Humankind did not invent music... music was already in Nature. Motion gives arising to all sound.

The motion of the wind. The motion of the waters. The motion of the stones. The motion in the fire. The wind alone is an entire orchestra. The motion of the body, all of its internal noises.

​Music is a mirror we hold up to ourselves. In it we see reflected everything we have ever experienced. We see the world around us. We see ourselves. We can see how we listen. We can see how we pay attention. We experience presence. We can see how we make love. We see how we evolve. We can see how we dance...

Dance in a circle, the shape of the drum, the shape of the world. The first drum, the human body, with its senses and its rhythms, then the world, with its endless variety of sounds and rhythms. Lightning-flash, winds blowing and the rain drops falling into a small pool. The senses sense nature, and have their arising from that very nature that they are sensing. Nature's way of realizing itself. And yet what is it that is actually experiencing the sensing?

The listener; did this consciousness come from nature too? A way to sense the sensing? The Earth has taught us all we know about music. It has given us its music. It gives us the tools to make its music. In every sound there is music. Visitors from space bring the earth new songs. They come as beautiful stones of every kind. The universe and the earth make love in this way and they sing together. They have taught us their song in this way. The scratching cicada is the sound of the medicine rattle and our hearts drum out the rhythm as we are giving thanks through appreciation for life itself...

In this way we have learned to play the drum. In this way we have learned to sing, dance and make love. It is all a response, a response to life and being alive in the world. It is the song our parents want us to sing. It is the dance our parents dance. They have taught us this out of love. We are in love when we play music and when we dance. This makes everyone happy. Being in love this way reminds us of our source and there is great joy. The music flows like a flag in the wind and the dance is like that of birds or deer. We play this music and the world listens, impartially, for to nature, it is just another passage in an endless stream of music...

For nature, the entire universe is its symphony, its orchestra and its audience.........

*Excerpted from Breath Was the First Drummer: A Treatise on Drums, Drumming and Drummers by Dru Kristel

This is a big ceremonial drum on a 20-inch maple hoop with a strong moose spirit that was plant-dyed in a rich, wine-red… the hoop is stained + finished, with the inner hoop stained red ochre + wood-burned with prayers, honouring the moose who gave its life to become this sacred drum… to be re-birthed with new life, spirit + sacred sound…

The mallet is from a found arbutus branch, finished + burned with a suede pocket…. the back of the drum is finished in a rainbow yarn wrap + black felt handle… Painted on the front in acrylics is an open red rose… tied to the back of the drum is a small wild turkey feather - of which i found on the ground next to the soaking bin, the morning of July 22nd (during her second birthing)… wild turkey holds the energy of ‘shared blessings’ and ‘harvest’ - marking the fire festival of Lughnasadh, the time of the first harvest on the Celtic wheel of life (which happens August 1st every year)...

I fastened to the top/sides of the drum, a hand-made 'blessing' scarf.  The scarf is attached is removable, if needed.  Drums from the Siberian regions of Russia often have cloths or scarves (khadags) attached to their drums that are used for blessing…. when the drum is played with the intention of 'drawing down/in the spirits' or 'drawing down/in blessing power', the blessings or healing power pours… cloths tied to drums can also be used  to transfer this spirit power... ie., during a healing ceremony, face each of the four directions in turn, including the upper sky + lower earth powers, drum and ask for blessings to come into your drum in aid of the person you are offering the healing work for…

I have also infused the drum with the 2nd degree Reiki symbol, ‘Choku Rei’... which means, “place the power of the universe here now”... making this is a ‘healing sacred drum’ that holds good healing intention...

About the spirit of moose… One of the most obvious things that a moose animal totem symbolizes is immense strength + power... the sheer size of this animal gives it a certain prestige. This isn’t an animal that you want to upset. The strength of the male moose can also symbolize bravery and courage. They aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even if it could result in a broken antler or death... other traits are... gentle, strong, brave, dominating, power-full, courageous, fast, enduring, agile, communal, graceful, adaptive…

I was guided to birth this sacred drum over six weeks ago and it’s been quite the journey for both of us… and, i know that She had her own journey - i was merely her hands in Her becoming… 

I also like to note that this sacred drum was birthed during the Lion’s Gate Activation Portal that happens every year in the astrological sign of Leo between July 26 through to August 12th... 

