Gong Meditation
There is something about the gong that is hard to describe until you experience it.
The sound is not only heard. It moves through the body, fills the space around you, and can change your sense of time and where you are in that space. You don’t have to concentrate or try to meditate. You lie down, get comfortable, and surrender to the sound.
The Gongs I play
I play two large Paiste gongs - a 38" Planet Earth Gong and a 36" Symphonic Brilliant Gong.
The Earth Gong has a strong fundamental tone of C♯2 at 68.05 Hz. Its tuning is based on the Earth’s yearly orbit around the Sun, translated into an audible range through the planetary calculations of Hans Cousto.
The Symphonic Gong is different. It doesn’t center around one specific planetary frequency. Its fundamental tone sits within a much more complex structure of overtones, and those overtones change depending on where I strike the gong, the mallet I use, and how I play it.
Together, the two gongs give me an enormous range to work with.
Sound, Frequency & the Nervous System
A gong is not really a single frequency. When a large gong is played, many frequencies are moving at the same time - fundamentals, overtones, beating patterns and harmonics that continuously appear, overlap and fade.
That constantly changing sound is part of what makes the gong so different from listening to ordinary music. Some of the lower frequencies are not only heard but physically felt through the body.
Research into sound meditation, music and vibroacoustic sound suggests that sound can influence the autonomic nervous system - the part of the nervous system involved in our shifts between activation and rest. Studies have found changes in heart rate and heart-rate variability, along with reductions in tension, anxiety and perceived stress following different forms of sound and music-based relaxation.
There is also early research looking at what happens in the brain. Small studies using EEG have found changes in brain-wave activity during singing-bowl and vibroacoustic sound sessions, including patterns associated with deep relaxation and meditative states.
The research is still developing, especially when it comes specifically to gong meditation. I don’t believe we need to turn that into claims that a certain frequency “heals the brain.” What interests me much more is that modern research is beginning to look at something people have experienced through sound for a very long time: sound can change our state.
How I Play
I don’t follow a fixed sequence when I play.
I tune into the space and let the session unfold from there.
Sometimes the sound stays quiet and spacious for a long time. At other times it becomes layered, intense and very physical. I work with the changing tones, textures and vibrations of the gongs rather than following a predetermined formula.
Because of that, no two sessions are exactly the same.
What Does a Gong Meditation Feel Like?
The experience can be deeply physical and meditative.
People often lose track of time. After an hour-long session, it isn’t unusual for someone to tell me that it felt like fifteen or twenty minutes.
Thought can become quieter. The body may feel heavy, light, spacious or simply very different from how it felt when the session began.
And sometimes there is a sense of having gone somewhere that is difficult to explain afterward.
That is still one of the things I find most fascinating about the gong. You can read about it, listen to a recording, or try to explain what the frequencies are doing - but none of those quite replaces being in the room when the gong is played.
What to Expect
No previous meditation experience is needed.
You’ll lie down and make yourself comfortable while I play. For public events, you will usually need to bring a mat, blanket, pillow and anything else you would like for comfort. Specific details are included with each event.
I offer public gong meditations as well as sessions for retreats, wellness centers, companies and private groups.
