“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
—Nikola Tesla
Sound has been used in many cultures over thousands of years as a tool for healing. From the chanting of Sanskrit mantras to the shaking of rattles and beating of drums in shamanistic ceremonies, sound offers a unique ability to heal through bringing what is imbalanced into balance.
Everything in the universe is made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies. Even things that look solid are, on a quantum level, made up of vibrational energy fields. This includes you! From a metaphysical perspective, a person is made up of different energy levels (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual), which each have different vibrational frequency that combines to create your overall vibration of being. In the same way that one out-of-tune instrument playing in an orchestra might lead the disharmony to spread and shift the whole tune, stress or injury to any of these energetic fields can pull the body energy out of alignment.
What is sound healing?
Sound healing can renew your energetic balance and bring about healing through entrainment and the law of resonance. Entrainment is the tendency for two oscillating bodies is to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony. The weaker of the two oscillating bodies will have a tendency to adjust to the stronger one’s vibration. The law of Resonance similarly says that when two bodies meet, the one with the highest amplitude will bring the other into resonance with it.
In sound healing, these principles are employed to re-harmonize energies that have been imprinted with disruptive frequencies, bringing them in “tune” with a higher vibration through a mindfully chosen and consistently resonant instrument or voice. Sound is such an effective tool for healing that an a person does not need to believe in it for it to work, though creative intention does amplify the effects. Because sound healing works with energies at all different levels of being, focusing thoughts, feelings, and visualizations to attract the outcome you want (such as enhanced health) seems to consistently make the effect of this musical medicine go further!
Where do singing bowls come from?
For centuries, the Tibetan people have practiced sound healing with singing bowls. They have been called a symbol of “the unknowable”, and it is said that their vibrations are the “sound of the universe manifesting.” The use of singing bowls has been traced back to at least 560 B.C., but the exact details of their origins remain a mystery. Traditionally monks, nuns, and other Buddhists have used the bowls in rituals, prayer, and meditation.
What are singing bowls?
Singing bowls, also known as sound healing bowls or prayer bowls, are actually a type of bell, called a standing bell. When struck with a wooden mallet, they make a sound much like any bell, but when they are “sung” or rubbed consistently with the mallet in a circular motion around the bowl’s edge, they produce a constant complex tone that is like nothing else. The metal, shape, and handmade construction of these bowls combine to create a warm and melodic vibration, with a unique power to relax the body and focus the mind.
In a sound healing session, you’ll find that you can hear a myriad of different and shifting tones coming from just one bowl. When a singing bowl is played, it produces a deep fundamental tone and two or three audible higher-pitched harmonic overtones. Other frequencies are present, but are either outside of our hearing range or blend in with the other tones so they can’t be discerned. Even if we can’t hear them, these tonal frequencies all combine to create a unique and complex chord that can have profound healing effects.
Where can I buy a singing bowl?
We have a variety of Nepalese singing bowls at Mexicali Blues, from our selection of unique hand pounded Brass Singing Prayer Bowls to our multi-colored Chakra Singing Bowls that are individually tuned to each of your seven chakras, either of which can be used for mindfulness practice, meditation, sound healing, prayer, as a musical instrument, or just to relax and bask in the grounding sounds of the singing bowl. Come harmonize to the vibrations of our singing bowls at any of our locations in Maine, or you can purchase singing bowls online HERE and add some sound healing to your life.
Do YOU have a singing bowl? Where did you get it? How do you use it?
Tell us in the comments 💫
