Singing Bowls: Healing Sounds

The practice of using sound to heal and achieve balance has existed for centuries. Australian Aboriginals and Native American shamans use vocal toning and repetitive sounds, along with instruments created from nature, in sacred ceremony to adjust any imbalance of the spirit, emotions or physical being. The priests of ancient Egypt knew how to use vowel sounds to resonate their energy centers or chakras.

Since the time of the historical Buddha the harmonics of singing bowls have been used to induce meditation and assist spiritual seekers to the state of enlightenment. The Tibetans still use bells, chimes, bowls, and chanting as the foundation of their spiritual practice. Traditionally, singing bowls are struck with a padded mallet or rubbed around the rim with a playing mallet to produce a fascinating blend of harmonic resonances and rich overtones.

Singing bowls are made of either a combination of metal alloys or pure quartz crystal and both types induce relaxation. Just hearing the tone often creates an an immediate centering effect setting up a "frequency following response" that creates a balancing left/right brain synchronization. Meditating on these subtle sounds tunes one in to the universal sound within and without.

Buy a Crystal Singing Bowl

This beautiful and luminescent quartz crystal singing bowl emits an expansive sound that fills whatever space it is in. Evocative of ancient temples, the sound of a frosted quartz crystal singing bowl is a combination of bell, gong and "voice" that can help promote a stable, peaceful energy.

These bowls come in a vast range of sizes. Smaller bowls have a higher tone; tones become increasingly deeper and more resonant as they increase in size. All the sizes and tones are excellent for shifting energy, chakra balancing, relaxing, clearing and releasing, trance and ritual work. For a good mid-range bowl, try one that is 10" to 14" in diameter. They are wonderful to tone and chant with, blending beautifully with the voice. (People who begin to work with the crystal bowls often find themselves discovering a voice they never knew they had!) They produce a lot of resonance and sustain, while still being easy to transport and play. This bowl measures 10" across and is tuned to G#, resonating with the throat chakra. Other sizes and tones are available.

Singing Bowl Music on CD

Master musicians playing Tibetan singing bowls, whether made of the traditional metal or of natural crystal, have created some of the most beautiful & strongest psychoactive music I've experienced. Some of my favorites are Seven Metals by Benjamin Iobst
Sounds of Light: The Pure Tones of Crystal Singing Bowls by Crystal Voices
Crystal Portal Singing Crystal Bowl Journeys by the Crystal Vibrations Music Ensemble
Journeys to Wholeness by the Crystal Vibrations Music Ensemble
Singing Bowls of Shangri-La by Thea Surasu
Tibetan Singing Bowls by Danny Becher
Singing Bowls by Xumantra
Tibetan Bells series by Henry Wolff & Nancy Hennings.

Books & CDs: Singing Bowl Exercises

Chakra Delight: Singing Bowls for Balancing the Energy Centers
book & CD set by Binkey Kok
This hardcover book and CD package focuses on the healing properties of singing bowls. The book includes visualization and relaxation techniques and instructions for using the 16 singing bowl recordings on the CD to balance and recharge your energy centers.

Singing Bowl Exercises for Personal Harmony
by Anneke Huyser
Dutch singing bowl and mandala expert Anneke Huyser has written a useful and inspirational compendium on brass Himalayan singing bowls. While noting that singing bowl healing research is in its infancy, she provides the information one needs to begin collecting and using these exotic musical meditation aids for personal harmony. Beginning with the simple act of listening, Huyser guides the reader through 12 exercises to find ones own basic tone and choose a bowl to match that frequency. Identifying planet and chakra tones, combining tonal therapy with color therapy, and giving a singing bowl sound massage are also covered. Clearly a spiritual seeker, her personal philosophies concerning the use of the bowls make this book a good value for anyone interested in inner growth. (Thanks to P. Randall Cohan for this review)

Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Keys for Conscious Evolution
by Deborah Van Dyke
Deborah Van Dyke is the creator of the crystal bowl meditation CD's: Crystal Voices & Sounds of Light, both classic tools in the field of therapeutic Sound and vibrational Healing. Deborah is a visionary teacher and sound healer whose impassioned work with sound offers a key to higher consciousness. Travelling the Sacred Sound Current is the culmination of Deborah's years of experiential work with sound and provides an inspiring hands-on guide to sound healing. Combining the esoteric with the therapeutic, it explores sound as a vibrational tool for self healing, sacred creation and higher consciousness. A blend of the mystical and the practical, it covers ancient wisdom teachings, sound healing practices for inner attunement, and the use of voice and crystal singing bowls for expanded awareness, healing, and transformation. Whatever stage of your journey, Travelling the Sacred Sound Current offers an energy-shifting, soul-enriching experience. With beautiful full color illustrations throughout and saturated with quotes of the foremost mystics and sound masters, this is a rare work of art that you will consult over and over again.
For optimum experience, read in conjunction with the book's companion audio CD Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Divine Chants & Sacred Tones for Healing and Meditation

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