My Healing Journey

by Courtney Ward

I was looking up at a mountain, smiling, excited for the adventure along the way and to breathe the pure air, to take in the vast view, I knew was at the peak. This was how I began my Healing Journey.

In mid April of this year, Sally sent a sweet email, just creative thought, inviting with no plans on how we could create it, just an idea, a wonderful and inspiring idea. A CD that would weave together the deep healing of Universal reflexology and the indigenous, vibrational healing sounds of a Sound Journey. I naturally jumped at the opportunity and the challenge.

A year ago, in moments of miracle, I created my first CD- ‘Spirit Song.’ It flowed together like water in a forest stream and has been so well received. It manifested and completed days before I left to travel and share sound and song in Europe for 2 months. My plans were made to again travel to Europe for the 2008 summer… Was the same strange timing to produce this CD going to happen again? Yes, for sure it was.

I am very blessed to work and play with a resident pod of Bottle Nose Dolphin off the coast in Southern Mozambique. I facilitate the bridge for human interaction with the dolphins. All within a holistic retreat environment. This therefore takes me away from the humdrum of this world, away from technological advancements and into the rural lap of nature. I am with the dolphins most of every month and I now needed to carve the space in time where I could travel the 1000 km with my instruments and stay in Cape Town to create the CD.

A very talented and dear friend Mapumba, who also produced my first CD, had recently moved to the Cape. I told Sally that I really wanted to do this project with Mapumba. He is from the Congo and is a self-taught musician and recording engineer, he is of a genius fold; it is magical to work alongside him. But he was on a month long tour through North and South America as well as Canada for the Putomayo record label.

Between his travels and my adventures we found 2 weeks in the beginning of June. Two weeks to work and play and create. Would this be enough time?

In a Sound Journey I completely weave the sounds and melodies from spontaneous trust. All the sounds are created in the present moment to truly embrace the energies that are present and impart the vibrational healing that is called for at the time. My CD ‘Spirit Song’ was also created in this way; everything was born as I stood before the microphone and began to sing. The Healing Journey was going to be the same.

Sally placed her reflexology dialogue recording up onto the Internet for me to download. The miracle of long distance collaboration amazed me right through the process of this project.

June arrived and my 5-year-old daughter Nimue and I took a long dive down to Cape Town. It was winter; Cape Town is renowned for its wet winter. Good! That left no great temptation to explore this beautiful mountain, ocean city. The rain created a blanket to huddle beneath and create. The recording studio was still in its early stages of development with Mapumba only recently having moved before his big American tour. We set everything up to accommodate our instruments and have the room as soundproof as possible without the double-padding on walls and windows. The studio directly overlooked the sea and a busy traffic light intersection. We worked around the rush hour noises and the turning of the tides.

I then began to feel the challenge of the project; after emailing Sally for a re-edit of the text, the reflexology dialogue was set at 80 minutes. The music was to flow continuously for this length of time. I could use no lyrics and if I wanted to use mantra (which carries wonderful healing vibrations) I needed to sound them without consonants.

This would all be easy if I was only creating music to be placed behind the dialogue but Sally and I had dreamed the concept of a double CD that also had the music alone on one of the discs. As both Mapumba and I did not have the time to recreate a separate disc, the same music only mastered differently, to highlight Sally’s voice, to not overcrowd the sound, would be used for both discs. The songs would be long and I had to keep the faith that it would work as music alone. As a Sound Journey. It did, it has and it is beautiful.

A cyberspace duet of a Celtic loves longing also happened to come into being. My awe-inspiring partner Paulus van der Merwe lives in Germany. He is a renowned principle oboe player for North German radio, a prominent Orchestra in Hamburg. We often co-facilitate magical sound journeys seeped in the resonance of sacred sound. I emailed him my voice. He was happy to find a recording room at the radio and with my melody for 'Enchanted' playing in is ears through his cellphone, he recorded some truly beautiful music to weave into our song. Back onto the Internet it went and like magic, appeared as you hear it today.

After hours of recording, inventing, remixing and creating with Sally’s voice always drifting us into altered states, we were nearing the completion. At times we would simply change the music to some curvaceous Latin American rhythms and Mapumba would swirl me with grace around the room. We ate traditional Congolese food and drank plenty of green tea. Always returning with inspiration and zest. The music certainly was created in an atmosphere of love and plentiful laughter. Affirmation of the mountain peak in any challenge.

After two weeks I was ready to leave Cape Town, happy and satisfied that all is good. Mapumba would complete the mixing and mastering without my physical presence.

On the day of departure the wind was blowing really strongly, it stayed with me all 1000km to Kimberley, which is my home town and where my parents stay. We arrived very late and I was glad for a bed. The following day the wind was still whipping the air ruthlessly. The energies were strange. I spent a beautiful evening with my mom and dad. Early the next morning my divine and gentle father suddenly passed over from this world. It shook my world and I can only be grateful that I had seen him and he had waited for me to return. I dedicate the Healing Journey to him. I strive to be the master of patience and kindness he was.

Our project stood still for 2 weeks while amidst dolphin travel all the new and sudden life changes tried to settle in my soul. My dad left only love and peace behind. I miss him dearly yet deep in my heart I know he is sailing in the vast ocean of love's liberation.

After a few takes of postage, emails of mp3s to Sally and slight changes, Mapumba, Sally and I settled on what was to be the final version.

The next part of our creation was to have the cover designed and have the discs printed. We decided this would all be done in South Africa. An angel friend Kath Forster and her brilliant associate designer Gary, effortlessly manifested a beautiful cover. It incorporates both the feet and the dolphins in its Mandala design. Sally and I were both perfectly represented.

Mid July, I was now to leave South Africa for Europe. Another winged angel Silvern gave us great printing options and was also willing to have the discs posted to the UK where they will be meeting both Sally and I in September for the first time since completion.

All co-ordinating again to be handed over to the amazing internet!!

I am deeply grateful for the love, support and inspiration of Sally, Mapumba, my dearest Mum and Dad, Kath, Silvern, Paulus and the powerful presence of Spirit that carried this project in grace from its conception.