I won’t talk much about Glastonbury, because I’ll only bore half of you and the pear cider and a couple of ‘special’ cakes has made me forget half of the stuff I saw and did anyway. If you want to have a look at photos though, I have a set on my Flickr account. It really is worth visiting if you’ve never been before though, even if it is muddy. The Green Fields in particular. They’re lovely and calming, have excellent food on sale there, you’re able to have a cheap massage or some gong therapy or just sit back and watch the slightly odder side of society walk around. I bloody love it. The thing of most interest to this blog is that there is a permaculture garden tucked away just above the old railway track. It’s a wonderful oasis away from all the madness, plus it’s an actual working garden. 90% of the plants grown here are edible and they have a open fire where they cook and sell all the food they harvest. It’s tasty! This is a picture of their compost heap. I would have taken more pictures of the place, but I forgot.
What is gong therapy? Gongs, being pretty loud, would seem to be more stressful than anything… Illuminate me!!
I’ve only observed this, so I can’t say for sure, but I do plan on having it next year as it does look quite interesting, so I’ll give you more info then.
It’s not loud, just very gentle, very quiet beats hit rhythmicly on the gong that sits just above your head as you lie down on a load of cushions in a quiet room. It’s supposed to be relaxing! It does look rather nice. The sounds waves supposedly go through your body and sort out your chi, or something.
Hang on! As ever, Google explains it properly:
When the Gong is played well it bathes the human body in sound – this is why we use the term “Gong bath” to describe this type of therapy – the recipient is literally bathed in the sounds of the Gong. It is like a very deep and lasting massage with sound, tuning the physical body and soul to the greatest possible resonance, while totally letting go. It is usually experienced lying down on your back, receiving the sound energy of the Gong as it is played moving through the nervous system – opening, clearing and recharging the whole mind, body and spirit. It triggers a meditative, contemplative state in which we have the opportunity to relinquish control of the mind. Negativity and chaos are suspended, irregularity and resistance are cleared, and the whole being is reset to a state of synchrony and alignment.
During a Gong bath the body takes in the sounds that it needs for healing, & filters out what it does not need. The usual result of a Gong bath is that the person being gonged feels very calm, relaxed & de-stressed, & often goes into a state of meditation automatically, where healing can more readily occur. Some physical aches & pains might have disappeared, or may lessen or vanish subsequently as the sounds of the Gong continue to do their work long after the Gong bath has finished. Like all forms of Sound Healing it works on all levels – physical, mental, emotional & spiritual. The Gong is thus a very powerful instrument for healing.
Google! Why didn’t I think of that! D’oh!
I guess the sound waves go to create some sort of energy field thing that works on your energy centres (if such things exist). Sounds nice actually
p.s. Bert has said sorry and I clipped him around the lughole for you.