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It will come as a surprise to noone when I say that I love the gongs. I love how they sound, what I can do with them, what they do for others. Yes, yes, gongs are great. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you agree with me here, or at least you are curious about gongs. Maybe you are curious about gongs as muciscal instruments, or 'sound healing' instruments, or meditation...

Gong baths are an enigma. On one hand they seem so special, exotic even. On the other hand, they create profound shifts in the quality of our lives. The challenge is to see a gong bath, not as something totally strange, but something that can be a regular part of life.  Because of the special nature of gong baths, many of us, including me, have associated them with special events. Something to...

by Alan Steinborn Berlin, February, 1994. In Berlin, a city known for its heavy winters, there is a district named Neuköln--an area made of hard stone and cold steel where the winter colors on display were gray, gray, and gray. February was a time of little sun in Berlin; about 5 hours a day, and even then the sun seemed doubtful of itself. As if it had forgotten how to shine, how to warm.  It...

I gave my first gong bath, sort of, only 2 days after I first played a gong. That may sound doubtful or even crazy, but it is nevertheless true. Here is what happened: On a Wednesday afternoon, a UPS man showed up with a big van and unloaded some big boxes, which contained gongs, a gong stand and some mallets. Like an over sugared 5 year old on Christmas, I ripped open the boxes and immediately...

This is an article I wrote 14 years ago. I hope you enjoy. Please note, back 2009, the word for a smart phone was 'cell phone.' I love cell phones. Who doesn't love cell phones? Sure, we complain about them all the time. The endless distractions, the instant temptation to check out of the present moment if there is the slightest possibility of not having anything to do for a moment, we are all...

Sweet Darkness When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own. There you can be sure you are not beyond love. The dark will be your womb tonight. The night will give you a horizon further than you can see. You must learn one thing: the world was made to be free...

Qigong teacher Daniela Nea Cho Hauri has a unique perspective on how to best approach a gong bath. She is a wonderful teacher of Qigong who I am proud to call my partner in all the sessions I offer that have qigong and gong baths. We have  a weekly session, New Moon Sessions every 3 months or so and now we are about to have a one day special session. (To see what sessions we have coming up,...

If I say the word 'meditation,' what comes to you? What do you picture when you think of this word? If you are like me, you picture someone with eyes closed, maybe a little smile on their face. Or maybe you think about how the word 'meditation' relates to you personally. Me? At this moment, I picture my daughter staring at a candle. This is pure imagination. She is 6 years old, and trust me, she...

Gong playing is no different from any other pursuit. You can study from others, you can read books, but to really get it, you need to get into it. Here are 9 principles that have served me well, and might serve you well in a pursuit that matters to you. 1. Learn the macro from the micro. People often ask how I learned to play the gongs. The answer? By playing one gong at a time, one mallet at a...