Sonic Angel Music: Journal

SOS presented a seamless meditation experience on 08-08-08 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. The audience found themselves entering an intimate darkened arena illuminated by glowing crystal bowls which were placed on the stage floor below them. A bower of flowers surrounded the archway of 8 bowls above the ones placed at the points of a six-pointed star below. The performance started with "ARCH-etypal Intervals", a sound meditation which balanced the archetypal elements within our physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. The sound of the flute and crystal bowls together led us to find that pathway accessing our original blueprint of health. The next sound meditation offered was that based around the six-pointed star in which SOS sonically re-enacted the legend of creation: from ether to air to fire to water to earth, inviting the audience to join us in the So Ham breath, the prayer of life in the body connecting us to God. The third and final meditation was a song of celebration with singer, Ian Boccio, joining us in a crystal bowl arrangement of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"! This beautiful and haunting song was perfectly matched to the ethereal sounds of the bowls and garnered a standing ovation from the audience. Bravo SOS!

SOS ushered in the deeply meditational time of Winter Solstice and the joy of Christmas with two moving performances. The in demand performance of "Angel Wings" was presented at Atlanta Unity Church on Wednesday December 19th. This multi-media presentation invites participants to journey through the chakras by meditating inside a circle of fifteen chakra bowls while a light show illuminating the chakra combinations floats above in a deep blue sky. A very deep meditation was had by all!
On Sunday, December 23rd, SOS performed "Archetypal Intervals" for Trinity Church of Religious Science. This layout is in the shape of an arch, the strongest form in architecture. Architecture has been defined as "frozen music". Indeed the ratios of form correlate to specific ratios of sound. These specific ratios of sound correlate to the archetypal elements of fire, air, water, ether and earth. In serving as a bridge between energy and form SOS Quartz Crystal Bowls sounded the archetypal elements within our physical, emotional and spiritual bodies as a way to access our original blueprint of health. This sound meditation gently lead us through all the elements so that participants felt balanced and re-energized and ready for the New Year to come!

On Sunday, November 18th, SOS performed the sound of Thanksgiving at Trinity Church of Religious Science! This layout was based on the Anahata star symbol, the Heart Chakra, and included toning of the Sanskrit mantra and the twelve bijas associated with this energy center. Made up of two superimposed equilateral triangles, one upright and one inverted, the six-pointed star encapsulates a symbol of both Spirit descending into the Physical and the Physical ascending to Spirit. This geometric juxtaposition is also a powerful image of the harmonious relationship between male and female forces in the universe. The inverted triangle is the symbol of creativity, Shakti; and the upright triangle represents consciousness or Shiva. The crystal bowl pitches heard were the musical intervals that defined the specific ratios of the six-pointed star as well as the archetypal intervals that defined the energetic nature of the Heart chakra.
Anahata in sanskrit means unstruck. It is often interpreted as, "unstruck sound," and it is from this chakra that the inner sound or natural music of the body is said to arise.
SOS sounded the “unstruck” to strengthen the qualities of love, gratitude and thanksgiving in our hearts!

"I was transported with SOS's performance. Their procession with the lanterns and all of them in robes evoked timeless ceremonies of the past. And the magical harmonies of the bowls with the temple imagery changing on the screen behind them was a sensory delight. Candace's flute-playing and Susan's singing were absolutely beautiful, the way they wove in and out of each other's melodies. I felt the music carry me through a gateway and into a strangely familiar ancient past. - Janet

A world premiere multi-media performance by flutist, Candace Keach, song weaver, Susan Elizabeth Hale and the Spiral of Sound Crystal Bowl Choir initiated the 2007 Cymatics Conference into the healing temples of ancient times. The harmonics of Egyptian temples dating from 5,000 to 350 BCE were recreated visually and sonically so that the audience was immersed in sacred ratios of music that had been set in stone thousands of years ago. A journey back in time with flute, voice and crystal bowls! No passport needed!

SOS played in the World Congress Center's Garden Courtyard for the closing ceremony of “Around the World in Oneness Tour” sponsored by Humanity’s Team - Neale Donald Walsch this past Sunday evening. www.htworldtourusa.org

SOS's Star Mandala layout was inspired by the Divine Natural Order hidden in our DNA. A cross-section of the structure of DNA reveals 5 decagon sets. Star Mandala consists of one of these sets - a double pentagon containing a double 5-pointed star!