I began during the Pisces full moon in early July (2020), the process of soaking a very strong Moose hide… which had been cut from the upper middle shoulder part of the animal - probably the thickest part… i was thrilled to be working with a hide that held the backbone line through what would be the center of the drum - this doesn’t happen often as i attempt to use all parts of a hide, so as to not waste...

i was also experimenting with a new dye vat mixed of tumeric + other natural elements - mostly as an experiment to see what effect i may see, wondering how this moose hide would turn out… I was also dying some rattle heads in my red dye vat... and, to stop the dye process with the rattle heads, i transferred them from the red bin to the new tumeric bin.  I noticed the next morning that the rattle heads had stained the moose hide with large spots of red… “Oh, stink!” i said, “i guess this drum wants to be red”.. so i simply moved the hide over to the red vat.  

She was birthed not long after, however, i failed to pull her tight enough where the drum just wouldn’t come in to her voice… so, i sat with her for about two weeks hoping that she would eventually come into voice… disappointed i questioned many times if this drum was even meant to be… was i no longer strong enough to birth such a strong + big drum?  After many days sitting with this, i chose to take the drum apart and re-birth her all over again… something was definitely nudging me to not give up...

The morning i returned her moose hide to the soaking bin, i noticed a small turkey feather had fallen right next to the bin… i picked it up knowing that this spirit held special significance to this cycle of Lughnasadh...

What i didn’t know at that time until later, that this morning was July 22nd… the Feast of Mary Magdalene… hmmmnnn… interesting as it seemed that this drum was being divinely guided to perhaps, become an honouring sacred drum to the Magdalene + the divine feminine… ah ha!  She was calling me or prompting this process… it seemed right that she was to re-birthed...

I knew some about this beautiful goddess that represents divine love and was compelled to research some more the Magdalene… the one symbol that represents Her, that kept coming up, was the Rose… i thought wow, knowing that the rose is one of, if not the highest vibrational flowers/plant...

Rose is sacred...she is the closest thing to love in tangible form. Literally.  Her vibration is measured at 320 MHz.  She is as high as it gets in terms of ‘things we can actually see…’ and more...

During a Virgo new moon she was ready to birthed again, this time, after her drying gestation, she did come into finding her voice and my heart was thrilled… i have to admit she is a heavy drum because of her size + weight of the hide… her sound is different than any other drums i have birthed… she holds a good deep sound + resonates much healing energy out… even without playing Her!

In ceremony i painted her face with a large red rose during a Leo new moon on August 17/18th when i received a message, i feel from the Magdalene herself that this, Her sacred ceremonial drum is to sound the return of Her becoming… the return of the Divine Feminine… to sound + hold the intention of humanity to once again return to honouring our blessed earth Mother as our Source… to remember Her… to Respect Her… to love Her - for we wouldn’t be here without Her!

An added note… I was taught by a couple of teachers (one being, the wonderful Djembe drummer + feminist, Ubaka Hill) to never, ever ‘beat’ my drum… as we know, the sacred drum represents ‘Mother’ + the voice of the Mother and She has been raped, beaten + abused for far too long enough… perhaps we can watch our language we use about the sacred drum... knowing that our ‘words’ hold power + intention = our words create… also, i never call my mallet a ‘beater’... ‘cause when we deconstruct that word, ‘beater’ to...“beat - her”... knowing this i am mindful to longer call my mallet or stick that name… i also choose to ‘play’ my drum versus ‘beat’ or ‘beating’’ my drum...

Also, looking close up to this drum, you may notice that her hide may look somewhat ‘beaten up’… it has not.  Though, i believe that ‘Mary’ is perhaps showing us that the Mother is done with being abused + beaten up... and the marks + imperfections in the hide, remind us of that…

This sacred Ceremonial drum has found Her caretaker... if you have interest in my sacred work please, don’t hesitate to contact me  or visit my spirit art drums shop >>

blessed be + brightest blessings…
i am honoured to be offering this, my sacred work, thank you...
weaver x (((o)))

• all photos + video by weaver © 2020 copyright...

i lovingly birthed this sacred red drum during the recent Capricorn waning crescent moon last week...

She is on a stained + finished 16-inch maple lightweight hoop... i painted her face with the waning crescent moon in gold acrylics on a beautiful dyed red elk spirit...

