Check out Jesse playing hang drum and didgeridoo at the didge concert at Didgeridoo Breath last Thursday…

Like the Hang Drum???

Check out the Happy Drums!!! Easy to play, beautiful sound, buy yours online here >>

Here is some circular breathing tips/info I put together for a beginners workshop. Not much is new here. Most of it is common tips collected together with a bit of rewording. Feel free to add other tips/techniques.

Hope this helps beginners get it going!
Allan

Circular Breathing Intro:
Circular breathing is using air in your cheeks to push the air out of your mouth to keep the drone going while you take a quick sniff of air in through your nose. So, air is coming in through the nose AND out of the vibrating lips AT THE SAME TIME.

Timing is the critical issue once the brain accepts the basic concepts.
Circular breathing is also sometimes called “continual breathing”, or “balanced breathing”.
There are several variations in teaching yourself the proper methods before you apply them to playing the didgeridoo. All of them can be helpful. NOTE: If you get light headed… take a break and breathe normally!

Balloon: This is a cheek strengthening exercise, more than a circular breathing exercise. Blow up the balloon some, then move the air back and forth between the mouth and the balloon. Use ONLY your cheeks. Breathe in and out through your nose.

Spitting Water: Get a glass or bottle of water. Do this outside or over a sink, bathtub, or shower. Fill your mouth full of water. Squish the water into your cheeks and puff them out. Open your mouth very slightly and use your cheeks to push the water from your mouth and cheeks. Breathe in through your nose while doing this. Doing this while lying on your back is NOT a good idea!

Blowing Bubbles: Get a glass or bottle of water and a drinking straw. Pinch the straw slightly to restrict the airflow slightly. Put the straw into the water. Blow air into the straw with your lungs and then as you start to run out of air, fill your cheeks with air and start to push the air out with your cheeks. Now you’re maintaining the flow of bubbles with cheek air and while that’s happening you can take a quick breath through your nose and then switch back to keeping the bubbles going with air from your lungs.

Just Air: Inhale with a normal breath. With tightened lips to restrict the airflow, use your lungs, and blow air out of your mouth. As you start to run out of air, fill your cheeks with air and start to push the air out with your cheeks. Now you’re maintaining the flow of air with cheek air and while that’s happening you can take a quick breath through your nose and then switch back to keeping the airflow going with air from your lungs. Repeat and keep it going.

Once your brain and body are together in this mission, you can progress to the next step. This next step for some reason is omitted in many other circular breathing programs. Yet this one step is the very thing that created the magic for me to begin circular breathing. You must be able to create a drone with JUST the air in your cheeks. Some will get this right away. Some may have to practice for some time to get this right.NO breathing through your nose, and NO releasing air from your lungs DURING this step. With your cheeks full of air… Practice until you can get a 2-4 second drone. Keep your mouth on the didge, and breathe in through your nose AFTER each attempt.

Now comes the real part… Circular Breathing On The Didgeridoo:
- Didge up to mouth… take a normal breath through your nose…
- Begin normal drone using air from lungs…
- Drone for a short time (do NOT wait until you HAVE to breathe)…
- Switch to cheek air only as you take a quick (1-2 second) sniff of air…
- Quickly back to lung air, then…
- Switch to cheek air only as you take a quick sniff of air…
- Repeat as long as you can!

Notes:
- Do this as close to your normal breathing as you can.
- Do NOT wait too long before you take the quick sniff of air in.
- If you get light headed… take a break and breathe normally.

What a great day! We just had delivered, 6 brand new, beautifully hand-crafted, Ellis Stompboxes!

They are now all available online.

These stomp boxes are made some from stunning timbers including Jarrah, Campher Laurel, Pink Silky Oak, Tasmanian Blackwood and Marri.

Stomp boxes are such as cool way to add some serious groove to your didgeridoo playing.

Click here to check out the stompboxes online.

The day after Sanshi and Jesse performed live at Didgeridoo Breath, they hit the studio and recorded some smoking hot didgeridoo tracks.

Their CD is due to be released in the next few weeks so keep an eye out on the website. You can soon take some of Sanshi & Jesse’s superb didgeridoo music home with you!

From the overwhelming feedback, our customers absolutely love the new Didgeridoo Starter Packs!

So, with the Christmas spirit in the air… they just got sweeter!

As a Christmas bonus, we are including a FREE CD of Ash Dargan’s “Earth Rhythms”, with every Starter Pack purchased.

and YES… we ship to every country… including yours!

The Didgeridoos in our Starter Packs are proudly 100% Australian Eucalyptus!

Here is what our customers are saying about the starter packs…

Thanks guys, my didge arrived today and it’s excellent! I can even get a nice sound out of it already. Thanks for the safe packing and speedy delivery.

