SOUND BODY SOUND MIND

TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS

Interview of Astara President Greg Toews on the benefits of Vibrational Sound

The allure of holy sounds enraptured Greg from as far back as when he was an alter boy intrigued with the ringing of the bells. Fast-forward to Greg bringing singing bowls into the Astarian Healing Ministry for classes, meditations and invocative use. His focus is on introducing the use of bowls to quickly bypass the “monkey mind” of repetitive thinking and the lower plane, to ascend effortlessly into a higher consciousness. The goal, as taught in Astara’s Book of Life Degree Lessons, is to listen for the inner sound, the aum.

“The beautiful thing about the bowls”, Greg discloses. “Is that tapping into the inner aum is easier and faster when you use the bowls first. You are actually making space for more diving energy to come down.”

Although Greg’s experimented with multiple instruments including aboriginal didgeridoos, Native American drums, rattles, bells and Jewish Shofar horns, he has used singing bowls for over thirty years in his healing, meditation and consecration practices. Not just any bowls, however. Use of hand-hammered bowls made by Tibetan monks resonate higher and transmit more energy through their playing. Something in the metal and the hand-forged process reverberates into a spiritually higher frequency than, say, a crystal bowl- that is made from a mold of bits and pieces of shattered quartz re-structured by machine. Bowls made slowly, over a period of time, during a total of six full moons, while holy chants of Oh Mani Padme Hum are repeated, emanate extraordinary vibrations that impact energy faster and on a much higher plane, according to Toews.

Greg advises when choosing a bowl for yourself, you should look for the bowl that “speaks” to you. One that feels good in your hands as well as sounds good to your ears. Some bowls are adorned with sacred symbols, etchings and drawings that impact the energy being released through it. Authenticity of origin and genuine heritage are not things that can be compromised when choosing your singing bowl and he warns of imposters and cheap fakes. As an owner of several types and sizes of singing bowls, his advice is to choose something in your budget, that will work with your lifestyle (are you a traveling healer?) and portability. He often holds bowls in his hands when consecrating new plant oils while also forming a mudra.

If the “law of attraction is set into motion by music” as the First Degree Lessons teach, and “Your individual soul note is as unique as one’s fingerprints”- then tuning into your own personal om quickly and efficiently by use of the proper singing bowl, may be just the thing you are looking for, to help with a sound mind experience. Transitioning from fight or flight mode into rest and repair mode is something we can all benefit from, to restore our sense of wellness, balance and purpose.