Tibetan Singing Bowls: A Way to Contemplation

I've been playing Tibetan singing bowls for about ten years. I first discovered them an a SERRV display at the New York Conference annual meeting, and bought one. I still have it although it doesn't get as much use as it once did. Immediately I realized the potential for using a singing bowl for meditation. Over the span of several years I purchased enough to have a wide variety of bowls.

I discovered right away that singing bowls will produce a relaxing sound that can aid meditation. After a good deal of research I found that not much is know about their use in Tibet. Unfortunately, the Chinese occupation of Tibet has resulted in a cultural genocide. Most Tibetans have fled to India, Bhutan, or Nepal, including the Dalai Lama. Recovering the original use of these bowls may never happen, but certainly it is related to the sound they produce.

Since I started using singing bowls I have been offering what I call "Harmonic Healing" sessions once a month. South Church is blessed with a fellowship hall that has wonderful acoustics which make for an ideal room for this. I've developed a following in the area. When we lived in New York I offered these sessions at an addiction treatment center once a month. The residents were usually receptive and got a lot out of my time with them.

A singing bowl is made of bronze and is a upside-down bell. They range in size from just a few inches in diameter to twenty inches or more. My largest bowl is a modern bowl that is just under eighteen inches in diameter and has a deep, rumbling sound when played. To play a singing bowl I use a wooden mallet to tap it, or a wooden stick to rub around the outside. Once I am playing a bowl it will vibrate at a specific pitch, often producing more than one tone at once. When I play them in groups I am able to create a tapestry of different tones that will ease the listener into a state of relaxed contemplation that can have a profound effect. Recently a woman who had been struggling with thoughts of suicide came to one of my sessions and went away with her head clear and feeling as though she had gotten a new perspective on life.