The inside of the hoop is stained in red ochre... the handle is finished in a soft red felt and the four-direction ties wrapped in gold sinew... the mallet handle is wood burned with a dyed red moose leather top pocket... 

During the birthing process i found her spirit to be one very happy drum... and i really enjoyed birthing her!  

I always open sacred space before i ever birth any drums or rattles - to create a sacred space for my guidance including our blessed earth Mother to come in + assist me... and it is this guidance that always leads the way...

It’s interesting... since birthing my own personal drum over 25 years ago, i have found that every  drum and that includes red drums that i have birthed, they all find their own voice... and i can’t control that - i have to get out of the way... oh, there have been times when i’ve been lax and have attempted to control or push how a drum is to birthed... and, often, most times, the birthing process ends up so much harder and sometimes, i have had to re-birth the drum all over again... because of my pushing... 

So, i have learned a lot over the years of being a drum maker... a drum birther... it is imperative that i hold + create this birthing process as a very sacred act... as i am birthing a new drum that represents the voice of blessed earth Mother... who am i to think it’s ‘me’ doing this work?.. it is my dear Mother including all the guidance i have called in within my sacred container who is actually creating this sacred work... i am only the ‘hands’ making + birthing a sacred drum... and in this case, this beautiful red drum...

With this particular “red drum”... once i was prepared, the hide was complete being dyed red + rehydrated as a living breathing spirit, my tools ready and my own sacred self holding the space, i was guided to simply get quiet... and meditate along with the pulse, the heartbeat of my dear Mother... i simply asked her beautiful, resonant voice to move through me to birth this lovely red drum... in spirit essence, together "we" are re-birthing/resurrecting this beautiful spirit... knowing the animal/animistic has preciously given their life to become this sacred drum... to become the blessed voice of our dear Mother...

So... i got my own self out of the way to allow her stunning spirit to birth Her own way...

The women’s red drum is very ancient holding much spirit... womyn’s spirit... representing the blood of our dear Mother and all women... birthing, rites of passage, our monthly blood cycles... our women’s mysteries... women have always drummed and are known to be the first drummers... women used to paint their drums with red ochre... that colour of red that comes directly from our earth mother... to represent our blood mysteries... our red drums were also used to invoke the great Goddess... Mother Gaia...  and we as women are now reclaiming our rites, our ceremonies celebrating who we are as womyn who deeply care about our dear Mother goddess...

i wrote more about how the herstory and spirit of the red drum revealed Herself to me here on my blog >>  

This red drum is awaiting her new care-taker to come forward when the time is right... If you would like to learn more about this sweet women’s red drum + have a wee listen, please feel free to visit my drum birthing shop page >>

Also... if you would like to place a custom red drum or other type of drum, please don’t hesitate to contact me... pricing for my custom drum birthing is on my shop page here >>

I also offer sacred drum birthing sessions twice a year (in the spring + fall) and private groups... For more info + upcoming dates about my drum birthing workshop intensives please visit this page here >>

with brightest blessings + much love...
weaverx (((o)))

As a sacred drummer I've come to believe that the desire to build a sacred relationship does require sacred time to connect with that which you hold dear... it's all about simply saying hello and connecting... get it going...

Our blessed earth Mother connects deeply with us within every moment... are we listening? ...

One way we can connect with Her is... to sound her beautiful heart-voice... have a play-date with your dear drum... She would really like that... so, consider giving you drum a hug today... She just may surprise you and say hello back!

​xo ❣️❣️❣️—weaver x (((o)))

(((o)))
“All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four-month-old fetus in the womb of her mother.  This means our cellular life as an egg begins in the womb of our grandmother.  Each of us spent five months in our grandmother's womb, and she in turn formed within the womb of her grandmother.  We vibrate to the rhythms of our mother's blood before she herself is born, and this pulse is the thread of blood that runs all the way back through the grandmothers to the first Mother.”
—Layne Redmond​

"Are you ready Carol?..."  Debbie asked excitedly...

My half-sister and i were on an arranged phone call together... Debbie was the oldest of four half-sisters i had just met weeks earlier - on the phone... 

