Higher Octave Sound

06/04/2026

In just over a week I will be getting the train up to Carlisle, then walking the 74 mile length of the Cumbria Way, taking in some of the most beautiful sights of the Lake District along the way.

This is my first solo, multi-day camping and hiking expedition so should be something of an adventure! I was torn between this and Hadrian’s Wall for my first trip, this one is slightly more forgiving and I won’t be too far from civilisation at any time which is a bit of a relief 😅

I shall document my travels as I go, I’m hoping to take around 6 days, although there is a very appealing stone circle in Cumbria that I may add on to the end.

When in Rome and all that…😉

20/03/2026

Twice a year, the Earth reaches a point where day and night are nearly equal.

This year the first point falls today, Friday March 20th at 14.46 GMT. This is the equinox, the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator (Earth’s equator continued as an imaginary line into the sky).

At this precise instant, light and dark almost stand in balance, marking a natural threshold and the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

For thousands of years, humans noticed this moment and built monuments to honour this event:

In Egypt, the Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak was designed so sunlight would pe*****te deep into hidden inner chambers at key times of the year, illuminating spaces normally shrouded in darkness.

In Mexico, the pyramid of El Castillo at Chichen Itza casts shadows at Equinox sunset down its staircase meeting carved snake heads at the bottom steps, forming the illusion of a serpent descending. This is an incredibly precise convergence of astronomy, geometry and ritual.

In Ireland, 5000 year old passage tombs at Knowth and Loughcrew align with the rising and setting Equinox sun, reflecting a sophisticated awareness of solar cycles and the rhythms of nature.

Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland track lunar standstills, reminding us that not all cycles are immediate, some unfold over decades, demanding careful observation and patience.

These sites weren’t mere calendars, they were instruments of awareness, blending precise observation with ritual and reflection.

Across continents, humans recognised the same cosmic patterns and marked them in stone, in order to stand the test of time.

The equinox is a reminder that cycles surround us: light grows, darkness recedes and subtle transitions shape both nature and life. By observing these moments, ancient peoples lived in tune with the sky and we can still recognise this today, whether by watching or simply pausing to acknowledge the balance of the moment.

The celestial equator, the Sun, the stones, the shadows, they all point to one thing: we are part of a greater rhythm, and today is a moment to notice, reflect, and honour the cycles that connect Earth, sky and ourselves.

18/03/2026

My journey to “here” began with a long-term hip injury.

About fifteen years ago, a serious mishap in the gym forced me to slow down. Years of late nights and high-intensity sport had finally caught up with me. Long-term rehabilitation, combined with an unexpected abundance of free time, gradually turned into something deeper.

Recovery became reflection and I started to question the path I had been on.

Looking back, it may have been an awakening, but at the time, it didn’t feel like one!

Post recovery, I trained in Amatsu therapy, a Japanese system combining applied kinesiology, meridian work, and structural alignment. The two-year course taught me a huge amount about human anatomy, the intelligence of the body and how much I had previously taken my own for granted.

From there, I moved into hypnotherapy and regression work, exploring how attention, memory and stored experience drive human behaviour. Alongside this, I investigated a variety of approaches to personal development, including several plant medicine journeys that helped me come to terms with aspects of my own past.

Then, in 2018, I encountered the gong.

The effect was immediate. I was blown away by how quickly it brought me into deep states of rest and stillness, this was what I had been waiting for!

I signed up for and completed my training and soon began running sound sessions under the expert tutelage 😁 of who was already well established in the field.

Over time, I experimented with different instruments before arriving at my current setup: a Sun Gong and Earth Gong. Together, they create an immersive field of sound that is both grounding and expansive.

From years of practice, the Deep Sound Method emerged: guided sound journeys using non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) practices to help people access profound states without conscious effort.

Alongside this, I now host Higher Octave seasonal gatherings, marking the equinoxes, solstices, and Celtic cross-quarter days through sound and stillness.

What began as a personal search for meaning has grown into something shared; spaces where people can pause, listen, and experience the same stillness for themselves.

12/03/2026

Before there were instruments, before there were sound baths, there were the sounds of the natural world.

Wind moving through the landscape.
The rhythms of the sea.
Streams and waterfalls flowing endlessly.

A waterfall doesn’t play music, rather it creates an environment of sound, a space that people can simply rest within.

The sound never quite repeats and never fully stops. Eventually the mind gives up trying to analyse it.

And when that happens, the body begins to settle.

The gong works in a similar way. Not as music to follow or interpret, but as a living field of sound that surrounds you; complex, nonlinear, constantly moving and shifting.

Something to be experienced rather than understood.

Perhaps the first sound baths weren’t created by people at all.

Perhaps they were simply places like this.

11/03/2026

Spring is returning to the land!

At the Equinox, the light begins to take hold again.

Join me as we mark the turning of the season in sound.

