SHAKING by Bradford Keeney, 6-CD set

it really shook some things up for me. i still haven't fully touched ground yet. and i came so close to shutting myself off from it.

here's my review that i'm posting to amazon:


Completely absurd! and SO necessary!


i have to admit, the first minute of this CD set made me think i had made a terrible mistake in purchasing it. i expected a professorial exploration of the history of the practice, and overview of the cultures that continue to use it. i figured there would be some good drumming tracks that i could use in some of my classes. imagine my shock when Keeney begins the audio session with the oratory style of a zealous, crazy Baptist minister, loud and in partial rhythm with drum play in the background!

i thought the whole thing was ridiculous, and so i turned it off, angry that i had purchased this set.

but then i decided to at least play one of the 6 discs all the way through. i'm so glad i decided to give it a second chance because quickly i realized that the absurdity was the very crucible of it's genius.

in TCM it is taught that all illness in the body is a result of blocked energy flow, and through techniques such as qigong, tai chi, and acupuncture, a person can clear out those blockages and restore health. Keeney's approach, right from his crazy presentation, is taking this understanding to another level. we are a culture of ill souls, blocked and boxed in by our norms, assumptions, and definitions. we have lost the ability to be free, to be loud and expressive, to be crazy. and in losing that, we've lost our connection to the divine. we've lost our natural birthright of self-healing and spiritual evolution. gibberish and nonsensical expressiveness make us feel uncomfortable. letting go and being raw, even silly, makes us self-conscious. relinquishing our controls makes us scared.

Keeney's radical performative style demanded that i let go of my walls and barriers that determined what form of knowledge was allowed to reach me. he didn't allow me to distance myself from his words as a scholar, examining his concepts in the 3rd person so i could file it away for later use if appropriate. he made me uneasy right from the start, and he challenged me to be daring, to let go, to shake and move and vocalize nonsense with intense feeling and expressiveness. he challenged me to set myself free. and i am immensely grateful.

many people (probably mostly men like myself) will have the same initial reaction as i did. i say to you, give it another chance. This CD set isn't just talking about shaking medicine, it IS medicine! have the courage to receive it.

i almost let it pass me by. now i think it may be the most important purchase i've made in years.

Nice review, thanks.

Hundun,

thanks for the review!! I'm glad you are scouting Keeney's work for us. I only listened to 30 seconds of the CD that came with the book and had a similar "not my vibe" reaction. I'll have to give it another go.

I heard an absolutely rave review of Keeney's work on the kunlun forum the other day, so that definitely got my attention.

I've been hoping for an alternative system to Kunlun to give the bums another flavor that might be more appropriate.

On the shakingmedicine.com site, go to the home study course and scroll down to the 3 minute audio recording to get a flavor of Keeney.

Yoda

So I just ordered the cd set so I can give an active kunloonie cultivator review. The set would sell better if they said it was a set of 6 cds. Or maybe I just missed that.

I've only "gotten into" drumming once in my life but it was a great experience: I was at a rainbow gathering near Flagstaff Arizona and there were literally dozens of drummers around huge bonfires. That was incredible. I have an old Navajo drum made in the late 40s. I'm scared to touch it as I don't know if it's still strong, should be oiled, etc. Appears to be in good shape.

I can tell from what I know so far that Keeney's path is weird like Kunlun. Mom wouldn't be into it!!! (Of course I did give her a copy of this book too... which *also* got ignored. I need to let moms just be moms!! )

..it's gotta to do with the amplifyer..

dukk! her kommer saongbordet.

Great review Hundun, as always...

I have the CD as well but didnt pursue it for more than a minute, like Yoda. But what is expected from the listener of these CDs? Listen, let go and let the shaking happen by itself or listen and consciously shake? Keeney seems to suggest both in his book at different places.

SV,



Judging by my Kunlun experience, if it happens by itself that's great but do start consciously moving in any case. I remember from Keeney's book he likens the experience to rocking in a rocking chair: in some ways it's automatic motion but in others it's very conscious and deliberate. What starts consciously will eventually become somewhat "automatic".

