Visiting Australian interfaith minister and recording artist Phil Jones will present an interactive workshop teaching meditation and simple breathing techniques with the Australian didgeridoo. The didgeridoo is an ancient mesmerizing drone instrument made from a eucalyptus tree and traditionally played in ceremony and healing by the Aboriginal clans of Australia. Playing the didgeridoo creates soothing and resonant harmonics that easily erase the ‘monkey chatter’ in the mind – enhancing mental clarity and emotional equanimity. The primordial vibration of the didgeridoo and the simple breathing techniques help create a state of relaxation, lower blood pressure, relax the heart, improve digestion, and - as reported by the British Medical Journal - significantly reduce sleep apnea and snoring.
Phil will teach four basic steps during the workshop:
Step 1. Accessing a state of inner tranquility and connecting to the Divine within, which includes simple breathing exercises for enhanced meditation. (The most important aspect of the instrument.)
Step 2. Demystifying the technique of Circular Breathing, where you'll learn how to continuously make a sound through the instrument while breathing at the same time.
Step 3. Bridging the subtle and physical realms via the expansion of Harmonics.
Step 4. Creating nature, animal, percussive, and toning sounds through the Projection of the Voice.
Phil has been performing Sanskrit chants for over 40 years and will begin the evening with meditative chanting, setting up a wonderful vibrational atmosphere for the workshop, whereby the participants will be invited to tone and chant the OM mantra as he sings the chants to the accompaniment of a Shruti box (a traditional east Indian instrument).
Prior musical experience is not necessary. All participants will be provided an instrument to play during the workshop. Instruments and meditation CD’s will be available to purchase after the workshop.Phil studied seven years with an enlightened Hindu teacher (1968-1975) and parallels the didgeridoo, a non-denominational meditation accelerator, with Eastern Philosophy, New Thought, and Aboriginal Traditions. He was the lead singer and songwriter of the renowned English band Quintessence (Island Records/RCA), where he pioneered the merging of sacred Sanskrit mantras into a modern musical format during the late 1960's and 1970's (performing three concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and two at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London).Phil is the only artist to have preformed at the first Glastonbury Music Festival (United Kingdom) in 1970 and '71 and most recently at the Glastonbury 40th anniversary 2010 where over two hundred thousand people were in attendance....he was also a special guest performing in Australia (for over one hundred thousand people) at the Byron Bay Blues Festival in 2011. An engaging interfaith minister and inspiring singer, he speaks and performs at churches and spiritual fellowships, universities, yoga studios and wellness centers across the USA. Phil has been a frequent guest presenter at Deepak Chopra's Center for Well-Being, has appeared on radio (NPR, Sightings, etc) and television (The Wisdom Channel, ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, BBC), and is featured performing and teaching the Australian didgeridoo on the IMAX DVD: 'Sydney - A Story of a City.'
