Instructor - Dave Stringer
Day & Time - Saturday at 8:30 am - 11:30 am
(Available in Full and Saturday Festival Pass. Add to a Partial or Sunday Festival Pass for $120)
Dave Stringer
Mantras and Molecules
From the perspective of Eastern philosophy, the bliss we are seeking is
already inside of us. From the perspective of modern brain science, this is
also a true statement. To the scientist, bliss is a chemical state that the
body itself produces, and it is a state that we are apparently hard-wired to
seek. Chanting Sanskrit mantras is one of the world’s oldest means of
finding it.
Chanting affects the areas of the brain that create our sense of where our
body ends and the world begins. It also slows and steadies breathing,
producing hormone and neurological changes in the body that feel
simultaneously calming and thrilling.
Moving from the individual level to the collective level, the effect is
magnified. Through chanting, one’s sense of separation diminishes, and
one’s feeling of connection increases. You feel somehow intimate with all
the strangers surrounding you, and intensely, vividly, alive.
This workshop will explore the neurochemistry of ecstasy through
extensive practice of the call and response form of chanting known as
Kirtan. Augmenting direct experience, the workshop will also feature
presentations and discussions on the emerging brain science of how
music influences and alters our perceptions, mind and spirit.
Location
Surfsand Resort Ballroom