Keep up the great work

Russel, Canada

Got a surprise today at work… my didgeridoo and gear were delivered. It takes me longer to get a letter sent in this country than it did for my new didge to travel half way around the world. Thanks so much! The didge is perfect and the bag is beautiful. I can’t wait to get home and get stuck into the DVD.

I will let you know my progress.

Thanks again from a very happy customer

Sarah, UK

Hey Team. Got my new Didgeridoo Starter Pack. It Rocks! Its way better than my other didgeridoos and I’m learning some new sounds off the DVD. Got the circular breathing too. Yeee Haaa! Thanks again fellas. Hope to come visit some day!

Paul, Australia

YES… We ship to every country… including yours!

100% Australian Eucalyptus Didgeridoo Starter Packs from $99 AUD

Click here to buy yours today!

Le 21 novembre 2009 à l’Atelier Satie.

Soirée chaleureuse et riche en émotions. Interprétation touchante des artistes présents à l’Atelier Satie, Luc Benoit au piano, Bernard Vitrac  baryton, Inès LSM soprane, Jean Sachs au violon, Eva Sanchez Ruiz à la guitare, Etienne Avronsart au didgeridoo et Bruno Lomenech, texte, parmi les œuvres
d’Inès Lopez-Sanchez Mathély et Jean-Michel Birais.
Les photos de l’accrochage sont visibles sur Flickr

Quelques témoignages :

«Merci Inès pour cette soirée qui m’émeut toujours.».
Amandine

Un grand MERCI pour cette fabuleuse soirée.
MERCI de m’avoir offert ces moments uniques et pleins d’émotions.
Alexandra

Merci Inès de cette belle soirée de haut niveau.
Je vous embrasse et encore bravo
Benoit

Inès, merci pour cette somptueuse soirée, c’était un très grand plaisir que de partager avec vous ce moment de si grande qualité. Merci encore.
Amicalement.
Charlotte

Bonjour Jean Michel et Inès,
Très belle soirée, riche de découvertes…. artistiques!
Je ne connaissais pas tout ce que fait Inès! sublime!!
Mon ami Guy a aimé vos oeuvres et le concert…
J’espère que la rencontre avec Fred Périé aura des suites en plus d’être un super copain ce qu’il fait est surprenant (en tout cas pour moi). Nous sommes du monde de Paccoud … et de ses entreprises parfois très folles …. et ça créé des liens…!
J’espère à bientôt, je vous embrasse.
Françoise

Oui une soirée riche d’émotions…
Une ambiance très agréable,
nous sommes prêts pour la prochaine “soirée entre amis chez Satie”
avec l’espoir que Diane puisse être des notres.
Il semblerait que votre horizon a de belles couleurs.
Hélène

Je te remercie vraiment pour ton invitation, car j’ai passé une formidable soirée.
Cette ambiance  m’a rapproché de ce que pouvait vivre par exemple la famille Rouart, qui étaient des artistes, et qui aimaient s’entourer de leurs contemporains comme Renoir, Mallarmé, Paul Valéry, Berthe Morisot, Edouard Manet et tous ceux qui étaient les bienvenus.
Cette communion m’a également fait toucher les rassemblements qui pouvaient être engendrés au sein de la Grande Chaumière à Montparnasse ou bien à la Ruche dans le 15^ème parisien.
Souvent dans ces lieux choisis, les artistes se retrouvaient parce qu’ils se comprenaient et désiraient partager ces moments où l’autre se dévoile pour mieux recevoir.
J’ai apprécié, aussi vous pouvez cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous, qui vous conduira directement sur ma page ‘’des artistes dans mon entourage… ‘’.
Vous êtes en bas de page juste après René de Obaldia.
Régis

Merci pour les photos et surtout la très belle soirée.
Et bravo pour tes talents artistiques.
A bientôt peut être
Etienne

Merci Ines de m’avoir fait partager ce moment.
Je me ferais un plaisir de venir t’écouter une autre fois.
A bientot
Beatriz

Très sympa ta page ma soeur, sobre, équilibrée, chaleureuse, vraiment bien.
Bisous
Olivia

Luc Benoit au piano.

Bernard Vitrac, baryton,  accompagné au piano par Luc Benoit.

Inès Lopez-Sanchez Mathély accompagnée au piano par Luc Benoit .

Bruno Lomenech, lecture de nouvelles.

Etienne Avronsart au didgeridoo.
Photo d’Eric Balaz

Eva Sanchez Ruiz à la guitare.
Photo d’Eric Balaz

Jean Sachs au violon.
Photo d’Eric Balaz

Miss Marvelous’s primary daytime caregiver four days a week is Papa, her grandfather (a.k.a. DH at Rebekah’s Studio). On those days Popo (that’s me) is the backup caregiver, chief cook and bottle washer—literally. This is the first time I’ve had a baby at home. It’s a delightful distraction, or attraction, I should say.

