Kalimba Magic: Tip of the day: Monday, August 14, 2006 -- A Walking Meditation

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August 14, 2006
A Walking Meditation

Sometimes, our intellect gets in the way of things. There are many ways of knowing, and our intuitive body can know how to play kalimba even if we think our mind does not know.

The pentatonic scale is wonderful for letting the body take over. This scale has no "wrong notes" - so when playing a pentatonic instrument, we can really trust our body's innate intelligence and let it go where it wants to. I don't have the reasoning for it, but I think that this is a doorway for connecting with the divine, with our Buddha nature, with our inner light.

One way to let the body take over in our kalimba playing is to walk while we play, playing in time with our steps. A walking meditation.

Says one kalimba player, who just got a pentatonic kalimba: "I enjoyed taking this kalimba for a walk today, playing to the rhythm of my steps as you have described (I was surprised how easy it was to play without looking at it.)"

A box pentatonic kalimba

The photo above shows a box pentatonic kalimba. In addition to the "no-fault scale", the large tines with extra space in between helps simplify playing. Some people say the board kalimbas are easier to hold, especially for smaller hands. Kalimba Magic sells both box pentatonic and Celeste (board) pentatonic kalimbas.