

various mallets and a bow

As for my meditation, well that's kind of personal, even for a blog.  There's been a lot on my mind lately, and much of it I don't even have words for.  I did play with putting myself in the sound and disappearing for a while.  It's what I did when I labored with Jones and it's fun to do that when I'm not trying to escape pitocin-labor pain.  Much more mellow, as you can imagine.  Driftier.

I prayed.  I prayed a chanting and listening kind of plea.  God seemed to answer me back in gong-voice.  But I'm not fluent in gongspeak, so I'll have think more about what those answers and reverberations mean.  Praying seemed to come easier when I was wrapped those sounds and harmonics.  Like they drowned out the chatter that usually distracts me when I pray.  Something felt more pure in those moments.  

And, while this is may not be the right way to do things, I also allowed my mind to see its thoughts.   I just let thoughts drift in, stay as long as they wanted to without me speaking to them (well, this was the goal), and then go.  No conclusions. No realizations or plans.  Just letting them float through and rest for a moment.  It was nice to see where my thoughts wanted to go.  And the gongspeak was funny, too, because when certain thoughts came, CRASH CRASH SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHRRRRIIIIIHHHHH  Other thoughts got a thunderswell, some got space whale sounds, others cacophony.  I honestly can't remember well enough which thoughts got which reactions.  Now that I'm out of the meditation, I'd be inclined to analyze for patterns.  Ruminate.  But it's already fading away.  I think I'm thankful for that.

Oh, and I was able to meditate on the different physical sensations I experienced as a result of sound and vibration.  I am not sure of the extent to which I'm detoxed, but I will say that I physically felt different parts of the meditation in different parts of my body.  Sometimes my teeth, a few times some internal organs in the right side of my abdomen, sometimes in my head.  I was cold, so that was a distraction, but if I had put on my sweater and some socks, I think I would have gotten a lot more out of this aspect of the wash.

After the meditation ended, I did feel different.  I still do.  The pores in my face feel more open.  My mind is quieter.  I don't really want to talk or feel like I need to (both pretty shocking).  I just want quiet and peace.  One's easier to cultivate and control than the other.

And the twilight sky gave us a show on the walk to our car.  I'll definitely do one of these again, but I'll make sure I have some alone time with a journal immediately afterward.  You can come with me if you're okay with post-gong-wash- blissed-out-quiet writing.  Have you ever been to a gong wash or gong bath?  What was yours like?

A crooked I-have-my-hands-fulla-yoga-stuff style cityscape

Ah, my city!  Ah, night!