A closer look at the Gong
Playing the Gong has changed my practice - and being - in so many ways, and I’m sure it will continue to do so! What are characteristics and effects that are distinctive for playing - and listening to - the gong? Let’s explore it together.
What's most distinctive from many other instruments and what actually moves me the most, is the multilayered sound, the gong produces. Hundreds of frequencies at once, constantly interacting and changing, creating a sound that is:
complexly layered
unpredictable
non-rhythmic
non-melodic
Our thinking mind cannot find a stable pattern to hold onto and by this, it can more easily shift awareness from analytical thinking and toward more relaxed or meditative states. As the brain can’t map or predict the sound structure, brain waves naturally slow down, allowing the body to sink into deep rest and regeneration mode.
Our nervous system shifts into relaxation, with lowered heart and breathing rates, reduced muscle tension and reduced blood pressure. All of that contributing to overall wellbeing, pain relief and reduced discomfort, better sleep and restoration and different positive mental and emotional effects.
As the sound waves fill the room in all directions, we get a feeling of literally being “bathed” in sound. This can create:
a sense of unity or connectedness
meditative states
a perception that time passes differently
a deeper sense of connection beyond the individual self
The gong carries the symbolic weight of one of the oldest known ceremonial instruments on Earth, used in temples, rituals and healing practices for thousands of years. Its basic shape - the circle - refers to ever-expanding potential and our connection with the nature of oneness. Throughout many traditions and cultures, the circle is a symbol for presence, unity, eternity, completeness and inclusive harmony.
With all of that said: we don't have to believe in anything special for the gong to work. On its most basic level, it's physics in interaction with our body and mind. We might drift, dream or release tension or simply be.
One of the simpliest forms of mediation - nothing to "do", not even grasping a tone, predicting a melody, just gentle reprogramming into the floating-state of being.