Sound Bath Participant Falls Asleep, Achieves Enlightenment or Just Napped — Unclear

Attendee Kevin Marsh, 41, reported achieving 'a state of total ego dissolution and cosmic unity' during a sound bath session Saturday evening, a claim complicated by the fact that multiple witnesses confirm he was audibly asleep for the session's entire 40-minute duration. 'I transcended,' Marsh said after being gently woken by the facilitator's closing chime. 'My consciousness expanded beyond the boundaries of self and merged with the vibrational frequency of the universe. It was exactly like a dream but more expensive.' Facilitator Harmony Singing-Bowl, who led the session using Tibetan singing bowls, a gong, and a crystal harp, acknowledged that distinguishing between 'deep meditative states and ordinary sleep' is 'one of the great challenges of vibrational healing.' 'The body knows what it needs,' Singing-Bowl said. 'Sometimes it needs transcendence. Sometimes it needs a nap. Both involve lying on a yoga mat with your eyes closed. The vibrational signatures are, frankly, identical.' Marsh paid $85 for the session, which he describes as 'the best sleep of my life' and also 'a spiritual awakening that has fundamentally altered my relationship with reality.' He has booked three additional sessions. 'Regular sleep doesn't have gongs,' Marsh explained. 'The gongs are what make it transcendence. Without gongs, it's just sleeping on a floor, which is a completely different thing that I would never pay for.' Other attendees reported experiences ranging from 'deep peace and inner stillness' to 'my back hurts from the floor' to 'I couldn't relax because the guy next to me was snoring.' Singing-Bowl has announced a new premium offering: a 'Deep Resonance Sleep Journey' priced at $150, which she describes as 'exactly the same as the regular sound bath but with a pillow.'