Early mornings find me quietly enjoying the creativity and thoughts of my fellow bloggers. anticipating my first cuppa ice-cold coffee, when Marga Demmers’ blog opens up.. The Photographer Smiled It was a fun read, and got me thinking about where I put my singing lids. You have all heard of singing bowls, yes?
Singing bowls (also known as Tibetan Singing Bowls, rin gongs, Himalayan bowls or suzu gongs) are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, singing bowls sit with the bottom surface resting, and the rim vibrates to produce sound characterized by a fundamental frequency (first harmonic) and usually two audible harmonic overtones (second and third harmonic).[citation needed]
Singing bowls are used worldwide for meditation, music, relaxation, and personal well-being. Singing bowls were historically made throughout Asia, especially Nepal, China and Japan. They are closely related to decorative bells made along the Silk Road from the Near East to Western Asia. Today they are made in Nepal, India, Japan, China and Korea. – source Wikipedia
You can read more about the bowls on Wikipedia, I have a small collection, I love the sound produced in the older, (antique) bowls, they produce a harmonic overtone that resonates with me. The complex harmonic frequencies simply “speak” volumes to me. Each voice is unique. The hand-made bowls are my preference.
Modern bowls today, are manufactured. However, if you search you can still find newer ones that have been made in the traditional way. I admit to being a bit of a snob when it came to the bowls.. I went out of my way to search out and find just the “right” ones (for me and my uses)
I used them in my personal meditation and prayers, and with students and “clients” To this day, the sound of a bowl will ring out in the day or night-time atmosphere, as I allow myself to drift with the vibration and sound. The longer the bowl sings, the deeper the journey.
The bowls will sing if you run your wooden instrument along its sides, caressing it with a gently rhythm, or you can gently tap it with the leather or covered end of your mallet.. (personal preferences are many)
Rin gong at Kiyomizu-dera Kyoto
work by Michael Maggs click for more info
Those of us who enjoy and use the singing bowls, are passionate about them, and many will often give performances or demonstrations of just how melodic and mind satisfying the voices are. I play only for my own enjoyment and purposes.. however, many practice and use the bowl to play for large audiences.
Having a fondness for the bowls, you know that as I travelled and made my way around “treasure” shops, I looked for bowls that had been cast off, or simply given away, the previous owner thinking them merely decorative. while on such a hunt I happened to be in the aisle where they had on display pots, pans, lids and other household items. We had a pot that needed a cover.. so I was idly picking up different lids when I was jarred to attention, when this one lid sang to me. What… it was ugly, heavy and battered looking.. to be sure, I found myself a wooden stirring stick, and tentatively gave it a tap… WOW…. zing went the strings of my heart.
Love can happen when you least expect it to. It is just something that happens, we can go out and search all we like, but it is when we are ready, and open to the experience that we become naturally receptive to the calling, “voice” of another.
LOL all this to say… thanks to Marga, I dug out my lids ( I later found the one on the right, at home, waiting for me to see it just wasn’t a lid)
Love beckons from strange places, and when you least expect it. Isn’t Love Grand!!!!
HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE
Namaste – Oyashikiri
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