As a dancer, music has always played a prevalent role in my life. Music and dance are almost symbiotic in nature: sound inspiring movement and movement creating the very rhythms and beats to which I dance.  Music communicates directly to my Soul, weaving together themes of celebration, creative expression, love, relaxation, freedom, and community.  It’s an open canvas inviting me to dance, to let go, to dream, and to be inspired.  It is grounding and liberating all at once. 

Sound always affects me and moves me in the most profound ways. Yet, it wasn’t until about three years ago, when I attended my first sound healing event, that I further discovered the power of sound as an extraordinary vehicle for mind/body/spirit healing and transformation.

At a time when I had been exploring various healing modalities, I was driven by my curiosity and by my unique interest in the sensory, experiential nature of this event.  I had no idea what to expect.  Halfway through the session, I was completely transfixed – absorbing every delicious sonic vibration into the very core of my being. As the thunder of the gong drowned out the incessant chatter in my mind, I was instantly propelled into an exquisite, meditative journey. 

All thoughts now fading into oblivion, my body became one with the sound: each cell seemingly pulsated in perfect synergy with the vibrating sounds emanating from this fascinating instrument. I felt euphoric and deeply serene.  I was utterly awe-struck. 

Since that day, sound took on a new form and meaning for me: it became a nourishing and purifying super-vitamin for my Soul.  Sound healers everywhere had found a new convert. 

I had always craved music as a means to move, to relax, to entertain, and to release, but I had never fathomed the transcendent possibilities inherent in this mystical art, which has created truly magical experiences cultivating my awareness and my growth. I had discovered a beautiful new realm uniting my three loves: artistic expression, healing, and spirituality. It’s the ultimate synthesis - the glue connecting me to Mother Earth while also transporting me to ethereal planes. 

Thereafter, I attended various sound healing events throughout Chicago, exploring the celestial and primordial sounds of crystal bowls, rain-sticks, chimes, didgeridoos, and drums, to name a few.  Who knew that these musical odysseys could captivate all of my senses and catapult me to beautiful innerscapes?  Each soulful symphony reflected the inner harmony of my Spirit responding in tune to the beat of the Universe’s own harmony. 

My fascination and wonder extended to the musicians creating this sacred music themselves: they are the human instruments of this divinely inspired creation.  Through the grace of Spirit, they become the true vessel for Spirit to shine and express the beauty of life through them.  With each melodious note, they ascribe meaning and give shape to the artistic visions born within them, and with each composition, they chronicle their inner experiences and invite us to tap into the tune of our own inner drumbeat. 

Music is an incredibly powerful means for communicating - a rhythmic device that helps us fall from the outside in.  Just as musicians become a clear channel for allowing the sacred sounds to flow through them, so must the listeners allow the sonic vibrations to enter them deeply.  In so doing, we engage in a sacred process of co-creation – a reciprocal, harmonic conversation and ritual of sorts, where we honor the sounds as they honor us. 

Through the art of hearing, we merge into the cosmic currents of sound. Each vibration becomes alive, enabling us to feel the pulse of life and energy flow throughout our very beings. The musicians and their sonic creations are merely the creative muses and guides pointing the way to wondrous journeys and healing.  By opening our hearts, accessing our intuition, and surrendering to the mystery of the unknown, we can use these sonic portals to transcend the world of form and shift into new rhythms that reflect our authentic beat.

In my ever-present quest to experience new opportunities for sound healing, one day, I was serendipitously led to Dreamtime Tribe at the Life Force Arts Center (LFAC). Carefully laying down my yoga mat and arranging my pillows all around me, I nestled into my small cocoon of comfort ready for my next journey into bliss.

With Arek’s soft, lilting voice inviting us to focus on our breath, I brought my awareness into my body and shifted into the present moment.  Closing my eyes, soft chimes and crystal bowls ushered me in like a warm blanket enveloping me in a quiet space of peaceful surrender.  Body and breath now rising and falling in harmony with the delicate, celestial sounds around me, my whole being slowed down, eagerly awaiting my astral “tune up.”

The weekend leading up to this grand event had been one of many profound visions and self-realizations – an energetic vortex of spiritual and emotional cleansing via prophetic dreams and transforming real-life experiences.  So, by the time I arrived at LFAC, I was ripe for fully integrating Self into Spirit: my heart, body, and mind were buzzing with energy.  Like flower seeds in the Earth patiently awaiting spring’s arrival, I was ready to break past the restrictive confines of winter’s cold and dreary gloom and burst forth in full bloom.

And so it was that, with each note that followed, I could feel all the tension in my muscles releasing one by one as my body melted into the ground beneath me.  As the earthy, tribal sounds began to play, they pierced my invisible walls of resistance, quieting my mind and filling me with the soothing warmth of the Sun’s radiant light.

Ambient music infused the air as Arek, Mark, and Michael began creating a rich mixture of indigenous and celestial sounds with their didgeridoo, singing bowls, chimes, flutes, and percussive instruments.  Experimental in form, Dreamtime Tribe introduces innovative structures through a simultaneous layering of diverse sounds, combining slow, repetitive rhythms with progressive or sudden shifts in tone.  Ancient, tribal beats are juxtaposed with spacey, ethereal notes, producing an intoxicating composition that is both raw and spellbinding and allows the listener to seamlessly float in and out of consciousness.  Their music strikes a perfect balance of sensory stimulation, mental relaxation, energetic alignment, and sacred connection. 

