About
myself and how I became
interested in Sound Healing
In
1990 I accompanied my parents on a trip to Santa Fe
New Mexico. Our goal was to check out the area as a
possible place to live but also to visit a friend's
family at the Santo Domingo Indian Reservation. Since
childhood I had always had an intense fascination with
Native American culture and this was a great opportunity
for me to learn a little bit more about a people that
I felt so drawn to but yet who's customs were so different
from my own. My parents and I were well received by
the Tenorio family who lived very simply but who's
lives were rich with culture and full of mysteries.
The Grandmother we visited was so amazed at how I could
eat so much of her hot Taos chili soup and barely brake
into a sweat. At this point I still had no idea of
the great adventure I was about to embark on that would
so change the course my life.
Our trek
to New Mexico went by much too quickly and I soon found
my self back at my parents house in Encinitas, CA. I was
totally unaware of the of two Native American Flute audio
cassettes my parents had purchased during our trip that
were now residing on top of the family entertainment center.
One tape was of Robert Mirabal and the other of John Reiner
Jr.
My first
experience listening to the sounds of the Native American
flute was profound. It captured my fascination and instilled
some deep remembrance of another time, place and way of
life. It touched my heart as nothing had ever done in the
past. I knew that someday I would own one of these instruments
and my search for a flute began.
On Earth
Day of that same year, I decided to spend the day at the
famous Balboa Park which is right next to the even more
famous San Diego Zoo. There were many booths; some handing
out special interest leaflets and others selling crafts
and various types of merchandise. There were also several
booths run by Native Americans who were displaying their
hand made jewelry and crafts. One of these booths had a
few flutes on display. I was intrigued by the flute's unique
design. What was the function of the piece of wood tied
to the top of it with a leather strap? Was it hollow inside?
I wanted to untie the block to examine the construction
but respectfully restrained myself. I gently brought one
of the flutes to my lips and and blew into the instrument.
That first note was hauntingly beautiful. How much did
the flute cost? I wanted it so badly! The price tag said
$60. This was unfortunately more than I could afford at
the moment and with great difficulty I laid the flute back
down and went on my way.
Some time
had past and my parents found a new place to live in a
town called Grover City, California. Grover City now, called
Grover Beach is right next to the well known tourist town
of Pismo Beach. A little more than one month prior to their
scheduled moving day, my parents contracted me to perform
an interior remodel at my mother's future place of business
in Pismo Beach. The remodel took about three weeks and
it was one day before my scheduled return to Encinitas,
when I decided to walk into the main section of town and
have lunch at the local taco shop. There was a large empty
lot at the North end of the block from where the taco shop
was located. On this particular day, there seemed to be
some kind of Native American event happening there. Grandfather
Semu, a Chumash Elder was giving a speech as I approached
the collection of craft booths and sightseers. I walked
to the booth closest to my point of entry and and asked
the vender if he had any Native American Flutes. He pointed
to this tiny cheap looking flute that was obviously made
to be a child's toy and in no way resembled the flute I
had seen earlier in the year. I proceeded to describe to
the man the flute I had seen on Earth Day, and ask him
if he had any flutes resembling my description. He said
no, but directed me to a booth across the lot that did.
That is when I met Sonny Reyna (Comanche) and was introduced
to my first flute. Sonny had two flutes on display that
were made by a Native American man in South Dakota. They
were beautiful, one was a little larger than the other
and both flutes had five holes and were made of Tennessee
red cedar. I instantly bonded to the larger of the two.
It had a deeper tone and it's sound was superior in quality.
To this day, after making close to a thousand flutes, I
still feel this flute has a beautiful clear tone. The creator
of that instrument was clearly a master flute maker.
Like a child
with a new toy I couldn't put the flute down and I played
it continuously. In fact, on my drive back to San Diego,
my left hand was on the steering wheel and my right played
the flute on two holes all the way back home. It was the
shortest five-hour trip in history. Playing the flute came
very easily to me and within a few weeks my fingers were
beginning to accept there new role and new songs emerged
every time I picked the instrument up to play.
With my
back causing me continuous grief I was looking for a way
out of the construction business and having the necessary
skills and most of the tools, flute making seemed to be
the natural path to follow. I made my first flute from
maple trying to copy every detail from the cedar flute.
When the maple flute was finished, the block had a different
shape and the walls of the flute were thinner than the
original. Also, the flute I received from Sonny had a brass
spacer and I decided to create my new flute with a wooden
one. Taking all these differences into account, the maple
flute had a different tuning but seemed to play just fine.
Yeh....Success! Well, one thing led to another and over
the next year I began refining my flute making techniques,
teaching my self how to tune flutes and create a variety
of different keys. I experimented with several different
flute designs and my initial stages of exploration were
both frustrating and magical. Lacking a mentor or anyone
who could help me whenever I reached a stumbling block,
It was only total surrender that led to new breakthroughs.
Within a year and a half, I was making some of the finest
sounding flutes available. This was substantiated by my
friend Gary Lemos a few years back, who told me,
"Steffan, please don't ever stop making flutes. You
make the best flutes in the world".
In 1995 after going through
a divorce and moving to California's central coast, I was
introduced to a Native American woman by the name of Loaza.
At the time, Loaza was working as a house keeper for my
parents. My mother thought it would be meaningful for Loaza
to give everyone in the family Native American Names. Loaza
took this task to heart and performed a separate ceremony
for each individual. For both of my parents, names came
to her easily. For me however, Loaza had to perform two
rituals until the right name came to her . When all was
said and done, I was given the name Two Towers. Two Towers
has since become the name of my musical insteument and
sound healing web site.
Also
during this time of transition, I began refining my interests
in the field of research dedicated to facilitating wellness
through the use of sound.
Today
we teach people how to intuitively attune themselves
to their own frequencies in order to facilitate wellness
on a personal level. It is important to remember, as
we heal our selves we heal the world around us. We are
continuously exploring new ways how sound and music can
facilitate wellness and the spiritual awakening process.
This is one of the main purposes of our recording studio;
or as we like to call it, the sound healing room.
It
is my sincere intent, to facilitate through my work and
music, the conscious awakening process in my self and all
those who enter my sphere. By conscious awakening I mean,
awakening to the realization and understanding of who we
really are as divine empowered spiritual beings. I believe
that through the divine, infinite source that flows in
and through all things we are limitless. With this also
comes responsibility. This responsibility follows the idea
that we as co-creators with this infinite source (God),
manifest our reality in every way.
Myself
and other colleagues are seeking to facilitate the awaking
process through the use of loving intent, coupled with
sound and music. It is a well known fact that everything
in the universe has it's own vibration or resonant frequency.
We use techniques based on this idea to bring conscious
awareness to places in our bodies that are calling out
for recognition. Memories and habit patterns of the past
can be locked within the tissues and organs of our bodies
which have direct links to our emotional matrix.
Through
the use of sound from modern and ancient instruments
and vocal harmonic over-toning, we strive to bring conscious
awareness to these areas of our bodies that are out of
balance so that the emotional body can heal itself. When
the emotional body is well so is the physical body!
NAMASTE |
