Sound Healing Practitoners or Technicians

Over the years I receive so many questions and comments about the Himalayan sacred sound instruments. Normally they are about how to play them for someone else's benefit. The questions themselves inform me about the owner and his/her degree of understanding regarding the instruments. Many questions have to do with technique, but having a technical understanding of patterns and layouts does not make a great practitioner. The instruments come from the Buddhist tradition which strongly emphasizes going inward. Spending tons of time discovering the different voices in the instrument for oneself and being able to call those voices forth is an essential part of the healing process.

One woman wrote telling me that if she rang the ganta it would break up energy in the entire house, and asked if she could just sing it instead. This let me know that the woman did not spend much time working with her instrument to discover it... but only to use it. All the instruments, tingsha's, ganta's and bowls have so many textures of sound to experience. In the case of the ganta- it can be rung so gently that it sounds like a drop of water- an ever so gentle tap, tap, tap of the clacker to break up stuck energy. Breaking up energy doesn't always require a bulldozer. But the ganta can be a bulldozer too! Each instrument can be played to offer a neutral, awakening, energizing or soothing sound. Each of these sound textures has a role in the healing process if the time to discover them for oneself is taken.

Words That Heal

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;.
excerpt of Saint Francis and the Sow by Galway Kinnell

Silence in Sound Healing

Tibetan bowls have such beautiful overtones and beneficial vibrations it is tempting to strike them over and over again. But I consider Silence as a major player in sessions. In general people strike the bowls too loud, too fast and too often. Silence has texture, weight and purpose. In a sound healing session it is the place where consciousness extends into that delicious sense of expanding/dissolving into eternity. When a bowl is struck.. let the sound linger. In our society, we are uncomfortable with silence and so must train ourselves to relax into it a bit more. Remember that when a bowl is struck around the head, the receiver hears them longer and louder than you do. The bowls were created to expand and transform our consciousness... Silence is where that happens.

'Out of silence comes the sound
Awakening the fullness of my heart.
One still point- Then another
Mirroring the musings of love.
Sound, then Sound-less-ness
Carrying me further into a place
That has no name
But is known as 'OM'

( from my Return to OM CD)

Tibet: Responding to a Tragedy

His Holiness the Dalai Lama says" Adopting an attitude of universal responsibility is essentially a personal matter. The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions, but how we conduct ourselves in daily lives"

There is so much tragedy in the world today. We could get thoroughly depressed. Or we could acknowledge our feelings and take an action- holding fast to the belief that what we do, however small does have an impact. It may not be visible in our lifetimes, but that must not sabotage the knowledge that we are effecting change. In the case of Tibet, to speak out against the unthinkable wrongdoings that are going on is an act of compassion towards both ourselves and the people of Tibet. When we acknowledge our feelings and make a positive choice about how to respond to them, this is an action of self compassion- and when that choice also benefits others it is an act of universal compassion.

Sound your voices. Here are some places to go to do that: www.freetibet.org, www.savetibet.org

You can visit my website at http://www.soundenergyhealing.com

Sound Healing Ethics

Over the past couple of years so called sound healers have been popping up all over the world. Since there are no national standards for this modality yet, the range of practitioner skill goes from " I know how to hit the bowl" to "quite effective" and everywhere in between. In the realm of Tibetan bowls, Sound Energy Healing is opening a school in association with Sacred Sound Workshops to set a high standard of practice with certification for those who wish to use the sacred sound instruments in their healing practice. The course of study offers a home study course ( now available) , an intensive introductory hands on workshop and three advanced level workshops followed by an evaluation. The time frame for certification will be about 18 months-2 years and the location will be San Diego. The time in between workshops will ensure plenty of practice time for students. Our intention is to standardize a level of skill for anyone who uses these instruments outside of their own personal needs. Every other modality has a level of skill and hundreds of hours of practice required before receiving certification. We have observed a very low standard of practice among Tibetan bowl practitioners simply because most just make up what they do and how.. and that seems good enough for them. As I say, the website is under construction but anyone who wishes more detailed information can contact me at diane@soundenergyhealing.com http://soundenergyhealing.com

Sarasvati's Dream CD Recieves Great Review

The Feb 2008 San Diego Light Connection says of my Sarasvati's Dream CD
" ..The tempo starts out slow, with well-spaced tones of the Tibetan bowls, gradually incorporating gongs, didgeridoo, and other sacred instruments. It then builds to an energizing crescendo that gives way to gorgeous vocals, bring the listener to a deep level of inner peace and relaxation and soothing the soul all the way to the conclusion. Soaking up the restful energy induced by the tones, I wanted it to last longer than it did. No matter: I just lay there and enjoyed... ( reviewed by Chiwah)

You can hear a few tracks from this CD and even purchase it on line at www.soundenergyhealing.com

How to Choose a Tibetan Bowl

There are two questions I get all the time. One is 'How do I choose a good bowl" and the other is 'How do I know which bowl is good for a specific chakra' People also call to obtain a bowl with a certain musical note. The answers to these questions are founded in the Eastern philosophy rather than from a Western mindset, because this better reflects the nature of the instruments as they were intended:

Choosing a good bowl requires a few things. Quality: Either an eye and an ear for excellent quality- or knowing and trusting someone who knows the bowls and can help you. Many people sell bowls and most are new and machine made to look old. Many people who sell bowls in shops and on the internet are not very knowledgable.. so ask a lot of questions. When someone says a bowl is old.. in this country old can mean 50 years. That is new by my standards. A real old bowl it will be at least 100 years old and more often hundreds of years old. If the vendor doesn't know the region the bowls were made in, and how the markings help distinguish the type of bowl.. they probably don't know much..Bowls were made in a variety of regions of Tibet and their shape and markings are telling. Some of the bowls have consciousness transformation as their primary intention, and some have physical healing. This can be determined by their shape. There is more about this and photos in my home study course available on my website. A high quality, ancient bowl is an investment. If it is inexpensive and old,then it was probably obtained in a less than honorable manner...A good bowl is an investment and the price can range from $110 for a very small bowl to thousands of $$ for a huge bowl. Get educated on what you will use the bowl for( ie healing, meditations, yoga practice, creativity etc). That will inform what bowls and how many would be most effective. I can help you here.

Tone: The tone of the bowls should linger for quite some time when struck. There should be several layers of tones you can hear that produce overlaying harmonics. When you hear a bowl, listen to your body. If it opens your heart, or moves you deeply in some manner; if you feel tingling all over, or the tone directly impacts one area of your body.. these are all good signs. Bowls were created for consciousness transformation and healing. You should feel their effect on you.

Bowls and Chakras. In the west we work with seven chakras. The Tibetans work with five regions of the body. The bowls were created to bring us back to our experience of the interrelationship of all things.. thus they are not calibrated to work on just one chakra.. Their very nature encompasses our wholeness. In this way they are very different instruments then the western counterparts- tuning forks and crystal bowls. However there are some bowls whose tone and size lend themselves more naturally to certain areas of the body. Lower tones for grounding, largest bowls by the feet, etc. This is too complex to go into in a blog but there is more on this in my home study course. But you must understand that even if you have only ONE bowl, it will impact all of you, and not just one chakra.

Please post your comments or email me at diane110@cox.net. My home study course is available on my site as is a variety of instruments for purchase. I can help you select some by phone or skype. Website