One day last week DH scheduled an important errand in Kaneohe. He was kanalua (hesitant) about leaving the little girl in my charge. “Are you sure this is okay?” No problem, we’ll be fine, I said as he watched me change a diaper. He prepared the next feeding for me. He even conscientiously phoned the baby’s mom to alert her of the shift change.

So I got to have some dedicated quality time with Miss Marvelous. She’s seven months old now, and starting to become mobile. She’s not crawling yet, but she wants to. During tummy time (“Back to sleep, tummy to play,” right?) she rolls from her front to her back in all directions and can inch forward on her tummy just a little.

I placed manipulatives—the correct name for these age-appropriate toys, I learned—in front of her, slightly out of her reach, as an incentive. One of them was a soft cuddly hippopotamus named Hillary who she loves and responds to.

For more encouragement, I got the bright idea to give Hillary a voice. A voice that wasn’t Popo’s, but a higher voice.

Miss Marvelous is into very high-pitched shrieking-screeching-whatever this week. Discovering her vocal chords and finding her voice, perhaps? I have a 6-year-old puppy dog, so I know to reward desirable behavior and to ignore less desirable or plain unacceptable behavior. Therefore, I am ignoring this sound.

It was fascinating to me, then, that when Hillary spoke aloud to Miss Marvelous, how MM responded. Her big blue eyes lighted up even more than usual, she smiled at her friend who was speaking to her and became very animated, actually engaging with the four-legged stuffed toy who by this time was demonstrating how to crawl. Popo became invisible and all attention was on Hillary.

I’ve learned that as soon as the baby rubs her eyes, pulls her ear, or starts to fuss, that it’s time to put her down for a nap. Lucky for both of us, when I put her in her crib and switched off the lights, she was out in less than a minute. Conversing with Hillary and all that exercise on my tummy is tiring, Popo!

Mommy phoned, how’s everything? Baby’s fine, she’s sleeping . . .

Later we read the mail-order catalogs together. Great fun. I tried to multi-task and watch Oprah at the same time, but that was difficult. I don’t allow Miss Marvelous to watch TV yet, but boy, TV is a magnet, and as soon as the baby hears it, she’s drawn to the screen. So I switched back to Soundscapes.

Next, still “reading” the catalogs, Miss Marvelous played the didgeridoo without the instrument, spit flying and all, entertaining herself for about what seemed like an hour. With this ability she can blow the Hawaiian pu (conch shell) too.

Miss Marvelous and Hillary: we made this photo and emailed it to Papa and Mom to show them everything was A-OK!

Another voice. Thank you, dear one.

These experiences reinforced what I believe is a need to claim one’s space and find one’s voice in our changing times, or at any time. Put another way, stop procrastinating, do it now, and speak our piece/peace. What are we waiting for?

That is how I created my healing space and my breathing room and Rebekah’s Studio that make me happy.

Copyright 2009 Rebekah Luke

You will never have to miss another awesome Didgeridoo Breath concert again!

We are so fortunate to have the world’s greatest didgeridoo performers visit us and perform live in our store. The thing is… we don’t always get much notice.

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Over 6 Billion People in the World, only 9 Hemp Didgeridoos left!

We have the last supply of the almighty hemp didgeridoos… and they are now online for you to look at, listen to, and buy!

Get your hemp didgeridoo before someone else does!

Click here to visit our Hemp Didgeridoo Shop >

BAM!!!!

Didgeridoo Breath’s latest and greatest ever concert rocked last night!

2 of Australia’s most awesome didgeridoo players, Sanshi and Jesse, performed live at Didgeridoo Breath!

Click Here to see Photos and Videos of the concert >

Nonduality Satsang

A Summary

The gathering was scheduled from 1-4pm. About 37 were in attendance, with a few people leaving early and a few arriving later, and several staying until around 5:30pm, hanging around and getting to know each other.

Here are the contibutors in the order (pretty much) in which they came forth, and summaries of what they did.

However, these summaries fall far short of recreating the wordless atmosphere of Nonduality Satsang, which transcends and rests prior to — and is not separate from! — any of these amazing arisings.

Jerry Katz

I invited people to just be in the silence, to just be. I sent the reminder that this is exactly all there is to nonduality satsang, this glasslike harbour at sunrise. As the sun continues to rise, ripples play on the water. They are not separate from the harbour or the ocean. In the satsang, as contributors appear to speak, play instruments, do what they do, they are like the ripples. None of it, nothing in the satsang or outside it, no thought is separate from the harbour or the ocean. That nonseparation is nonduality. I invited people to remember the harbour or the ocean as it is and to come from the place of the great ocean, whether they are known as beautiful ripples or not; to “be” in the midst of everything, of whatever is happening. It is all welcome, as Mandee might have said.

