community spotlight
KIDS LOVE GONGS
Sound Meditation Helps Children De-Stress by Patricia Staino
E
d Cleveland has many stories that motivate him to bring sound healing experiences into Connecticut schools. After a session at Intensive Education Academy in West Hartford, which provides programs for students diagnosed with autism, developmental delay, dyslexia, visual or hearing impairment, ADD/ ADHD and other challenges, a young boy recounted what he experienced as Cleveland played his instruments: “I was in a cave, and I could hear wind blowing, and water droplets were running down the cave walls and dripping onto the ground around me; there was a fire in front of me, and it was snapping and crackling. How did you do that?” The other children exhaled as one,
realizing they were not alone in having perhaps heard or witnessed such an experience, then grew excited about sharing their own reactions after listening to Cleveland play. Ed Cleveland is the founder and owner of The Ed Cleveland Reiki & Sound Therapy Training Center located in Hartford. Cleveland offers individualized private and group sessions for adults and children of all ages, which include harmonic sounds, energy work and positive reinforcement instruction for continued self-empowerment and well-being. Years ago, when some of his meditation students asked if he would work with their children, he realized how powerful a program of meditative sound healing could be in schools.
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14 Hartford County Edition
NAHRT.com
“It helps them quiet their minds and boost their creativity and imagination,” he says. “This is something all kids need, because kids today are experiencing stress much earlier than we did, and it’s a big problem, with kids hurting themselves and even committing suicide.” While Cleveland’s school programs, originally developed for children on the autism spectrum, follow a loose structure, he believes every experience is different, so he approaches each engagement anticipating the need to change as the session ebbs and flows. Prior to leaving home, he meditates on the instruments to decide which he should bring. Once at the school he sets up his own sacred space and prays on how he can best help the students who will attend. This intuitive vibe continues as the children file in and he gets a feel for what they are thinking and feeling. “At Intensive, for example, there were 65 kids, ages six to 21, some with very high sensitivities,” he remembers. “As they entered the room, I could feel the tension, but I could also feel their curiosity toward the gongs. I’m trained to collectively meet people wherever they are; so, I watch them to see how I can get through to them. I let them know they might notice things they’ve never noticed before as I make different sounds. As they become more comfortable and start to respond, I change things slightly.” Cleveland asks the students to notice their feelings as he plays, because he wants them to be able to remember a good feeling and find it in themselves when they feel sad or stressed in the future. He does exercises to show them how to use deep breaths to calm their thoughts, then refocus on something in the physical world around them to get them out of their heads. “Showing them how to focus on something beyond the fear-based situation they find themselves in is a powerful tool they can use moving forward,” he says. At the end of the session, Cleveland asks the children to share their meditative experiences, and as a reward for good behavior, he lets them tap the gongs. “I ask them to respect the instrument the way they like to be respected,” he explains. “It’s