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Patrick's Drum Making Process
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Each drum I make begins with smudging. First, I smudge
myself, the hoop and then the hide. |
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  I make drums prayerfully. I become the hollow bone, blending the
fire, water, earth and air into the drum. I breathe. I
inspire myself and open to the mystery of this particular drum. As
I make the drum, I am with my creative forces …owning my own divinity as
a spiritual being that is consciously creating something sacred with my
hands.
I am congruent with mind, body, spirit and emotions. I am working
with the tree, the animal and the spirits of those brothers and sisters.
I am working with the oversoul of the deer people or whichever hide I am working with. I
am working with the devas of the cedar tree, praying for the medicine
and intelligence of those silent ones whose wisdom is available through
my prayer. |
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In
a two year study of Native American ways with sixteen other men, I
birthed my first drum. Some of these men were full blood Native
and most were mixed bloods like myself. An Osage man was my
teacher. He told me that all of my blocks would emerge while
making a drum, issues like “perfectionism”, “fear”, “judgments”
and that when I attached to these, my breath would stop. I
encourage those who make drums with me to breathe and stay in the heart
space. The opposite is also true – if I am impatient, angry,
sad or afraid, the drum will carry this energy. Drum making gives
us the opportunity to go through many issues and heal those places in us
that forgot we are spiritual beings in a human experience.
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One of my
first lessons in drum making was that of releasing my perfectionism. I
was taught that all trees are perfect, and none are perfectly
symmetrical. My teachers drums were never perfectly round and were more
natural. He also never avoided a hole in a drum. The holes represent the
wound, and how the wound heals is to go into the pain and allow the
tears to flow, thus the term the “wounded healer”. If your drum has a
hole in the skin, it in no way is weak or defective. If you place your
hand over the hole and drum, the vibration goes through the hole. My
teacher said “don’t you have holes in you?” Many customers specifically
ask for a hole in the drum as a reminder… to go through our pain – only
in doing so can we access the true joy vibration. |
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By the grace of my Creator I have
never lost the magic and mystery of creating drums. Each one is
unique. I never make the same drum twice.
The drums I create are sacred. I love creating these drums, and
each one I have made has been my teacher.
I
was taught the spirits come in on the vibrations of the drum and the
songs we sing. I have also learned that I am sacred, and that in order
to hold anything sacred I first have to reclaim my own divinity.
This
teaching is simple and profound, that I/you/we are spiritual beings in a
human experience.
As I act from a deep place of sacredness, that which
I create is also sacred.
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Your drum, when made from the heartspace, will
be a true friend. The heart is our love and wisdom. The heart is
patience, tolerance and reminds me of the abundance and
interconnectedness of life. I was told that spirit comes in on the
vibrations of the drum. Drumming awakens the emotional body, touching
us at a deep level, reminding us of the heartbeat that we all heard when
we came from spirit to form. My heartbeat, my mother’s heartbeat…two
hearts beating as one. |
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As I have “birthed” thousands of drums, each one is new,
alive and vibrant
with the voice remaining a mystery until this birth happens.
To return to the Drums page, please
click here.
Photos on this page by Kira Bartlett |
