Dahn Yoga DC Blog

As I play, I do not follow any written music, just what comes naturally to me through the flow of energy. During the experience, I am transported, and I hope the audience along with me into the movement of the music itself. Even if I did know how to read music, I would not use it during the lectures. It I did have a piece of music sitting in front of me, part of my awareness would be on the printed page, not in the actual pure vibration of each individual note as it is played. The point of these demonstrations is to lose oneself in the music, letting go of all thought and judgment.

I like to demonstrate this for people because it also demonstrates how to live in harmony with the flow of life, letting each note come as it will, without resistance or judgment. To me the difference between great musicians and ordinary ones lies not in how they play the music but in how they play with the music. Likewise, we must learn to play with the reality of our lives by living completely in the flow and rhythm of each moment, rather than trying to play it according to the preconceptions and restrictions of the past.

These are magical moments, brief segments of time during which you are transported beyond the limits of your body into the much larger, universal world of rhythm and movement.

In reality, when you respond to a piece of music, nothing actually changes in the world around you. Do you respond to a happy tune with a smile because that song somehow fixed all your problems? Of course not, your life condition remains the same, with or without the song. But something did change something within your brain—that allowed your perspective on life to change as well.

Did you know that I am a musician? I have not received training in the usual way, but I often play instruments during my lectures, including flutes, ocarinas, gongs, chimes, and other sorts of folk instruments.

Music, because of its specific and Jar-reaching metaphorical powers, can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.
Leonard Bernstein, composer

If you really want to change your brain waves, a good place to start is with a song. Consider for a moment the effect music has had on you in the past. I’m sure you have experienced your mood suddenly lifting when you hear a cheerful song on the radio. Perhaps the songs of your youth have the power to transport you back to a simpler place in time. Or maybe you have even been moved to tears by a grand symphony. You may have even noticed that music can have an effect on your body. Unconsciously your foot begins tapping or your head bobs up and down in time to the rhythm. Occasionally, at some moment when you feel unrestrained by the need to retain personal decorum, you let loose and start dancing around the room.

Next, start to observe your own brain waves and their effects on others. When you speak of connecting to others, realize the literal truth of this, and you will soon be able to act according to your highest ideals and aspirations.

As you begin Brain Wave Vibration, it is important to do so with very specific, positive intent. Without this, the action is only shaking, which might provide some temporary relaxation and escape, but it will not be permanent. Instead, as you shake, let go of everything and go to a place of oneness, the quiet center at the core of your being. It is from this place that you can begin to re-create yourself and to create the life you really want to live.

In essence, Brain Wave Vibration is all about getting connected. If you lack health in any form, whether mentally, spiritually, or physically, or if you are simply interested in maintaining the health you have, then you must seek the wholeness that gives rise to health. And this, I believe, means keeping connected with you, with other beings, and with the universe.

First, you must reconnect to your body. Allow your brain to connect properly to all the functions of your body, a process that is often disrupted in the stressful process of our lives. Visualize the amazing web of living communication that exists within you—your brain sending its messages to your body and your body sending messages back to your brain. Consciously send a message of loving gratitude from your brain to all the cells of your body—they, in turn, will thank you for it.