Mandee Labelle, one of the co-organizers and the one who was intended to set the tone of the satsang, could not attend and was missed! Mandee requested the reading of Walt Whitman’s When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, which Jerry read:

When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Dustin LindenSmith, another co-organizer, was in Italy and was also missed!

James Traverse: Constipation in Consciousness

The three key points of my presentation are: 1) Attention is the factor of Awareness that facilitates a qualitative shift in whatever is attended to, 2) if you have formed any idea of who/what you are via the thinking mind then you have a dis-ease that is a Constipation in Consciousness, and 3) you are unthinkable yet you are.

The  process of experientially communicating these three points was facilitated by asking folks to attend to breathing while I was speaking and I had an accomplice in the audience who sounded a chime when I stated ‘whenever you hear this sound… attend to breathing… and explore the question, “Does attention to breathing facilitate a  qualitative shift in breathing?”‘ [it is experientially self-evident that this is the case and my conspirator sounded the chime every 3 minutes or so to direct attention to breathing while I continued speaking]. 

Once this ‘principle of attention’ was established as the factor that facilitates a qualitative shift, I asked folks to direct attention to Constipation, Consciousness and the relationship of Content and Context. At this point I simply asked folks to help me attend to and define these things and with their help we discovered that Constipation is a blockage to the ‘river of life’ yet the river of life does not stop which results in many other disorders; we also discovered that there are distinct degrees or states of Consciousness as: waking consciousness, sleep consciousness, dream consciousness while waking or sleeping, and, deep sleep or a medically induced sleep where the ’sleeper’ in not conscious yet it is clear that there is no discontinuity to being while deep dreamless sleep is unfolding; Context is the setting and Content is what’s inside [in other words Consciousness is the setting or context and the content is that we were breathing, I was speaking, folks were attending, etc).

I then offered some parallel findings from medical science that says that over 80% of all health disorders are linked to constipation and because the flow of life does not stop when there is a blockage there is a build up of pressure/stress, and, medical scientists have also determined that over 90% of visits to health professionals is linked to elevated levels of stress in a person's life [these are facts that are provided by highly acclaimed medical schools like Harvard Medical].

I finished my presentation by asking folks to use this ‘principle of attention’ to see that: 1) the stress and constipation factors generally associated with physical dis-ease are not limited to the physical realm, 2) the irrefutable fact that the ’sleeper’ is not consciously present while deep sleep or medically induced sleep is unfolding does not mean that there is a discontinuity in consciousness in this situation, 3) the ongoing reminders via the ‘chiming’ of my accomplice means that an aspect of the content as what is happening is breathing that is unfolding within the context of and as life/consciousness and that these are together like a wave and the ocean, 4) if you have made any intellectual conclusion of who or what you are, then that idea is the ‘content’ that is the constipation/blockage in consciousness, 5) the remedy for this blockage is to see the blockage [and no longer feed it energy such that it dies of starvation], and 6) attention reveals that you are unthinkable yet you are.

Susan Johnstone

Susan Johnstone shared some favourite highlights from “The Practice of the Presence of God”, a book by Brother Lawrence who was a Christian mystic in the 1600’s in France. He shows clearly that there is, in fact, a deep and ancient tradition of non-duality that runs within Christianity, even today.

Brother Lawrence’s core practice was to simply do everything he would normally do for himself, for the Love of the Divine Presence instead. In practicing that simple thing throughout his life, he achieved a state where he was in constant awareness of the Divine Ground of Being, whether he was in the kitchen, at mass or in his cell.

He also had a wonderful way of not getting caught up in self-pity or judgement over his faults. He would simply say to God “You know me. And I will always be like this unless you correct me.” And then he would simply surrender his fault or weakness to the Divine to correct and resolve to do what he could to improve.

Sean Drohan

Teacher of Yoga and Buddhist meditation, and host of The Path of Yoga TV show. The following description from The Path of Yoga website captures his message:

Sean is a simple forest yogin. Sean is a certified yoga teacher as well. Sean’s approach in teaching Yoga and Meditation can be described as Self-Liberation Yoga (Rangdrol Yoga). Most of us have an awareness of Yoga as postures (asanas), and breath (pranayam). Yoga actually has six other aspects or limbs. Sean aspires to use the physical practice as a universally potent vehicle toward the realization of one’s true nature. As you calm the lake of your mind, you begin to understand the subtler layers of a posture (asana). Clarity can then dawn on your mind’s real nature. Suffering can then be reduced. In time, equanimity and happiness can stabilize. Yoga is a practice. The fluctuations are inseparable from the practice. It is like polishing a gem, give it time and it will shine brilliantly.

