Restore the Silence & Noise Sound Shala

Hi, my name is Janie.

I'm fundraising to restore my instrument collection after a freak accident at my sound shala and I want to thank you SO much for taking the time to read this story.

I emigrated to India in October 2023 to rebuild my personal life after a series of challenging events back in the UK. As a professional full time sound healer for the past few years, it had been my dream to have my own studio for hosting sound sessions and trainings - after all, moving so much equipment and instrumentation about is a LOT of time-consuming heavy lifting that when done solo makes running soundwork as a business pretty untenable! But the cost of doing so in the UK, combined with the skyrocketing cost of living and the long reach of the impact of the pandemic on small business had completely clattered that dream into oblivion.

So a big part of moving to Agonda here in South Goa was the opportunity to be able to be still, grounded and put some roots down in a place where there is a transient community that would mean I wouldn't have to keep moving all my equipment around for every single session. I would be able to create a stable place to offer my work and grow a meaningful business of purpose, fuelled by love and connection rather than desperation to make ends meet.

I worked crazy hard and initially totally alone to build the shala (the Sanskrit word for 'meeting place') and opened almost exactly 6 months ago on October 14th, the new moon in Libra (as I write this it's the day before the full moon in Libra!)

It's been an overwhelming first season here, SO much challenge but so much joy, beauty and abundance. We've been blessed with many amazing facilitators from all over the world and hosted over 1000 guests at sound, breathwork, reiki, astrology and yoga sessions. I've been so lucky to share my space with guest teachers who have become dear friends, students who have inspired me as I have shared what I love with them, and amazing team members who have transformed my trust and helped me grow Silence & Noise into so much more than just me.

On March 21st, I spent the morning in the shala giving 1:1 sound & reiki treatments. It was a breezy morning, but nothing especially out of the ordinary. I stepped out to meet a colleague for coffee at 12, and when I came back at 12.30 the picture above shows what I found.

The stands holding my precious gongs, carefully transported to India from the UK at huge expense, had crashed over and smashed every single one of my Himalayan crystal sound bowls, damaging several other instruments in the process.

I don't know what happened - perhaps a freak gust of wind, perhaps a monkey came into the shala jumped on the stands (hasn't happened in 6 months but who knows...), and there's always the chance that it was deliberate. I'll never know.

In addition to every one of my precious crystal bowls being smashed, the gongs themselves were also seriously damaged and this is the heartbreaking part for me, as each instrument is a unique character with it's own soul and sound. I've cultivated a personal connection with these instruments over many years - they are irreplaceable. I often tell people that while I can teach them to play gongs, only they can learn to play their own gongs, over time.

For someone like me who has no partner or family and has poured everything into my business and to building life here, this is literally seeing everything you have worked for and created smashed to pieces in one go.

After creating a space to hold so much love, transformation and connection, it felt pretty cruel.

Fortunately I'm blessed with some beautiful friends and suppliers here in Goa and I have been able to borrow a few crystal sound bowls so I can finish the season, but the gongs will need returning to the manufacturer in Germany to see if they can be restored (possible, but unlikely) and I will need to replace everything that has been broken and damaged so I continue to earn a living.

Unfortunately nothing was insured. Not due to oversight, but because business insurance here requires an Indian registered company status. I have been in the long process of opening Silence & Noise as an Indian company since Christmas, and the painful irony is that the company will probably legally be formed in the next few days, at which stage I can acquire business insurance. But of course, it will be too late for all these instruments.

I'm reaching out for help from my network and community, to anyone who has been to the shala and enjoyed it this season, and to anyone who has ever heard my beautiful gongs in studios anywhere on the planet. It would mean the world to me if you could help me rebuild my instrument collection so I can get back to sharing what I love and building a new life here in India.

The destroyed crystal bowls are worth £2000, and the two damaged gongs £1400 each. I'm still hoping they can be repaired rather than replaced but that will involve £1000 of shipping costs back to Europe as well as the cost of professional repair at the manufacturer, which is hard to predict until they see the instruments. I also need to fix or replace a steel drum and brand new harmonium and several metal singing bowls, totalling a further £800.

It's been an amazing first full season in India but despite what it may look like, the cost of setup as well as personal cost of emigration, has meant that I have not made any profit. So losing so much of my livelihood right at the end of the season is crippling. Any contribution to support rebuilding would be so gratefully received.

I'm going to spend the end of the season creating some beautiful online courses and meditations and although I haven't exactly figured it out yet, I'll be sharing some gifts from this collection to those who can help me out in this time of need.

THANK YOU so much for reading. I love you!

Janie xxx