April 16, 2024 • 51 mins
Air Date - 15 April 2024
Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Sound Healing with Fay Johnstone
Introducing the next captivating episode of VOICE RISING on OMTimes Radio, where Voice Visionary Kara Johnstad will be in conversation with Fay Johnstone, author of "Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Intuitive Healing with Sound and Vibration."
Join us as we explore the potent combination of Reiki and drumming techniques, empowering practitioners to deepen their practice and bring healing to themselves and others. Discover how to select and attune to a drum, harness its unique power, and integrate vibrational sound and shamanic journeying into your healing work. Learn how these practices can not only support the awakening of our intuitive voice but also heal and empower our vocal expression. Don't miss this enlightening discussion on VOICE RISING!
#FayJohnstone #KaraJohnstad #VoiceRising #ShamanicReiki #Drumming #VibrationalWellness #HealingJourney
Visit Fay Johnstone at https://fayjohnstone.com
To get in touch with Kara Johnstad, go to http://www.karajohnstad.com/
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Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Sound Healing with Fay Johnstone
Introducing the next captivating episode of VOICE RISING on OMTimes Radio, where Voice Visionary Kara Johnstad will be in conversation with Fay Johnstone, author of "Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Intuitive Healing with Sound and Vibration."
Join us as we explore the potent combination of Reiki and drumming techniques, empowering practitioners to deepen their practice and bring healing to themselves and others. Discover how to select and attune to a drum, harness its unique power, and integrate vibrational sound and shamanic journeying into your healing work. Learn how these practices can not only support the awakening of our intuitive voice but also heal and empower our vocal expression. Don't miss this enlightening discussion on VOICE RISING!
#FayJohnstone #KaraJohnstad #VoiceRising #ShamanicReiki #Drumming #VibrationalWellness #HealingJourney
Visit Fay Johnstone at https://fayjohnstone.com
To get in touch with Kara Johnstad, go to http://www.karajohnstad.com/
Visit the Voice Rising show page https://omtimes.com/iom/shows/voice-rising/
Subscribe to our Newsletter https://omtimes.com/subscribe-omtimes-magazine/
Connect with OMTimes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Omtimes.Magazine/ and OMTimes Radio https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousRadiowebtv.OMTimes/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OmTimes/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omtimes/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Voice Rising with Kara Johnstad. Enjoy weekly conversations with leading luminaries,
pioneering visionaries, singers, poets,musicians, and sound healers as we explore
the profound role our voice plays onthe path to self realization and global enlightenment.
The internationally acclaimed singer, composer,author, healer, recording artist,
(00:24):
voice expert, creator of Voice YourEssence, and founder of the School of
Voice, Kara Johnstad uses her extraordinaryspiritual gifts to empower others. Everything in
this world vibrates, everything has afrequency. A pioneer in the field of
voice work and transformational songwriting, herbreakthrough methods are helping thousands of people worldwide
(00:47):
fine tune their body, mind,spirit system and unlock the energetic frequencies of
limitless creativity, health and abundance.Share your voice, ask your questions,
join in the conversation, receive lifechanging positive transformation, and rise together to
create a sound world. And here'syour host, Kara Johnstad. Hello everybody,
(01:12):
and welcome to another enlightening episode ofVoice Rising. Today, I am
happy to introduce you to a remarkableguest whose passion for plants and people and
the rhythm of life has led heron a transformative journey blending reiki, she
Gong, creative shamanism, and plantmedicine. Joining us today is Fay Johnstone,
(01:38):
an acclaimed author and a reiki practitionerwhose books including Plants That Speak,
Souls That Sing, and Plant SpiritReiki have inspired countless individuals to connect with
the healing power of nature. Andtoday we're diving into Fay's latest book,
Shamanic Reiki Drumming Intuitive Healing with Soundand Vibration, and this comprehensive guide delves
(02:02):
into the fascinating world of shamanic drumming, offering reiki practitioners powerful techniques to enhance
their practice, and Fay explores howthe rhythmic beat of the drum can deepen
our connection with intuition, spirit guidesin the natural world, ultimately bringing empowerment,
healing, and clarity to both ourselvesand for all of you out there
(02:25):
that are doing reiki for your clients. So I welcome you warmly, Faye
to Voice Rising. Oh, thankyou so much. I'm delighted to be
here. Thank you. Yeah,it's so good to have you. And
first of all, congratulations on yournew book. It's got to feel wonderful
having it out into the world.The cover is gorgeous. Yeah, thank
(02:49):
you. You know, I neverthis is why the journey of reiki,
and you know, when we startto kind of go on that inner exploration
journey, whether it's reiky, energy, healing, meditation, all the sort
of lovely tools we have. That'swhy it's so fascinating because I never really
thought of myself as a writer,never had an imagining that I could write
(03:12):
a book, and now it turnsout I've written three and I actually love
writing. It's really in a sensedecided. It's I'm allowing myself to have
that title of author and creative writer, and it's you know, it is
one of my passions. I didn'trealize, but you know, I got
there in the end, so it'sgreat. Well, it's probably when the
(03:36):
voice channel is open, then itflows in all directions, right, whether
we're writing or whether we're singing withthe drum, you do have a moment
in the drum where you're also connectingit with the voice, with reclaiming our
voice. And so that is myown experience. So sometimes we think we
can't do it, but once we'rein deep flow and Reiki helps the energy
(03:58):
to flow, and drumming helps theenergy to low, and maybe a little
bit of singing and maybe standing alsoin your beautiful gardens with your plants.
Then it's it's easier to write thosebooks. And they're they're beautiful books.
So we thank you for that.Yeah, thank you. I think I
really agree with you. I feelthat when it was definitely the plants that
(04:19):
unlocked, there was something that definitelykind of loosened or unlocked, you know,
in my voice with you know,my book, my first book.
You know, plants that speak,souls that sing, That's exactly what I
used to do, sing to myplants. And I still sing to my
plants and actually drumming and dancing andall the things. Really, so actually,
yeah, it's that loosening of thevoice and yeah, the creative expression.
(04:44):
So yeah, it comes through inmy writing. And we'll see,
you know, I'm I'm still developing, I'm still on the journey, so
we'll see what else it comes through. But yes, certainly the writing at
the moment is where I'm enjoying.I mean, I really enjoy teaching.
I really enjoy is sharing the thingsthat I discover to help others. And
so that's why writing a book oryou know, is a easy way to
(05:10):
put it all down. Yeah,share with us a little bit. Your
new book is called Shamanic Reiki Drumming. What are the origins of shamanism and
how does drumming play such a vitalrole in this practice. Well, that's
a great question. I think forthe Westerner we can get very excited when
(05:30):
we kind of hear about shamanic practice, and we also make up lots of
stories about it. I think Idon't feel that any particular culture can kind
of claim it as their own becauseit's so innate in you know, if
you like the first cultures of theworld. You know, we have evidence
in Cave Art of these the firstpeople who were finding a way, if
(05:59):
you liked, to honor the earthand to connect with the plants and the
animals. And so this is reallysort of the core of what shamanism is.
This is this innate spirituality, away of connect or really, if
you're like realizing that connection that wehave with the earth and each other and
(06:20):
every every everything, really everything thatkind of is in this living world with
us, and the drum is againI really enjoyed actually kind of leaning into
the drum because I mean it reallychanged. The drumming has completely changed my
life. And again, I thinkwe tend to feel it's attributed to different
(06:45):
cultures, you know, in today'sworld, but actually if we look at
indigenous or ancient cultures, even fromBabylonian times, we can see, you
know, the women were drummers.Women were oracles who would have a hand
handteld frame drum. And so it'sI feel, I mean, I love
to one of the things I loveto do, and anyone listening who loves
(07:06):
to drum, I love to reallyhonor you know, drum by honoring all
of the drummers or all of thewomen, particularly because i'm, you know,
a woman. I love to youknow, connect with the women who
were drummers way before, you know, before before in in in the in
the ancestors, and bring them intomy space with my drama and the drum.
(07:28):
You know, it's it's over centuries, it's been, it's been.
Some cultures think it's female, somefeel it's masculine. We use the drum
in initiation rights, in ceremony,in celebration, it's you know, celebrating
a harvest, for example, celebratinga birthday, a wedding, funerals.
(07:48):
There's all sorts of ways that thedrum has been, you know, to
bring people together, to create thatcommunity. And I think actually it was
even banned in the United States ata certain period of history because of the
way it was bringing certain communities together. So it's very interesting the drum.
(08:09):
Many things, Yeah, no,I was just thinking many things are banned.
I know that the fiddle was.It was similar in Scandinavian countries.
They had the fiddle and they coulduse the fiddle to make you know,
joyous music for weddings and also verybeautiful sad music at funerals, and at
some point they were all burned,right, they were not allowed to play
(08:30):
the fiddle. And so it's reallybeautiful that we are connecting to these instruments.
