Peter Blum Bowling
It is somewhat inevitable and actually of great value that each person who becomes a healer brings their own particular past skills and competencies to bear in their individual approach.
For me, growing up in a musical household, and having had a lifelong love affair with music, it was quite natural that sooner or later, I would begin to appreciate some of the applications of sound and music for healing purposes.
As research by Dr. Thomatis and others has pointed out, our sense of hearing is one of the first that is developed and activated, in utero. Each one of us, while in our mother's womb, floated in a dark environment, filled with different sounds.
The mother's heartbeat (approx. 50-60 beats/minute); the mother's breathing, a soft whooshing in and out, sounding much like distant surf coming in and going out (approx. 12-15 cycles/minute); the mother's voice, muted and high pitched, sounding a bit like dolphin sounds; these are some of the primary sounds… in the background were other sounds from the outside coming through in a muffled way.
We are rhythmic creatures. As much as all matter is vibrating, our bodies are a series of overlapping rhythmic patterns: heartbeat, pulse(s), brainwave activity… When we speak, there are variations of pitch and tone, volume and rhythm that, according to research, are responsible for 38% of the communication (the remainder of human communication is 55% nonverbal, and 7% the words we use). So, we are all using sound and music as part of our ongoing human experience and communication network, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.
Sounds for Healing
Himalayan Singing Bowls
I first heard a recording of Tibetan bells and bowls in the early 1970's. I was mesmerized by the sounds. At that time, such instruments were scarce and difficult to locate for purchase in the west. The metal "singing bowls" from Tibet, Nepal, and northern India have become increasingly available in Europe and the United States over the past few decades..
Bowls are relatively easy to play; most people can make a bowl "sing" in the first 5-10 minutes. They come in different sizes, with numerous subtle variations in design and shape—i.e. how steeply the walls of the bowl slant up, thickness of wall, floor and rim, etc. Those shopping for their first bowl (and subsequent, additional bowls), would be best served by making the purchase in person. There are websites and mail-order catalogs, but if one is going to be using said bowl as a healing or meditation tool, it is important that the user have a personal relationship with it. Different bowls produce radically different notes and textures, and playing it live is really the only way to determine if you have a bowl that has a sympathic resonance for you.
Their origin and use historically are shrouded in mystery and myth. Regardless of how the people of the Himalayas used the bowls, one thing is certain: contemporary Western people are deeply moved in a special way when they first encounter them. Many feel that their spirit has been touched when they listen to the living sound of the bowls. I have played the bowls for thousands of people... I have yet to encounter anything other than a positive response. A frequently heard comment is that although the sounds are completely new and different from anything they have ever heard, there is something extraordinarily familiar about them.
TranceSonics
In my developing work with TranceSonics — a composite approach utilizing sound and music to induce hypnotic trance for healing and guidance — a few of the primary applications are:
The use of Himalayan ''singing bowls,'' large gongs, tingshas and resonating bells to bathe in sound immersion field, drums and rattles for' 'Shamanic journeying,''
How to use vocal toning and harmonic singing to awaken energy centers in the body, develop a more sonorous voice, and vibrate cerebrospinal fluid in the interstitial canals of the brain, using tuning forks for brain entrainment (off the body) and treatment of muscular aches and pains (on the body)