Gong Spa at home
Hey lovelies.
I hope you’re well and taking good care of yourselves and each other.
For the last few weeks I’ve been popping home recordings of Gong Baths on to my Gong Spa Bandcamp page. You can access them here. You can stream them, or for better sound quality you can download them in any format of your choice. For best quality I would choose FLAC, WAV or AIF. MP3 is the lowest quality sound but has a very small file size. Once downloaded, I would choose to use your best speakers/headphones, and then set yourself up somewhere comfortable and where you’re unlikely to be disturbed.
Do feel free to share them with anybody. I intend to pop a new one up there every week. 🙂
So…… until I see you again, take care of yourselves.
Much love and happiness.
Martyn xxx
Manchester Hill Remembered
An amazing event is coming up at Manchester Cathedral called Manchester Hill Remembered. It’s bringing together some fantastic musicians, artists, poets and more to commemorate the fall of Manchester Hill in World War 1. We’re spending all next week creating together, in preparation for the event on 13th April. Can’t wait!!
Take a look at the people involved below xx
https://www.brightersound.com/manchester-hill-meet-artists/
Jamming with volcanic activity… how cool?
Had the pleasure of playing gongs as part of a Seismic Sound Bath at Christies Auction House in London last week (as part of their ‘Lates’ events). Click here for the official photos from the event.
I was playing gongs alongside Nicholas Hadfield who was playing the sounds of volcanic activity from all around the world through what was effectively a volcano of speakers (a huge tower), some of which were rumbling the room with infrasound frequencies (below the typical hearing range of humans)!
It was a brilliant day. We did five of the sound baths as people came through, one group after the next. They were guided in by a man in a hooded cape, then circled around an installation of a mini volcano, bubbing with orange lava, while imprinting volcaninc ash on each others foreheads and having a little introductory brain buzz from a weighted tuning fork. This was followed by the seismic sound bath which was so much fun…. I’ve never jammed with volcanos before but I hope to again. Gongs and seismic stuff go soooo well together! Love it!! Thanks very much to Nicholas Hadfield, TPI Speakers, Bompas and Parr and Christies Lates.
Yay 🙂
Chetham’s Library – what an incredible place to play the gongs! Thank you x
I was super-thrilled to play in the Baronial Hall in Chetham’s Library yesterday morning for Hendrick’s. I can’t tell you how awe-inspiring the location was. It was built in 1421 and has been used as a public library for over 350 years! Must go back there for a proper tour at some point. And the new concert hall was extremely impressive too!
Anyway, here’s a few photos. Don’t the gongs look at home? I think I might move in…. 😉
If you fancy hiring me and the gongs for something special… drop me a line on 07850 955810 or supergongspa@gmail.com xx
Gong Spa video – Streams of Consciousness
I’m delighted to announce a really cool video, entitled Streams of Consciousness.
The gorgeous sounds and depths of the gongs merge synchronistically with the beautiful flow of ink and water.
I would recommend using good quality headphones/speakers.
Soundscape: Martyn Cawthorne
Blotch video: Serge Goldwicht
Thanks to Simon at Share Ideas
Thanks to you for watching 🙂
Click here to watch the video.
Martyn
x
Evening Meditation Groups Soon…
Hi.
I’ve been thinking how nice it would be to have the Breathing Striking Being Meditations in the evening too so that they’re available to those who are busy on Wednesday and Friday mornings. I know, it’s been a long time coming…. but I’m going to make it happen. 🙂 I’ll set up some dates and post them on the website asap.
Hope you can come. 🙂
Martyn
x
Deep Bliss Day Retreat with gongs, bowls, meditation and yoga
Deep Bliss Day Retreat with gongs, bowls, meditation and yoga
This is an opportunity for deep bliss…. relaxation and self-acceptance….. going deep and rediscovering yourself as you are…. being inspired by your own inner nature…. and sharing in the experience of awesome sound, silence, movement and meditation with others.
The players/instructors for the day are Martyn Cawthorne, Jane Blackburn and Szilvia Bajada-Gardian (links below for further information).
The venue is the gorgeous Blissland, run very lovingly by the amazing Dawn and Lionel Cox. It’s such a beautiful venue, high up on the hills near Congleton. It has lovely features such as the magical gardens, the love pond, the amazing pods (gorgeous intimate spaces), and the barn, from whose windows you can see out across the hills as you relax into your yoga stretches).
The schedule of events is planned as follows:
10:00-10:30 Greeting and introductions – a little hello time 🙂
10:30-11:30 Guided meditation (by Jane) with deep, slow tones on the gongs (by Martyn), creating an environment of inner and outer acceptance, stillness and purity of intention for the day.
11:00-11:15 Short break
11:15-12:30 Himalayan singing bowls and gentle yoga (by Szilvia), creating clarity, space and opening the mind, body, emotions and spirit
12:30-13:15 Lunch (please can everyone bring a little vegetarian food to be shared with the group – no need to bring more than one person’s worth)
13:15-15:15 Super-long, super-deep gong bath immersion (by Martyn and Jane) – a fantastic opportunity to travel inward to great depths and experience profound openings, shifts, releases, joy and peace and the majestic sounds of these wonderful instruments
15:15-15:30 Short break
15:30-16:00 Walking mindfully in the garden (indoors if raining) with the beautiful, clarifying sounds of the crystal bowls (by Jane)
16:00-16:30 Guided gong/bowl playing opportunity – everyone will have the opportunity to take a mallet and (with guidance and instruction) use a simple technique to gently bring forth some wonderful sounds and vibrations from these gorgeous instruments.