As far as I know from mystudies, it was the drum,
the flute, and the human voicethat was kind of the the beginning of
people sharing music, singing together,singing melodies. And we say we have
ear drums and heartbeats. Right,It's like it's greatly inside of our beautiful
(08:54):
body. And I'm very happy thatit seems to be a there's a movement
for people to start more and moredrumming for health and for wellness. And
we know that once we start drumming, we can drum alone, but in
community, Like you said, it'sjust so beautiful because we can. We're
(09:16):
all SYNCD at some point. We'reall just in one kind of pattern of
rhythms, right, Yeah, that'sright, And it's interesting. I never
I mean at school when I wasgrowing up, I used to play the
saxophone. Actually I never thought ofmyself as a singer, and I actually
never really thought of myself as verymusical. And that's why I often,
(09:39):
you know, I always say topeople what we think of is you know
that that classic Oh you know someonewho's got musical talent. When you pick
up the drum, it's something Ifeel like, it's really something in my
body that connects with that beat ofthe drum. Perhaps this heartbeat you know
what you were just saying, theheartbeat that we have. It's just our
(10:01):
internal rhythm, you know, ourown because I feel that we're all we
are all an absolute orchestra. Youknow, every every cell in our body
is vibrating. We all have ourown unique frequency and so I feel from
there are many people who you know, just feel that cool if they want
to pick up the drum. Andand that's why. Yeah, like you
(10:24):
say, gathering in a group isa way that you can. It really
engenders a sense of connection as well, uh, you know, getting into
sync and drumming together, and itreally does the you know, the repetitive
beat of the drum. It takesus to an ex a place of expanded
consciousness, as does you know,singing and listening to a beautiful piece of
(10:46):
music. It takes us somewhere else. It takes us perhaps out of our
bodies, out of our worries,out of our everyday life. And and
we you know, we we connectto something which you know, which you
can't touch with you know, whichyou can't touch on the material plane.
(11:07):
Yeah, and you also can't touchit with maybe just turning on the radio.
There's something about holding the drum,about feeling the vibration in front of
your heart, about walking with it. And as I remember learning once,
you know, with my drum,it was like the basic it's like connect
with your feet and you have theyou know, the the even meters and
(11:31):
then the heart is more syncopated,and it's basically this this constant playing with
these rhythms that are around us allthe time. So you do something fascinating
in your book For those of youout there, I mean I have my
my Reki degree, so I doknow all the symbols, and yet I
thought it was so fascinating that youstart connecting these symbols onto the drum,
(11:56):
drawing them onto the drum, playingthem on the drum. Talk a little
bit more about maybe about reiki andthe reiki symbols, which is normally in
the second I do say second degreein Germany you say the grade second grade,
but it must be the second level, right, second level and then
(12:16):
the master level. How did youdid? Was it just by chance that
you just started exploring merging your yourexperience as a reiki practitioner with then the
drum. Well, many years agoI was actually taught a technique called the
reiki drum technique, and with alady and many there are many many practitioners
(12:39):
around, and it was a ladycalled Sarah greg here in the UK,
and she taught me. She introducedthis idea of working with the symbols and
the drum, nice and It madeabsolute sense to me because I so so
reiki. Uh you know, wewe work with reiki. It's this beautiful,
(13:01):
high vibrational to high frequency of healingenergy. And so the symbols,
I got to know the symbols,as you say, when we start to
learn the second level, when wego a little bit deeper into different aspects
of reiki, and what we thesymbols. You know, we can see
them, we can write them downon a flat bit of paper, so
(13:22):
we can remember what they're like.But that's not what the symbol is any
let any more than you know myname Faye is Fay written down on a
bit of paper. You know whatyou're referring to, But it's not me.
It's not the essence of me.And so the symbols are and an
energetic kind of frequency all about allof themselves. And so actually when we
(13:43):
drun them, or even when wechance them, you know, this is
really moving into this beautiful kind ofreal connection, and it really helps to
shift and conjure up this element issort of specific quality, if you like,
of the symbol or of the reki, an aspect of the reiki energy.
And so drumming the symbols is away to again connect in a deeper
(14:09):
way with the symbols and really startto feel them in a different way.
So drumming and chanting I really wouldrecommend to anyone who's playing with the symbols
and learning them and getting to knowthem. And actually I was always taught
to draw the symbols in the airand jump into them, feel them,
you know, And so drumming withthem is a very similar idea, sort
(14:35):
of putting that frequency out there intothe room and then feeling for how it
shifts the atmosphere in the same wayas if I was to say, you
know, you know, I loveyou, I love you, I love
you, or the opposite you,or shout at somebody. You know,
we feel the difference, don't we, in the quality of the energy.
(14:58):
And it's like that when we werewhen we play with the symbols, And
so, yes, I talk aboutit in the book, I talk about
charging our drum with the symbols.So there's a symbol that we call the
power symbol, for example, whichis all about kind of putting the power
of the universe into the drum,and it's very useful or into the focus
(15:20):
the client or the issue, andso it's wonderful for ground and it's also
wonderful for clearing an energy space.So if you can imagine drumming with the
intention to clear a space of negativeenergy and also putting in that very powerful
symbol, it's a real it's Itjust adds another element to the practice,
(15:41):
which I absolutely love and I knowthat clients enjoy it too. So that's
why the symbols are Yeah, they'reWe obviously can drum and we can do
reiki without the symbols, but theyadd another They add another sort of flavor
to it. They help us todive into different qualities or different aspects of
the reiki energy, which again areuseful for different issues that we come up
(16:03):
with when we're when we're when we'rehelping clients heal. Yeah, they add
another dimension. How is it foryou fee with your own voice? On
your own voice Journey, you saidyou've played saxophone. We know the voice
you were talking now about chanting withthe drum, I can imagine we also
have the ability to set intentions todo affirmations. So many of us have
(16:29):
been shut down with our voice.Not everybody feels free with the voicing it.
The drum also helps us reconnect toour own voice while we're chanting and
toning. Were you someone who couldalways speak out and sing out or was
it a new territory for you alsoto get to know your beautiful voice?
Oh? Absolutely no, I didn'tspeak out at all. I was actually
(16:52):
incredibly shy growing up, not lacking, you know, lacking in confidence and
so on. The person in thephotograph with the head looking down, you
know, that type of that typeof person growing up. And so actually
learning reiki, connecting to the energy, it's been for me a real journey
in terms of, you know,discovering myself, discovering the magical person that
(17:18):
I always was, but I triedto hide it. And so what I
noticed with reiki, it was reallyit really was when I started to you
know, I think for me,when I started to work with the drama
and when I started to kind ofdelve into the practices of shamanism, it
was like it was like opening acan of worms. It was like I
had so many questions. I wasso sort of all aspects of my spirit
(17:42):
were so excited about this that Isort of really it really, I feel
like catapulted me on a path wherereiki had been taking me nice and slowly
and unfolding in a very gentle way. But as soon as I added the
drama and my shamanic practice, Ireally started to open up. And this
is where, yes, I startedto notice that during treatments, I wanted
(18:04):
to speak. I wanted to sing. I wanted to kind of make a
sound as if to move energy outof my body or across the room,
and so on. And I again, I remember, at first, the
first time this happened, I wouldfeel I would be feeling very self conscious.
I was thinking, goodness, I'mnot you know. All the judgment
(18:26):
came in. Oh, you can'tdo that. That's not reiki, that's
not how you've been taught. Youdon't know how to sing, you can't
do this all of this. Andactually I got through that because I couldn't
keep it in. I couldn't keepin this this sound that needed to kind
of move through me. And soI do. And I say to clients
(18:47):
when they come for a treatment,you know, I might sing, I
might make music. I might Imight put plants on you. There.
There's all sorts of things that mighthappen because I just allow myself to be
guided. And I actually feel thatthat's in a sense the original teaching of
reiki is for it to be simpleand it to be, you know,
(19:10):
allowing ourselves to be guide. Well, well, that's in a sense how
I teach. I really encourage peopleto allow themselves to be intuitively guided.
And I am a very and ithas meant that now I am a very
creative if you like reiki practitioner,because I'm just kind of the judgment around
oh no, I can't do that. I've put that aside now and said,
(19:34):
well, what happens if I did. Let's try, Let's see,
let's see what happens. So,yes, I have. Reiki actually has
shown me that you know, it'ssafe to it's it's safe to use my
voice. And how wonderful, whatan expression. I love that because everything
(19:55):
has frequency and all the plans havedifferent frequencies. And I think you also
work with crystals and stones, andyou know, the trees have their own
voices. And I would adore goingto someone for a session and have them
sing or or touch my tiny toeand have a tone come out or something.
I think it'd be magical. It'smagical, right, and I think
(20:18):
it reminds us of a time whenwe were held and sung to the lullabies.
The you know this is these arepractices that people have forgotten, that
we used to be cuddled and reallylifted up and held and rocked and sung
to, and our ear was closeto the heart of our mother or father
(20:41):
and we could hear that beat andthey and we'd be hummed and sung to.
Right. And so I can imaginethat in a session, when you're
able to do that, or whenwhen everything feels in harmony, that it's
very magical, very enchanting, verywonderful. Yeah, you just made me
think about my mum there when yousaid, oh, yes, when we
(21:03):
were little lullabies. I mean,yeah, that's the most beautiful thing.
And I'm going to tell a storyactually about thinking about singing. I once
this was many many years ago,right really, when I was I was
in my twenties and I was atthe start of my if you like,
my spiritual expiration of things, andI a friend suggested I go on a
woman's retreat. And I was incrediblyreluctant really because I just couldn't sort of
(21:29):
understand why would I want to goon that and anyway, it was a
very tender, loving space that washeld for the weekend. And what was
so beautiful, and this will giveanyone who runs retreats beautiful ideas now,
is every morning we were woken up. You know, you know on retreats,
(21:49):
you kind of get woken up andyou get to do a lovely early
session of yoga, or a lovelyor a lovely sort of walk to hear
the birds on things like that.But we were woken up by women singing.
