I wrote an article a while back on buying a gong, as in recent years there has been a great increase in the type and quality of gongs now being offered to people interested in them. Now the same thing is happening with gong training : an explosion of interest in the gong work in the last few years has led to a number of different gong trainings being set up, and I hear that some of them are of varying quality. I know this, as people who have attended gong trainings that didn’t fulfil all their hopes and expectations, have often ended up coming to me for further training. So let’s talk about gong training, and look at some of the options available, and what you might expect to get if you decide to do one of the trainings now on offer across the UK.
Obviously you’ll want to do a gong training that is well established, has been in place for a number of years, and has a good reputation. And preferably personally recommended by someone you know and trust. It needs saying that word of mouth is the best possible recommendation. If you meet someone who has done a particular training and raves about it, is enthusiastic about the person running it and what it gave them in terms of teaching and also personal/spiritual insights, then that’s a highly reliable and powerful recommendation. Many of my students have come to me through word of mouth recommendation from people I have taught in previous years. A good number have had life-changing experiences through their work with the gongs, and of course they tell others, who then want to come.
When choosing a gong workshop, you’ll preferably want to be taught by someone who is an experienced practitioner and teacher, and has been working with the gongs and in the Sound Healing field for some years. If they also have a musical background, that’s a bonus. You’ll know, then, that they understand and have a wide knowledge of the subject, and are thus qualified to pass on that information in a clear and effective way. If they’ve written books, that’s a way to tune in with the teacher and their level of knowledge and wisdom before you commit to a workshop. If the training is run under the umbrella of an established and recognised College, and also independently certified by an organisation like the Complimentary Medical Association, then so much the better. That in itself is a good recommendation. It means the person teaching you holds a responsible position within the College, is properly qualified, and has a certain level of integrity. This is relevant because for those who are ready, the gong teachings can involve serious therapeutic healing and personal development work. Therefore you need to know that your tutor is a reliable and trusted person of a high calibre, who can fully support you in your own healing process while you are working with the gongs.
You’ll also want to do a training that goes into many different aspects of the gong work. This is a large subject, with a lot of knowledge and wisdom to assimilate. Doing a two-day gong workshop will get you started and teach you all the basics. If you then decide you want to go deeper into the teachings, this is best done over a longer time period so that you have the opportunity to absorb it all over time. In this way, the gong work is assimilated in stages, making any healing and clearing effects easier to cope with. I know of people who have done a longer training all-in-one, and had a healing crisis due to too much of their “stuff” being brought up all at once. It’s probably better to do it in stages, which usually alleviates this problem. These days, for various reasons, the gong work is going deeper than ever before, and really two days in the intensive Gong Space at one time is quite enough for many people.
The gong teachings are very broad and extensive – they open your horizons and take you deeply into yourself, to explore areas you may not have visited before. This takes time to get used to if you have not previously done much personal development work. There are quite a few different gong trainings out there now, and I often see the adverse effects of people being taught by teachers with insufficient experience and depth. This is simply because those people are themselves relatively new to the gongs and have not as yet sufficiently addressed their own personal development.
And don’t even get me started on the rising phenomenon of totally inexperienced people giving “gongbaths” with no training at all. Unfortunately that is also happening increasingly often. If you plan to attend a gongbath with anyone, do please ask what training and experience they have had before you commit. I have seen too many people who have had unpleasant experiences and probably been put off the gong for life, simply because they were “gonged” by novice gong players who think the gong is the latest New Age fad, and they want to buy a gong and jump on the bandwagon. This is serious work, and should only be undertaken by people who have been properly trained.
So do choose wisely. And make sure you train with a qualified, experienced gong teacher/practitioner/therapist, who knows what they are doing. And has preferably been recommended by someone you know. Then you should have a deep and satisfying gong journey.