Months earlier, the BC Adoption Reunion Registry (ARR) had finally changed from being a passive registry to an active registry in 1991.  When that status changed, all BC adoption records with the passive registry had been transferred to Family Services of BC - where they contacted those of us who were registered with the ARR, announcing we could now request an 'active search' for birth parents/relatives.  Before the change, both parties would have had to have been registered in the passive registry to create a match/reunion.

I had registered with the passive registry many years earlier... and, on my birthday every year, ran a classified ad in the Vancouver Sun "People Finders" section - hoping my birth mother may see the ad... Though, nothing ever came of that annual ad...

I applied immediately for an active search... and a Family Services Researcher was assigned to my case to conduct a search for my birth mother...  I was quite excited at the thought of perhaps, one day, they may find her...

As soon as i had been told i was adopted, i had often wondered who she was, what had happened...why i had been adopted...so many questions...would i look like her?  I had grown up in my adoptive family - tho never felt like i truly belonged in some weird way... i called myself the "pink sheep"... I felt like a stranger in a strange land... i knew nothing about my birth ancestry, my family name or where i came from?...  Who the heck was i?...

My older brother was six years older, the only biological child... I often called him, "the real one" in the family and still do... and my younger sister, adopted as i was - though, from a different family/area of BC... i didn't look like anyone in my adoptive family - neither did my sister...  I recall a moment at elementary school on the playground swings, when a friend blatantly announced that i looked so much like my mother... I couldn't believe my ears and told her that i was adopted and how was that even possible?... She just shrugged her shoulders.  I knew i didn't look like my adoptive mother...father or anyone!

I waited many months before i heard anything from Family Services... until one day...

I was attending a women's business conference and towards the end of the long day, my partner said she wanted to see one more booth... I was tired, not interested in seeing any more displays and said I'd wait for her before we left...  I was standing next to a booth in the middle of the bustling hall, when i felt an abrupt dizziness, catching myself from falling over.  It was a strange, swirling feeling like i was going off somewhere... then it stopped - i came back... i didn't think much of it other than perhaps i was just tired...

Later, i went back to the studio to finish up some work before dinner when the phone rang...

It was a call from Anne, who was my researcher from Family Services...  She was happy to announce that she had found my birth mother earlier that afternoon... hmmnnnn...i wondered to myself later... when Anne received the call back from my birth mother earlier that day... could it have been around the same time i felt so dizzy earlier that afternoon?  I wonder... 

Anne mentioned it had taken a long time to find my mother because she had married (a year after she gave birth to me) and had changed her name... Anne then asked me if i was sitting down....

I said, "yes"... when she  went on to announce that i also had four half-sisters! 

I was shocked... It's funny... all the years i had been searching for my birth mother thinking, that maybe, one day i might find her... never ever did i think or realize that she might have had a whole family of her own - a life...  Really?... Wow!  After further chat with Anne, she added, that one of my half-sisters had attempted to find me for a number of years and would i like to exchange phone numbers to connect...would that be okay... I said, "Sure"... 

Not long after getting off the phone with Anne, i received a call from Debbie, my half sister, who was the oldest... One of the first things she told me was how relieved she was to know that she wasn't the oldest anymore - i was!

I wasn't sure what to make of that...?

That evening i talked with all my half-sisters... I remember it being such a fun time "catching up" and sharing stories... especially with Debbie - who was 'over the moon' that we had finally connected... She could hardly contain herself!   She told me that her mom had once told her... it slipped out after a party, that she had an older sister... and that her mother had forced her to give me up because she was unwed.  My birth mother swore from that day forward she would never give another child up... and she never did.  A year later after i was adopted, she met a fellow, got married and raised a family with four daughters...

After the calls that evening, Debbie suggested that a first, slow step to a possible reunion would be to exchange letters and photos with each other and our shared mother... of which we all did... 

The next step we decided, was to arrange "to meet" on a phone call with Marlene... and so, a date and time was set a couple of weeks later... 

The day came to meet on the call... i was so nervous... What am i doing?... What should, will i say?... What will we talk about? What is there to talk about?  i wanted to forget the whole thing...yikes.......

At the arranged time, the phone rang on the minute... I let the phone ring a couple of times, sucked in a deep breath and hesitantly picked up the phone...

I was relieved it was Debbie on the other end... She told me she was at her mom's place, with her mom beside her and mentioned she was just as nervous as i was... With excitement in her voice Debbie then asked, "Are you ready Carol?".... I said, hesitantly, "oh...kay..."

