9/28/2014 Meeting Notes
Notes from 9/28/2014 Meeting of NY Metro Focusing
Welcoming the Body’s Implicit Wisdom with Drumming, Focusing, and Movement
Facilitated by Lillian Sober-Ain
After a warm welcome by Susan Deisroth, followed by announcements, Naomi Glicken introduced our facilitator for the evening, Lillian Sober-Ain, a focusing-oriented psychotherapist and musician. Continuing our process of focusing-oriented conversations, this evening’s theme lifts out another aspect of focusing – rhythm and sound. As a focusing-oriented therapist, Lillian integrates hypnotherapy, EMDR and meditation into her work.
Lillian continued by elaborating her interest in finding similarities among all her varied interests and expertise. She pointed to the bilateral stimulation in drumming, stepping, and EMDR, which facilitates the moving into our bodies and away from our brains. The bilateral stimulation can also facilitate active meditation or a carrying forward, as in focusing
The goal of the evening was to create a group experience of rhythm and sound with an attitude of friendly acceptance – no experience needed!
She then led us in a profound attunement – playing a Sufi rhythm on a hand drum, ending in a few moments of silence and then the sound of a Tibetan meditation bowl. Some comments on this experience:
The silence between notes and after were important
It brought a grounding in being here and an opening
Awakening
An afterglow – realization of a different kind of sitting and listening
Rhythm beyond words – a call for connection
The hoop-shaped drums formed a gentle mound on a lake of teal and rust scarves in the center of our circle. We then took time to explore and choose the drum that was right for each of us – the drums differing in size and sound. Lillian taught us different drum stokes and led us in creating different rhythms and sounds with these strokes as a whole group experience.
Reflections were invited at the end of the group experience by Lillian’s sounding the meditation bowl.
Reflections included
Increased blood flow
Empowered, solid, still without thinking
Flying, wide wings, soaring
Drum as a friend, like a pet
Our bodies have an inherent ability to learn
Integrating and gratifying
Awake with energy.
Lillian then led a final group experience – Call and Response – our echoing her pattern of rhythms and sounds. We then partnered with another person, and proceeded to explore calls and responses in these partnerships – in some cases like focusing and reflective listening and in others like creating a dance together – both deep and playful.
The experiential part of the evening ended with an invitation for each individual to join everyone in drumming and movement freestyle, exploring rhythm and sound with wholebody involvement.
Some conversation followed about the relationship between this evening’s experience and focusing, how to sense the similarities. Larry Hurst invited space for quiet reflection as the evening came to a close.
One comment from the group at the end of the evening:
One can feel the vibrations of the drums as we used them to communicate with one another. How nice it would be for us to be able to do that without the intermediary of the drums.
You may contact Lillian at lsoberain@gmail.com with any questions about drums and drumming, for individual or group instruction, or to continue the discussion about the intersection of drumming, focusing, and movement.
Prepared by Cynthia Callsen
Notes from 9/28/2014 Meeting of NY Metro Focusing
Welcoming the Body’s Implicit Wisdom with Drumming, Focusing, and Movement
Facilitated by Lillian Sober-Ain
After a warm welcome by Susan Deisroth, followed by announcements, Naomi Glicken introduced our facilitator for the evening, Lillian Sober-Ain, a focusing-oriented psychotherapist and musician. Continuing our process of focusing-oriented conversations, this evening’s theme lifts out another aspect of focusing – rhythm and sound. As a focusing-oriented therapist, Lillian integrates hypnotherapy, EMDR and meditation into her work.
Lillian continued by elaborating her interest in finding similarities among all her varied interests and expertise. She pointed to the bilateral stimulation in drumming, stepping, and EMDR, which facilitates the moving into our bodies and away from our brains. The bilateral stimulation can also facilitate active meditation or a carrying forward, as in focusing
The goal of the evening was to create a group experience of rhythm and sound with an attitude of friendly acceptance – no experience needed!
She then led us in a profound attunement – playing a Sufi rhythm on a hand drum, ending in a few moments of silence and then the sound of a Tibetan meditation bowl. Some comments on this experience:
The silence between notes and after were important
It brought a grounding in being here and an opening
Awakening
An afterglow – realization of a different kind of sitting and listening
Rhythm beyond words – a call for connection
The hoop-shaped drums formed a gentle mound on a lake of teal and rust scarves in the center of our circle. We then took time to explore and choose the drum that was right for each of us – the drums differing in size and sound. Lillian taught us different drum stokes and led us in creating different rhythms and sounds with these strokes as a whole group experience.
Reflections were invited at the end of the group experience by Lillian’s sounding the meditation bowl.
Reflections included
Increased blood flow
Empowered, solid, still without thinking
Flying, wide wings, soaring
Drum as a friend, like a pet
Our bodies have an inherent ability to learn
Integrating and gratifying
Awake with energy.
Lillian then led a final group experience – Call and Response – our echoing her pattern of rhythms and sounds. We then partnered with another person, and proceeded to explore calls and responses in these partnerships – in some cases like focusing and reflective listening and in others like creating a dance together – both deep and playful.
The experiential part of the evening ended with an invitation for each individual to join everyone in drumming and movement freestyle, exploring rhythm and sound with wholebody involvement.
Some conversation followed about the relationship between this evening’s experience and focusing, how to sense the similarities. Larry Hurst invited space for quiet reflection as the evening came to a close.
One comment from the group at the end of the evening:
One can feel the vibrations of the drums as we used them to communicate with one another. How nice it would be for us to be able to do that without the intermediary of the drums.
You may contact Lillian at lsoberain@gmail.com with any questions about drums and drumming, for individual or group instruction, or to continue the discussion about the intersection of drumming, focusing, and movement.
Prepared by Cynthia Callsen
