Himalayan Singing Bowls

Playing Singing Bowls in the Sanctum of St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town

Singing Bowls Page Contents:

(Click on the headings below or scroll down.) Archbishop Tutu

• In the Beginning……& General Information
• How to make your Singing Bowl ‘sing’
• Prices
• History of Singing Bowls
• Healing Meditation No1
• Loving Kindness Meditation No2
• Chakra Cleansing Meditation No3

Celebration of World Peace Day Sept 2010
Click here to hear 3 Singing Bowls (mp3 / 1.1MB / 36secs)

Nada In the beginning wind ('lung') moved the Great Silence & created Sound.
In Creative Myths worldwide, sound is recognized as the womb from which the Visible and Invisible emerged.

The Bronze Age in Asia dates from 1600 BC. Small Chinese metal bowls were known around 11th Century BC and are the oldest objects described as 'Singing Bowls'.
By the 6th Century BC the Chinese, being far advanced in the manufacture of metal alloys, made perfectly tuned bells. During the time of Confucius in the 5th Century BC, the ancient kings were ever careful about things, which affected the heart. It was said that sound vibrations came from the heavens & were interpreted by the heart, the place where harmony arises.

Nada is the subtle and periennial sound; Sound within Silence of Compassion & Peace.
Nada is the first stirring within, that heralds the beginning of the evolutionary process and from which radiates energy and matter :-
– space, formless atmosphere, fire, water and earth
– the basic constituents of the ever-evolving universe
Nada is also experienced by an unagitated mind that leads to eternal bliss.

In those days it was through tones & music in rituals, which brought people’s inner feelings & external conduct into balance to establish peace in the nation. The singing bowl is essentially a heart-oriented experience.

In Tibetan Buddhism metal offertory dishes & chalices on altars in monasteries, are honoured ritual objects. It makes sense that they have a special sound, with the offering emanating from a harmonious cradle.
The singing bowls that I supply come from the North Western part of India, from McLeod Ganj, a hilltop mountain station which is a bustling Tibetan refugee town where His Holiness the Dalai Lama resides. Below there is a magnificent view of the Kangra Valley and the town of Dharamsala where the Tibetan Buddhist Parliament in exile operates.

Seven Metals

According to tradition, the bowls are made of seven metals with each metal representing one of the Planets:-
* Gold - the Sun * Silver - the Moon
*Mercury - Mercury * Copper - Venus
* Iron - Mars * Tin - Jupiter * Lead - Saturn
The resonance of these articles is due to the fact that they are made out of these 7 metals. Each of them as you see are related to the planets which were the only ones recognized in ancient times. To the ancient philosophers all visible things were the symbols and representations of invisible powers, thoughts & ideas of the 'Gods' out there in the heavens above. The words "celestial' or "heavenly" had a very a superior meaning. The expression "Astronomy" was something quite different from the science it is known by today.

Therefore something constituting many metals as in the forms of singing bowls, Tibetan bells, gongs or tingshaws, would alchemically give rise to Sound which would connect the listener with the far reaches of the 'divine forces' and bring the mind of the listener into alignment with unity of everything.

Hot metal was poured onto a flat stone and when cool, was beaten into the shape of a bowl. In modern times, the nomadic smiths seem to have disappeared and sadly, the secret knowledge handed down is dying out with them. Singing bowls produce as many different sounds as there are variations in their metallic content.
Every metal manifests its individual sound and harmonics - each offering it's own exceptional medicine of sound - giving a sense of great peacefulness, space and paradoxically profound silence.

Each bowl has a life of its own and sings it's unique song. The resonance flows around and through the body, sympathetically tuning it.
You can hum or intone directly into the resonating bowl. The voice reinforces what the ears are hearing & creates a circuit connecting the ears with the voice, resulting in a more focussed listening mode. The difference between hearing & listening now becomes obvious.
Two of the advised guidelines for meditation are the focussing on breath or alternatively on sound. The vibratory sounds of the Singing Bowl are ideal for stilling the mind & bringing it into a centred clarity.

How to Make your Singing Bowl ‘Sing’

Hold your bowl on a flat hand..............Grasping it dampens the sound.
• Place the bowl in the palm of your flattened hand. Gong it softly with the wooden mallet and with your eyes closed, absorb the sound. Listen not only with your ears, but also get in touch with how it makes you feel. The sound and harmonics is always a unique experience for each person.
• Then, strike the bowl lightly again and with pressure rub the mallet firmly around the top outer edge. It starts to sing quietly and increases in volume with successive rotations. Do not force the sound louder than it wishes to vibrate, otherwise it will rattle unpleasantly. Persevere and you will get the knack of it.
• Sound becomes visible when you rub your bowl, which has been filled with a little water. It hums and sometimes the vibrations even cause a fountain of tiny, sparkling droplets. These sounds patterns the water much like a mandala.
Incorrect angle of the mallet......................Correct angle of the mallet.