I could hear Debbie talking in the background asking her mom if she was ready..............

I could hear my mother laughing in the background as Debbie was handing her the receiver...

As  "mom" fumbled with the phone, she was still laughing, right from her belly... the first thing she said before she even said hello was, to laugh........

In that moment, i pulled the phone an arm's length from my ear............. it's hard to describe because i felt something i had not ever felt before or knew?... 

I was remembering my own mother's laugh...............whoa...

I knew right then and there, in and throughout my whole beingness.... that i had heard my mother's laugh before...i KNEW that laugh... i'll never forget that powerful visceral vibrational feeling = a total body re-membrance!  In that moment, i knew i was talking to my birth mother and, i also knew during that "conference dizziness" i had felt her on such a deep vibrational level...

And, i can't even remember what we talked about during that call... 

It's interesting... all the years i have taught drumming and drum birthing, i have had many folk share with me that they don't know how to drum...or even think they can ever learn how to drum... I smile reply back... 

"What do you think is the first sound or vibration you have ever heard or felt?"... "It is the sound vibration, the pulse of your Mother's blood... the sound of her heartbeat when you were in her womb for nine months - that is a sound vibration you know so deeply, felt and heard first...  of course you know how to drum... her heartbeat pulse is vibrating in your bones!"

I now know my Mother.. her vibration and resonance is in my bones!

sooo, do stay tuned if you wish... more to come...
with brightest blessings, 
weaver x (((o)))

I birthed my first drum over 25 years ago with my first teacher in Celtic shamanism.  It sure was an amazing and growing experience.  Back in the early 90s, i was part of a sacred healing circle of about 15 or so women where together, we all birthed the same type and size of shamanic drum - a 16-inch Elk...

At the time, when i was apprenticing, i was asked to help out with that women's drum birthing workshop - being in charge of care-taking the hides... which meant making sure the hides were soaking well overnight in my studio-space bath tub.   The next day, i brought them all back to our workshop space for us to birth our drums in ceremony.

Back then, i was vegetarian and for me, to handle huge soaked Elk hides was a tad un-nerving, to say the least - especially after they had soaked all night, weighed a ruddy ton!!  They also smelled horrible and felt sooo alive!  I learned that when an animal has been chosen or chooses to transition it's life to become a sacred drum - that, during the sacred act of birthing a drum, they are reborn to be in service to our blessed earth mother - to now be her steward as her sacred voice, heart-beat-pulse... learning this helped a lot for me during this time in my life...

When i got back to the workshop space with the wet hides, the teacher asked me to lay them all out on top of a large tarp and told all the women to choose one...  As i was putting them out, each woman quickly chose their own, where, very soon only one hide was left... i didn't get to choose - my drum's voice/hide had been chosen for me!

Learning how to pull a big drum with a very thick Elk hide (as a full-wrap around the hoop) wasn't an easy task - on top of sitting on the floor to do it... Our teacher also didn't really show us how - she basically walked around the room dropping us each an instruction booklet that had come along with the drum supply-kits she had ordered from Cedar Mountain Drums in Oregon... I have to admit, i did find it challenging to birth my first drum having to read the steps line-by-line... I remember sweating a lot that day = definitely a labour of love...

​As we all came to completing our drums, the teacher did come around at that point to help us with the final pulls to make sure the strong thick hide was completely wrapped smoothly around the frame.  I was quite happy to have the help at that point as my hands were so sore and tired...

While the hide was still wet, when i held it up with the light shining through, the shape of a huge bird in flight revealed itself right through the middle on the back side... Though, when my drum was birthed, as she dried and came into being, a new spirit emerged forward in the front ... i saw the amazing old face of an old white grandmother wolf... she was stunningly beautiful and so present... and has been a part of my special drum ever since her birth... One time, years later, a beautiful Metis elder asked to sing a wolf into my drum as she knew that spirit was very present as a part of my sacred drum... i was deeply honoured to be witness as she sang her sacred gift into my drum... grandmother wolf is still very present guiding me...

The whole process of birthing my own shamanic drum was life-changing for me and, i have been deeply blessed to have had the opportunity to share and pass on the gifts that were shared with me - to assist others to birth their own sacred drums and continue to.  My sweet drum has taught me a lot over the last 25+ years and continues to... Through her, our blessed earth mother continues to share deeper teachings to share with others and my students...

