This week I attended a gong performance by Richard Hite at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The church had a nice old world atmosphere with rich dark wood and intricate stained glass which added to the allure of the performance. Richard greeted the group of 15 people with a brief on his background followed by a question and answer session.

Richard has a long history performing in hospitals and in front of skeptical doctors and medical professionals. However, it has been proven that the effects of his gong sounds alter EEG brainwave activity helping induce various brainwave states.. sort of like Bob Monroe’s Hemisync©. Richard mentioned that some of the gong sounds are used to speed healing in patients who have severe injuries. Anyway, having listened to many Cd’s of Tibetan bowls I sort of expected it to have the same calming and meditative effects on my brain.

There were 4 gongs suspended in front of him with some small chimes and very large Tibetan horns flanked on either side of his setup. I read up on the event prior to attending so I brought a blanket and pillow expecting to spread out on the floor. Unfortunately, no one else brought blankets or pillows so I did not use mine because I did not want to be the only person blocking the isles. So, I grudgingly sat on the hard wooden pew.

Richard began by hitting the gong whereupon a soothing, warm, loud drone emerged and he continued to play non-stop for an hour. I closed my eyes and was just swept into the drones and humming sounds coming from the gongs. At one point, He recreated the sound of crashing ocean waves through his mastery of these metal instruments.

A truly relaxing and interesting experience. His website is http://www.acallingofangels.com/

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