THE PATHWAYS WITHIN
Take a sound journey to explore the pathways within yourself...
A deep breath in, a deep breath out and, we were off. We started immersed in the soft, sharp, insistent tapping of falling rain in a bamboo forest. Another breath in, and out and, carefully, with curiosity, we moved forward. The destination was yet to be discovered, but there were directions along the way. They were to allow my heart and awareness to soften and to expand, and to allow any feelings of uncertainty and negativity to wash away. From there, we continued onwards; deeper, guided by the ethereal hum of Himalayan singing bowls. My sound journey had started.
Though the way is unique to each traveler, countless others, over hundreds of years, have already completed similar sound journeys – experiences that lean on sounds and vibrations to facilitate inward shifts. Himalayan singing bowls, in particular, have been used for centuries as instruments to heal or to meditate in Tibet, Nepal and India and today, they are used for this purpose all over the world.
“The bowls create a range of sounds to restore the normal vibratory frequencies within the body, mind and spirit,” Janet Farquharson says. She is the owner of The Sanctuary in Constantia and has been practicing the art of sound journeys for years. “Sounds from the Himalayan singing bowls stimulate the brain to move into Theta wave frequencies that induce deep, meditative and peaceful states, clarity of mind, and heightened intuition,” Janet says. The sound vibrations impact our nervous system, she says, and can produce deep relaxation and inhibit stress or pain responses.
Together with the singing bowls, Janet also uses wind-chimes, rain shakers, tingshaws, and gongs and, depending on what she feels you need from the session, she chants healing Sanskrit mantras.
“How are you feeling,” she asked, after inviting me to lie down on a mat with my head resting on a small pillow, and covering me with a soft blanket. I also accepted the eye mask she offered, and relaxed into the safe space of the sanctuary, a wooden cottage that rests on stilts under an umbrella of paperbarks, crisp-green, white stinkwood trees and imposing oaks, with Table Mountain looming not far in the distance. Birdsong from the dense canopy above drowned out the sounds of surrounding Cape Town.
I was not feeling great. I recently parted ways with my lover and friend, on the anniversary of my dad’s death. I felt heavy with loss, but language fell short to describe the nuances of what I was experiencing. Janet sat quietly while I was feeling around for the right words. Sometimes, I thought, words fail and in the absence of the necessary language to describe our nuanced feelings, we fail to understand them.
She didn’t try and fill the gaps or convince me that she understood. She simply listened, and when I was done, brought me a smooth stone to place on my heart. It sounds like your heart needs healing, she said, before asking me to close my eyes and set my intention for the journey to follow.
My intention was to let go and make space. From and for what, I wasn’t sure but, I was hoping that when language failed, sound could take over. I was to learn that it could become a guide that allowed your mind to roam and explore memories and places both familiar and unknown. I cannot place every moment of the journey but what stood out, initially, were those tinges of expectation, excitement, and hope at the start of many journeys, before the singing bowls took over.
Welcome to the sound journey
Their deep vibrations took me to a cave, next to a fire that threw sparkles of light against ochre rock walls. I was both a participant and an observer. Then, I lay in a desert on a copper dune under an impossibly large universe scattered with billions of stars, sinking into the cool embrace of the sand to rest in silence underground. I was a star, exploding with energy as light spilled over the borders of my being, suspended in space, in need of nothing.
“Asato ma sat gamaya / Tamaso ma Jyotir gamaya / Mrityorma amritam gamay / Om shanti shanti shanti.”
It was a peace mantra from the Upanishads: “Lead me from delusion to clarity / Lead me from darkness to light / Lead me from death to immortality / Peace peace peace.
It took me back to an alleyway in India with prayers and kites that rode the warm breeze of Jaisalmer. Again, there was me, and there was me observing me, observing me, and letting go. The gong created a space filled with deep vibrations that filled the fibres of my body and allowed my enquiring mind to rest. Throughout, Janet did not point the way, but she created a safe and wondrous world to explore with her guidance.
She has done this for countless people throughout the years in different guises but she is a seasoned traveler herself and, one that has journeyed far and wide before settling here in the forests of Constantia.
From traveling outwards to journeying inwards
Janet started in hospitality and tourism, both industries which helped her, she says, to honour her desire to help and serve others. This mission took her from her native South Africa across the globe. She has traveled on cruise ships to Alaska, New Zealand and the Caribbean, in overland trucks across Africa and guided trips through South East Asia, India and Nepal.
However, a solo trip in 2007 sent her in a new, unexplored direction. Janet wound up in Pai, Thailand, where she stayed in a tall tree house next to a river. The space provided her with the opportunity to be still, and reflect on her life. “I started to wonder about the deeper purpose of my life,” she says. It became a huge turning point, as she began to explore her inner world.
“Yoga, meditation and Eastern philosophy became the core foundation of my personal journey into self-exploration and spirituality.” As she practiced, her consciousness started to expand. Then, in 2010, while in India, she picked up her first singing bowl and, she says, she has been mesmerized by the healing vibrations and resonance of the sacred bowls ever since. She added more to her collection during a visit to Nepal a few years later. Her passion for sound healing kept growing. She studied with the late Chris Tokalon in Cape Town, who taught her to combine various sacred instruments with her voice. In 2019, she returned to Nepal to complete her sound healing therapist certification. Here she studied under Master Shree, who shared the ancient Tibetan Chakra balancing teachings with Tibetan singing bowls with her.
Janet now uses the bowls and her other instruments in her yoga classes, workshops and retreats, as she continues her journey to help and serve others. “My goal is to connect, explore and inspire others,” she says, “through yoga, wellness retreats and sound healing.”
The end of one journey, the start of another
My journey with Janet was nearing the end. I arrived at a space filled with joy which, accompanied by the handpan, invited a dance of spirit and heart. I could feel Janet close by, and then there was the physical sensation of the vibrating mallet from the singing bowl pressed against my heart and upwards, to my crown chakra.
“Gate gate / Paragate / Parasamgate / Bodhiswaha.”
It was a Buddhist mantra from the Heart Sutra: Gone, gone, gone beyond gone utterly beyond (to the other side) / Gone, gone, gone beyond gone utterly beyond / Gone, gone, gone beyond gone utterly beyond / Oh what an awakening.
Then it was time to come back, welcomed again by the sound of the rain shaker. When I was ready to sit up, Janet was waiting for me, ready to receive whatever I brought along from my journey or not. I said I felt I left more behind. She smiled.
The journey was one hour long, but it felt much quicker. Yet, I thought the impact unfolded in the days after. I felt deeply relaxed, but she warned that the journey could stir up many emotions in the following days. She was right and, I was grateful for it. The heightened awareness of my emotions allowed me to honour them, accept them, and let them go, leaving space to simply breathe and be. I think that’s more than what many journeys have brought me, even though I did not even venture out of my hometown for this one.
Janet now works mostly from The Sanctuary, from where she is building on her vision to create a centre to rejuvenate body, mind and soul, and a place where people can ground, reflect, gain clarity, process, heal and transform. She also offers one-on-one, and group, sound healing treatments and sound journeys. Janet also hires out The Sanctuary as a venue for others to share their sacred healing therapies and workshop offerings.
The Sanctuary is located at 24a Belair Drive, Constantia, Cape Town. Contact Janet for more information or to book a journey on 079 061 4240 or at connect@janetsplanet.co.za.