And these this group of women weresinging as they walked down the corridor
and that's what that's the sound thatwoke you up. And it was so
(22:11):
it was beautiful. And then acouple of years later I got to start
to be a member of staff whowas volunteering on the same retreat, and
I got to be one of thesingers with who went round and it was
just lovely, lovely experience. Becauseit's like you say, it's not the
sort of thing that happens to uson a daily basis. We don't often
(22:32):
get sung to, but it's incrediblymoving and it felt so caring to be
the receiver and also the giver ofthat, uh that lovely, that lovely
opportunity, that lovely sort of experiencefor people waking up. It was soft
and nurturing and caring. That thatbeautiful side of the divine feminine, you
(22:56):
know, that is that is mysecret fantasy thing. I have this fantasy
that everybody at sunrise would just opentheir windows all around the world and then
just sing like I love you,I love life, like something beautiful,
and then we just all look ateach other, all the strangers and all
the neighbors and all the friends.And then after a few moments, we'd
(23:17):
closed the windows and everybody go maketheir tea and coffee and go on with
their day. You know. ButI just have this idea that if we
would remember there's a beautiful quote.I can't remember it, but it's something
about how when women were birds,and also this idea that the birds they
sing in the darkness and trust inthe light. You know, one of
(23:40):
these beautiful I have to find thisquote again. I'm gonna dig it out.
Anyway, We're going to take avery very short break and take a
brief pause, and then we're gonnacome back with more of shamanic reggy drumming
with Frey Faye Johnstone. Faye JohnstoneConscious Media for Conscious Minds, Home Times.
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(25:22):
This is Kathy Biele, host ofCelestial Compass, featuring astrology, you
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Hosting a show on IOMFM immediately connectsyou with our extensive dedicated community. You
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Org brought to you by Feeding Americaand the AD Council. Welcome back.
We're here with Fay Johnstone diving intothe transformative power of shamanic reiki drumming.
(26:55):
And if you're enjoying this conversation,don't forget to subscribe to Voice Rising on
your favorite streaming platform and share thisepisode with your friends, because your support
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shows are also on the archives atHome Times Radio, so you can check
out all the episodes. So I'mgoing to jump right back in Welcome back
(27:18):
Faye to the show. Thank you. Yes, I'm just enjoying. I'm
really enjoying just sort of almost likethat. It's just the reminder of how
much to express ourselves is so andit just really feels true. I think
what we're really at the essence ofthis is expression. It's creative expression.
(27:41):
It's really all about the true naturethat doesn't always get to express itself.
And I feel that that's for bothof us. That's the nuts and bolts
of our work, is helping peopleconnect with our true nature and find a
way that delights us that we canexpress it, you know, and share
(28:03):
it with others. I think you'retotally right on, right on the money,
right on the mark. Expression isso important, and creativity is really
our nature, right so I think, and energy, we're energy being.
So I love that you're weaving theseall these different practices together. And you
(28:26):
know, you mentioned your mom andI was mentioning lullabies. And I have
this very strange theory. People thinkthat when we're born, it's our cry
that comes out into the world.But I wonder sometimes, as a mother
myself, if we're not carrying thevoice of the river of women that have
that have birthed all of us ontothe planet Earth. And I was going
(28:48):
to ask you, how does drummingwith nature help to restore the connection to
our true selves and honor the ancestors? How does it connect us to our
lineage? Wow? Wow, goodness. In a way, I want to
say, well, how can itnot? You know, I mean,
(29:10):
firstly, when when we're out innature, you know, we're already we
are already nature. We have justcompletely forgotten that that's what we are.
And we've put up all these barriersaround us. And we live in lovely
square houses and lots of built upareas, and you know we we we've
made ourselves very separate from the naturalworld. So we are nature and I
(29:33):
feel like practices like drumming or meditating, for example, what what the drum
is doing is it's it's taking usback to it or really it's helping this
expansion of who we are. It'staking us out of the small box that
we put ourselves in. You know, the same with singing, dancing,
meditating. It's it's taken it.It takes us out of that small box.
(29:56):
It takes us out of that sortof pattern that we've got ourselves into,
and it helps us connect to thefield. It helps us to expand
our state of consciousness and in anincreased awareness of of who we are,
and we feel connected. And that'sreally the part that it connects us to
the field. So this is andso when we're out in nature, we
(30:19):
we really it helps us to kindof almost like it sounds very cheesy,
but connect to the oneness of whatwe are. You know, this this
truth of what we are, whichis you know that we're part of this
beautiful kind of it's it's kind oflike a soup. It's the void,
it's the creative source, it's theit's this this unity consciousness that's what we
(30:41):
are. And so drumming really helpsreally, I mean, I really think
it drops. It's almost like ithelps us to drop the form of where
we've we've put ourselves in. Weget ourselves, we make ourselves small,
we put ourselves into boxes with labels. We we get into patterns which aren't
(31:02):
really our original pattern And I feel, so, you know I mentioned earlier,
I feel that we are a beautifulorchestra. Our body, every organ
in the body has has a specificfrequency. And when we drum, the
drum really helps our whole body asan orchestra come into it's it's you know,
(31:25):
find the right notes again, orrather I should say, that's what
I'm working to do. When I'mworking with people to heal, that's what
I'm working to do. I'm workingto help them almost remember their original frequency,
their original so their original nature,but their original song. If you
like that, they that they areon the beat, you know, the
(31:47):
beat of their own drum. Reallythat heartbeat, the that the source of
who they are, that original nature. And actually, so when we're out
in nature, it really helps usto connect and remember and it's much easier
in a sense to feel the beautyof nature. If you're singing, dancing,
drumming, because you kind of droppedthat, You've dropped your I feel
(32:10):
like you've dropped your strict humanness andyou've connected to the field of imagination and
creativity. Share with us a powerfulexperience that you remember, either either with
yourself or with a client, wheredrumming and reiki combined and then suddenly there
was a profound healing moment. Mmwow, Okay, I'm just trying to
(32:37):
think what do I want to share? Which do I want to share?
Well, you know what I'm toshare. This was a group. I
used to run. These groups.I love, I love being I love
sort of working with groups, andso I used to run a and years
(32:59):
ago, I I was teaching meditation. So this is gonna be a long
story now, but I used toteach meditation and I found that I found
that everyone was struggling in meditation becauseit's hard, isn't it. If you've
had a busy day and someone's askingyou to focus on your breath and meditate,
and you're thinking, well, I'vegot the shopping list to do,
and I've got the ironing, andI got to get my kids to school,
and I got to get a thing, and so what And then what
(33:21):
I did. I switched from teachingmeditation to helping people with the drum.
So I started to I thought,you know what, guys, we're going
to work with the drum. AndI instantly saw their brain waves almost like
the whole room, the brain wavesshifted into a much deeper sense of relaxation,
expansion, and so on. Andfrom then on I started to do
(33:45):
group sort of like you know,well anything up to sort of like twenty
five people, but drum circles inwhich actually and in these particular ones,
I was the only one who wasdrumming. Everybody was there. And I
think lots of people do this nowthey call it a sound journey, or
they do the gong bars. Youknow, there's all sorts of these things.
(34:06):
Back in the day, there didn'tused to be many people doing this.
And I and what was lovely isI had my dad visiting me one
and he said, I said,oh, well, just come along,
just come along and sit in thecorner. You don't have to do anything,
just lie down, you know,just don't embarrass me. You know,
the thing that you have to sayto your dad, and it was
(34:28):
lovely and actually what And I wouldgo around everybody drumming and I would sing
and I'd perhaps add some other instrumentsas well, but it was mainly drumming.
And at the end of that,and this is my dad who Dad's
always let me do reiki, buthe's never really they're still quite conservative,
my parents, So they don't theydon't. They love me, and they
go along with the things that Ido, but they don't necessarily follow them
(34:51):
themselves. You know, they'll they'llgive it a go. And so he
gave it a go. But hewhen I saw him at the end of
the session, his eyes were hehad such a clarity in his vision.
And he'd been very sad because hehad been going through a process where he
had to sell a boat that hehad been had sailed around Britain in when
(35:17):
he retired. He had this sortof, if you like, big process
of sailing by himself around Britain tocelebrate his retirement. It was just,
you know, it was his voyagehe longed to do. And actually,
at this particular time when we weredrumming, he'd had to sell the boat
(35:37):
because he'd realized that actually he couldn'tkeep it on because he was getting old
and there were things he couldn't managewithin the boat. So this whole process,
it was kind of a grief.You know. I didn't realize that
he had been carrying a grief.And he looked at me with such a
clarity in his eyes, almost asif you know, before he'd had that
(36:00):
grief that people carry with them,and he just looked really clearly and he
said, oh, thank you.I think you've helped me release I think
that was with his word release vagabond, because Vagabond was the name of the
boat, and I was and Igave him a massive hug, and it
was just there was just something there. It was really tender and really beautiful.
(36:24):
And that that's just when you said, what think of something that was
just an that was an That wasa very tender example that came to mind.
Actually. But I so this isan example in the sense of how
the drama is helping release something anenergy that somebody's carrying which isn't necessarily serving
(36:45):
them anymore. You know, thesethings which are kind of like we kind
of we have to hold on tothem, but actually it's taking all our
energy to hold on, and wereally need to let things go. So
grief, things like grief, depression, anxiety, I find time and time
again and again, and it goesback to that finding remembering our true nature.
