Through history we have danced around fires and beat the drum. From the rhythm of our heartbeats to the trodding of our feet, from the breath of our language and the melody of speech, the beat tells the story of our path we all walk on the road of life. Through history we have pounded drums as we lift our voices in praise, celebration, anger and grief. The drum's beat creates the atmosphere of joy, peace and of war, as it amplifies the emotions that govern the many moods of the human spirit, giving them expression loud and clear.

Universal is the appeal of the drum; its rhythm and energy transcend all languages and cultures. You will naturally react to the beat of a drum no matter where you come from, your training, education or income. Join the drum circle or a Nyabinghi groundation, and you enter a forum where you are free to entertain or be entertained. You may make your statement boldly or just go along with the group. In a drum circle you listen and speak at the same time, while connecting with the group in a rhythmic flow that says only one thing, "We are one!"

A drum circle is like unto a holy place and thus carries responsibilities of basic acknowledgment or respect of that fact. There is no rule but to obey the sounds of the drum patterns that you feel compelled to play. Listen for the beat running through the drum circle and join in that rhythm. Bring reverence for the other people and your drum to the circle. Although in today's pop culture there is little regard as to the importance of spirituality, still it becomes obvious we all search for something more. Drum circles are deep and spiritual since they propel emotion felt inside, outwards, to where we are all connected by the same frequency, on which our vibrations harmonize as one.

I caught up with Ras Michael after a session recording his next CD, A Wha Dem a Go Do Wid It. I learned a lot from this man - a Rastafarian elder, the first Rasta on Jamaican radio, the renowned Nyabinghi drum master and lead singer/songwriter of RAS MICHAEL and the SONS of NEGUS, who have graced stages throughout the world for 35 years. He had this to say, "Nyabinghi... this is an ancient order of the Rasta movement which offers praises to His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, the keeper of the Order of the Orthodox Christian Faith and a follower of Yesus Cristos [Jesus Christ]. The drum plays a major role. As for the connection with our African ancestry - the three drumming styles distinguished by their patterns: the cumina, watusi and the pocomania - play a vital role in praise and worship in many Afro-Caribbean communities. The bass drum sets the tempo, or the groove in which the order is kept, with the beat of the heart coming from the funde, while the repeater syncopates with the time signatures of the voices of praise. The Lalibela priests (Christian followers of the teachings of Christ) sing praises to God, and thus evil is thrown out of their meditations. These Christian followers of Christ built churches in secret places where they could totally devote their praises without interruptions. Lalibela (a holy site in Ethiopia) was referred to as 'Thunder Mountain,' as the church was built submerged totally underground. The Nyabinghi complements all forms of music in respect to its spirituality. In the groove of the Nyabinghi, all can express themselves as long as the basic order is kept. Nyabinghi is pure sound vibrations."

The drums speak loud and clear of harmonies and rhythms familiar to all humankind. I felt the real power of the drums again on the island of Maui, Hawaii. I went to a gathering of people from all over the world, including the Kupunas and the native Hawaiian community, all drawn to this prayer-filled ceremony celebrating life, beating drums and singing. To get there I walked along the sand and climbed over a cliff-side, where I followed the sounds of beating drums to a beach with short rushing waves that invited all heartfully. It was like a "One-Love-Party"-dubbed heart song with burnfires, chai and vegetarian food . Everyone seemed to be searching for harmony with self and nature. The naked people running around dancing and socializing seemed liberated. At times this experience took me "home" to the dry harbor mountains of St. Ann, Jamaica. Although this ceremony was a true celebration of faith and hope for better to come, it was at the same time somber and tearful, because the purpose of the gathering was in protest of the way the affairs of the Hawaiian people were being handled. The great historic past of the ancestral Hawaiian kingdom is celebrated and kept alive by native people, in spite of oppressive occupation by a system that attempts to overshadow the natural way of life for native people with outside influences. Sound familiar? That could be so many places - and so we drum the world over.