Meditation corner - 4 - Sound and its importance

Sound 

About thirty years ago I became deaf on one ear. Devastation set in and through my tears I realized I should have listened to music more, but also, while I still could, having the fear of losing the other ear as well, I started to deeply appreciate the healing, soothing qualities of sound.

 

Guided meditations made me realize the importance of the sound quality of voices. Some voices were beautiful to listen to and soothing and others made me cringe. Some of the ones I liked to listen to are still in my music library so when I feel the need to be guided that way, they can easily be found.

 

I do remember my first meditation cd. It was a guided meditation of about 30 minutes and also quite an experience to be invited into a fairy-like journey accompanied by the sounds of water and birds. It needed some time to surrender to, but listening and following the instructions did help to ease my mind.

 

And then, there were the singing bowls. Listening to their tones and feeling their resonance made me realize the impact of the different vibrations. Working with them as healing tools was bliss. I was fortunate to have a friend specialized in working the “singing bowls” as massage tools and considered a treatment as an intense experience of reaching the meditative state, the stillness inside. She has quite a collection of them and it is interesting to notice how the bowls, when placed on different parts of your body pick up the resonance of the first one being activated in their own way, responding, so to say, with a different sound and vibration depending on their own size and their location on the body.

Meditating while using a singing bowl has been commonplace for centuries in the Eastern world where the concept was developed and it has become popular in Western world in the last few decades. 

There are a few different ways to use a singing bowl when you meditate. You can use the bowl in private meditation by making the sounds yourself or in guided meditation by allowing someone else to play the bowl while you meditate. Using a meditation bowl comes down to two very simple steps – holding the bowl correctly and creating the soothing, melodic sounds. You can also find wonderful videos on Youtube should you wish to enjoy the experience.

With love,

Juliet Joan