(37:07):
Many examples of people who sort offeel they're a bit floaty, they're
not quite sure what they want todo or the direction of their life that's
going in. But actually a fewtimes coming and connecting with the drum,
they've got more. There's more solidity, there's more groundedness, there's more focus,
and there's more of that remembering ofwhat brings us joy, what brings
(37:30):
somebody joy, what direction do theywant their life to go in. So
it's very very powerful the and whatI love actually also is people, you
know, I love to drum overthe body. And obviously absolutely not in
any shape or form near the headand the heart, these kind of sense
(37:51):
of areas, but I love thedrum over the body because actually those drum
beats, you know, it's sound. Sound doesn't stop at your body,
it goes through it, so soundso physically that sound kind of moves the
body. And actually sometimes people canfeel it on their skin, they can
feel the drum beat moving and thenobviously imagining it going through the tissues and
(38:15):
it's moving stagnant emotions, it's movingstagnant energy, it's moving these processes that
need to that need to well.Whatever needs to be released by the body
will be released, you know.And it's all part of the intention when
we work with clients, you know, we have that clear intention of what's
(38:35):
healing is needed, and we invitethat into the session. So I hope
that's a good enough example for you. Yes, as gorgeous. I mean,
what would you advise Now you've doneall these circles, you have so
many clients, and this is youryour book, right that's coming out into
the world. What would you advisefor people that are listening and they would
(38:58):
like to make we find a drumor pick up a drum and start a
practice a daily who knows meditation,maybe they want to drum and then sit
down and write in their journal,or maybe they want to drum and sing.
Or maybe they're lucky and they're notin an urban city apartment, but
(39:20):
they do have a garden and theycan go barefoot in the spring and drum.
What would what would you suggest forthe very first step so somebody who
wants to take a sneak peek intothe life of drumming, well, I'm
trying to. So there's lots ofaural in my book. I've actually got
(39:43):
lots of suggestions of the sort ofthe dudes and don'ts, and the pros
and cons of different types of drums, because you know, I started and
I still have this most gorgeous syntheticVegan drum. It's a sixteen inch Vegan
drum and I've had it now wellsince two thousand and nine, and the
sound is, the quality of thatsound is still as beautiful as it was
(40:06):
the first time I picked it up. So some people might find that they're
really drawn to certain drums. AndI always say, allow yourself to be
guided, and you might find thatif you're very intentionally wanting to drum,
that you simply it's sort of youknow things, the universe conspires to deliver
(40:28):
you a drum, or to connectyou with people who make drumas and so
on. But once you've got yourselfa drum, it's really important to connect
with the drums and to get toknow the drum. Because drums have names,
they have a spirit, you know, one of my drums, for
example, is made of a deerhide and which I made, and I've
dyed it with black walnuts and it'sgot hemlock as it's would. So there's
(40:52):
a lot of different elements within thatdrum, and that drum is very particular
about the quality, if you like, of of the music, of the
rhythm, of the of the journeythat that drum will take you on.
So I feel like the drum actuallytends to lead people into their practice.
(41:14):
So that's almost like the first thingis asking your drum to connect with you.
What does it need? You know, Sometimes drums will almost like people
have an inkling of Oh, I'vegot this drum and it feels like I
need to paint, you know,I need to paint something on it,
or like in the case of oneof my drums, I didn't paint it,
(41:37):
but I I've hung loads of It'sgot lots of crystals and ribbons and
magical things or rather meaningful things forme which I've I've connected I've hung on
the drum at the back. Soin a sense, there's a there's a
connection to do with the drum firstbefore you and then really you're guided see.
(42:00):
Once you've got your drum, ifyou like, as your guide,
the drum will lead you to placespeople. And now that was the first
part of your question, was I'msure there was a second part that I'm
no. I think that's that's great. It's just how to start integrating it
into like as as a practice.And I and I love this idea of
(42:23):
asking our drum, being guided tothe drum. Right you said to ask
in a way to ask the universeor ask your guides, like show me
where my druma is waiting for me? Right, It's like show me,
show me perhaps where the beautiful treeis that I'm gonna, you know,
sit under while I nick with mylunch or something. And the idea also
(42:46):
of naming things. I love thepractice of naming things. And I think
that your work is so important.I've often said that, you know,
our planet is in such disarray inso many ways, and it's really what
you were saying before the connection.We've lost the connection. And I can
(43:08):
say this for myself. I'm afabulous singer. I do a lot of
coaching, I do a lot ofwriting. I'm very blessed. I have
a wonderful life and yet I'm learningto garden right in the last year.
So I lived Inly and I havea community garden, and I'm just stunned
that I grew up on a verybig farm in the middle of Wisconsin and
(43:30):
I don't know anything, like Iam just so innocent. I am so
innocent, and I go in themorning and I sit in the garden and
I really, you know, Itry to read books and plant seeds,
but I feel like, Wow,the last two or three generations my answers
(43:51):
just came from Scotland and from Norway, and they knew a lot about the
land and about preserving food and abouthonoring the land. And as an American,
I've forgotten so much. And Ieven grew up on a farm.
And so if we're going to savethe planet, I think what your work
shows us and I'm trying to dothe same and with my work is that
(44:13):
we need to connect to the landand to ourselves and to our bodies and
to our intuition, and to allowourselves to be in that innocent space like
that and not feel shame or guiltthat that that the supermarkets grew up too
fast around our ears right, andjust allow ourselves to be innocent again and
(44:37):
to ask the drum and our voiceand the earth, how can we serve?
How can we serve you? Yeah, one of my favorite questions,
One of my favorite questions is toask what is needed here? You know?
And that's what I often ask becauseI think especially I think. So
(44:59):
there's two things wanted to say.The first is actually that innocence, that
childlike innocence of not knowing is reallyactually, in a sense, the best
way to connect with the plants andnature, because you know, when you
just need to see, you know, if you this is a wonderful thing
to do, if you've got ifanyone listening has got young kids, you
(45:20):
know, if you go out toa sort of park or a garden and
you within you know, ten minutes, you could say to the child,
come on, can you show mewhere's your favorite place? Can you take
me to your favorite place here?And they will. They would take you
to their favorite place that they foundin this park or your garden, or
they'd take you to, you know, a favorite flower or tree or whatever.
(45:45):
And that is almost like this childlikecuriosity. So in a sense,
when we're in nature, having thatinner child, who can show you things
and be delighted in you know,you know, you know, especially you
know what children are like, Oh, I'm so delighted because look, this
bit's really squidgy here and this,this plant does this and and uh and
(46:05):
this is all prickly you know,things like that, whereas an adult we
tend to shy away. We'll stickon the path. And again, what
you were sort of alluded to,there's a bit of there can be a
bit of shame around. Well,I don't know, I don't know,
I don't know that, or Idon't know its name, so I can't
I can't interact with it because Idon't know that plant's name. But children
don't have that. So it's soit's a lovely innocence. And that's how
(46:30):
we connect because we we we're notyou know, we're not We bring ourselves.
We have to sort of take ourselvesoff our high our high horse,
and kids aren't on that high horse. Generally, they're they're much more like,
oh great, let's do this.And in this sense, that's how
we need to be when we're outin nature. That helps us connect in
connect plants. Yeah, yeah,it's beautiful. Yeah, what is your
(46:52):
vision what is your vision? Youhave you have a we have a couple
of last minutes to know me.You you have you're singing to your plants,
and you wrote this beautiful book.What would you love to see as
a transformation for our world as weare at this huge turning point, right,
(47:15):
these are very evolutionary times we have. I mean, we've always had
wars and everything else the planet is, you know, the polar bears are
already losing their ice caps, andyet we have a very strong movement for
meditation and singing and music. Andso what would your vision be fe Why?
(47:37):
Yeah, well, I absolutely lovethat you were talking about the importance
of food and that sort of sovereigntyover sovereignty over your body, your your
kind of wellness, what knowing selfand what feels right for me? And
starting almost like you know, whenI when I teach people about plant connection,
I talk about feeling our way,not thinking our way. Let's feel
(48:00):
a way. Does this feel right? How does this feel for me?
And yes, this is a reverenceand I mean and we know I mean
lots in you know, the inthe in these complementary medicine circles, we
talk about the law of attraction.We talk about affirmations, you know,
and all of this stuff, butbut really what we know the energy of
(48:22):
attraction, the energy of gratitude,of kind of feeling that your cup is
full and this, this place isbeautiful. I actually hold a vision I
know. I mean, we're obviouslyhumans. We're capable of destruction goodiess,
don't we know it? But mythe thing that keeps me going is that
we are capable of so much beautyand creativity and love, and we are
(48:45):
amazing and we can be really kindand compassionate. And I know that if
somebody has created this awful mess ofpollution and contamination in the oceans, then
I know, I actually know inmy bones that we can fit it.
I just know that we can.And it's that vision that I have,
And in a sense, it's asort of deep faith really in humanity that
(49:07):
we we can turn that this thisbaby around. You know, I really
feel that we can. And whenI say that, I feel it.
I do feel it in my bones. And it's not wishful thinking. It's
a it's a reverence, and it'sa trust in ourselves. And you know,
light workers, people who carry thisenergy of this vision are more and
(49:31):
more of us, are, youknow, waking up and going yeah,
yeah, come on, this doesn'tfeel right anymore. I want to I
want to change tax So that's whatkeeps me going. That's a very beautiful
vision and I can only agree withyou, and I think that there are
many, many more kind, wonderful, considerate carrying people in this world than
(49:53):
people that want to destroy things.We just have to get that faith and
trust and start. And with thehelp of your books, I think people
are jumping into that direction more andmore. I know for me, it
was really lovely to have your booknext to me, next to me on
my table bedside table, and inthe kitchen, and in my living room
(50:17):
and in my studio. I'm sittinghere looking at my grand piano and your
book is right here. So thankyou pay for sharing your wisdom and insights
and your work is very inspiring.And to our listeners, thank you for
tuning in. Be sure to checkout Facebook Shamanic Reiki Drumming and also join
us next time. I'm going tobe joined on the show next week with
(50:39):
Meredith Heller and she's discussing her newbook, Writing by Heart, a poetry
Path to healing and self discovery.So until then, keep raising your voice
and much love and many blessings toyou Faith. Thank you so much,
it's been a pleasure. Take care, Thanks everyone, Thanks a bye bye.