The 10 Crystal Bowls which were played were tuned to the 5 notes of the Pentatonic Scale, one of the oldest modal tonalities known, traceable back to the Bronze Age.

The Golden Mean relationship is inherent in this layout both in the mirroring and replication of star within pentagon within star within pentagon and within the angles of the pentagons and stars themselves.

This decagon with it’s 10-pointed star reminds us of the importance many cultures placed on the number ten. From the Ancient Greeks’ “Tetraktys” to the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life, ten was considered a number of mysterious divine power, a symbol of universal creation and return to oneness.

Star Mandala, is a synthesis of these many layers of knowledge. With Sacred Geometry, Sacred Sound and Divine Order our intention was to reawaken the harmony within and so reconnect us to the grand “harmony of the spheres”. We asked that our connection with Nature, with Humanity, with Earth and with our Divinity come into full realization. For truly "We Are All One"!

"Whew....... the premier performance of "Templar Cross" and the popular "Angel Wings" meditation were presented at St. James Episcopal Church on Wednesday, March 28th. "Templar Cross" was written by composer, associate pastor, Ray Gotko, specifically for SOS, flute and synthesizer. It is a beautifully organic piece based on a cycling of eight bowls arranged in intervals of 5ths and placed at the eight points of the Templar Cross. The audience was spellbound! The 2 back-to-back meditations that evening involved 19 bowls and 16 players and an organizational chart that looked like the Redcoat Marching Band drill instructions!

Then on Saturday, March 31, eight members of SOS played for Don Simmons' sold out "Chakra Balancing Meditation" at Phoenix and Dragon.

And then on Sunday morning, April 1, SOS performed the powerful "Cosmic Whorl" meditation for the Course In Miracles Study Group at the Theosophical Society in Sandy Springs. A wonderful receptive group who generously took all nine of us out to lunch afterwards!!!"

Intuitive singer, Susan Elizabeth Hale, Percussionist, Chuck Cogliandro and Flutist, Candace Keach ushered in Spring with ISTA's Equin-ISTA Concert on a blustery March 16th evening. The concert was a melding of Susan's channeled songs, Candace's classical flute solos, Chuck's African drumming and Chuck and Susan's leading of audience participation chants! The celebration was that of a Divine Wedding of Masculine and Feminine - Green Man & The Goddess. The audience favorites were Susan's haunting melody, "Michael & Mary", accompanied by ocean drum and flute; the Pachelbel Alleluia Canon Audience Spiral accompanied by bass flute, C flute and bass drum; Chuck's Djembe Solo and the Crystal Bowl Meditation with 3 large bowls played by Chuck and Susan, accompanied by Susan's vocalise and Candace's improvised flute melodies. It was a miraculous collaboration which we hope will be repeated!

"I found the Cosmic Whorl to be a deep and rich experience. The guided portion provides some understanding and support for using the meditation for going deeper. It is more active than the unguided one. Both provide a rich landscape.
I noticed after last time that what I focused on during the meditation
occurred to me later when I could use the support. Nice." - Lavonne

SOS Crystal Bowl Choir blessed Serenity Lakes Healing Center with a Tibetan Sound Healing Meditation this past Sunday. This 30 minute meditation immersed the audience into the depths of the five "Warrior Syllables". Participants joined SOS in toning these ancient meditation sounds as they were supported within the crystal bowl harmonies of AH, OM, HUNG, RAM and DZA. The bowls were arranged in the spiraling cosmic whorl found in Tibetan symbology representing the energy of manifestation. Participants attuned themselves to the sounds of Spaciousness, Awareness, the Four Immeasurables of love, joy, compassion and equanimity and Effortless Manifestation!

Candace collaborated with soprano sound shaman, Norma Gentile, in a Winter Solstice Candlelight Concert at Emory Presbyterian Church on Saturday, December 23rd. Norma's gift as an intuitive and a highly trained musician was perfectly matched with Candace's in an improvised duet of flute and voice which guided the audience into a deeply peaceful meditation near the end of the concert. Norma sang the works of Hildegard von Bingen artfully accompanied also by Tibetan Bowls, Gordon Porth playing Harmonium and Patricia Kilpatrick playing Tambura.

