40 Ways to Do 40 Days In almost every spiritual tradition, there is an understanding that a profound change in consciousness generally requires 40 days to accomplish. The story of Jesus Christ fasting in the wilderness for 40 days, the parable of the great flood for...
A Small Gong Is Good to Hold Many people start their gong playing career with a mid-size gong that can produce a wide range of sound. The 24” to 32” gongs are the friendliest to learn to play, not as hard to control as a small gong and easier to manipulate than a...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Talking About Your Spirituality in Vedic Astrology Talking About Your Spirituality This month brings an 18-month focus into everyone’s life around understanding the proper balance between intellect and spirit. Can you talk the...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Your Life with Jupiter in Vedic Astrology Your Life with Jupiter – A Preview Would you like to get a glimpse at your life from November 2019 through most of 2020? At least one area of your life? For the first 3 weeks of April,...
Three Kundalini Practices You Must Master By some counts, there are over 3,500 Kundalini Yoga practices one could do. Yet there are three practices that when done regularly are really all you need. These three Kundalini Yoga practices do it all. They balance the five...
THE SOUND OF THE GONG When we hear the gong for the first time, it challenges us to experience sound in a surprising and almost totally unique way. It is unlike any other musical instrument, both in how it behaves and how it interacts with the listener. All musical...
The First Step to Happiness: Commitment For any type of yoga, the most important indicator of success is the ability to commit to a daily practice. In Kundalini Yoga teacher training, we learn that in life, the first step to happiness is commitment. With...
Writing about what you love is easy. After writing three books about the Gong, and working on my fourth, I’m passing the 100,000 word mark about this amazing instrument for healing and transformation. Yet in some way, all that really needs to be written about the Gong...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Mercury Retrograde in Vedic Astrology Marvelous Mercury Retrograde Well we might as well be excited about it! Mercury is making its first retrograde of 2019 starting March 5. Mercury’s retrograde journey takes it backward from the...
The Magic Mantra All mantras are magical. Indeed, some of the earliest uses of mantras were to control the elements, appease the planets, or to awaken latent powers. But there is a mantra in Kundalini Yoga that is sometimes called the “Magic Mantra” because it...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Mars to the Max in Vedic Astrology Mars to the Max On February 6th, Mars enters the Vedic sign of Aries where it remains until March 22nd. Mars in Aries is like Lady Gaga on the red carpet at the Golden Globes award. Both are so...
Happiness Is a Warm Sat Nam When was the last time you felt really happy? Hopefully when you just finished reading the last sentence! Because happiness is not a condition we achieve or something we once had. It’s simply an acceptance of our natural state in the...
The Gong From Another Planet Planetary Gongs, or gongs that are tuned based upon the orbital considerations of the planets, are very popular with people I teach. The planetary gongs are said to bring the various astrological attributed of the planets into our lives...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Super Blood Moon Total Eclipse in Vedic Astrology Super Blood Moon Total Eclipse! On January 20th at 10:41 pm Central Standard time, we will experience one of the most dramatic lunar eclipses of the decade. The complete blackout of...
The Mysterious Chakra Gongs Yoga teachers and sound healers often work with the chakras, or energy centers, in their sessions and classes with students and clients. And of course the Gong is also often used in these healing environments as well. There are many ways to...
Heal Yourself, Heal the World: Yogi Bhajan on Winter Solstice Yogi Bhajan, the master teacher of Kundalini Yoga, often said that the two most important times of the year to meditate are the days surrounding summer and winter solstices. Here is a portion of one...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Winter Solstice Arrives in Vedic Astrology Winter Solstice Arrives December 21st On the longest night of the year and the shortest day, the day of Winter Solstice in the Northern hemisphere, we celebrate the return of the Sun as...
Gongs Are Priceless I train people all over the world how to play the gong. And by the end of first day of training, everyone wants to buy one. And then everyone finds out how much a nice gong can cost. The reality is that for a higher quality European made gong (the...
Ignite Your Fire As the seasons change with an occasional frosty morn, our attention turns to the warm and cozy. Warm foods, heated yoga classes, and fireplaces become attractive as we bring more fire into our lives with the approaching winter months. Fire is an...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Time for a Karmic Overhaul in Vedic Astrology Your Brain On Mercury Retrograde “Mercury goes retrograde” is the Chicken Little chant of astrologers. Don’t sign contracts, don’t buy a phone, don’t move, don’t get married, don’t plan...
Stay in Bed – Do Yoga Having trouble getting up for your morning practice? Just want to climb into bed instead of doing that evening meditation? My advice: do it in bed. In Kundalini Yoga, there is a short three-part morning exercise that we teach all of our...
The Chau Gong: Honorable Ancestor The Gong that has the longest history of continuous use, as well as being the most prolific and popularly played, has its origin in the Han Dynasty of China (206 BC to 220 AD). This was the Golden Age of China, comparable to the...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Jupiter in Scorpio & Lover Come Back in Vedic Astrology Jupiter in Scorpio and Lover Come Back! October begins with a beautiful triangle of Mars, Venus and Mercury in very favorable signs, giving us the energy, creativity, and...
Do You Want to Keep the Change? I often joke that as a Yogi, it helps to believe in reincarnation because it seems it must take several lifetimes to discover all that Yoga has to offer. When going to Kundalini Yoga classes on a regular basis, you will discover that...
Sleeping with the GONG Have you ever heard anyone snoring during a gong relaxation? It can be a little annoying, especially if it turns out to be yourself. Yet it does seem natural to zonk out during a deep relaxation. But if you do sleep with the gong, you may be...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Got My Venus Back in Vedic Astrology Got My Venus Back! After spending a month in the Intensive Care Unit, Venus is finally well again. August was a debilitated month for Venus in Virgo, creating problems in relationships and...
Be Bright, Wear White, Spread Light Ever wonder why Kundalini Yoga teachers wear white clothing when they teach? I began wearing white clothing in 1994 ago after I returned from a Summer Solstice White Tantric course. Almost 25 years later, I still wear all white...
Gong On the Run: Moving Into Sound For most people, listening to the gong is a static experience. You relax on your back, a single gong is played in one position, and of course magic happens. But what if you could hear the gong in a different way? What if the gong...
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...
