Meticulous attention to detail and a desire to honor ancient healers and their practices requires shaman/artist Bob to be both a student/scholar and skilled craftsman. Each sacred Lightning-Struck Drum is a one-of-a-kind, uniquely fashioned by hand, and though simple power tools are occasionally used, the result is quite reminiscent of earlier times.

He incorporates into the drums elements of both the ancient Celtic and Native American cultures he has studied, though most are imbued with powerful archetypal–and even primal– sacred symbols used by healers since the very beginning to facilitate spiritual healing and to serve the community.

When at last a drum is completed and the final knot tied and adornment placed, he considers it more than a drum. It is a trusted partner in the exploration for spiritual healing and expression.

What Else Makes These Drums Unique

No two trees are alike, nor are two cross sections of a tree identical, and thus, no two Thunder Valley Lightning-Struck drums are alike. Each drum is unique, the only one of its kind in all the world.

Shaping a natural drum’s rim is an art and critical necessity in itself, as the drum head must fit securely and uniformly to assure proper sound. You are assured of such a fit with a Thunder Valley drum, and thus, because these natural drums made from trees are asymmetrical and are capable of producing multiple tones when struck at different points on the drum head, you will get the most sound potential from your drum. A natural harmonic resonance will often occur with just one strike.

Restoration and artistic expression are combined through the use of natural glues, resins, woods, skins, wool, leather, linseed oil, beeswax, hemp and other natural materials to achieve a unique appearance and to assure the integrity of the drum’s body. Nails or other metals (excepting copper) are not used, except for decorative purposes.

The drums have been treated with natural, biodegradable, benign chemicals to protect against insect or decay infestation, to aid with the restoration process, and to enable the drum to be used outdoors.

Drum heads feature goat skin or cow rawhide, which will stretch or shrink with temperature and humidity changes, thus altering the tone. Exposing the skin to slight heating with a lamp, hair dryer or nearby heat source will “tone” the drum. Never overheat the skin, nor let it freeze, however.

Each drum and healing aid is identified with the unique painted or carved Thunder Valley Drum logo to guarantee its authenticity. Further identification can be found in the TVD “slogan,” comprised of two stylized carved or painted Celtic Ogham symbols interpreted as the words “Live Free,” per the example at the bottom of the page, affixed to each drum.

In addition to those gem quality stones which may appear on a drum, each Thunder Valley Lightning-Struck drum contains at least one gem quality emerald embedded somewhere in the drum’s shell, generally sealed behind the slogan post. Many shamanic traditions have long associated emeralds with healing and with helping to focus healing energy.

(1st Picture above: Bob drums at the lake. 2nd Photo: A cross section of a lightning-struck hickory tree on the workbench is finding renewal and expression as a Thunder Valley Drum. This can take months to complete.)

I thank you for visiting my humble site and for your interest in viewing and learning about Thunder Valley Drums. I find myself in deep union with each drum while the two of us work toward a goal of figuring out who we are. When the drum is finished, I too find a bit more of who I am. Despite this, it is not always clear to me how doing that which I love could possibly be misinterpreted.

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to state that according to man’s law and in deference to The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, no drums or other products featured on this site are Native American or American Indian made. They are American made, however.

It all seems moot to me anyway, since, in truth and by a higher law,we are all One.

Aesthetically, the drums contain symbolic elements from many cultures that became familiar to me over a lifetime of exploring spirituality and of studying, learning and practicing shamanism. This profound spiritual healing practice, believed to have originated in Siberia and then spread around the ancient world, is now reemerging in Western societies.

My primary shaman teachers were of “Native American” or “Celtic” lineage, and thus their influence can be seen reflected in most, and even dominating a few, of the drums. But there are also symbols familiar to religions and science, to alchemy and metaphysics, to philosophy and mathematics, all filtered through a mind and expressed from a heart which longs for spiritual connection and union in celebration of life!

There is also deep mystery connected to the drums. Each of them was a vital part of a once living tree apparently struck down by lightning. This awesome energy force, both fearful and beautiful to behold, maintains its supremacy as both symbol and expression of primal destruction and creation. To shamans preferring a drum originating from a lightning-struck tree, or containing like parts, these twin powers of creation and destruction remain metaphorically and metaphysically present within the drum and are allied with his or her intention of confronting, transmuting and in some cases destroying powerful adversaries like illness, imbalance, disunity, and evil. The same drum, a shaman will tell you, is also capable of creating a pathway to communion with All There Is, Wakan-Tanka, Great Spirit, God, the ultimate spiritual connection.

While these concepts may seem obtuse at best to some modern people, they are not unknown to or estranged from Western medical or religious institutions. Many allopathic physicians and related healers are trending toward a desire to enlarge their interventions beyond pharmaceutical and scientific means because they know that healing often requires more. Today’s healers– allopathic on one hand, and on the other those practicing methods seen as supportive to or independent from the allopaths, including shamanism, collectively known as “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM)– coexist, separately for the most part. Perhaps future health practitioners will epitomize what is now called “integrative medicine,” which aims to combine science and spirit in the battle against disease and suffering.

All modern religions contain mystical elements, many of which are viewed as commonplace among their worshipers. Such practices as communion, prayer, immersion, and so forth are easily recognized as containing mystical energy and power. And to avoid stepping on toes as much as possible, please know that I do not consider shamanism to be a religion or a substitute for religion. To paraphrase the late British shaman Kenneth Meadows, shamanism honors nature but does not worship it. Thus, one can maintain the freedom to follow and worship any religion while also incorporating shamanic tenets in daily life. For example, one can maintain a fervent affiliation with a preferred religion while also being an avid environmentalist who sees sanctity in all existence and life, including holding an appreciation of our planet as a living being. A case in point could be the tribal Celtic peoples who, while converting predominantly to the Christian faith, maintained their honored standing as the original tree huggers!

So, these drums are no threat to allopathic medicine or to religious dogma, but rather are intended to serve as possible conduits for healing and union. It is written in the so-called “Gnostic” Gospel of Thomas (v. 77 ) that such union is possible if one merely looks for it. “Split a piece of wood, and I am there,” it says, suggesting that invitations for divine union await in even the simplest of things.

So what are we to think when lightning splits open a tree? For my part, I seek union with it. And sometimes that act transforms into a sacred drum. That the shaman’s way as I learned it, try to live it and attempt to express it.

These rich traditions, customs and ways of celebrating life and of being in service to each other go back to the very beginning, when the first male and female beheld the stormy dawn and its fearsome magnificence on the First Day.

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