An interview with Sean by Mandee Moon may be heard until around mid-February 2010, at the following link:

http://ckdu.dal.ca/32/20091118.13.30-15.30.mp3

Sastry Vankamamidi

A Hindu priest and professor of engineering, Sastry shared the principles of Advaita Vedanta of Aadi Shankara, and performed a rendition from “Vivekachoodamani” by Aadi Shankara. Sastry writes:
Aadi Shankara, the founder of Advaita Vedanta has given a nice description of the undescribable SELF. There are 10 verses to indicate the SELF which is beyond word and thought. I will chant two of them and give the meaning. They go like this:

Jaati neeti kula gotra dooragam naama roopa guna dosha varjitam!
Desha kaala vishayaativarti yad Brahma tatwamasi bhaavayaatmani!!

jaati= Species, neeti = profession, kula = caste, gotra = lineage, dooragam = beyond naama = name, roopa = form, guna = quality, dosha = defects, varjitam = without desha = place, kaala = time, vishayaati = properties, varti = beyond, yad = that which brahma tatwam = essence of brahma, asi = is, bhava = contemplate, aatmani = in yourself.

Meaning: The Self is beyond species, profession, caste, lineage. It is without the defects of name form and quality. It is unchanging with time, place and situation. Contemplate thus in your mind as the essence of Brahman.

Yad vibhaati sad anekadaa brahmaat naama roopa guna vikriyaatmani!
Hemavat swayam avikriyam sadaa Brahma tatwamasi bhavayaatmani!!

yad = That which, vibhaati = shines, sad = truely, anekadaa = as many, bhramaat = due to delusion ( Maya), Naama = name, roopa = form, guna = quality, vikriyaatmani = changes in one’s mind, Hemavat = like gold, swayam = itself, avikriyam =  unchanging, sadaa= always, Brahma….. =… in yourself.( see the first hymn).

Meaning: Self is like the essence in all golden ornaments having different names, forms and functions. The differences between the ornaments are seen due to delusion by an ignorant person while the truth is realized as the Gold by a SEER . See the SELF/Brahman, in all beings as the essence of yourself.

Allie Kane
Singer/songwriter

This song was written when I was trying to remember a certain magic that comes in spring time. A certain awakening I was longing for. Wake up. I tell myself… remembering a time of awaken I spent one summer living and working at a camp for the blind and deaf blind. What beauty life is when seen from a different perspective.

I heard the whisper of your reincarnation
but I don’t believe my eyes
I have waited for so long to hear the closure in our relation
but now I believe Ive gone blind
To know you again I would have to be your sister
for love is not based on our pride
I remember when
we felt like little children
we climbed and danced in the wild

But I have gone blind to the waves hitting the shores
deaf to the sounds of the trees
And my fingers no longer feel
the warm waters anymore
to be free
to be free
to bee free

For who am I to intellectualize
comprehend existence as the past
I will fill my pockets with your dirt
until my eyes grow wise
mother earth’s warmth will come to last

SO open your eyes to the waves hitting the shores
ears to the sounds of the trees
and our fingers touch warm waters as they sink to the sea floors
to be
to be
to be.

Phil Cousins
Didgideroo player. Accompanying drumming by Struan Ford and Phil’s son Avalon.

[Nonduality Satsang ] was a very interesting melting pot of souls and the other presenters had some great jewels of wisdom to share.  I’m into that kind of collaboration between different spiritual communities that I think has a unique quality here in Nova Scotia. Buddhists, pagans, mystical Christians, yogis, poets, musicians and shamen all are barking up the same tree – finding the connection points between the traditions and enjoying their differences is a delicious adventure.
Australian aboriginal legends and art are full of descriptions of the Wandjina, who were the creators of the land and who at one time, lived here on earth with them in what we in the West might call a “Golden Age”.  When it came time for the Wandjina to leave the earth, the aboriginal people were very sad, because they knew things would be different and they couldn’t bear to be without their friends.  The Wandjina showed them how to make and play the didgeridoo from eucalyptus wood that had been hollowed out by termites.  They said that using the instrument, the people could communicate with the Wandjina whenever they wanted.

The didgeridoo is an instrument that expresses the essence of non-duality.  The instrument  primarily emits a single tone or note, however through subtle movement of the lips and mouth of the player, a whole host of harmonics and overtones can be produced.  This expresses the rainbow of infinite possibilities that is present when we recognize and immerse ourselves in our true, non-dual nature.