(51:04):
It is a man who takes thechair, who takes It's suprey stormy
(51:25):
time, the sun is hot.Tarts me dems. We have a strange
Welcome to Voice Rising with Kara Johnstad. Enjoy weekly conversations with leading luminaries,
pioneering visionaries, singers, poets,musicians, and sound healers as we explore
the profound role our voice plays onthe path to self realization and global enlightenment.
The internationally acclaimed singer, composer,author, healer, recording artist,
(00:24):
voice expert, creator of Voice YourEssence, and founder of the School of
Voice, Kara Johnstad uses her extraordinaryspiritual gifts to empower others. Everything in
this world vibrates, everything has afrequency. A pioneer in the field of
voice work and transformational songwriting, herbreakthrough methods are helping thousands of people worldwide
(00:47):
fine tune their body, mind,spirit system and unlock the energetic frequencies of
limitless creativity, health and abundance.Share your voice, ask your questions,
join in the conversation, receive lifechanging positive transformation, and rise together to
create a sound world. And here'syour host, Kara Johnstad. Hello everybody,
(01:12):
and welcome to another enlightening episode ofVoice Rising. Today, I am
happy to introduce you to a remarkableguest whose passion for plants and people and
the rhythm of life has led heron a transformative journey blending reiki, she
Gong, creative shamanism, and plantmedicine. Joining us today is Fay Johnstone,
(01:38):
an acclaimed author and a reiki practitionerwhose books including Plants That Speak,
Souls That Sing, and Plant SpiritReiki have inspired countless individuals to connect with
the healing power of nature. Andtoday we're diving into Fay's latest book,
Shamanic Reiki Drumming Intuitive Healing with Soundand Vibration, and this comprehensive guide delves
(02:02):
into the fascinating world of shamanic drumming, offering reiki practitioners powerful techniques to enhance
their practice, and Fay explores howthe rhythmic beat of the drum can deepen
our connection with intuition, spirit guidesin the natural world, ultimately bringing empowerment,
healing, and clarity to both ourselvesand for all of you out there
(02:25):
that are doing reiki for your clients. So I welcome you warmly, Faye
to Voice Rising. Oh, thankyou so much. I'm delighted to be
here. Thank you. Yeah,it's so good to have you. And
first of all, congratulations on yournew book. It's got to feel wonderful
having it out into the world.The cover is gorgeous. Yeah, thank
(02:49):
you. You know, I neverthis is why the journey of reiki,
and you know, when we startto kind of go on that inner exploration
journey, whether it's reiky, energy, healing, meditation, all the sort
of lovely tools we have. That'swhy it's so fascinating because I never really
thought of myself as a writer,never had an imagining that I could write
(03:12):
a book, and now it turnsout I've written three and I actually love
writing. It's really in a sensedecided. It's I'm allowing myself to have
that title of author and creative writer, and it's you know, it is
one of my passions. I didn'trealize, but you know, I got
there in the end, so it'sgreat. Well, it's probably when the
(03:36):
voice channel is open, then itflows in all directions, right, whether
we're writing or whether we're singing withthe drum, you do have a moment
in the drum where you're also connectingit with the voice, with reclaiming our
voice. And so that is myown experience. So sometimes we think we
can't do it, but once we'rein deep flow and Reiki helps the energy
(03:58):
to flow, and drumming helps theenergy to low, and maybe a little
bit of singing and maybe standing alsoin your beautiful gardens with your plants.
Then it's it's easier to write thosebooks. And they're they're beautiful books.
So we thank you for that.Yeah, thank you. I think I
really agree with you. I feelthat when it was definitely the plants that
(04:19):
unlocked, there was something that definitelykind of loosened or unlocked, you know,
in my voice with you know,my book, my first book.
You know, plants that speak,souls that sing, That's exactly what I
used to do, sing to myplants. And I still sing to my
plants and actually drumming and dancing andall the things. Really, so actually,
yeah, it's that loosening of thevoice and yeah, the creative expression.
(04:44):
So yeah, it comes through inmy writing. And we'll see,
you know, I'm I'm still developing, I'm still on the journey, so
we'll see what else it comes through. But yes, certainly the writing at
the moment is where I'm enjoying.I mean, I really enjoy teaching.
I really enjoy is sharing the thingsthat I discover to help others. And
so that's why writing a book oryou know, is a easy way to
(05:10):
put it all down. Yeah,share with us a little bit. Your
new book is called Shamanic Reiki Drumming. What are the origins of shamanism and
how does drumming play such a vitalrole in this practice. Well, that's
a great question. I think forthe Westerner we can get very excited when
(05:30):
we kind of hear about shamanic practice, and we also make up lots of
stories about it. I think Idon't feel that any particular culture can kind
of claim it as their own becauseit's so innate in you know, if
you like the first cultures of theworld. You know, we have evidence
in Cave Art of these the firstpeople who were finding a way, if
(05:59):
you liked, to honor the earthand to connect with the plants and the
animals. And so this is reallysort of the core of what shamanism is.
This is this innate spirituality, away of connect or really, if
you're like realizing that connection that wehave with the earth and each other and
(06:20):
every every everything, really everything thatkind of is in this living world with
us, and the drum is againI really enjoyed actually kind of leaning into
the drum because I mean it reallychanged. The drumming has completely changed my
life. And again, I thinkwe tend to feel it's attributed to different
(06:45):
cultures, you know, in today'sworld, but actually if we look at
indigenous or ancient cultures, even fromBabylonian times, we can see, you
know, the women were drummers.Women were oracles who would have a hand
handteld frame drum. And so it'sI feel, I mean, I love
to one of the things I loveto do, and anyone listening who loves
(07:06):
to drum, I love to reallyhonor you know, drum by honoring all
of the drummers or all of thewomen, particularly because i'm, you know,
a woman. I love to youknow, connect with the women who
were drummers way before, you know, before before in in in the in
the ancestors, and bring them intomy space with my drama and the drum.
(07:28):
You know, it's it's over centuries, it's been, it's been.
Some cultures think it's female, somefeel it's masculine. We use the drum
in initiation rights, in ceremony,in celebration, it's you know, celebrating
a harvest, for example, celebratinga birthday, a wedding, funerals.
(07:48):
There's all sorts of ways that thedrum has been, you know, to
bring people together, to create thatcommunity. And I think actually it was
even banned in the United States ata certain period of history because of the
way it was bringing certain communities together. So it's very interesting the drum.
(08:09):
Many things, Yeah, no,I was just thinking many things are banned.
I know that the fiddle was.It was similar in Scandinavian countries.
They had the fiddle and they coulduse the fiddle to make you know,
joyous music for weddings and also verybeautiful sad music at funerals, and at
some point they were all burned,right, they were not allowed to play
(08:30):
the fiddle. And so it's reallybeautiful that we are connecting to these instruments.
As far as I know from mystudies, it was the drum,
the flute, and the human voicethat was kind of the the beginning of
people sharing music, singing together,singing melodies. And we say we have
ear drums and heartbeats. Right,It's like it's greatly inside of our beautiful
(08:54):
body. And I'm very happy thatit seems to be a there's a movement
for people to start more and moredrumming for health and for wellness. And
we know that once we start drumming, we can drum alone, but in
community, Like you said, it'sjust so beautiful because we can. We're
(09:16):
all SYNCD at some point. We'reall just in one kind of pattern of
rhythms, right, Yeah, that'sright, And it's interesting. I never
I mean at school when I wasgrowing up, I used to play the
saxophone. Actually I never thought ofmyself as a singer, and I actually
never really thought of myself as verymusical. And that's why I often,
(09:39):
you know, I always say topeople what we think of is you know
that that classic Oh you know someonewho's got musical talent. When you pick
up the drum, it's something Ifeel like, it's really something in my
body that connects with that beat ofthe drum. Perhaps this heartbeat you know
what you were just saying, theheartbeat that we have. It's just our
(10:01):
internal rhythm, you know, ourown because I feel that we're all we
are all an absolute orchestra. Youknow, every every cell in our body
is vibrating. We all have ourown unique frequency and so I feel from
there are many people who you know, just feel that cool if they want
to pick up the drum. Andand that's why. Yeah, like you
(10:24):
say, gathering in a group isa way that you can. It really
engenders a sense of connection as well, uh, you know, getting into
sync and drumming together, and itreally does the you know, the repetitive
beat of the drum. It takesus to an ex a place of expanded
consciousness, as does you know,singing and listening to a beautiful piece of
(10:46):
music. It takes us somewhere else. It takes us perhaps out of our
bodies, out of our worries,out of our everyday life. And and
we you know, we we connectto something which you know, which you
can't touch with you know, whichyou can't touch on the material plane.
(11:07):
Yeah, and you also can't touchit with maybe just turning on the radio.
