It has been delightful to see sound healing becoming more and more popular. It's kind of like watching yoga as it became more mainstream. This year I was contacted by a company in NYC about performing a "sound bath" for a rather large business here in Atlanta. I prepared to do so, but quickly realized that the company wasn't too interested in paying for my time and energy.
And then I had to sit with what it is I do and come to my own understanding that sound healing concerts for large groups really isn't what I do. It is a choice I make. I am a musician and could easily buy all the instruments to perform sound healing concerts. Over the years, I have played my bowls for workshops and yoga classes, I have taught the bowls at the Cymatics Conference and at International Sound Therapy Association classes, I have given talks about sound healing, I have recorded a song with the bowls which you can find on iTunes via this link Bowl Music. But what I really do happens in private sessions.
For me, the bowls are energy instruments before they are musical instruments. We are all energy and sound is one of the most powerful vibrational tools for working with energy. The set of bowls I have collected over the years are my tools for energy work. When a client comes to me, I spend time before the session connecting with them energetically and with their Higher Self. I ask permission from them to do this. At the beginning of the session, we talk about what their intention for the session is. Sometimes people are very clear about what their intention is and sometimes not. I assure them that their Higher Self will be guiding the session and that it will become clear for them during or post session.
The next step is performing a grounding ceremony with the client. This involves saging and standing on the Earth, connecting to her core and making a strong grounding connection. This is an important start to any energy work.
I like the description of our bodies being a symphony and when one instrument falls out of tune, it affects the entire song. To start a session, I use a bowl to scan the client and discover where the areas are that need to be brought back into tune. Clients who may not have mentioned physical ailments prior to the session will tell me afterward when I ask about certain areas that yes, indeed there have been issues there. So the bowls first serve as a diagnostic tool and allow me to adjust the placement of bowls on the body.
At this point in the session, I am pretty much channeling information from my Higher Self and the client's Higher Self about how to work with the client's energy. I may bring in energy, I may release energy - ultimately it's about balancing the energy. I never know what will happen exactly. I may use the rattles, I may use toning, I may be called to play a song while I play the bowls. Sometimes the session is just beautiful sound patterns bringing in light and healing. Sometimes it is strong,vital sounds removing blocks and creating bright flow.
I have had amazing things occur during sessions and they are all directed by the client and their energy. That is sometimes difficult for people who ask what happens in a session. When I say, well it depends on you as to what happens, I often don't get a call back. I guess we all would love for someone to just HEAL us, but without our involvement, without our willingness to open ourselves to our own healing capabilities, without taking responsibility for how that may look or what that may entail, we will continue to look outside ourselves and most likely continue the patterns we are wanting to change.
The bowls are able to help those who say "I cannot meditate" to lower their brainwave state and enter a space of consciousness and awareness that introduces and advances healing. Sessions certainly help lower stress and most people leave feeling peaceful and relaxed. Sound concerts can do that for larger groups of people as well but I prefer working with one person's energy at a time. When a session is drawing to a close, the sound field created by the session is a beautiful space for the client to bask in for however long they desire.
I am more than happy to talk with you further about sessions and I am glad that I finally wrote this. This way people who contact me have a better understanding of what I do. Including myself.
Mitakuye Oyasin
