October 2024 Newsletterđ
Oct 6 Sunday Canceled Service is canceled due to Senseiâs trip
Oct 13 Sunday 9:30 Social Sunday
Oct 20 Sunday 10:00 Shotsuki
Oct 20 11:00 Otoki
Oct 20 12:00 Board Meeting
Oct 26 Saturday 1:00 Dungeons & Dragonsđ
Oct 27 Sunday 9:30 Social Sunday
Nov 3 Sunday Daylight Savings Time ENDS
Clocks are turned BACK 1 hour
Donations:
Masako Nakano, In Memory of Shigeji Nakano
Masako Nakano, Shotsuki (Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct)
Maenaga Family (Wendy Steller),In Memory of Chisato Maenaga and Kunio Morri
Takashi Tomooka
Alice Tomookas
Hugh Maenaga, Special
James Colon, Special
Rodney/Wanda Tomooka, In Memory of Chikayoshi Tomooka,
Dixie Tomooka, In Memory of Kane Tomooka
Judy Saki, In Memory of Masano Saki
Joyce Dendo, Special
Joan Henretta, In Memory of Yoshio Kitajima
Joan Henretta, In Memory of Nobuko Kitajima
Lee/Frances Humphrey, Special
Dan Iriyama, Shotsuki
Alice Maxon, Special
Hugh Maenaga, Special
Jeff/Jenny Maenaga, Special
Wataru Minami, Shotsuki
Ray/Jo Anne Nishino Spencer, In Memory of Chiyono Nishino
Ray/Jo Anne Nishino Spencer, In Memory of Dr. Sumio Taniguchi
Maenaga Family (Wendy Steller),In Memory of Hiroshi Makino
Setsuye Tomooka, In Memory of Kane Tomooka
Alice Utsunomiya, Shotsuki
Thank You All for All Your Kind Donations Financial, Materials, and
Labor. It takes us all to carry on the work of our forefathers and keep our church viable.
Life is about rhythm.
We vibrate, our hearts are pumping,
We are a rhythm machine,
Thatâs what we are.
~Mickey Hart, American percussionist of the Grateful Dead
Henry David Thoreau, an American author, naturalist, essayist, poet and philosopher
quoted that ââŚdoes not keep pace with his companionsâŚbecause he hears a different
drummerâ. I recently was sent and read an article that was about drummers and their longevity.
The article was dated July, 2024 and written by Ted Gioia. He titled his article,âDo drummers
live longer and can listeners also enhance their health through rhythm?
While researching through the music archives, the writer first heard of a drummer by the
name of Roy Haynes. He was given the nickname, âSergeant Roy Haynesâ. Although he
never served in the armed forces due to a medical condition, his nickname was actually a joke.
âSergeantâ played with jazz greats like John Coltrane, Lester Young, Miles Davis, Theolonius
Monk, Sarah Vaughn, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner, Art
Pepper, Freddie Hubbard and so many more. As of this article, Roy Haynes is 100 years
young, He is still in great health. While in his early 90âs, Haynes continued to live up to his
name; not âSergeant Roy Haynesâ but, âsnap, crackleâ.
During the 80âs, this writer happened to see âSergeantâ in concert with Chick Corea. Chick
Corea was much younger, yet âthis old man played vibrantly” alongside Chick Corea.
Unfortunately Chick Corea is no longer alive, as most legends that âSergeantâ had played with.
Before the Covid epidemic, at the age of 94 years young, âSergeantâ performed at the Blue
Note in New York. On âSergeantâsâ 95th birthday, he was to perform in a concert, but due to the
Covid epidemic the concert was canceled. Yet he remained spry and healthy.
Do drummers live longer than most? Well, there are stories about several drummers who
continue to play the drums. There is a drummer by the name of Roger Wonson, who played on
his 100th birthday with his band, Voltage. There was another drummer (name not given
because writer forgot his name) picked up his âsticksâ at 103. In April of 2024, Dick Cognat who
at 107 years young, sang a song for the Marching Illini, which he drummed for in the 30âs. Viola
Smith lived to 107. She played in the 30âs and at 100 years young, she still played the drums.
This writer wondered about the reason for such longevity. He found that drumming was
actually a cardiovascular workout every time one played. In fact, one hour of drumming can
burn up to 600 calories. In olden days and to the present, drumming has and is still being used
in healing rituals. As for woodwind players, especially saxophonists, they play for long
stretches of time without pausing to breathe.
Dr, Barry Pittman, neurologist, author, researcher and president of the Yamaha Music and
Wellness Institute wrote that playing drums in a circle changes the body chemistry and
strengthens the immune system. Scientist Andrew Neher, a psychologist and professor,
proposed that drumming can have a physiological impact on the person. It is the rhythmic
drumming that can affect the central nervous system. Dr. Felicitas Goodman of the University of
Munich and University of Vienna says exposure to rhythmic stimulation, the brainâs electrical
system switches from an ordinary alertness to a low frequency high amplitude pattern. Certain
stress related hormones drop.
Even though we may not drum, listeners can benefit from its rhythmic beat. According to Dr. Hans Jenny, a Swiss physician and natural scientist who coined the term âCymaticsâ which is
the study of visible sound and vibration, states that music and rhythmic sounds can create order
and symmetry. Can we create a rhythm in our lives?
We live in our bodies with rhythm. Our hearts beat at a steady beat, even during exertion.
Blood pumps on a regular basis with a rhythm. We inhale and exhale with a rhythmic flow. We
have Nembutsu/Namu Amida Butsu as a rhythm as well as our chanting. Listening, seeing and
thinking can have rhythm. Do we hear this rhythm when reciting Nembutsu? How often do we
truly listen and hear our rhythm?
Rhythm is our being present in Namu Amida Butsu. Our brain-working keeps a rhythm, we
only have to learn to hear that rhythmic drumming in our lives. We all live in a different rhythm
and we “hear a different drummerâ, and our Namu Amida Butsu is our beat of life.
Gassho
Rev. Seijo Naomi Nakano
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