There's something about holding the drum,about feeling the vibration in front of
your heart, about walking with it. And as I remember learning once,
you know, with my drum,it was like the basic it's like connect
with your feet and you have theyou know, the the even meters and
(11:31):
then the heart is more syncopated,and it's basically this this constant playing with
these rhythms that are around us allthe time. So you do something fascinating
in your book For those of youout there, I mean I have my
my Reki degree, so I doknow all the symbols, and yet I
thought it was so fascinating that youstart connecting these symbols onto the drum,
(11:56):
drawing them onto the drum, playingthem on the drum. Talk a little
bit more about maybe about reiki andthe reiki symbols, which is normally in
the second I do say second degreein Germany you say the grade second grade,
but it must be the second level, right, second level and then
(12:16):
the master level. How did youdid? Was it just by chance that
you just started exploring merging your yourexperience as a reiki practitioner with then the
drum. Well, many years agoI was actually taught a technique called the
reiki drum technique, and with alady and many there are many many practitioners
(12:39):
around, and it was a ladycalled Sarah greg here in the UK,
and she taught me. She introducedthis idea of working with the symbols and
the drum, nice and It madeabsolute sense to me because I so so
reiki. Uh you know, wewe work with reiki. It's this beautiful,
(13:01):
high vibrational to high frequency of healingenergy. And so the symbols,
I got to know the symbols,as you say, when we start to
learn the second level, when wego a little bit deeper into different aspects
of reiki, and what we thesymbols. You know, we can see
them, we can write them downon a flat bit of paper, so
(13:22):
we can remember what they're like.But that's not what the symbol is any
let any more than you know myname Faye is Fay written down on a
bit of paper. You know whatyou're referring to, But it's not me.
It's not the essence of me.And so the symbols are and an
energetic kind of frequency all about allof themselves. And so actually when we
(13:43):
drun them, or even when wechance them, you know, this is
really moving into this beautiful kind ofreal connection, and it really helps to
shift and conjure up this element issort of specific quality, if you like,
of the symbol or of the reki, an aspect of the reiki energy.
And so drumming the symbols is away to again connect in a deeper
(14:09):
way with the symbols and really startto feel them in a different way.
So drumming and chanting I really wouldrecommend to anyone who's playing with the symbols
and learning them and getting to knowthem. And actually I was always taught
to draw the symbols in the airand jump into them, feel them,
you know, And so drumming withthem is a very similar idea, sort
(14:35):
of putting that frequency out there intothe room and then feeling for how it
shifts the atmosphere in the same wayas if I was to say, you
know, you know, I loveyou, I love you, I love
you, or the opposite you,or shout at somebody. You know,
we feel the difference, don't we, in the quality of the energy.
(14:58):
And it's like that when we werewhen we play with the symbols, And
so, yes, I talk aboutit in the book, I talk about
charging our drum with the symbols.So there's a symbol that we call the
power symbol, for example, whichis all about kind of putting the power
of the universe into the drum,and it's very useful or into the focus
(15:20):
the client or the issue, andso it's wonderful for ground and it's also
wonderful for clearing an energy space.So if you can imagine drumming with the
intention to clear a space of negativeenergy and also putting in that very powerful
symbol, it's a real it's Itjust adds another element to the practice,
(15:41):
which I absolutely love and I knowthat clients enjoy it too. So that's
why the symbols are Yeah, they'reWe obviously can drum and we can do
reiki without the symbols, but theyadd another They add another sort of flavor
to it. They help us todive into different qualities or different aspects of
the reiki energy, which again areuseful for different issues that we come up
(16:03):
with when we're when we're when we'rehelping clients heal. Yeah, they add
another dimension. How is it foryou fee with your own voice? On
your own voice Journey, you saidyou've played saxophone. We know the voice
you were talking now about chanting withthe drum, I can imagine we also
have the ability to set intentions todo affirmations. So many of us have
(16:29):
been shut down with our voice.Not everybody feels free with the voicing it.
The drum also helps us reconnect toour own voice while we're chanting and
toning. Were you someone who couldalways speak out and sing out or was
it a new territory for you alsoto get to know your beautiful voice?
Oh? Absolutely no, I didn'tspeak out at all. I was actually
(16:52):
incredibly shy growing up, not lacking, you know, lacking in confidence and
so on. The person in thephotograph with the head looking down, you
know, that type of that typeof person growing up. And so actually
learning reiki, connecting to the energy, it's been for me a real journey
in terms of, you know,discovering myself, discovering the magical person that
(17:18):
I always was, but I triedto hide it. And so what I
noticed with reiki, it was reallyit really was when I started to you
know, I think for me,when I started to work with the drama
and when I started to kind ofdelve into the practices of shamanism, it
was like it was like opening acan of worms. It was like I
had so many questions. I wasso sort of all aspects of my spirit
(17:42):
were so excited about this that Isort of really it really, I feel
like catapulted me on a path wherereiki had been taking me nice and slowly
and unfolding in a very gentle way. But as soon as I added the
drama and my shamanic practice, Ireally started to open up. And this
is where, yes, I startedto notice that during treatments, I wanted
(18:04):
to speak. I wanted to sing. I wanted to kind of make a
sound as if to move energy outof my body or across the room,
and so on. And I again, I remember, at first, the
first time this happened, I wouldfeel I would be feeling very self conscious.
I was thinking, goodness, I'mnot you know. All the judgment
(18:26):
came in. Oh, you can'tdo that. That's not reiki, that's
not how you've been taught. Youdon't know how to sing, you can't
do this all of this. Andactually I got through that because I couldn't
keep it in. I couldn't keepin this this sound that needed to kind
of move through me. And soI do. And I say to clients
(18:47):
when they come for a treatment,you know, I might sing, I
might make music. I might Imight put plants on you. There.
There's all sorts of things that mighthappen because I just allow myself to be
guided. And I actually feel thatthat's in a sense the original teaching of
reiki is for it to be simpleand it to be, you know,
(19:10):
allowing ourselves to be guide. Well, well, that's in a sense how
I teach. I really encourage peopleto allow themselves to be intuitively guided.
And I am a very and ithas meant that now I am a very
creative if you like reiki practitioner,because I'm just kind of the judgment around
oh no, I can't do that. I've put that aside now and said,
(19:34):
well, what happens if I did. Let's try, Let's see,
let's see what happens. So,yes, I have. Reiki actually has
shown me that you know, it'ssafe to it's it's safe to use my
voice. And how wonderful, whatan expression. I love that because everything
(19:55):
has frequency and all the plans havedifferent frequencies. And I think you also
work with crystals and stones, andyou know, the trees have their own
voices. And I would adore goingto someone for a session and have them
sing or or touch my tiny toeand have a tone come out or something.
I think it'd be magical. It'smagical, right, and I think
(20:18):
it reminds us of a time whenwe were held and sung to the lullabies.
The you know this is these arepractices that people have forgotten, that
we used to be cuddled and reallylifted up and held and rocked and sung
to, and our ear was closeto the heart of our mother or father
(20:41):
and we could hear that beat andthey and we'd be hummed and sung to.
Right. And so I can imaginethat in a session, when you're
able to do that, or whenwhen everything feels in harmony, that it's
very magical, very enchanting, verywonderful. Yeah, you just made me
think about my mum there when yousaid, oh, yes, when we
(21:03):
were little lullabies. I mean,yeah, that's the most beautiful thing.
And I'm going to tell a storyactually about thinking about singing. I once
this was many many years ago,right really, when I was I was
in my twenties and I was atthe start of my if you like,
my spiritual expiration of things, andI a friend suggested I go on a
woman's retreat. And I was incrediblyreluctant really because I just couldn't sort of
(21:29):
understand why would I want to goon that and anyway, it was a
very tender, loving space that washeld for the weekend. And what was
so beautiful, and this will giveanyone who runs retreats beautiful ideas now,
is every morning we were woken up. You know, you know on retreats,
(21:49):
you kind of get woken up andyou get to do a lovely early
session of yoga, or a lovelyor a lovely sort of walk to hear
the birds on things like that.But we were woken up by women singing.
And these this group of women weresinging as they walked down the corridor
and that's what that's the sound thatwoke you up. And it was so
(22:11):
it was beautiful. And then acouple of years later I got to start
to be a member of staff whowas volunteering on the same retreat, and
I got to be one of thesingers with who went round and it was
just lovely, lovely experience. Becauseit's like you say, it's not the
sort of thing that happens to uson a daily basis. We don't often
(22:32):
get sung to, but it's incrediblymoving and it felt so caring to be
the receiver and also the giver ofthat, uh that lovely, that lovely
opportunity, that lovely sort of experiencefor people waking up. It was soft
and nurturing and caring. That thatbeautiful side of the divine feminine, you
(22:56):
know, that is that is mysecret fantasy thing. I have this fantasy
that everybody at sunrise would just opentheir windows all around the world and then
just sing like I love you,I love life, like something beautiful,
and then we just all look ateach other, all the strangers and all
the neighbors and all the friends.And then after a few moments, we'd
(23:17):
closed the windows and everybody go maketheir tea and coffee and go on with
their day. You know. ButI just have this idea that if we
would remember there's a beautiful quote.I can't remember it, but it's something
about how when women were birds,and also this idea that the birds they
sing in the darkness and trust inthe light. You know, one of
(23:40):
these beautiful I have to find thisquote again. I'm gonna dig it out.
Anyway, We're going to take avery very short break and take a
brief pause, and then we're gonnacome back with more of shamanic reggy drumming
with Frey Faye Johnstone. Faye JohnstoneConscious Media for Conscious Minds, Home Times.
