Flute Discovery Retreat

The weekend at the Flute Discovery Retreat was more than I could have anticipated.  The only real expectations I had were spending time with people who seem to be seeking similar things from life.  We all seem to want to know more about the Native American style flute.  We were eager to learn where and why the flute has such power to capture your heart and what it means to the indigenous people. There were some people at this retreat that don't play this amazing wooden instrument.  There were others that have been in touch with the flute for years and there were others new to the journey.  All of us have the same experience, we hear the peacefulness, the heart-song, the soul and the power to heal that comes from this humble wooden flute.

We crave that song coming from the flute.  The secret is that song is coming from the person playing the flute.  It is our breath that gives this beautiful flute a song.  This sacred breath comes from inside each player, travels through our hearts into our lungs and into the flute.  The song we give this flute is our personal heart- song!  And when we play, we share it with the universe.  When we pray with our flute it becomes even more powerful, it takes our prayers to the wind and on to the Creator.  It  is no wonder we stop when we hear this music in the air.

I have been playing the flute for a little over four years now.  I have discovered while listening to many artists perform something very interesting.   I hear each of their heart-songs and no two are ever alike.  Each has their own style, intonation's, pauses, accents, and dance.  Each player has their own joys and sorrows that come out when they play their music. 

In our flute circle we have some wonderful Cd's with background music that we use to accompany our flute music.  Often two or three people will take turns playing during the same background piece.  Each player, while playing to the same background, will have an entirely different song!  I think this is amazing! 

On Saturday night around the campfire,we gathered with our drums and flutes, some would drum, some would play flute, and then it would change.  We know the drumbeats are the heartbeat of our Mother Earth, when we drum we send healing energy and prayers to ALL things that live on this earth. 

An awesome thing happened  at the campfire that night.  At some point two people were taking turns playing the flute across the fire from one another, a kind of call and response.  During this conversation with two flutes, another person went away from the fire and into the trees, when the pause came in the two conversing at the fire, the flute in the trees played.  When that flute paused one at the fire picked up the next response and then passed it to the other, when he finished the flute in the trees again responded.  Then suddenly another flute player joined our conversation in another direction of the grounds.  Each of the players seemed to instinctively know when the other finished and it was their turn to play.   One of the players at the fire then went to another corner of the grounds, it it became a circle recognizing each of the four directions, one in the East, one in the South, one in the West and one in the North.

The amazing part of this, none of this was arranged, spoken or suggested.  It was a Spirit guided event.
I am honored to have been witness to this amazing moment of hearing heart-songs being offered to the clear night sky, to the stars, to the moon, and to anyone who was listening.

Now isn't that amazing?