Healer, Musician, Farmer, Project Manager
John Butterworth, as initiator of what he terms ‘Sonic Entrainment’ sound therapy and ‘Sacred Sound’ activities, has been a professional musician since his teens – including giant gongs, percussion, double bass, and harmonic overtone chanting and toning. He has a perpetual fascination for resonance, vibration, colour, light, energy and exotic percussion instruments.
He first connected with the giant Chinese gongs via gongmaster Don Conreaux of New York in the early 1990s in the UK. Don later asked John to perform with him each time he visited Australia after he heard John performing harmonic chanting at the Mind, Body Spirit Festival in Sydney in 2000. John then took up playing the giant gongs, and, in the intervening years, has continued to be invited to perform at an ever-expanding range of gong events – a sampling of which are listed on the Home Page.
Based in New South Wales, John travels widely facilitating sound events, workshops, and sound therapy work both overseas and within Australia. This has included Hong Kong, The Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, New Zealand, the 1996 Congress of Esoteric Sciences and the 1995 Healing Body Mind Soul and Spirit Symposium both in Canberra, Australia.
He leads workshops , gatherings, and events in different contexts such as The Sydney Accapella Festival, and The International Yoga Teachers Association, and gives participants a wonderful ‘Gong Bath’ using his large Chinese & Balinese sacred gongs where they may choose to lie down and bliss out for a healing experience.
In 2000, he founded ‘The Peace Choir’ which tones and sings spontaneously in the moment, also utilizing harmonic/overtone chanting. In 2002, he birthed a unique ,non-denominational sacred event he called ‘Bathed in Sound’ which blends The Choir, Gongs, quartz crystal singing bowls, and guest instrumental performers with the Labyrinth pattern of Chartres Cathedral in France which is placed on the floor of a former church for participants to walk by candlelight whilst in contemplation.
His work has been featured on TV and radio, and his study tours have taken him to the UK and France where he has participated in workshops with Jill Purce (London) and Jonathon Goldman(USA).
He is a co-founder of The Southern Cross Academy of Light (www.aol.org.au) and is a co-owner with his wife of their 84 acre country property ‘Jacaranda Haven’ on the Lower Mid North Coast of NSW in Australia, where they have owner- built a wonderful octagonal house, with extensive landscaping including an outdoor Labyrinth using Lavender. They follow Biodynamic farming practices, and are passionate about community-based food production.