Chris Michell - Sound Therapy

Published in TIBET SOCIETY JOURNAL Spring 1999

TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS

Sound has always been important in the spiritual traditions of the East and has held a significant position in ceremonies and rituals. The use of metal bowls to create sacred sound in the areas of China,Tibet and India goes back thousands of years. The singing bowls were originally used in Tibet by shamans of the Bon religion which preceded Buddhism:(the famous Tibetan prayer flags were said to originate from the Bon). Bon was founded by Gshan-rab(most excellent of shamans),who was born 1055 years before Buddha, in an area now identified as Guge,a district of Nga-ri province,Tibet.

The Bonpo shamans dealt directly with the gods and spirits and the singing bowls were used to invoke good spirits for the harvest, for curing disease and for banishing evil spirits and negative energies, according to the intention of the shaman. It is also possible that offerings would be placed in a bowl which would then be rung to attract the relevant deity. The bowl and stick bring together both the male and female principles, yin and yang, their union creating an alchemical fusion of magical harmonics.

The bowls permeated through into the Buddhist religion and their use became a tradition within certain sects. Some bowls would have been used by the monks in their own quarters for personal meditation, whilst others would have belonged to a monastery and kept for specific ceremonies. These bowls were held in great reverence and may even have had specific names and have been housed in special rooms within the monasteries.

The bowls were made from a sacred alloy of metals known in Tibet as ‘leema’, meaning pure or divine. These metals corresponded with a heavenly body and also the seven Chakras thus:

Making the sacred bowls required great skill and knowledge about the metals used, their order of smelting and the way they were welded, cast or beaten to be formed. Each bowl would then have its own unique sound quality. These bowls are not to be confused with the cheap ‘imitations’ now being produced in India to be sold in the West, which do not have the truly special qualities of the traditionally made bowls.

The name ‘Chakra’ derives from the Sanskrit meaning Wheel or Disc, which was traditionally depicted as Lotus Flowers resonating at different frequencies and corresponding to the colours of the rainbow. According to Hindu tradition, the seven chakras correspond to the main energy centres of the body and are closely affiliated with the endocrine system. The chakra system is now being widely used in the West in various forms of alternative or ‘energy’ forms of healing, medicine and meditation.

On the album TIBETAN CHAKRA MEDITATIONS (1999), we used the traditional singing bowls played by Ben Scott, at pitches corresponding to each chakra, from the lowest to the highest. Various types of flutes played by Chris Michell were then added. These compositions enhanced the character and flavour of each chakra. This album was recorded with spiritual and healing intent, to be used as an aid to sacred-sound toning, meditation, massage, yoga, Reiki, Qi-gong and similar practices, or to be listened to simply for peaceful relaxation.

The Tibetan singing bowls are very idiosyncratic and there is great variation of harmonics of both bass and high frequencies. Sometimes there are curious buzzy sounds at nodal points and strange ‘creaky’ sounds, but these are all characteristics of the live played bowls.

The bowls were played for a continuous five minutes for each chakra, recorded with two microphones in stereo. This was then overlaid with two more stereo tracks of the same bowl played live. All the tracks, including the flutes, were recorded live to tape in one good ‘take’, to preserve the power of the energies and the healing intent. A leather-bound stick was used on all bowls except the higher ones, on which a wooden stick was used. The wood can sometimes be heard touching the bowl. No synthesisers or sampled sounds were used. Many of the bowls played on the album date back to the sixteenth century. The ‘Heart bowl’ is estimated at four to five hundred years old and came from old Tibet.

TIBETAN CHAKRA MEDITATIONS
A 5% Royalty from the sale of each album goes to the Tibet Relief Fund: Registered Charity No 1061834, to support the Tibetan refugees.
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TIBETAN FREEDOM CHANTS with Bhagdro
This album has been sold to raise money for Tibetans by Tibet Society and Relief Fund and Tibet Foundation
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