16:30-17:00 Drinking tea and sharing – a relaxed and pleasant moment, coming together, offering up our experiences of the day.
17:00 Home time 🙂
Please note: we are asking that everyone bring a little vegetarian food (only enough to feed one person) so that, without being wasteful, we can share in and enjoy lots of different offerings.
Also, there is plenty of parking at Blissland. If coming by train, please communicate with us well in advance and we should be able to come and pick you up from the station:-)
Early bird price is £60. To reserve a place, please contact Martyn Cawthorne directly for payment details on 07850 955810 or supergongspa@gmail.com.
Martyn Cawthorne – https://gongspa.co.uk/
Jane Blackburn – http://www.simplycosmic.co.uk/
Szilvia Bajada-Gardian – www.szilviagardian.com
Blissland – http://blissland.co.uk/, postcode is CW12 3NA
Directions to Blissland/Heather Bank Farm.
The full address is:
Heather Bank Farm. Congleton Edge, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 3NA.
Sat Navs don’t work well for the postcode so if you need to use one put in Congleton Train station first, then when you get there put in the postcode for the farm or you’ll end up in a muddy field.
Without a sat nav try this:
Heading out of Congleton towards Biddulph, past the train station and past the golf club on your left hand side.
Carry straight on through the crossroads with the church on your left and you should see a small white sign saying Mossley CP School.
Turn at this sign and then immediately left into Congleton Edge Road, carry on up the hill for a good half mile until you see a green bear.
Yes a green bear, this is the entrance to the farm, it’s a sharp left turn in, go straight past the house through the open gate into Blissland. Drive right through and there is a car park at the end.
Here are some photos of Blissland 🙂
Gongs In The Mines At Alderley Edge
Hi folks. Big thanks to everyone who came to the mines at Alderley Edge on Sunday for either the first or the second group of gong baths. It was great to see you all (well, to be dazzled by your headlights!) and to play for you! Also, big thanks to Bill, Tina and all the volunteers who made things run so smoothly (by doing a lot of lifting and problem-solving!). And thanks to Sadie and everyone at The Yard for all the support and the tea and everything you do 🙂
It was such a great fun event… I just love playing in those mines 🙂
I hope you were all comfy enough on the mats and that you brought enough sleeping bag type nesting to keep yourselves snuggly buggy 🙂 We’ll be running more of the same at some point soon so keep your eyes peeled for that 🙂
In the mean time here are a couple of photos I took and lots taken by Andrew Twambley (thanks Andrew).
If you have any photos, I’d love it if you sent them to me on FB or to supergongspa@gmail.com.
Oh and I should add…. if you’d like a professionally recorded album on CD of me playing the gongs in the mines at Alderley Edge, please contact me. We made an album in there early in 2016 and it sounds wonderful, especially on headphones while meditating, or when slipping off to sleep 🙂
Thanks. xx
Edge – A gong EP recorded in the mines at Alderley Edge
The new Gong Spa EP, ‘Edge’ is now available! Recorded in the amazing copper mines at Alderley Edge, the ambience is completely unique and the energy is sublime (note: a gong bath in the mines is scheduled for Saturday 14th May (now most likely postponed for a later date) – more details as soon as I can…).
The EP is being sold for £7 – please contact Martyn on 07850 955810 or supergongspa@gmail.com for a copy.
The gongs, made in part of copper themselves, seem to be picking up and expressing the immense history of the mines (they’ve been mined for copper since the Bronze Age). Alderley Edge is well known for its high energy levels, the ley lines, and its association with magic (see the stories of the White Wizard and the white mare and the work of Alan Garner). There is a transcendental stillness in the air that can surely only be possible in these dark depths.
Listening to the tracks, I feel as though the gongs are speaking of the slumber of the great giant spirit who is eternally present in the very rock, the minerals and the water of the mines (if you listen closely you can hear the occasional droplet falling from the rock face to the floor of the cavern), and they seem to be singing about a gathering of sorcerers, a unity, a movement.
I was so lucky to record in the mines and owe a debt of gratitude to Dave from the National Trust and to Bill from Derbyshire Caving Club and to Tina for all her support and special energies. As per the first album, this CD was recorded with Biff from WR Audio. Big thanks to Biff.
The Edge EP has 49 minutes of original material, in the following format:
Track 1: A Giant’s Slumber (in 3 movements)
40,000 Winks
Hypnopompic Wavering
Revivification
Track 2: Spirits, Spells and Shadows
Track 3: Elements and Eons
For those who prefer shorter meditations, the end of the CD repeats the first track but split into 3 individual tracks which can be listened to as per the listener’s preference (as such, the CD is 78 minutes long, but appropriately sold at the price of a 49 minute EP).
To read a full length article on the adventure we had recording in the mines, click here
Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming gong bath in the mines, scheduled for 14th May. More details as soon as I can….
To listen to a track for free, use this free player
Gongs at the Chorlton and Whalley Range Big Green Happening
Hey…. I’ll be playing gongs for about four hours at this years Chorlton and Whalley Range Big Green Happening on 23rd April (I’ll be in St. Clement’s Church) 🙂 It’s a day to gather and celebrate Green Groups and Businesses who try to make a positive difference to the planet and community. There’ll also be food, yoga, politics, art, youth, transport, fashion, sustainability and more 🙂
