Try: Big Group Meditation
Last week, I attended my first big group sound meditation event at famous Grace Cathedral here in San Francisco. Here's an excerpt from the official description of the event:
On October 23rd, 1300 of us will come together to resonate with peace and tranquility at the beautiful Grace Cathedral. This experience not only brings you to your deepest meditative state, but also ushers us closer as a community.
Led by Guy Douglas and featuring an array of amazing and talented musicians on gongs, crystal singing bowls, Tibetan singing bowls, Native American flutes, Didgeridoo, Celtic Harp, Monochord, Vibraphone and so much more.
Despite feeling weird about it, I Facebook Live'd the event so that others could see what it was like. Also, I wanted to force myself to do something that scared me. As a result, I have this video from the event itself:
Here are my thoughts on big group sound meditation as an experiment in dealing with stress and anxiety:
It was exciting to try something new and the setting was beautiful.
The floor was HARD. I had to shift around a bunch to try to get comfortable.
I wanted to feel more vibrations. Like in the pit of my stomach. I don't know if it's because of where we were sitting, but I didn't feel those.
The best part was when there was a human voice in the mix.
It was somewhat relaxing. I was also a bit hopped up from the excitement of the experience.
I would try it again. I bet different settings vary greatly.
I see that there is another big group sound meditation event happening in a few weeks at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers.