What i found amazing back when i birthed that first drum was, how amazingly strong and resilient rawhide lacings are when wet and dry...

Rawhide dries very rock-hard strong... and when i look at a few of my lacings on the back side of my drum, i am still amazed as to how strong yet vulnerable and fragile they are... and so are we... my own 'heart strings' have been good teachers...

These lacings are still holding the voice of my drum very strongly - even after 25+ years! 

This, my first drum i birthed... my beautiful grandmother wolf drum, my dear friend and ally continues to reflect to me my own inner heart strength and the fragility of all life... She teaches me that it's okay to be vulnerable and that i have the power of choice within any given moment to resonate who i truly am as a be-ing of light and love...

I stand within this present moment... to offer my deep appreciation and gratitude for the gift of the sacred, healing drum - and all that she continues to teach me... I also give many thanks to my teacher who shared the gifts she had been given, to me...  thank you grandmother wolf for being a beautiful teacher...
​in deep munay of love + light, weaver x (((o)))

​photo @ right...

An actual photo of heart strings (tendons) inside the human heart...

It is known that the heart strings can sometimes break after a deep emotional trauma causing the heart to lose form and, as a result be unable to pump blood effectively... You can literally die from a broken heart...

Oh, how fragile, yet so strong we all are.......x (((o)))

In ancient times of the Matriarchy, the drummers were women.   Our herstory proves it in the 100s + 100s of ancient goddess images collected + documented by frame drummer Layne Redmond (rip 1952-2013). 

I was moved to create and birth a 'bee frame drum'... for the annual anniversary 'for the bees' art show held at 'The Hive', here on Gabriola Island.  This frame drum is my honouring of the sacred bee - for, we wouldn't be here without the bees.
- here's my last year's 'for the bees' submission at the Hive >>

This design is based on the ancient frame drum which was also played as our women ancestors did + still do all over the planet.

This drum has resonators installed in the back so, when played, the frame drum buzzes, sounding and calling the spirit of the sacred bees.  This type of 'Bendir' drum is a descendant of the ancient bee priestesses' frame drums, which hummed the world into bee-ing.  It is played in the old traditional upright 'frame drum' style with the hands (see goddess image to the right)... 

On the front is painted the Hexagon symbol - of all the geometric shapes in sacred geometry, the hexagon is arguably the most powerful and fascinating + ancient.   It is found in many spiritual symbols such as the Star of David, the Tree of Life in the Kabbalah and the Hagal Rune composed by ancient tribes of northern Europe, and so much more.

The frame drum is birthed in white Goat rawhide.  The spirit of Goat helps us and the bees to 'stand our ground'... and helps us with sure-footedness and balance.... We can call on the spirit of goat when we need independence coupled with plenty.... and, when we are ready to take on something new, and there is no need for guilt.  Goat spirit helps with gaining confidence and firm cornerstones for personal or spiritual development.  For those who find themselves stuck or wholly misplaced, the spirit of goat gets you moving again - Let that energy take you where you need to be for finding answers.  Goat may not move swiftly, but slow and steady is best when you start losing balance... Once you’re on your way with goat guiding, you’ll find the determination necessary for success.
Note: This frame drum size birthed... 11.5 inches in diameter with a maple wood hoop in goat hide, painted in gold + red acrylics...

I'm very proud how my first traditional 'women's' frame drum came into 'bee-ing'... and the process and connecting in with the sacred bees taught me a lot... I'm also excited to report that this special sacred drum has found it's new caretaker, being a part of a thriving women's counselling practice in Vancouver, BC... 

If you wish to have a sacred frame drum birthed like this one or other, i invite you to visit my drum shop here on this page >>  I am open to discussing what's possible and honoured to birth a special sacred drum especially for you or your loved one... 

with brightest blessings... weaver x (((o)))

Click the images above to enlarge + below, a short video to have a listen to this bee drum...

​Did you know that drumming is good for you?... it's actually a very healthy practice for body, mind and spirit....

Lately, i've been thinking about rhythm and also the benefits of drumming... and so, wanted to share some things i have learned over the years... 

