Harshil Filippo Chiostri

Harshil Filippo Chiostri

After playing my drums in improvisation for years, just freely flowing with my rhythmical spirit during my job as a performer, one day i unexpectedly stumbled across Arthur's Book "Drum Circle Spirit". I was assisting one friend during one of his drumming retreat, and he was using a couple of the facilitation exercises present in the book.

Amazed by the ability of Arthur's games to kindle so much connection and dialogue in beginning beginners drummers, i got hooked and after one month i could attend my first Training with Arthur in Scotland, and completely fell in love with that way of sharing my rhythmical spirit with others.

Since then, each and every facilitated drum circle kept opening my heart, vision and understanding to the many blessings of meeting as a rhythmical community.

Through many up and downs, loads of drums carried everywhere through Italy with so many people, always seeing souls and eyes and talents shining together with mine as a result of every drum circle, i couldn't dream anything better than becoming a representative of Village Music Circles in Italy.
Such a precious gift!

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1. How have you incorporated the principles of the Arthurian Triplicities into your Drum Circle Facilitation practice?

I am still learing and learning: each time the moment to moment music opens the learning space, at so many levels! As Arthur often says, it is all about goin on learning how to learn.
However, beside didactic learning or logical understanding, during these years many of the triplicities where revealed and confirmed through the very experience of organizing and facilitating my drum circles, while other ones were my 'light on the path', helping me to proceed.

But i have to say that as i became a VMC Trainer, when the need to teach it to others arose, i finally could connect the dots far deeper in integrating each triplicity and also better connecting the relationship between the different groups of it.

2. What does the "Trust" Triplicity mean to you as a Rhythm event facilitator?

The Trust Triplicity is one of those through which my heart pulses stronger: it is not only what i aim for myself but also for my participants to experience and trust: rapport, honesty, congruency...qualities that when awakened are revealing the safe space in which we can be human together.

Actually my basic intention for facilitating is normally to build rapport amongst the participants and with me...and because a facilitated drum circle is such a place where feedback is so direct and clear, it is more and more obvious that honesty is dancing hand to hand with innocence...the magic happening in the drum circle shows that being honest and congruent, together with allowing everyone - including me - to make mistakes, while being carried and massaged by the power of rhythm, opens the blossoming of the human essence.
It is always difficult to explain in words how many moments of priceless communion has happened during a drum circle.

3. How does incorporating the elements of the “Intuitive Skills” Triplicity improve your Drum Circle facilitation?

"Awareness, adaptation, rapport" are not only improving my facilitation, but the very action of facilitating drum circles improves my awareness, adaptation and rapport!

A facilitated drum circle is an amazing tool to discover, merge and grow into these three aspects...without them you can't facilitate...when stubborn in denying one of these, one ends up in frustration, failing, even crushing down...such a mirror for growing, and a place to discover the difference between being stuck in one's own mind or being in one's heart.

4. Evaluate where you are in developing a professional Rhythm event facilitation career using the “Career Development” Triplicity.

I am definitely sharing my rhythmical bliss!
Due to the fact that i am managing a retreat center/venue, i could never be first a Drum Circle Facilitator, but i could always reach out with my drum circles with the sincere intention of serving the community, first.

I am always trying to serve thecommunity, whenever i get out of home with my drums: i am more devoted to serve the community and more devoted to the magic and power of rhythm than to earn money...that's maybe why the development of my business skills was always the least intriguing to me.

But since i became a Trainer the deep desire to train more and more people made me do giant steps in better using marketing tools, and i could deliver 6 Playshops in one year and a half...Just, it is easier for me (up to now) the intention to serve others than myself...But the joy that comes in return is huge!