Master Singing Bowl

Master Singing Bowl from Singing Bowl Sound and Craft

"The traditional art of making them is called Astha Dhatu, where eight different metals—including tin, copper, gold, and bronze—are forged into shape with simple tools and sacred intention. Using a secret formula, each bowl is heated in the fire and hammered into shape, over and over, until the perfect shape is achieved.

Each bowl is carefully crafted to make sure it produces the most balancing sounds and harmonies. With fine-tuned ears, the craftsperson makes sure each bowl has the right balance of male and female tones, as well as the right high and low tones, so it can produce the most curative and soothing sounds possible."

I paused as my glance caught a table stacked with singing bowls. I was at the Denver Gem & Mineral Show intent on finding some of my favorites: Lemurian Quartz, Chrysocolla, Malachite and Shungite. Singing bowls weren't really on the list, but I had been thinking of a set of metal bowls to go with my crystal singing bowl set. I don't like to take my crystal set outside of my home and risk dropping/breaking a bowl. The vendor, Tok, approached and offered assistance. I noticed some children playing the steel tongue drums. Yes! That's what I wanted. I made my way to that table and asked Tok for pricing. $275. I was hoping to leave the gem show with a larger crystal of that price range. "I'll take it."

He drew my attention to the crystal singing bowls right next to the steel tongue drums and I told him I already have a set of crystal bowls that I use quite a bit. He explained that the crystal bowls are nice, but they are agitating to the body after about 20 minutes. He is a sound healer and teaches sound healing. I told him I have been getting into sound healing and he pushed pause as he went around the table to grab a bowl from beneath a table cloth. He explained that he sorts through hundreds of bowls in the Himalayas to find a 200 year old bowl like this bowl, as they are very rare. From the moment the gong mallet struck the side of the bowl, it was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was as though angels were chanting OM from the base of the bowl. 

The surroundings were loud and bustling with many vendor tables set up in every direction under a large outdoor tent. I tuned into to Tok like an eager student. He explained that he has helped heal cancer with master singing bowls such as this one. I knew this bowl was a once-in-a-lifetime find (for me, at least). The bowl resonated so strongly with me that I almost didn't care the price he would mutter. 

Oh. That much. It was a bit of a gut check, but I knew I couldn't pass on this bowl. I could make it work, but it was way beyond what I had mentally budgeted for the gem show. He said he'd give me 15 minutes of instruction with the bowl. He played it with such ease and I struggled to get the bowl to sing. "Like this," he'd show me, "Let the bowl be an extension of you." He placed the bowl on my back and I felt it resonate through my entire being. "I'll take it." He left the tent to grab bottled water from the car to show me how the water vibrating in the bowl forms sacred geometry. The water droplets dance when you strike certain spots of the bowl.

If you enlarge to full-screen, you can see the waves and hear the water droplets. The sound is recorded from the top of the bowl, but it is the base of the bowl that really emanates the sound.