Posted by Jennifer Rapp Peterson
Novelist Molly Moynahan moved out of her comfort zone and found creative inspiration by attending Gong Lab's Suite for Dreamers.
a guest post by Molly Moynahan
At 50 + I sometimes feel I’ve earned my place on the couch, in bed, watching television or reading Oprah, congratulating myself on my specialness, cat on lap, chocolate at the ready. And then it hits me that I am becoming one of those people I once pitied, inert, pathetic, declining opportunities to be creatively moved to remain static.
Age has nothing to do with it. I’ve known plenty of younger people who have resigned from anything more challenging then using their cell phones to order that evenings’ dinner. Some of these people are creative artists and they should know better. I’ve also been fortunate enough to know powerful creatives who are many decades past 50 including my own mother, an architect who views good design as a human need. My mother’s physical health has just recently declined and I am reminded of how lucky I am to remain healthy and mobile.
Inertia kills creativity. Inertia is not stillness or silence or meditation. Inertia is indifference and probably a sign of depression. So when one of my friends and writing students recently invited to me to participate in an event he was hosting that celebrated the winter solstice with a shadow puppet play and a gong bath, I decided to go.
Gong Lab image via Facebook
I was alone and had no idea if my friend would be too busy to talk to me, carrying my yoga mat and blanket upstairs to the loft space where the others, mostly younger, were milling around. Was I happy to be there? Well, not really. I’m a control freak and while I’m uniquely skilled at making small talk with nearly anyone I can still feel insecure and self-conscious with strangers.
Gong Lab image via Facebook
Here is how the participants in “Suite for Dreamers” described the event:
Gong Lab’s Suite for Dreamers is a sonic, visceral, and visual journey designed to bridge the gap between waking and dreaming. Created by Shu Shubat.
You will bring your mat, blanket, and pillow. Your host HCL will provide a luscious Fall vegetarian repast. After dinner, lay back and drift off while immersed in a spell-inducing shadow story of renewal and reconnection to the bounty of the Earth. (Accompanied by live vocals, percussion and a 38" Earth Gong.) Come out feeling like the starry night.
The play began with a text by poet Mary Oliver reflected up on the screen. This was followed by a short vocal piece by Shu Shubat. The percussion and Earth Gong were performed by Oliver Seay and the Shadow Puppets were handled by Shu, Carl Brahams and Mike Oleon who also designed the Shadow show.
My experience? I lay down on my yoga mat and listened to a haunting song. Then we watched a shadow puppet show that beautifully interwove text and animation in a story about the earth. Finally, there was a gong bath, waves of sound covering my body, sometimes verging on painful but mostly lovely and oddly moving.
I felt slightly lost, briefly emotional and then I took my pillow and went home, relaxed, tired and yet refreshed.
Being an artist also demands you participate, experience and support other artists. Getting out of your comfort zone and participating in another artist’s event will feed your creativity and inspire new ideas.
Information on Gong Lab can be found by friending them on Facebook.
Molly can be reached at www.mollymoynahan.com.
Gong Lab image via Facebook
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