Ceremony in Weris, Belgium, Nov. 2009.
This Sunday, June 23, the Gathered Drum Circle (fourth Sundays) and Drumming with the Moon (ad-hoc) converge for a special occasion! We are drumming by lakeside and fireside in the early evening near Greenville, Michigan. Not only is it Full Moon, but we are in the company of Summer Solstice! From Lansing, the carpool leaves about 5:00pm from a home-based location. If you have questions or would like details, please email me at MelissaHasbrookATgmailDOTcom.
For background, I began to host Drumming with the Moon last spring. The circle originated as a pre-event to a moon ceremony hosted by another teacher whom I respect deeply. Weather permitting, the circle has always been outdoors and, eventually, a fire became the center of the circle. Over the year, I’ve found that preparing the fire and circle area is very meditative, and helps create a centered space for those who join.
My vision for drumming as healing and a call to gather deepened in August 2012, after my first sojourn to Crow’s Nest Center for Shamanic Studies USA based in Dowagiac, Michigan. Bolstered by the affirming encouragement of a fellow participant (thanks, Nick!), upon returning home I began to learn from the drum — listening to it, traveling its sounds — which was a very new experience. Through solo drumming, insights surfaced to create a fire circle in my own space and to take the drum with me to Europe in the fall.
Each season of this year, it’s been a joy to sit with drummers — well practiced and brand new — across a variety of circles. The vision for my own fire circle took shape last fall and became the base for Drumming with the Moon, which meets intermittently depending when I’m in Lansing and regulars call out to circle up (thanks, K, P, and A!). In parallel, a network of circles emerged with co-facilitators Martha Kuepper of Anam Cara Services and Richard Lee, who also hosts a monthly healing circle called Meeting for Healing in conjunction with Red Cedar Friends (Quakers).
I’ve learned a lot from co-leading the Gathered Drum Circle with Martha and Richard, and am very grateful for their sticking with the experiment throughout the year! Whatever shape our circles may take in the coming seasons, lessons we’ve shared will continue to resonate when I drum. And I couldn’t encourage anyone more to really hear a drum, especially one whose path crosses your own and wants to go home with you! Or the drum you have the chance to make by hand. To truly drum is to truly listen — for in hearing the beat, we connect to the heart of the Earth and our own truth.
In close, I invite you to review my poem-poster titled “pause”, published here on DotP last fall as inspired by travels to Europe and accompanied by the Bee drum. Blessings!
