Feel The Beat

Welcome to Art and Healing Wednesday!!

Last night on NBC’s “The Voice” one of the contestants sang “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine.  The performance was riveting.  The vocals were terrific, the contestant utilized the stage, and she participated in the drumming with a group of drummers who were backing her up.  There was something quite primitive, not only about the use of the drum, but the particular beat in the song.  It had an almost hypnotic quality capturing my attention through the performance.

The drum beat has been incorporated in rituals probably since the beginning of time.  Shamans have used the drum during soul retrieval.  Native American ceremonies have used the drum for dance and marking important aspects of ceremonies.  If you look back throughout history you’ll see that the drum has been much more significant than merely the cool aspect of a rock band.

The beat of the drum mimics the heart beat.  It’s as if your heart is beating outside your body.  In rituals in can bring the group together in synchronistic breathing.  It becomes a thread that weaves between all involved in a ceremony.  It’s kinesthetic creating a body, mind, and spirit experience.  It can tell a story.  If you were to engage in drumming you would feel the beat course through your veins.  It would draw you in with its magical sound and gravity of its presence.

When you engage in an activity like drumming you personify the life force.  Having the ability to beat louder and harder creating a tension with sound allow for the release of that tension.  It’s reminiscent of holding on to negative energy in the body and allowing it to vibrate out of your body with the beat.  It’s a crescendo that can have long-lasting health benefits.  It’s emotive and expressive and on your journey to wellness that’s important.  Ultimate self-expression is one of the things that can certainly be a catalyst for health and healing.  Having the capacity and the willingness to engage the strength of the beat brings forth an energy that serves a catalyst for healing.

What happens when you hear a drum beat?  How might you use the beat of the drum in your own healing rituals.  Let’s share our drumming experiences and help promote health and healing!