Pierre & Maryse offered an Earth based chant accompanied by the drone flute and the native drum. “Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath and fire my spirit…” were the words pronounced over and over again; a reminder of our intimate connection with nature.

Kasandra Earl

After a 12 year absents from storytelling. Kasandra Earl had an opportunity to get back in to the storytelling chair at Nonduality Satsang. Her story “Consignment Boots” told the story about a woman named Cathy who was given a pair of consignment boots that fit like a glove. The boots turned out to have a mind of their own and took Cathy on an adventure that helped to reunite four generations of the same family. Kasandra is planning to continue her love of storytelling and is currently writing her first book.

Maureen Nowlan

Using yoga asana and pranayama I write poetry from the unconscious:  a place of non-duality.  This poem was inspired by a dragon fly’s multi-faceted eye:  a gem cut on which reflected light from a multitude of images is captured.  I wondered how the world might look with an eye of that structure and what I might see.  This is what came up:

A Kaleidoscope Eye

Each chamber reveals a segment of the view
Choosing one, the green spear expands
Rolling mounds of lush grass fields continue forever
Strands of grass, mass of green

Coming back, a window of brown enlarged to a branch
Limb, trunk, forest garden
Twigs crossed defining tiny sacred spaces between
Roots and branches intertwine

A yellow madness broadens to reveal stamens
Waving in the breeze of a bird’s flight
Freeing yet more yellow puffs
Wings of gold dusted feathers

The red chamber widens to a shiny wet droplet
Of saliva in a seething gaping jaw
Then sliding into a scarlet cavern to endless
Blood red pulsing glistening

A side view, a shape becomes a peripheral movement
The profile a freckle, an ear, blush of skin
The place of kaleidoscope eye
Black, wide open

A glimpse of shame hanging heavy
Overripe, begging to be caught in full view
The fruit of dredged up, critiqued, crumbled arrogance
Devoured, digested, interred

A recognition: the face of the cliff of untapped potential
Goals set high on mountains of desire cling to the edge
Aspirations sent over the skyridge
Unrealized dreams fossilized

The glimpse stagnant, halted, marginalized
The kaleidoscope shifts as the muses signal
Three dots, three dashes, three dots
As the glance pops open in immediacy

Another chamber: a window of gold dust fragments
Scattered and silhouetted glints of a mosaic tile floor
The ruins of a grand hall
The messenger kneels, pressing his forehead into gold

His voice fuels flames of unrest
Chastising, lamenting lost ideas, rebirthing dead deeds
Reviving young fervor on old runways long dormant
The gold dust fragment now an irritant in the black eye of defeat

~ ~ ~

Want to attend a future Nonduality Satsang in Halifax, Nova Scotia, or wish to be a contributor? Our next gathering will be in April 2010. Write Jerry Katz and you’ll be placed on the mailing list.

More shots from today’s live performance at the Radiator with Vermont’s own didgeridoo master (and maker!) Pitz Quattrone. He’ll be at The Bee’s Knees in Morrisville with the Earthman Band, Wednesday night – for the 2nd annual National Didgeridoo Day. Why not?

Didge wizard Pitz Quattrone

…didgeridoo…didgeridooo…didgeridoo

It’s a fact, and one of many interesting ones about the native Australian instrument: the didgeridoo got its name from European settlers who heard it and decided the deep droning tones it made sounded like “didgeridoo didgeridoo didgeridoo….“.

Indigenous Aboroginal cultures know the 1,500+-year old instrument by its traditional name, the Yidaki.

This week World of Music welcomes local didgeridoo expert Pitz Quattrone to the show, we’ll play a little – learn a little – and find out why Vermont is the epicenter for National Didgeridoo Day (coming up this Wednesday, the 25th).

With live didgeridoo and a lot of other music from the South Pacific (Oceania, New Caledonia, New Zealand…) World of Music is a buzzing blend of blues, jazz, poetry, and world music every Monday on the Radiator, 3-5pm ET. Online, or at 105.9FM in Burlington, VT.

Best friends and bandmates A.J. Block and Tyler Sussman were your typical jazz musicians when they had a life-changing musical encounter. Not from the experimental tracks of John Coltrane. But by the Didgeridoo. The Didgeridoo, or didge, for the uninitiated, is an Australian-born instrument made from a hollowed out eucalyptus branch. Its signature sound, a cross between a shofar and a bassoon, makes it the saxophone of spa music.

“I instantly knew that I needed to learn how to play it—it was not just the sound of an instrument, but the sound of the universe,” says A.J., who with Tyler, founded the Didge Project, an organization whose goal is to raise awareness in New York about this healing outback instrument.