"If you could see your DNA, you'd see what your inside rhythm looks like... You are rhythm... You are made of flesh, bones - and rhythm... Rhythm is what keeps you alive."   --Mickey Hart

Within our bodies, we have the rhythm of breath, the rhythm of our heart and the rhythm of our blood pulsing through our veins.  We are nothing but rhythm within and out...

Sometime when you have a moment... just sit quiet and just listen to the diverse rhythms around and within you... listen to the rhythm of a bird's song... the drumming of a flicker woodpecker... a squirrel's chatter...  the ticking of the clock on the wall... the crackling of a hot fire... the constant passing of traffic on the freeway... the swishing of the wind swaying the branches of a tree or in the grasses... the honking of a truck's horn... the gentle drops of a spring rain... the gentle in and out of your own breath...  that annoying drip on the kitchen faucet...

I have to giggle sometimes when folk tell me that they can't or don't know how to drum... i aways say, "of course you do! ...because the first sound you ever heard was your own mother's constant heart-beat - that's all you knew and heard while in her womb all that time... it's the first thing you learned... that constant pulse was all you knew! - so, yes... you know how to drum - it's the very first thing you were taught and know so deeply!" 

Everyone knows how to drum - everyone who has a mother... a grandmother and our blessed earth mother...

I love this, the below powerful teaching by sister frame drummer Layne Redmond... who wrote the beautiful book, When the Drummers Were Women  >>

​“It is often said that the first sound we hear in the womb is our mother's heartbeat.  Actually, the first sound to vibrate our newly developed hearing apparatus is the pulse of our mother's blood through her veins and arteries.

​We vibrate to that primordial rhythm even before we have ears to hear. Before we were conceived, we existed in part as an egg in our mother's ovary. All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four-month-old fetus in the womb of her mother.

This means our cellular life as an egg begins in the womb of our grandmother. Each of us spent five months in our grandmother's womb and she in turn formed within the womb of her grandmother. We vibrate to the rhythms of our mother's blood before she herself is born. And this pulse is the thread of blood that runs all the way back through the grandmothers to the first mother.

We all share the blood of the first mother - we are truly children of one blood."  
-- Layne Redmond

Outside of ourselves are endless universal rhythms all around us... every 365 days our blessed earth mother revolves around father sun... while every 28 days, grandmother moon revolves around our mother earth... ever 24 hours our earth mother rotates (spins and dances) on her axis... since the beginning of time, these cycles have intertwined and are the background against which our universe exists...

Another great quote i love...

"Rhythm lives within everyone, and it's not something special.  People don't have to have professional musical talents and techniques to express their rhythmical spirit.  Everyone has a rhythmical sensibility within and how they express it differs from person to person.  Rhythm permeates everyone's life.  It is in everything we do, we see, we feel and it is within the rhythms of our bodies, as well.  Rhythm is a fact of life."  
-- Arthur Hull

The voice of the drum is the bridge to the spirit realm... The pulse connecting us to our blessed earth mother's heartbeat... and the circular shape is that of the hoop of life.

The earth is round... the moon is round... the season's turn 'round and the stars and planets are round... 

A circle is one of the most natural forms found in our physical universe... it has no beginning and no end...

"Blessed am I... Holy am I... 
I am the infinite within myself... 
I can find no beginning... 
I can find no end... Oh, this I Am!" 
-- traditional chant

Since the beginning of time, peoples have gathered together in circles in ceremony and ritual fashion to celebrate and to pray in community.

Participating in a drum circle creates community almost instantly... as soon as we begin to drum together and we entrain together... we become one -- we become community... we also have fun, we sing, dance, play music and socialize... and, heal together...

Drumming together mindfully and in a sacred way - by acknowledging our spirit and helper-spirits and our ancestors - those who have come before us also connects us in a very special way... we embrace purpose and again "one-ness" of "like- mind"...

Drumming together is also just plain fun... when we drum together, we can let down our guard, relax and let go thus reduce stress and worry... the sacred drum also clears the way on many levels... drum vibrations and sacred sound massage our bodies, our head, our brain and calms our mind... and also creates physical exercise... 

"Music washes away from the soul
the dust of everyday life 
--Berthold Auerbach

A while back, a medical study done by a team of MD's using control groups and blood tests show drumming together boosts the immune system. 

