Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Venus in Virgo in Vedic Astrology Virgin Lover: Venus In Virgo August begins with Venus entering the Vedic sign of Virgo where it remains all the way until the end of the month. Venus is the planet of sensuality and love while...
Kundalini Summer Time Cleanse Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini Yoga, possessed the royal teaching majesty of a Leo and the healthy diet consciousness of a Virgo. And in those roles, he often gave his yoga students special diets to follow to support them in their...
Gongs for Cats, Dogs, Whales and Eagles Yes, I am finally doing it – writing about Gongs and pets (and actually all other beasts). After all, why should only humans get to be gonged? In my gong training courses, I almost always get the question: “Will my cat or dog...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Talking about your Relationships in Vedic Astrology Talking About Your Relationships July brings us a partial solar eclipse on the 12th and a total (and extra-long) lunar eclipse on the Full Moon of the 27th. Our friend Mercury...
Gong with the Wind, Roar like a Lion The most common and widely available gong in the world sometimes gets no respect. I’m referring to what is popularly called a “wind gong” or perhaps more properly called a “Feng” and sometimes referred to as a Lion Gong. The wind...
Kundalini Journey Coming Home Every spiritual path requires the soul to make the journey from individual consciousness to universal consciousness, to realize the infinite in the finite and to experience the atman (individual soul) in the Mahatma (the Great Soul). Yoga...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Summer Solstice, Sun, and Saturn in Vedic Astrology Summer Solstice arrives June 21st in the Northern Hemisphere at 5:07 am CDT. Since the most ancient of times, in all cultures, and before all religions, the day of Summer Solstice...
Tripping Out with Kundalini Yoga: Two Sets to Take with You For many people, summer time brings short and long distance trips that can shake up our routines for the better – less time in front of a computer and more time in the “real” world for example. Yet there is...
Gong Breath Do you have gong breath? We hope so. Gong breath allows you to deeply experience the effects of the gong. Here’s how to get it: Breathe and Listen Gong relaxations are sometimes misnamed gong baths which imply that the listener should passively and simply...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Your Martian Super Powers in Vedic Astrology Your Martian Super Powers This month brings an unusual experience of the planet Mars in all of our lives that lasts for six months. Scorpios and Arians, whose signs are associated with...
Finding Your Meditation Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan has been estimated to consist of over 3,500 meditations and kriyas, more than any human being could likely experience in a lifetime of practice. So which one should you choose for your own practice and...
Go Gong Yourself Warning: If you do not own a gong yet, you may soon. It is a wonderful thing to be gonged, to show up and relax and hear the sound of one or many beautiful gongs played for you. And truly it would be amazing to hear the gong every day and receive its...
Backwards – into the Future! April brings a shower of planets apparently moving backward, or retrograding, in the sky. Retrograde planets bring special challenges and opportunities, both in the current time cycle and in our birth charts. In Vedic astrology, the...
The Most Powerful Kundalini Yoga Mudra There are hundreds of mudras, or hand positions, used in the practice of yoga and meditation, and Kundalini Yoga uses many of them. Yet there is one Kundalini Yoga mudra that could win the honor of the most powerful one of them...
The Ultimate Gong? Everyone who plays or listens to the Gong wants the best frequency, the purest sound, and the ultimate vibratory experience that the Gong can produce. Is there such a thing as the Ultimate Gong, a gong so perfectly designed that it does it all?...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Love in Vedic Astrology Venus is Coming … Are You Ready for Love? March brings us the first day of spring (Vernal Equinox) on the 20th and begins with a Full Moon on the 1st and a second Blue Moon in a row on the 31st. Plus, we...
Meditation: Got a Minute? A Kundalini Yoga class is an ongoing experience of the meditative mind. During the exercises, you focus on your breath, a mantra, a mudra, and often have your eyes closed in order to go deeper within the practice and achieve a natural state...
Be Quiet – It’s a Gong For most people, the Gong is a loud musical instrument, capable of producing crashing, splashing sounds of color and penetration. And indeed, sometimes the Gong is played that way, with its sound becoming at times overwhelming to the listener....
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Your Birthday Planet in Vedic Astrology What’s Your Birthday Planet? Many people know their Sun sign (at least their Western Sun sign), but only a few know their birthday planet. Your birthday planet is determined by the day of the...
KUNDALINI NEW YEAR – DRINK UP! New Year’s has always been a modern substitute for the pagan celebration of Saturnalia where the purpose was to drink and orgy your way through the winter months. Old customs die hard, even as the common practice of orgies fade away and...
THE GONG AS ART In some of the ancient writings on the Gong, it was said that even “the sight of a gong could cure all ills.” One interpretation of this is that when you are within proximity, or sight of a gong, there is a constant healing field being generated by the...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Super Blue Moon Eclipse in Vedic Astrology SUPER BLUE MOON ECLIPSE YOW! The New Year begins with a Full Moon on January 1st, and is called a “Super Moon” because of its proximity to the earth. And then the month ends with a lunar...
A Kundalini Solstice Yogi Bhajan often taught special meditations for the Summer and Winter Solstices. He said that these were special days for the human psyche to re-set itself for the seasonal changes. While Winter Solstice is usually December 21st in most parts of...
Yogi Bhajan and the Gong It is not an overstatement to say that Yogi Bhajan, the master of Kundalini Yoga, was the most influential individual in spreading the use of the Gong, from India to the Western world, as an instrument for meditation and healing. Beginning in...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Winter Solstice & Mercury Retrograde in Vedic Astrology Winter Solstice and You Lose Your Brain This Winter Solstice brings a powerful Sun-Saturn conjunction in the Vedic sign of Sagittarius and the Nakshatra of Mula....
