Healing Gaia: Singing Bowls
Topic: A uniquely and purposely shaped inverted standing bell or bowl used for the express purpose of creating resonant musical notes, sounds and tones. The sounds are produced by rubbing the rim or gently striking the bell or bowl.
Intention: To create a healing outcome with the vibrations, tones and sounds of the bowl.
Framework: The set of protocols and procedures, often the order or sequence of the bowls to be used in a session.
Focus: The specific vibrations, resonance, tone, duration, timbre and length of sound used with each bowl.
Healing Tools: Chakras, crystal or metal bowls, frequency, gongs, mallets, meditation, musical notes, pressure points, stands, strikers, theta waves, vibrations.
Suggested Reading: Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use by Eva Rudy Jansen, The Language of Singing Bowls: How to Choose, Plan and Understand Your Bowl by Frank Perry.
Websites: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/singingBowlsDroneGenerator.php and
https://www.shantibowl.com/blogs/blog/history-singing-bowls and
https://colourofsound.org/science-of-sound-healing/
Movies/Videos: On Mt. Shasta, CA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjJPvFZswhg and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCPoG3EGwVw
Think About
The sounds from a singing or standing bowl resonates through the body, its vibration, frequency, tone, pitch and timbre affecting each one of us differently. Some find it pleasant and a gateway to meditation and deep relaxation; some may find certain sounds irritating or grating. Why is that?
A singing bowl is essentially a musical instrument, called idiophone; when struck it produces a musical tone or sound. Originating in Mesopotamia, Tibet and China, traditional metal bowls range in size from a few centimeters across to a meter. They are thought to have started out as bells, but when turned upside down, or inverted, with rims on top to obtain a unique set of sounds and tones, they offered a whole new set of sound options. They have been used in religious and spiritual practices and settings for centuries. Singing bowls are now extremely popular with energy healers and with yoga. The calming and relaxation effect is astonishingly consistent.
The heavenly and contemplative sounds from singing bowls interact with our own cellular vibration and frequencies, and it is thought that we react based on our overall wellness and how well our chakras are balanced and in alignment. The sounds and vibrations are said to mend and fix the broken frequencies of the mind, body and soul by merging the right and left sides of the brain; to synchronize them back together.
The chakras are thought to be the portal for healing energy to enter our bodies. The vibrations and sounds from the singing bowls first penetrate the auric field, or astral matrix, touching the chakras. They then travel along the meridians bringing the healing energy to wherever it needs to go. The Universal Life-Force Energy has an intelligence and knows where to go. This is fueled by our intentions and focus. Holding a pressure point enhances the healing even more. The singing bowls are an incredible tool for balancing us physically mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
They are usually made of bell metal, a combination of copper and tin alloys. Bowls made of quartz crystal were first introduced in the 1970s. Quartz crystal bowls are thought to be better for healing purposes, generating a more potent effect on us.
Singing bowls are made from energetic mineral elements of Gaia, and as such, when used in a Gaianic healing session helps your intuition to open up, thus connecting the practitioner directly with Gaia herself. Listen closely; what does she have to say?
Try This
Allow yourself to be immersed in the sounds of the two main types of singing bowls, metal and quartz crystal. Which feels better to you afterwards? Can you sense any differences? Use the bowls as you send healing energy to Gaia. Your healing thoughts ride the vibrations.
Activities
Practice the different techniques for producing the various sounds from a singing bowl with the striker and mallet. Practice until you can produce as wide a range as possible, eventually with your eyes closed in a meditative state.
Arrange a large circle of singing bowls. Sit in the middle and play them intuitively, alternating between rubbing the rim and striking them. Sense and feel the various sounds, tones and vibrations that call out to you.
Study and learn the connection between the different singing bowls and the chakras. As you use the bowls make a note of which bowl you are drawn to and ask you higher self for deeper healing guidance.
Once you are comfortable with using the different types of singing bowls, incorporate them into a Gaianic healing session. Visualize your healing intentions traveling into the heart of Gaia on the vibrations.