You won’t find A.J. and Tyler, who live in Park Slope, playing at the Blue Note. Their venues are yoga classes, reiki circles (a group reiki massage where each person takes turns being healed by the hands of the other participants), and kirtan, a musical jam session involving chanting.

That’s a fit for their sound-healing approach: By simultaneously playing two different Didgeridoos that emit different sound frequencies, for example 60 Hertz and 65 Hertz, they can guide our brains to focus on the slower 5 Hertz frequency created by the difference in those sound waves, known as the pulse beat effect. “This moves the brain to closer to a meditative state,” says Tyler. The sonic boon for us: relaxation!

Curious about sound and vibrational healing? Visit Vira Yoga when A.J. and Tyler play during Elena Brower’s Tuesday noon class, check out their Meditation CD of didge duets for spa-time at home, or spring for a private didge lesson ($75 for a 60-minute lesson) and learn to play one yourself. Just don’t plan on practicing in your apartment. The didge’s rumble (think 6 train passing underneath your bedroom) might send your neighbors on a rampage, if it doesn’t mellow them out first.

Didge Project, info@didgeproject.com. MP3 download: $12; CD purchase: $18

Do you find didge or other kinds of music calming or healing? Tell us, here!

I finally get my own didgeridoo. It is an ancient instrument that uses a simple hollow tube to create that classic droning sound full of harmonics.

It’s not a bazooka, but this altered instrument makes it look like the player is toking off of some type of weapon. [Kyle] wanted to take the already mysterious sounds produced by a didgeridoo then capture and alter them electronically.

The physical build of this project is nothing short of beautiful. He’s mounted several curved control boards to the outside of the instrument. The controls feature six push buttons, five toggle switches, and six potentiometers that interface with an Arduino. The sound is picked up by the device then sent along with the switch settings to a computer via Bluetooth. The computer then works its magic to create the wicked audio effects heard in the video after the break.

His article, linked above, includes several diagrams detailing the synthesis process. They’re a little beyond our understanding but if you know what’s going on, please share your insight in the comments.

Final de semana de feriadão e como todo (ou quase todo) bom blumenauense que sou, resolvi passar o fianl de semana no litoral. Dentre as várias comidas em família, vez ou outra, saímos para um jantar ou uma volta em Balneário Camboriú.

Fomos parar no Didgeridoo Australian Bar & Restaurant na Barra Sul de Balneário. Ambiente fantástico para sair com amigos, curtir um som ao vivo, tomar umas cervejas bem geladas e comer uma comida pra lá de saborosa.

Atendimento muito bom e bem pessoal, com direito a chamar a garçonete pelo nome, o que nos rendeu algumas boas risadas.

Pratos escolhidos?

Pork Ribs com Surf Potatoes e Arroz Piamontês

Batata Suíça sabor Mignon (R$16,90) que não provei, mas a aparencia dela diz tudo. Quem provou diz que foi a melhor que já comeu.

Pedimos também Uma Didge Onion (R$18,80) que nada mais são do que pétalas de cebola empanadas acompanha

das de um molho picante. Na minha opinião é o principal prato da casa e acredito que é um dos mais pedidos. As cebolas não tem aquele gosto forte e o tempero do empanado é muito bom. Não é um prato light, mas é muito bem preparado. Vale a pedida!

Outro ponte forte foi a salada. Uma linda Salada Caesar (R$9,00) com vários tomates cerejas,molho especial por cima, alface e o melhor,

Batata Suíça sabor Mignon

em uma porção exagerada (dá para umas 4 pessoas) de fazer inveja a qualquer restaurante que já fui.

E como bom gordo que sou, não pude deixar de pedir o Pork Ribs(R$31,90), que nada mais são do que deliciosas costelas de porco ao molho barbecue. De comer com as mãos e lamber os dedos, o guardanapo, o prato. Única crítica sobre esse prato que eu reparei, é que quanto mais tarde você chega na casa, mais solta do osso, a carne da costela está, logo, como chegamos cedo, a carne não se desgruda muito fácil do osso, mas mesmo assim, é uma delícia. O Preço é um pouco salgado para vir somente Costeletas de porco, porém, adicionaram a este prato um risoto a piamontês e 3 peças das chamadas Surf Potatoes (batata cortada na metade com recheio misto de alho poró, cogumelos e presunto picante coberto com queijo gratinado.

Didge Onion

Se não bastasse isso, pedimos 8 Long neck Stella Artois(R$5,00 a unidade) geladíssimas, que a Atendente Mara fazia questão de abrir e servir.

Resultado final: Uma conta de R$156,26, que divididos em 4 pessoas (R$39,09) não fizeram ninguém mais triste no final de mês. O Couvert de R$7,00 / pessoa é um pouco exagerado para quem, assim como nós, vai somente para jantar e conversar, mas tá valendo pelo atendimento.