It's now been proven that stress is a cause of 98% of most disease.  Recent biofeedback studies show that drumming along with our own heart beat rhythm for at least 15 minutes a day alters brainwave patterns (increasing alpha) and dramatically reduces stress...

So, drumming actually "meditates" us!

A recent medical research study indicates that group drumming boosts the immune system. Published in the January, 2001, issue of Larry Dossey’s Alternative Therapies the ground-breaking study was performed at Meadville Medical Center’s Mind-Body Wellness Center, by a team of MDs using control groups and blood tests.

Led by well-known researcher, author and cancer expert Barry Bittman, MD, CEO of Meadville Medical Center’s Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, PA, the study shows that group drumming actually increases cancer-killing (NK) cells which help the body combat not only cancer but other viruses, including AIDS.

According to Dr. Bittman, “Group drumming tunes our biology, orchestrates our immunity, and enables healing to begin… When our hands connect with a drum that vibrates with our energy, vitality…and unity, we become whole again.” Dr. Bittman’s weekly radio program, Mind-Body Matters, is syndicated nationwide on NPR.

This new medical research follows recent biofeedback research showing that even brief heartbeat drumming can double alpha (a light meditative brainwave) and reduce stress. We now know that stress depresses the immune system and has been linked to nearly all diseases.

Drumming has also been used successfully with Alzheimer’s patients to focus attention, with war veterans to end trauma, with addicts in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, and with prison and homeless populations to enhance self-esteem. Progressive corporations like Motorola, AT & T and Levi Strauss have drummed with middle management to promote team spirit-building.

Widely published research also indicates that playing musical instruments increases kids learning abilities. This appears especially true of instruments which can be played intuitively, like the drum.  Qualitative studies have shown that drumming enhances right-brain functions such as intuition and creativity.

“Dreams are the way the unconscious speaks to the conscious mind. Ritual is how the conscious mind speaks back. One-sided conversations are unhealthy for the psyche, which craves response. New thought writings on addiction suggest that we are hungry, that our souls are starved because our lives are devoid of ritual.

“We keep trying desperately and unsuccessfully to feed this hunger with food, drugs, sex, alcohol, work, shopping, gambling, etc. Drumming is one of the most accessible forms of ritual because drumming along with our own heartbeat is so natural. It calms, centers, and reconnects us with our deeper selves.”

"The Drum is the Great Spirit's favourite instrument. 
That is why we were given  a heartbeat. 
-- Mano, Navajo Elder

Poem

a dreaming...
to drum with our earth mother...

to connect...
be in harmony
is all we seek...

calm balance...
fresh clarity...
to seek resonance, tone, timbre, pulse...

linking up
to be one, once again...
return to source in unity

together with our blessed earth mother...

she seeks us by always
helping us remember...
being there, a constant...

offering support and nurturance...

let's offer our love and hope
with clear, whole, sound...re-connect with her deep heart-pulse...

her rhythm so constant
so strong...

rhythm gives us intent...
she keeps us going

melody is like thought...
be of like mind

harmony is emotion...

begin by giving back...
as one people

one heart, one song
side by side harmonizing...

with our body...
around her body

at one moment...

now!


© 1994  by weaver
photo of chumpi stone © 2016 copyright by weaver


weaver x (((o)))
​

Above video showing the beginnings of our dear windwalker coming into be-ing...
Thank you dear Rick for the video...

Available, one of a kind - my own design... Custom orders welcome
12 x 12 inch Square Ocean Drum, Vegan  (2-sided)
- $440 + shipping/handling extra... SOLD
Birthed, painted + signed by weaver on Gabriola Island, BC - with original abstract acrylic paintings on both sides...  This unique ocean drum looks and sounds wonderful (see video below) + no animal hides were used... This drum is great for ocean meditation, shamanic journeying - including healing and clearing... Numerology regarding this drum is 12 x 12 = 144 = 9, which is a completion number... For more info about the significance of the number 9, click here >>
- Contact weaver to purchase this drum by interac e-transfer or money order...
- Custom orders are welcome, each painting side will vary where each drum is unique...
- Please expect 3-4 weeks to ship for custom orders...
- Click on images below to enlarge to view detail...

Click video above to play... so you can hear this ocean drum...
​note... you'll also hear bird sounds (the flicker, drummer) in the background as we shot this video outside on our deck...  :o)