Antique Singing Bowls are no longer available. The Singing Bowls of today are manufactured by hand or they are machine-made or both. All the bowls that I supply are hand-beaten bowls. I do not supply the machine made singing bowls that have shiny, highly polished appearances.

PRICES

Vary according to weight, height, diameter, wall thickness & quality of sound.
Each bowl is individually priced and has its own unique sound.
On average they range between R530.00 & R1300.00

This is an information website.
Purchases are made by contacting me directly.
Scroll down for my Contact Details.

You are welcome to phone me and make an appointment to see the singing bowls from my showroom at my home in Cape Town.
OR.....If you live upcountry phone me and you make your selection from the quality of the sound of the bowl that you hear over the phone. In this case your eyes do not detract from what you hear and your listening attention is not compromised.

HISTORY OF SINGING BOWLS

Singing Bowls from the ‘Fire Bird’

In his book, “Messages from Water”, Masaru Emoto demonstrates that not only thoughts, words, ideas and sound affects the molecular structure of water, but his research also proves amazingly, that there is a vibrational correspondence between metals, emotions and planets. It is therefore not surprising that the sounds of singing bowls made up of 7 metals, calms the mind and helps balance the stormy emotional tides that plague our human condition.

Masaru Emoto constructed a device and was able to measure the negative vibrations coming from people. They corresponded to the vibrations emitted by different elements. e.g.
vibrations created by irritation are equivalent to those of mercury
irritation / mercury / Planet Mercury
anger / lead / Planet Saturn
sadness & sorrow / aluminium
uncertainty / cadmium
despair / steel
stress / zinc

In ancient times the most sacred of all singing bowls were made of meteorite metal. This metal created powerfully resonant bowls which became precious ‘alchemical’ amulets of that era. Coming from the sky, the meteorite was perceived to come from the auspicious Godly realm. When this 'Fire Bird’/ Phoenix shook the Earth, the peoples of the world were afraid. Were their lives tainted by ill-omen? The uncontrollable force with which the meteorite struck, brought potent Godly messages for mankind which were interpreted by seers, oracles and shamans. This event was so astonishing that astronomers, astrologers and mathematicians immediately interpreted the positions of the 7 known planets seen in the heavens. And so these astrologers, priests, shamans, oracles, mathematicians of yore would rush to the emperor/king for him to disseminate the powerful message down to his minions. The people would listen closely knowing that he was the great mediator and pacifier between themselves and the wrathful Gods. The communication from the ‘as above’ down to the ‘so below’ regulated human conduct and guided hearts. It was through the alchemy of sound played in rituals and ceremonies that human beings could experience their divine connection.
The 7 planets were known as the Gods of the Heavens. The resonance of singing bowls made of 7 metals corresponding with the 7 known planets of the time, emphasized this connection with their Gods. These singing bowls are still to this day made up of 7 different metals, with their sonorous and beautiful soundwaves bringing one to deep inner Silence, sometimes even experiencing the numinous. (These correspondences are mentioned above).

In Egypt the capstone of the pyramids was made of crystal. Then the capstone of the capstone which was called the Ben Ben stone, was made of meteorite metal – known to be the conduit or the connecting link (the Phoenix/ the Firebird/ the Bird of Enlightenment) between us mortal beings and the eternal Gods.

To conclude – it is exciting to find well researched evidence linking metals, emotions & planets, making it clearly obvious why these metal singing bowls have a profound effect on us. The drum of the Universe throbs its eternal beat within us. May we listen to our heart with the same pulse and may we add to its creative rhythm.

HEALING MEDITATION No 1

USING YOUR SINGING BOWL

Psychological difficulties or trauma sinks into the unconscious and gets ‘time-locked’. The physical energetic body also gets ‘memory-locked’ deep into the cellular energy. The physical, emotional, mental bodies having embedded the damage, bubble up and manifest as physical disease, neurosis and/or mental aberration. This can be triggered at any time when a situation resonates with the original experience. Sound is capable of merging - when the audible, physical vibrations sympathetically resonate, retuning the energy so that healing occurs.

3. Now intend with sincerity that all beings be happy & free from suffering.
May we take care of our environment & all in it.
May we serve Life & deepen our compassion.
May we realize our wisdom.
Slowly let your surroundings disappear.
All that is impure dissolves into emptiness.
Everything that emerges out of this, is pure.
Feel yourself suspended in a void.
Find your calm. Find your still point. Feel this presence.


Position of the Singing Bowl in order to send equal stereo sound to both ears.

9. Then the universe……may your love touch all and bring happiness to all.
Finally bring your attention back to the room and send loving kindness to all the people in the room. Repeat procedure above…….’May they be happy.’

Very gently gong your singing bowl and mentally say “so be it”.
As the sound dissipates rest in this silent awareness for a while.