(24:10):
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(24:56):
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(25:22):
This is Kathy Biele, host ofCelestial Compass, featuring astrology, you
can use Celestial Compass points you towhat's going on in the sky and what
you can do with it down hereon Earth. We also explore fun,
effective and cosmic tools for navigating thisadventure we call life. Join me the
(25:44):
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It's enlightening, entertaining, and empowering. Host your show on IOMFM,
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(26:06):
Hosting a show on IOMFM immediately connectsyou with our extensive dedicated community. You
came across someone struggling with hunger,how would you recognize them? Would you
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(26:30):
inned Americans who struggle with hunger.I am hunger in America. Hunger can
be hard to recognize. Learn whyand I am Hunger in America. Dot
Org brought to you by Feeding Americaand the AD Council. Welcome back.
We're here with Fay Johnstone diving intothe transformative power of shamanic reiki drumming.
(26:55):
And if you're enjoying this conversation,don't forget to subscribe to Voice Rising on
your favorite streaming platform and share thisepisode with your friends, because your support
helps us continue to bring inspiring guestslike they to our show. And the
shows are also on the archives atHome Times Radio, so you can check
out all the episodes. So I'mgoing to jump right back in Welcome back
(27:18):
Faye to the show. Thank you. Yes, I'm just enjoying. I'm
really enjoying just sort of almost likethat. It's just the reminder of how
much to express ourselves is so andit just really feels true. I think
what we're really at the essence ofthis is expression. It's creative expression.
(27:41):
It's really all about the true naturethat doesn't always get to express itself.
And I feel that that's for bothof us. That's the nuts and bolts
of our work, is helping peopleconnect with our true nature and find a
way that delights us that we canexpress it, you know, and share
(28:03):
it with others. I think you'retotally right on, right on the money,
right on the mark. Expression isso important, and creativity is really
our nature, right so I think, and energy, we're energy being.
So I love that you're weaving theseall these different practices together. And you
(28:26):
know, you mentioned your mom andI was mentioning lullabies. And I have
this very strange theory. People thinkthat when we're born, it's our cry
that comes out into the world.But I wonder sometimes, as a mother
myself, if we're not carrying thevoice of the river of women that have
that have birthed all of us ontothe planet Earth. And I was going
(28:48):
to ask you, how does drummingwith nature help to restore the connection to
our true selves and honor the ancestors? How does it connect us to our
lineage? Wow? Wow, goodness. In a way, I want to
say, well, how can itnot? You know, I mean,
(29:10):
firstly, when when we're out innature, you know, we're already we
are already nature. We have justcompletely forgotten that that's what we are.
And we've put up all these barriersaround us. And we live in lovely
square houses and lots of built upareas, and you know we we we've
made ourselves very separate from the naturalworld. So we are nature and I
(29:33):
feel like practices like drumming or meditating, for example, what what the drum
is doing is it's it's taking usback to it or really it's helping this
expansion of who we are. It'staking us out of the small box that
we put ourselves in. You know, the same with singing, dancing,
meditating. It's it's taken it.It takes us out of that small box.
(29:56):
It takes us out of that sortof pattern that we've got ourselves into,
and it helps us connect to thefield. It helps us to expand
our state of consciousness and in anincreased awareness of of who we are,
and we feel connected. And that'sreally the part that it connects us to
the field. So this is andso when we're out in nature, we
(30:19):
we really it helps us to kindof almost like it sounds very cheesy,
but connect to the oneness of whatwe are. You know, this this
truth of what we are, whichis you know that we're part of this
beautiful kind of it's it's kind oflike a soup. It's the void,
it's the creative source, it's theit's this this unity consciousness that's what we
(30:41):
are. And so drumming really helpsreally, I mean, I really think
it drops. It's almost like ithelps us to drop the form of where
we've we've put ourselves in. Weget ourselves, we make ourselves small,
we put ourselves into boxes with labels. We we get into patterns which aren't
(31:02):
really our original pattern And I feel, so, you know I mentioned earlier,
I feel that we are a beautifulorchestra. Our body, every organ
in the body has has a specificfrequency. And when we drum, the
drum really helps our whole body asan orchestra come into it's it's you know,
(31:25):
find the right notes again, orrather I should say, that's what
I'm working to do. When I'mworking with people to heal, that's what
I'm working to do. I'm workingto help them almost remember their original frequency,
their original so their original nature,but their original song. If you
like that, they that they areon the beat, you know, the
(31:47):
beat of their own drum. Reallythat heartbeat, the that the source of
who they are, that original nature. And actually, so when we're out
in nature, it really helps usto connect and remember and it's much easier
in a sense to feel the beautyof nature. If you're singing, dancing,
drumming, because you kind of droppedthat, You've dropped your I feel
(32:10):
like you've dropped your strict humanness andyou've connected to the field of imagination and
creativity. Share with us a powerfulexperience that you remember, either either with
yourself or with a client, wheredrumming and reiki combined and then suddenly there
was a profound healing moment. Mmwow, Okay, I'm just trying to
(32:37):
think what do I want to share? Which do I want to share?
Well, you know what I'm toshare. This was a group. I
used to run. These groups.I love, I love being I love
sort of working with groups, andso I used to run a and years
(32:59):
ago, I I was teaching meditation. So this is gonna be a long
story now, but I used toteach meditation and I found that I found
that everyone was struggling in meditation becauseit's hard, isn't it. If you've
had a busy day and someone's askingyou to focus on your breath and meditate,
and you're thinking, well, I'vegot the shopping list to do,
and I've got the ironing, andI got to get my kids to school,
and I got to get a thing, and so what And then what
(33:21):
I did. I switched from teachingmeditation to helping people with the drum.
So I started to I thought,you know what, guys, we're going
to work with the drum. AndI instantly saw their brain waves almost like
the whole room, the brain wavesshifted into a much deeper sense of relaxation,
expansion, and so on. Andfrom then on I started to do
(33:45):
group sort of like you know,well anything up to sort of like twenty
five people, but drum circles inwhich actually and in these particular ones,
I was the only one who wasdrumming. Everybody was there. And I
think lots of people do this nowthey call it a sound journey, or
they do the gong bars. Youknow, there's all sorts of these things.
(34:06):
Back in the day, there didn'tused to be many people doing this.
And I and what was lovely isI had my dad visiting me one
and he said, I said,oh, well, just come along,
just come along and sit in thecorner. You don't have to do anything,
just lie down, you know,just don't embarrass me. You know,
the thing that you have to sayto your dad, and it was
(34:28):
lovely and actually what And I wouldgo around everybody drumming and I would sing
and I'd perhaps add some other instrumentsas well, but it was mainly drumming.
And at the end of that,and this is my dad who Dad's
always let me do reiki, buthe's never really they're still quite conservative,
my parents, So they don't theydon't. They love me, and they
go along with the things that Ido, but they don't necessarily follow them
(34:51):
themselves. You know, they'll they'llgive it a go. And so he
gave it a go. But hewhen I saw him at the end of
the session, his eyes were hehad such a clarity in his vision.
And he'd been very sad because hehad been going through a process where he
had to sell a boat that hehad been had sailed around Britain in when
(35:17):
he retired. He had this sortof, if you like, big process
of sailing by himself around Britain tocelebrate his retirement. It was just,
you know, it was his voyagehe longed to do. And actually,
at this particular time when we weredrumming, he'd had to sell the boat
(35:37):
because he'd realized that actually he couldn'tkeep it on because he was getting old
and there were things he couldn't managewithin the boat. So this whole process,
it was kind of a grief.You know. I didn't realize that
he had been carrying a grief.And he looked at me with such a
clarity in his eyes, almost asif you know, before he'd had that
(36:00):
grief that people carry with them,and he just looked really clearly and he
said, oh, thank you.I think you've helped me release I think
that was with his word release vagabond, because Vagabond was the name of the
boat, and I was and Igave him a massive hug, and it
was just there was just something there. It was really tender and really beautiful.
(36:24):
And that that's just when you said, what think of something that was
just an that was an That wasa very tender example that came to mind.
Actually. But I so this isan example in the sense of how
the drama is helping release something anenergy that somebody's carrying which isn't necessarily serving
(36:45):
them anymore. You know, thesethings which are kind of like we kind
of we have to hold on tothem, but actually it's taking all our
energy to hold on, and wereally need to let things go. So
grief, things like grief, depression, anxiety, I find time and time
again and again, and it goesback to that finding remembering our true nature.
(37:07):
Many examples of people who sort offeel they're a bit floaty, they're
not quite sure what they want todo or the direction of their life that's
going in. But actually a fewtimes coming and connecting with the drum,
they've got more. There's more solidity, there's more groundedness, there's more focus,
and there's more of that remembering ofwhat brings us joy, what brings
(37:30):
somebody joy, what direction do theywant their life to go in. So
it's very very powerful the and whatI love actually also is people, you
know, I love to drum overthe body. And obviously absolutely not in
any shape or form near the headand the heart, these kind of sense
(37:51):
of areas, but I love thedrum over the body because actually those drum
beats, you know, it's sound. Sound doesn't stop at your body,
it goes through it, so soundso physically that sound kind of moves the
body. And actually sometimes people canfeel it on their skin, they can
feel the drum beat moving and thenobviously imagining it going through the tissues and
(38:15):
it's moving stagnant emotions, it's movingstagnant energy, it's moving these processes that
need to that need to well.Whatever needs to be released by the body
will be released, you know.And it's all part of the intention when
we work with clients, you know, we have that clear intention of what's
(38:35):
healing is needed, and we invitethat into the session. So I hope
that's a good enough example for you. Yes, as gorgeous. I mean,
what would you advise Now you've doneall these circles, you have so
many clients, and this is youryour book, right that's coming out into
the world. What would you advisefor people that are listening and they would
(38:58):
like to make we find a drumor pick up a drum and start a
practice a daily who knows meditation,maybe they want to drum and then sit
down and write in their journal,or maybe they want to drum and sing.
