What happens at a sound session

It's the nearest familiar name, and if you've been to one you already know how to arrive: lie down, get warm, and rest. A Firstwater session runs seventy-five minutes over a composed bed with live instruments, opened and closed with ceremony, and we tune the rig the way a studio tunes a control room. You feel it before you can explain it.

A facilitator opens the night and closes it, and offers a nudge here and there along the way, so it is guided in that sense. There is nothing to follow and nothing to get right; you lie down and rest, and that is the whole of it. If you have never meditated, that changes nothing about how you arrive.

You lie down under blankets in low light. There is a formal opening, seventy-five minutes of engineered sound played live over a composed bed, and a formal close. The sound is strong enough to feel in your chest and soft enough to rest inside. On the way in you draw a card with one line on it, and it is yours to keep. Some nights we offer one invitation, like a moment of meeting another person's eyes, and you hear about it at the door, never as a surprise. Every invitation is optional. After, there is tea for anyone who wants to stay and an open door for anyone who doesn't.

You lie down. Everything else is optional. Some people follow the guidance closely, some drift, and some sleep, and each of those is a fine way to spend the hour.

No. You will not be asked to share, to speak, or to be anywhere but on the floor.

You might feel a lot, and you might feel almost nothing, and both are normal. If you feel very little, that tells you where you are too. If you find yourself crying, it is welcome in the room, and nobody will make it a moment.

Wear something soft. The mats and blankets are already there, so you bring only yourself, and your phone stays in your bag. If you need to step out during the night, the door is beside you and nobody will make it a moment.

No. There is tea after, and you can stay awhile or slip out as you please.

Partner rooms around the Denver metro and the Front Range: studios, sanctuaries, and a few rooms worth traveling for. Each event page lists its room and date.

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