The Two Sounds of Your Gong The Gong is renowned for its complexity and multiplicity of sounds, and its ability to create an incredibly rich soundscape. Yet there are are only two basic sounds the Gong produces: Fundamental Tones and Harmonic Overtones. The...
Give Me Some Skin One of the many distinguishing (unusual!) aspects of Kundalini Yoga is the presence of sheepskins used to practice and meditate upon. While other yoga students are busy buying petroleum based yoga mats and bags, Kundalini students are investigating...
Gongs – Not Bongs My first experience is using the Gong was in a Kundalini Yoga ashram in 1974 where it was played by teachers for recovering drug addicts. Our ashram served as a half-way house for ex-drug users, primarily heroin and cocaine. They lived a yogic...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Saturn Makes a Lucky Move in Vedic Astrology Saturn Makes a Lucky Move For the past few days (October 26), Saturn has been blessing us with its presence in the Vedic sign of Sagittarius. This relief comes after an almost...
The Moody Blues Rock and Roll musicians “discovered” the psychedelic Gong in the late 1960s and 1970s. I think my first exposure to the sound of the Gong was at a Moody Blues concert when they performed “Knights in White Satin/Lament.” At the end of the 7-minute song,...
Dying to Hear the Gong The Gong has been used for centuries in almost every ritual, ceremony, and rite of passage known to humankind. In Buddhist monasteries, gongs call the attention of the gods. In ancient Greece, they open the realm of the dead. In Borneo, they are...
Talking with Your Chakras When is the last time you talked with your chakras? Probably in the last hour or so. Every time we speak, we usually speak from a combination of two chakra energy centers. Every chakra has a specific frequency that informs our energy. From...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: A Dance of Mind & Heart in Vedic Astrology Dancing with Mind and Heart October will show us how balanced we are with a month-long dance between mind and heart, intellect and emotion, understanding and feeling, and reason and...
The Octagong When does a gong have eight sides? When it is made by Martin Blase, master gong maker in Germany. I obtained this gong from Martin last summer in his studio after hearing its amazing sound. My wife says the sound of the Octogong shatters old patterns and...
A Gong for Every Chakra! Many people experience healing and relaxation from the sound of the Gong. And the gong has been used therapeutically for a wide range of applications, from treating addictions, balancing the emotions, and even reducing inflammation in the...
Kundalini Yoga: Keeping It Hot I’ve taught Kundalini Yoga in some pretty hot places: Costa Rica, Bali, Mexico, and of course, Austin Texas. Sweat trickling down your back as you do Sat Kriya and giving Breath of Fire a new meaning in 105 degree heat. And some people...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Time for a Karmic Overhaul in Vedic Astrology Time for a Karmic Overhaul: Rahu & Ketu Change Vedic Signs On September 8, the planets Rahu and Ketu enter new Vedic signs respectively, and we all get to feel the karmic...
Put On Your Gong Ears: How to Listen to the Gong How do you listen to the sound of the Gong? Most people simply relax on the back, with their feet pointing toward to the gong player, and let the sound pour over and through them. And that’s nice. But it may not be the...
All the Breath You Need: Managing Your Emotional Energy Anxious? Depressed? Low energy? Can’t calm down? Just feeling really off? Maybe you need to take a breath. Or several breaths. After all, one of the most powerful experiences in the practice of Kundalini Yoga...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: The Big Deal Eclipse in Vedic Astrology The Big Deal Eclipse: Identity, Career and Spiritual Multiplication For once astrologers and astronomers agree – this month is a big deal because there will be a total solar eclipse...
The Gong as Therapy Are you ready for therapy? Gong Therapy, that is. If you have only experienced the gong in a group setting or yoga class, you may not fully realize the power of the gong to heal and transform. Gong Therapy is done one-on-one, the gong player and...
The Six Secrets of Kundalini Yoga Kundalini Yoga is one of the most powerful yoga practices available to spiritual seekers, primarily because it is taught and practiced in the format of a kriya, or a prescribed sequence of postures, breath, sound, and movement. The...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Moms are from Mars in Vedic Astrology Moms Are from Mars On July 11, Mars enters the Vedic sign of Cancer where it will remain until August 26. Mars is not happy in Cancer. Mars is not strong in Cancer. Mars is debilitated in...
Gigantic Gongs: When Size Matters Gongs are often priced by size, and the sound they produce varies dramatically as their size increases. So it’s no surprise that gong players, and people who love the gong, can be a little obsessive with this probing question: How...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Summer Solstice & Saturn in Vedic Astrology Summer Solstice Arrives – But So Does Saturn Every June, the biggest astrological event is the arrival of Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, the day of the Sun and the...
With Every Breath: Silent Mantra and Simran In the practice of Kundalini Yoga, students are often instructed to use a silent mantra with the breath as they inhale and exhale, or as they move from left to right or up and down (“Inhale Sat, exhale Nam.”) The silent...
The Land of Gongs Have you ever heard a bonang played before? It sounds a lot like a gong because it is a gong. When the Dutch explored what is now Indonesia in the late 1500s, the encountered a huge round metal instrument that the natives said was imbued with magical...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Thank God it’s May in Vedic Astrology Thank God It’s May! Although the calendar may say May 3rd, May does not really start until now. Because that is when Mercury finally goes direct after being retrograde for...
Your Eyes Have Secrets: The Drishtis of Kundalini Yoga Unlike most styles of yoga, the eyes are usually closed when practicing Kundalini Yoga. More accurately, the eyes are not simply closed but are specifically focused inside the body in a gaze or what is...
Too Much Gong? Maybe! Can we ever get too much gong? No, no, you cry. We love the gong. Please gong us. If not too much, then how much gong? Is it like a great meal, a great yoga class, or great sex? Do you really want it to go on for hours? (Well maybe). But actually...
