The Meditation of the Senses and the Drum

One of the meditation techniques I am fond of involves opening one's senses and maintaining awareness of all the stimuli coming into your senses all at once.

Typically, I will first close my eyes and begin by rhythmically breathing. I usually do not count my breaths nor do I try to time my breaths to a count, as in the four fold breath with which one may be familiar. I simply breath at a moderately slow pace and try to keep it as even as possible, just becoming one with the breath as much as possible so that it is the only thing in my awareness.

Then I will shift my awareness to my skin, and to all the sensations that my skin is experiencing, from the wind to my clothing to the surface I am sitting on or the ground under my feet. After I feel all of these sensations firmly, I will bring in everything I am hearing, then also everything I might be tasting and smelling, and finally I will open my eyes and try to keep everything I am seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling in my awareness all at once.

This method has the effect of making me presently aware of my connection to all things, and often I will experience a "rushing" of myself out into and through all of creation, and a rushing in of creation into myself, like the waves of the trackless sea, and I am able to experience in that moment a oneness that all things share.

Last night, I tried out my new drum for the first time, a Remo 16 inch buffalo drum. My purpose was simply to "get to know" the drum, to hear its voice and feel its vibrations, and how it acts and reacts to being played in different ways. I did not expect such a strong experience, as I hadn't even cleansed it.

I played first with the light on. I simply wanted to get used to the drum, and it was very enjoyable to play. Next, I turned off the light and played a simple 4/4 time beat over and over, one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four, at about 4 beats per second.

I concentrated on merging with the rhythm so that nothing existed but the rhythm. Before long, I noticed the harmonics that were created by playing this rhythm at this speed, like a didgeridoo constantly droning. After about 15 minutes of drumming while maintaining awareness only of the sound of the drum, I beat out a faster tempo for a few seconds and then stopped.

What I noticed immediately was that the trance and feeling of oneness, which I try to achieve through the meditation of the senses that I outlined above, was very clear and strongly present. I could not believe how strongly I could feel it. It had been rather effortless.