Yoda

Thanks Yoda! I started looking for that CD, its here somewhere.......

saw this in the magazine of sounds true a month ago and thought about posting this morning to see if anyone had heard of it. but you beat me to it.

thanks for the review

Btw why is sean member # 3

This post has been edited by phore: Jul 31 2008, 01:35 PM

what is expected is that the listeners allow themselves to be inspired, and to free themselves from their self-imposed constraints.

so yeah, just start moving. and if it feels awkward, whatevs. just keep moving. laugh at yourself for feeling ridiculous. be silly with it. allow yourself to discover freedom and comfort in the letting go. it doesn't matter if you're moving or if "it" is moving you, especially in the beginning. what matters is making that raw place of freedom your friend, and maybe even your home.

give yourself permission to have fun. allow yourself to express joy, pain, rage, lust, WHATEVER, all at once if it arises that way. but let go of any assumed structure of how it 'should' be.


i TOTALLY get the kunlun thing!

oh GLORY!

heh heh.

One of the good things about the retreats with Healing Tao London as it used to be was the campfires and drumming and the dancing dancing dancing. The spirit moving you. So gorgeous. And puts the small self in perspective, nicely when the spirit moves in and moves you.

The teacher there told us "never trust a teacher who cant dance"...


actually I think free dancing/shaking/being moved by spirit creates trust in yourself.


It's a beautiful thang.


Nice review, Hundun. What does Bradford Keeney actually bring to it, other than our attention?
I mean, if you already know about shaking medicine from having done it, would there be anything specific here of interest, in addition?

Hundun,







Cat,

If some are allergic to Max, then Keeney may be another vehicle.

Also, that dude who posted about Keeney on the K forum seemed to say that the two systems were distinctive and fun to run side by side.

Also, being able to do kunlun or drumming is one thing but actually doing it on a regular basis is another. I read in Keeney's book that most Bushmen know how to get into the drumming groove but that many of them don't do it frequently enough for the purpose of healing and spiritual growth.

I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Your pal,
Yoda

in addition to the words of master yoda,

both his performance and his words are a critique of our flawed cultural framework. it was a critique of my heavy-handed intellectualism (which i can't deny after my initial rejection of his style). it's a challenge to our identity and our assumptions, and i think shaking that stuff up is every bit as important as the practice.

he doesn't isolate the practice as just some thing you do from time to time. he challenges that very notion, in fact.

i knew about shaking long ago, but it's not the practice of shaking that made this so brilliant and important to me; it's his call to a radical freedom. it shook me out of my own box.


he's not presenting himself as a master or anything. just a free spirit who understands what the free spirit can do! in THAT sense, he too, like max, is a system buster. and what he's saying is that this freedom, this wild, primal ecstatic expression, this shaking & quaking, & moving, & yelling...

THIS is the root!



This post has been edited by Hundun: Jul 31 2008, 04:59 PM

Great stuff Hundun! What did you feel out of Dancing ive done some African Drumming and i came home like i was high. The rythm and just being is an awesome feeling, can you give a discription what is on the 6 cds?

regards
WYG

i'll try.

his style is that of a creative, spoken word storyteller. drums and instruments in the background. each disk has him talking and playing for 30 minutes or more, and the last track on each disc is just shaking music without any words. two of those 'music only' tracks are 15 minutes each. the other four of them are 30 minutes each.

as for how i feel from the dancing... i already said it, but i'll say it again.

oh GLORY!



it feels better than a high. it's a joy that sticks. i'm letting go on a level much deeper than my movement.


i've done shaking practice before, but never for this long and never with this sense of total freedom. i was always kind of controlled. never fully let go. never allowed myself to vocalize freeform nonsense. it's a whole different ball game!

Yes, I totally get that. I got to learn drumming & dancing one time with Yaya Diallo and his wife. Root of life and being it was and is.

Thanks for being so clear, Hundun. And thanks also Yoda.

It sounds very exciting.

Want it!!


Are these CD's up for loan, didnt Yoda say? Or does it turn out they are precious cargo in constant use, and I should put them on my christmas list?!