"My cross: being spread out in life between what I am and what I am yet to be"
K Bradford Brown







"We live at the edge of consciousness, seldom noticing what is going on outside of us or within.  It is a waking sleep to be overcome."
K Bradford Brown







"The real change cannot be the ego working on itself. It requires the Truth revealing the Truth to the Truth within oneself. There is the further requirement to say yes."
K Bradford Brown

This group of ancient singing bowls came together over a period of two years.  I had no idea when I started collecting them that they belonged to a group.  It began slowly, with three bowls that just seemed to "click" together, and then the remainder of the group was gathered very quickly, in the space of just two weeks early in 2009.  

According to Tibetan oral tradition, these particular types of bowls are no longer made, and probably stopped being made about 400 years ago.  The clarity and intensity of the sounds are characteristic of the Chama singing bowl that some say come from the area known today as Bhutan.  The thick rim, or lip, of the bowl is narrower in circumference than the flattened base and they are unusually heavy for their size, with varying numbers of rings engraved on the out- and in-sides and rim.  

The Group

There are twelve in the main group and a thirteenth bowl that serves as an integrator and harmoniser of the frequencies.  The pitches are almost entirely chromatic, except for one note that is "missing".  Whether that was intentional or just the way they turned out is not clear.

In the context of Sound Therapy, the quality and sustain of the sound that a bowl emits is important.  It is also probable that any intentions, purpose, focus or prayers that might have been held by the bowl-makers while they formed the bowls would be an integral part of the whole: an energy field if created that is anchored by the metal bowl.  The sound and energetic qualities together can offer specific frequencies that are capable of creating or restoring balance and harmony within our energy systems.  

With this group, both the qualities of the sounds and the energies are an important component in the way that they work together.  They go together in pairs.  When played singly, we can experience the purity and strength of their individual tones. When played in pairs, their frequencies combine more powerfully to balance and further stabilise our energy matrix.

Additionally, when more than two are played together, their tones combine to produce unusual sonic rhythms, in some instances creating binaural beats, or hemi-sync frequencies, when the pitches are very close together.  The binaural beats can begin to entrain our brainwaves into slower rhythms, allowing us to move into a more relaxed state.  We believe that this way of working with the bowls was developed in order to promote states of altered consciousness as part of the bowl-makers' spiritual practice. 

As a general rule, it is not unusual for a number of people to notice differing responses to the same singing bowl.  We all experience our interaction with these types of instruments in our own way.  However, what is intriguing about these is that people experience similar responses when they connect with the bowls.  They have recognised subtleties in individual bowls that they described as qualities of wisdom; truth; integrity; Divine Masculine; Divine Feminine; compassion, and unity.

Each time I work with these bowls, I feel as if I have been cleansed at a cellular level.  My mind is clearer, my emotions are like a still pond, and I feel as if my energy field has expanded to about ten times its normal size.  I am aware of a deeper sense of trust in the universe, in myself and in my guides.  At some level of consciousness, it is as if a higher awareness has been added or clarified and I feel more complete.

How do they work?

I am told that they "represent aspects of humanity's individual and collective journey towards unity, wholeness, and The Oneness".  They were designed to "re-awaken the listener's inner knowingness and divine light" by creating balancing and illuminating sounds.

Each time we interact with the sounds and energies of the bowls we can experience an alignment or activation that will be appropriate for us at that time.  It is as if the journey continues round, beginning at one level, moving upwards through the sequence to complete at a level higher than where be started.  Then we begin again, moving through the frequencies of the bowls that allow us to access greater clarity and stability on all levels of being - mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually - experiencing and integrating the qualities they hold more fully each time.  And so on.

It is easiest to focus on and experience the bowls' individual and combined frequencies once the listener is in a relaxed state, which we create through guided meditation.  There are also guides who join us when we work together with the bowls, to help with the energetic adjustments and balancing.

We sometimes include one or two of these bowls in sound baths so that people attending can experience their frequencies. The bowls are available to be experienced in different contexts, such as one-to-one sessions, group work and meditation and, soon, recordings of their frequencies.  If you are interested in learning more about them or experiencing these bowls, please contact me by email or 'phone.

Comments and Feedback

"I feel as if I have been taken apart and put back together again."  Carolina S
"Amazing.  The sound is so subtle and so powerful."  Jackie B
"I felt as if my masculine and feminine energies were being re-tuned and re-aligned."  Matthew  B
"Somehow my spine feels like it's longer and straighter.  How is that possible?"  Sean G
"It felt as if the sound was going straight through me."  Marie K

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