On Wednesday, December 6th, SOS Crystal Bowl Choir sounded a chakra performance meditation at Unity Christ Center Healing Service in Suwanee. Candace lead SOS in a meditation which immersed participants in the sounds of specific chakra combinations to energize and harmonize the interplay of chakra energies. Participants lay on pillows and mats inside this circle of 14 candlelit crystal bowls in a double chakra layout so that they felt themselves inside shimmering wings of sound as the intervals changed around them. A light show overhead showed the "angel wings" progression in white with a brilliant blue background. Deep sensory nurturing and peace was felt by all!

SOS Crystal Bowl Choir sounded a performance meditation by the lake at Serenity Lakes in Lawrenceville on Wednesday, September 6th before a lecture given by Freddy Silva. SOS performed in the formation of one of the sacred geometric harmonic patterns that Freddy discussed in his lecture. Similar to the ancient healing temples and the mysterious crop circles, the very dimensions of this form access electro-magnetic energy lines for healing. The crystal bowls sounded the actual intervals of these ratios for total immersion! When Freddy stood above us on the hill he actually heard an unplayed overtone ringing from the "pentagon within a 5-pointed star within a pentagon within a circle" dimensions which he created with a compass, measuring tape and crepe paper! Those of us in the circle heard this phantom pitch randomly appear and disappear while we were playing the bowls!

Freddy is the world’s foremost expert on sacred spaces, and best-selling author of Secrets in the Fields: The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles, hailed by many as the most comprehensive book ever written on this fascinating and multi-disciplinary phenomenon. He is also a leading researcher into the interaction between temples and consciousness, and recently directed the documentary “Stairways To Heaven: The Practical Magic Of Sacred Space.

With over 300 in attendance
A Spiral of Sound from 27 crystal bowls created
“Nature's Harmony” on the hill near Park Tavern in Piedmont Park,
Atlanta, Georgia

Candace writes, "On summer solstice we created a Spiral of Sound at Piedmont Park made up of pitches that very, very closely matched a harmonic series starting on E. For 45 minutes we created waves of "nature's harmony" wafting up the spiral in 3's, then 5's, then 8's, then 13's into all of the bowls sounding at sunset.

We had about 300 people meditating around us and it was incredible - at the apex of the sounding, it became completely quiet around us - the city sounds were unusually silenced and overhead the sky was magnificent, a deep twilight blue, and the clouds in the sky were blazing pink.

One of the bowl players told me there was a pink wispy cloud that formed halfway down the tall buildings across the way and just hovered there until we were finished when it disappeared! We had candles in the bowls so as it got dark the bowls became illuminated from within - it was beautiful!"

Letter to Candace from Betty, one of the audience members,

"The Solstice Meditation was so powerful! I did a walking meditation around the perimeter of the seated and standing crowd.

I could feel the energy streaming up through my feet. The air was infused with energetic sound. I was so grateful I could attend.

All of the participants looked beautiful in their shades of white,
with the colorful streamers surrounding them.

As the sun set the illuminated bowls made for a magical conclusion.

Thanks to all participants and visitors seen and unseen, for this special gathering."

Amazingly, just the week before Summer Solstice, Candace was contacted by Chuck Cogliandro, director of Kumandi Drums, when he found out both groups had "sound" intentions to celebrate the solstice in the same arena!!! Many of you may know Chuck as the organizer of the 100-member percussion tribe that began the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Chuck had invited 1500 of his closest friends and was planning to lead a rhythm mandala, teaching stepping, chanting and tapping patterns for concentric circles of rhythm. He thought perhaps we could join our energies and events and indeed, the timing and placement was already perfect.

As Candace noted, "how interesting that we have together come up with complementary events celebrating the complete spectrum of energy, starting with the percussion moving energy up from the lower chakras and ending with the crystal bowls moving the energy even higher into the upper chakras and beyond!!!"

Chuck’s comments to Candace after the event, “Wow that was such an amazing evening. I hope you got to see the most glorious sunset appearing over the downtown skyline as your bowls glowed with life. I have heard from so many people who were heartened and had their hopes rekindled for peace and joy in our community from the togetherness and love that was present in the gathering. What a profound synchrony of events, to have our intentions for our offerings so perfectly aligned!”