📅 Friday 20th March 7.30-8.45pm
📍 Kinsbourne Barn, Kinsbourne Green

Booking link in bio

25/02/2026

Where My Gong Journey Started

Back in 2018, I went to Dev Aura Retreat Centre for a five day residential gong training.

I’d first encountered the gong at a sound bath the year before and was really taken by the depth of the sound and the positive effect it had on me.

At the time, I didn’t think the training would turn into anything major, I was just curious and despite having no musical talent whatsoever, open to learning this strange new instrument.

That week turned into a full year of study.

A lot of practice. A lot of listening. A lot of figuring things out.

Eventually, I started joining on her sound baths, even though I was so nervous about playing in public that I tried to hide behind the gong!

I started small, playing a little 24” moon gong, before graduating to the larger Mercury, then Mars. They stayed a while before moving on, making room for a huge symphonic for a time.

Each gong taught me something different.
I learned as I went, making many mistakes before finding my own way and my own playing voice.

Now I’m working with my Sun gong, alongside a smaller Earth. There’s a nice balance and contrast between them and I love playing both, although there’s always room for more!

Looking back, I’m very glad that I made that journey to Dev Aura all those years ago.

This path has changed how I live, how I listen, as well as how I show up in the world.

And I’m undoubtedly a better person for it.

15/02/2026

Before each session, I spend a few minutes warming up the gong and letting the sound settle into the room.

Sound behaves differently in every space. Taking this time helps the room respond more evenly once people are lying down.

It makes a big difference to how people arrive - and how they leave.

13/02/2026

The Deep Sound Method – Gong & NSDR Immersion

📍 Quaker Meeting House, Harpenden
🗓 Friday 27th February
⏰ 7:30pm

Join David at the end of this month for an immersive reimagining of the traditional gong bath experience.

The Deep Sound Method explores how rhythm, vibration and spoken word shape states of rest, awareness and the subtle layers of perception that occur only when we truly listen.

Most of us spend our lives stuck in “high alert” mode - mentally busy, physically tense and never fully resting.

The Deep Sound Method is designed to interrupt that cycle using two evidence based approaches:

NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) a guided practice shown to down-regulate the nervous system, reduce stress hormones, and restore mental clarity.

Therapeutic gong sound - slow, low-frequency vibrations that encourage shifts to brainwave states associated with deep rest and nervous system repair.

Together, they guide the body out of fight-or-flight mode and into a state of deep parasympathetic calm, similar to what’s observed in meditation, Yoga Nidra and the early stages of sleep.

This is not a performance or just another sound bath.

David's innovative approach moves beyond simple relaxation into deep listening, presence and inner discovery.

This work is intentional, precise and quietly refined.

Whether you remain fully aware or drift into deep rest, the practice supports natural regulation and recovery.

Each session unfolds in real time, shaped by the space, the moment and the collective presence in the room.

✨ Suitable for beginners
✨ No spiritual belief required
✨ Ideal for stress, burnout, poor sleep, or mental fatigue

£20pp link in bio

01/02/2026

Brigid is synonymous with Ireland, yet her story extends far beyond its shores.

Across Britain and into the heartland of Celtic Europe, her name appears again as Brigantia, deified by the Brigantes of northern Britain and southern Scotland, as well as the Brigantii of the Alpine passes. She is associated with high places, borders, springs and protection. As Brigid translates as “high one” or “exalted one”, it feels like the same presence, shaped by different landscapes.

Then Rome arrives, grinding relentlessly out of northern Italy and across the Celtic landmass.

It begins with conquest. Then roads, forts, administration, taxation. Straight lines laid across territories that had long been navigated through memory, story and ritual. Alongside this comes Christianity, bound up with imperial strength and the power of the legions.

For the older ways, this is a time of unravelling.

Sacred groves are cut down. Ritual centres dismantled. The Druids, who held law, cosmology and tradition within their living memory, are branded troublemakers and rabble-rousers, driven close to extinction, most famously on the island of Anglesey.

Many gods are not destroyed outright. In typical Roman style, they are reinterpreted, renamed and ultimately absorbed. Brigantia survives in inscriptions and statues, but her relationship with land and season is slowly eroded.

Yet the imperial might of Rome has limits.

It never fully reaches every corner of these islands.

Ireland lies beyond its rule. The tribes of Scotland resist permanent occupation. Wales and Cornwall retain strong local identities. Christianity arrives here too, but it takes a different form, more nature-based, monastic, shaped by landscape and season.

Old festivals are not erased. They are reinterpreted. Imbolc becomes Candlemas. Saint Brigid appears, sharing the same feast day, her hagiography eerily similar to her predecessor, the ancient protector of hearth and flame.

The natives were not ready to give up their goddess, but she did have to endure a makeover.

The wheel of the year kept turning.
The fire kept burning.
It was simply learning new words.

This wasn’t disappearance.
It was adaptation.

11/10/2024