Or maybe they're lucky and they're notin an urban city apartment, but
(39:20):
they do have a garden and theycan go barefoot in the spring and drum.
What would what would you suggest forthe very first step so somebody who
wants to take a sneak peek intothe life of drumming, well, I'm
trying to. So there's lots ofaural in my book. I've actually got
(39:43):
lots of suggestions of the sort ofthe dudes and don'ts, and the pros
and cons of different types of drums, because you know, I started and
I still have this most gorgeous syntheticVegan drum. It's a sixteen inch Vegan
drum and I've had it now wellsince two thousand and nine, and the
sound is, the quality of thatsound is still as beautiful as it was
(40:06):
the first time I picked it up. So some people might find that they're
really drawn to certain drums. AndI always say, allow yourself to be
guided, and you might find thatif you're very intentionally wanting to drum,
that you simply it's sort of youknow things, the universe conspires to deliver
(40:28):
you a drum, or to connectyou with people who make drumas and so
on. But once you've got yourselfa drum, it's really important to connect
with the drums and to get toknow the drum. Because drums have names,
they have a spirit, you know, one of my drums, for
example, is made of a deerhide and which I made, and I've
dyed it with black walnuts and it'sgot hemlock as it's would. So there's
(40:52):
a lot of different elements within thatdrum, and that drum is very particular
about the quality, if you like, of of the music, of the
rhythm, of the of the journeythat that drum will take you on.
So I feel like the drum actuallytends to lead people into their practice.
(41:14):
So that's almost like the first thingis asking your drum to connect with you.
What does it need? You know, Sometimes drums will almost like people
have an inkling of Oh, I'vegot this drum and it feels like I
need to paint, you know,I need to paint something on it,
or like in the case of oneof my drums, I didn't paint it,
(41:37):
but I I've hung loads of It'sgot lots of crystals and ribbons and
magical things or rather meaningful things forme which I've I've connected I've hung on
the drum at the back. Soin a sense, there's a there's a
connection to do with the drum firstbefore you and then really you're guided see.
(42:00):
Once you've got your drum, ifyou like, as your guide,
the drum will lead you to placespeople. And now that was the first
part of your question, was I'msure there was a second part that I'm
no. I think that's that's great. It's just how to start integrating it
into like as as a practice.And I and I love this idea of
(42:23):
asking our drum, being guided tothe drum. Right you said to ask
in a way to ask the universeor ask your guides, like show me
where my druma is waiting for me? Right, It's like show me,
show me perhaps where the beautiful treeis that I'm gonna, you know,
sit under while I nick with mylunch or something. And the idea also
(42:46):
of naming things. I love thepractice of naming things. And I think
that your work is so important.I've often said that, you know,
our planet is in such disarray inso many ways, and it's really what
you were saying before the connection.We've lost the connection. And I can
(43:08):
say this for myself. I'm afabulous singer. I do a lot of
coaching, I do a lot ofwriting. I'm very blessed. I have
a wonderful life and yet I'm learningto garden right in the last year.
So I lived Inly and I havea community garden, and I'm just stunned
that I grew up on a verybig farm in the middle of Wisconsin and
(43:30):
I don't know anything, like Iam just so innocent. I am so
innocent, and I go in themorning and I sit in the garden and
I really, you know, Itry to read books and plant seeds,
but I feel like, Wow,the last two or three generations my answers
(43:51):
just came from Scotland and from Norway, and they knew a lot about the
land and about preserving food and abouthonoring the land. And as an American,
I've forgotten so much. And Ieven grew up on a farm.
And so if we're going to savethe planet, I think what your work
shows us and I'm trying to dothe same and with my work is that
(44:13):
we need to connect to the landand to ourselves and to our bodies and
to our intuition, and to allowourselves to be in that innocent space like
that and not feel shame or guiltthat that that the supermarkets grew up too
fast around our ears right, andjust allow ourselves to be innocent again and
(44:37):
to ask the drum and our voiceand the earth, how can we serve?
How can we serve you? Yeah, one of my favorite questions,
One of my favorite questions is toask what is needed here? You know?
And that's what I often ask becauseI think especially I think. So
(44:59):
there's two things wanted to say.The first is actually that innocence, that
childlike innocence of not knowing is reallyactually, in a sense, the best
way to connect with the plants andnature, because you know, when you
just need to see, you know, if you this is a wonderful thing
to do, if you've got ifanyone listening has got young kids, you
(45:20):
know, if you go out toa sort of park or a garden and
you within you know, ten minutes, you could say to the child,
come on, can you show mewhere's your favorite place? Can you take
me to your favorite place here?And they will. They would take you
to their favorite place that they foundin this park or your garden, or
they'd take you to, you know, a favorite flower or tree or whatever.
(45:45):
And that is almost like this childlikecuriosity. So in a sense,
when we're in nature, having thatinner child, who can show you things
and be delighted in you know,you know, you know, especially you
know what children are like, Oh, I'm so delighted because look, this
bit's really squidgy here and this,this plant does this and and uh and
(46:05):
this is all prickly you know,things like that, whereas an adult we
tend to shy away. We'll stickon the path. And again, what
you were sort of alluded to,there's a bit of there can be a
bit of shame around. Well,I don't know, I don't know,
I don't know that, or Idon't know its name, so I can't
I can't interact with it because Idon't know that plant's name. But children
don't have that. So it's soit's a lovely innocence. And that's how
(46:30):
we connect because we we we're notyou know, we're not We bring ourselves.
We have to sort of take ourselvesoff our high our high horse,
and kids aren't on that high horse. Generally, they're they're much more like,
oh great, let's do this.And in this sense, that's how
we need to be when we're outin nature. That helps us connect in
connect plants. Yeah, yeah,it's beautiful. Yeah, what is your
(46:52):
vision what is your vision? Youhave you have a we have a couple
of last minutes to know me.You you have you're singing to your plants,
and you wrote this beautiful book.What would you love to see as
a transformation for our world as weare at this huge turning point, right,
(47:15):
these are very evolutionary times we have. I mean, we've always had
wars and everything else the planet is, you know, the polar bears are
already losing their ice caps, andyet we have a very strong movement for
meditation and singing and music. Andso what would your vision be fe Why?
(47:37):
Yeah, well, I absolutely lovethat you were talking about the importance
of food and that sort of sovereigntyover sovereignty over your body, your your
kind of wellness, what knowing selfand what feels right for me? And
starting almost like you know, whenI when I teach people about plant connection,
I talk about feeling our way,not thinking our way. Let's feel
(48:00):
a way. Does this feel right? How does this feel for me?
And yes, this is a reverenceand I mean and we know I mean
lots in you know, the inthe in these complementary medicine circles, we
talk about the law of attraction.We talk about affirmations, you know,
and all of this stuff, butbut really what we know the energy of
(48:22):
attraction, the energy of gratitude,of kind of feeling that your cup is
full and this, this place isbeautiful. I actually hold a vision I
know. I mean, we're obviouslyhumans. We're capable of destruction goodiess,
don't we know it? But mythe thing that keeps me going is that
we are capable of so much beautyand creativity and love, and we are
(48:45):
amazing and we can be really kindand compassionate. And I know that if
somebody has created this awful mess ofpollution and contamination in the oceans, then
I know, I actually know inmy bones that we can fit it.
I just know that we can.And it's that vision that I have,
And in a sense, it's asort of deep faith really in humanity that
(49:07):
we we can turn that this thisbaby around. You know, I really
feel that we can. And whenI say that, I feel it.
I do feel it in my bones. And it's not wishful thinking. It's
a it's a reverence, and it'sa trust in ourselves. And you know,
light workers, people who carry thisenergy of this vision are more and
(49:31):
more of us, are, youknow, waking up and going yeah,
yeah, come on, this doesn'tfeel right anymore. I want to I
want to change tax So that's whatkeeps me going. That's a very beautiful
vision and I can only agree withyou, and I think that there are
many, many more kind, wonderful, considerate carrying people in this world than
(49:53):
people that want to destroy things.We just have to get that faith and
trust and start. And with thehelp of your books, I think people
are jumping into that direction more andmore. I know for me, it
was really lovely to have your booknext to me, next to me on
my table bedside table, and inthe kitchen, and in my living room
(50:17):
and in my studio. I'm sittinghere looking at my grand piano and your
book is right here. So thankyou pay for sharing your wisdom and insights
and your work is very inspiring.And to our listeners, thank you for
tuning in. Be sure to checkout Facebook Shamanic Reiki Drumming and also join
us next time. I'm going tobe joined on the show next week with
(50:39):
Meredith Heller and she's discussing her newbook, Writing by Heart, a poetry
Path to healing and self discovery.So until then, keep raising your voice
and much love and many blessings toyou Faith. Thank you so much,
it's been a pleasure. Take care, Thanks everyone, Thanks a bye bye.
(51:04):
It is a man who takes thechair, who takes It's suprey stormy
(51:25):
time, the sun is hot.Tarts me dems. We have a strange
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