For the next hour and a half, I would journey throughout this sonic landscape and be transported far beyond my mind and deep into my heart.  In this sacred space, time became an elusive construct where sound embodied the single, unifying force connecting each one of us in a dream-like trance.  We were a community bound together by invisible sound waves – exploring, connecting, dreaming, and celebrating through art and transformation.

As Dreamtime Tribe’s cosmic symphony of multi-part harmonies slowly built up into a crescendo, colorful imagery danced around in my mind’s eye:  I was here and yet so distant from this space.  My body – now a receptive vessel – was more like a quiet observer who stayed behind as I felt my Spirit fly off into another realm.  Like a bird set free from its cage, I was ready to explore this sonic adventure.

Soaring high above the clouds, I saw myself sitting along the shoreline.  The gritty sand formed a damp cushion beneath me as the ocean water lapped around my feet, and a soft, warm breeze caressed my bare skin.  I stretched my hand out towards my lover as we engaged in a loving Tantric ritual: our bellies rose and fell together in tune with the ambient sounds around me while I fed him fresh morsels of exotic island fruits.  All of my senses engaged in a fiery aliveness, I felt firmly rooted to the earth in this foreign land.  Yet, back at LFAC where my physical body lay, I suddenly sensed the floor beneath me tilting.  

Like an intruder, the thoughts emerged:  I “knew” I had not moved, and, yet, I felt my body twitching and turning.  My entire right side seemed to be spiraling up – lifted by some sheer, magnetic force.  Fear settled in momentarily as my monkey-mind struggled and resisted the journey, sensing that its illusory, iron-grip control was now rapidly slipping away.  With a strange mixture of ecstatic awe and slight trepidation, I called upon my Spirit to carry me away. 

All at once, I melted into the sound, becoming one with the rhythm, as every cell of my being began to resonate with the mystical music of Dreamtime Tribe. Succumbing to this indefinable sonic flight, my Spirit soared. Filled with a wondrous sense of well-being, ancestral rhythms hastened their beat – pulsating, vibrating, and coursing through my body.  They created an invisible chord safely anchoring me to the ground as I set my imagination free and wholeheartedly embraced the purity of this moment.  The Universe seemed alive with melody as the music moved in and out of my “conscious hearing.” 

At this time, my Spirit began to dance. I was surrounded by what seemed like an Aborigine tribe. My body swayed and stomped to the indigenous beats. Inside, I could feel my heartbeat mimic the percussive sounds as I outwardly whirled and twirled around the sacred fire now before me.

Repetitive chords created a trance-like state as I danced in this magical ritual honoring Self and Mother Earth. Sacred chanting droned in the background, inviting body and Spirit to align with the sacred sounds.  A rhythmic conversation was born between dancer and musicians – much like the silent conversation between those playing for Dreamtime Tribe.  Like silent, astral whispers, sonic vibrations danced to and fro, jumping from one instrument to the next: each musician intuitively connected to one another through a soulful collaboration epitomizing the beautiful synergy between art and sound – co-creation in the NOW.

Turning back towards the red, Southwestern desert, I saw the landscape shimmer with a luminescent glow as I stepped forth into the fire that would burn away all my “dis-ease.”  The purity of Dreamtime’s sound continued to wash over me as I shed my darkened ashes and stepped over into the other side.  A vortex of energy shot sparks of fiery bliss up my spine, and, like a phoenix rising, I was re-born – floating in a sea of unconditional Love.

The restorative power of sound had once again culminated in a moment of ecstatic transcendence.  I’d been transformed – touched and graced by sound.  I was completely mesmerized and felt profound gratitude for this mysterious, expressive art created by these three men before me who had just gifted us with their divinely inspired and heartfelt musical fusion of sound.

As the music slowed down, I could hear Arek’s gentle whispers inviting our spirits back into this space – asking us to re-join our bodies.  Lying there, I begin to find my way back by wiggling my fingers and my toes.  My body begins to stir.  Serenity fills my being like a lush, velvet blanket.  I lie there in quiet contemplation – reflecting and assimilating what just transpired, as my body is consumed with the raw intensity of emotions and energy that I’ve just released.

A deep peace quickly follows – boundless joy beams out of my heart center like a lotus flower unfolding.  The music of Dreamtime Tribe continues to flow through me like liquid, golden energy circulating throughout my entire being.  I am glowing with pure Light and Love. 

As I step forth to greet them, I am shining – radiant to the core – and, with one small step, I express my deep appreciation and ask about their next performance.  Like a child full of glee, I muse with excited anticipation for the next sonic journey into my heart.

About Dreamtime Tribe
Dreamtime Tribe is a musical collaboration exploring subtle realms of musical harmonies and healing sound vibration and their application as a tool to transcend ordinary consciousness.  Its ambient, trance, and tribal jams utilize didgeridoo, chimes, singing bowls, flutes, percussion, and voice to take us beyond the mind and deep into the heart to receive vision and healing.

Dreamtime Tribe returns LFAC on Sunday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. 

Shantal is a creativity and transformational life consultant, event and program manager, Reiki Master practitioner, Raindrop Technique facilitator, and holistic marketing consultant for individuals and organizations.  Her passion is to empower individuals to transform their lives and nourish their creative dream-making process by providing creative and holistic “soul-lutions” for personal growth and healing.  To learn more about Shantal, please visit her website: www.evoyoution.com