Conclusão: Se forem para lá, me convide, e se for e não me convidar, comente abaixo sobre sua experiência lá.

Nós do GGB e os leitores, queremos saber.

Bom apetite! (Endereços e mais detalhes no site do restaurante)

One of the changing points in my life was twelve years ago when I met my good friend and teacher Matthew Ceeda ‘Takdeem Proceedor’ Andersen. He proceeded to teach me how to play the didgeridoo, or as the Australian indigenous creators of this mystical and spiritual instrument refer to it: the yirdaki. My good friend Ceeda passed away suddenly about two and a half years ago at the tender age of 34 years (the age I am now), but I still play the didgeridoo, and I dedicate the songs to him whenever I play.

If you know anything about didgeridoos in Australia (you probably don’t!), you would have heard the name, Djalu Gurruwiwi. Djalu is known amongst yirdaki makers and players as the true master of the trade. He was also a very renowned player in his younger years, but in old age has lost much of his ability due to a debilitating condition to his vocal chords. Djalu has said the misfortune was the result of his refusal to pay a clansman who then placed a ceremonial malediction upon him.

Here are a couple of interesting articles about this little-known legend living under the noses of an otherwise unaware Australian populace:

‘I got more power, not enough for everybody – the life of Djalu’ Gurruwiwi and yirdaki.’

‘Djalu Gurruwiwi – Abridged Biography’

This is Djalu making a didgeridoo from scratch:

Djau’s son playing one of his father’s creations:

After one minute in this video, you can see and hear the man himself blowing life through the hollow tree:

Чехол

Чехол 2

_____________________________________________________________

Тартилла

Имя: Тартилла
Рост: 152 см; основной диаметр = 8 см; диаметр отверстия мундштука = 3 см.
Материал: пластик
Основной тон B(Си)

Тартилла

Тартилла

Тартилла

Мундштук

_____________________________________________________________

Великий Полоз

Имя: Великий Полоз
Рост: 146 см; основной диаметр = 7,5 см; диаметр отверстия мундштука = 3 см.
Материал: пластик
Основной тон Bь(Си бемоль)

Великий Полоз

Великий Полоз

Раструб

Мундштук

________________________________________________________

Мескалито

Зеленый дидж:
Имя: Мескалито
Рост: 148 см; основной диаметр = 7,5 см; диаметр отверстия мундштука = 3 см.
Материал: пластик
Основной тон Bь(Си бемоль)

Огненный Лис и Мескалито

Огненный Лис и Мескалито 2

Раструб

_____________________________________________________________

So you want to learn how to play the didgeridoo?

But not sure which one to get?

Congratulations… you’re in the right place! We can hand pick one for you!

New to the Didgeridoo Breath online store are our Hand Selected Didgeridoo Starter Packs!

The Didgeridoo Breath team is proudly the world’s biggest didgeridoo lesson provider, teaching thousands of people how to play each year. Even better news… we are specialists in finding the perfect didgeridoos for our customers.

We know what to look for and within each didgeridoo range, we can hand pick a didgeridoo for you that is easy to play, uses little air, has a clear drone, is well balanced with good back-pressure and will fast-track your didgeridoo playing!

Getting your Hand Selected Didgeridoo is easy:

1. Visit our Didgeridoo Starter Packs
2. Read the buyers guide at the bottom of the page to know which one to get
3. Buy the pack you like best
4. Let us go through our many instruments and find the best one for you
5. That’s it! We will ship it immediately and you will be playing your new didge in no time!

Go to the Didgeridoo Starter Packs>>

A huge thanks to Mark Atkins who dropped into Didgeridoo Breath recently and ran a didgeridoo workshop for the lucky locals!

It was a fantastic workshop, featuring the almighty strengthening technique of playing didgeridoo, submersed in a bucket of water, continuously. I was sweating just watching!

For those of you who are not familiar with Mark, he is an incredibly powerful didgeridoo player. He visits Europe every summer to perform and also run didgeridoo workshops. Mark has some music available also.

Check out Mark’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/markyidakiatkins

Thanks again Mark, and catch you soon!

The Didge Breath Crew

Pour se mettre dans l’ambiance et pour effectuer un petit retour sur notre voyage dans le “red center” de l’Australie, une petite vidéo d’un concert de Didgeridoo auquel nous avons assisté à Alice Springs…

OK, le joueur de Didgeridoo a plus du surfeur blond de Sydney (d’où il est originaire d’ailleurs) que de l’aborigène pur sucre… mais bon, il a appris à jouer avec les tribus de la région en vivant auprès d’eux depuis plus de 25 ans… Il s’appelle Andrew Langford et son spectacle “Sounds of Starlight”…