Crystal Singing Bowls

Crystal singing bowls are made from 99.992% pure crushed quartz and heated to about 4000 degrees in a centrifugal mold.

They are available in clear or frosted bowls in a variety of sizes. The bowls emit a powerful and pure resonance. The larger bowls are much more reverberant, with the tone lingering longer, simply because of the size and amount of crystal. The sound emitted from Crystal Singing bowls is known to have healing effects.

Some crystal singing bowls even harmonize with other bowls, and when played simultaneously, the effect is exquisite and synergistic.

How they Work?

When you run a wet finger around the rim of a wine glass or goblet, it makes a singing sound, which varies depending on the size and thickness of the glass. The rotating pressure from your finger causes the glass to vibrate, and produce a sound.

Crystal singing bowls also work on the same principle. With the bowls, you use a suede-covered mallet, instead of your finger. You circle this mallet around the outside rim of the bowl, and an enchanting sound is emitted from it. The sound goes on even long after you have stopped circling the bowl.

For sound to be produced, some sort of movement needs to be generated. In a Guitar or a drum you can see the movements. In crystal singing bowls the sides of the bowl actually move when it is being played, and can be felt if we touch them.

History and Uses

Sound has been used as a healing tool by a variety of cultures. In ancient India, Asia, Africa, Europe, and among the Aboriginals and AmerIndians, the practice of using sound to heal and achieve balance has existed for centuries. The Tibetans still use bells, chimes, bowls, and chanting as the foundation of their spiritual practice.

Everything in the universe is in a state of vibration, and each object or person has a resonant frequency that is their optimal vibration. The chakras, bones and organs in the body all possess a different resonant frequency. When an organ, or other part of the body, is vibrating out of tune or non-harmoniously, it is called “dis-ease”. A body is in a healthy state of being when each cell and each organ create a resonance that is in harmony with the whole being.

The sounds of the crystal singing bowls helps in balancing the body in two ways. The disharmonious conditions are being adjusted or removed, and a sacred space is created for strengthening of the persons Higher Self connection or “Divine Blueprint”. When an unbalanced energetic condition is removed, it is always wise to fill the void created with the highest aspect of Source that the person is willing to embrace. The sound waves from the Crystal singing bowls emit a pure holographic template of radiant sound that builds a “Jacobes ladder” to the Divine.

The process of making Tibetan rugs is highly unique because mostly everything about them is meticulously handmade. With the advent of Modern technology, machines have taken over a few rug making aspects, mainly, due to cost cutting and the gradually increasing lack of knowledge. A few of the finishing touches can also be made by the machines.

When Chinese communist took over Tibet in the early 1950, refugees from Tibet began migrating to Nepal and India. With it, they also brought the rug making knowledge. In Nepal, the business of rug making is a booming industry and one can find several rug exporters there.

In most of traditional Tibetan arts, the influence of Indian culture that was transferred to Tibet with Buddhism is evident. However, the art of rug making was brought to Tibet from China. The designs are a proof of this fact. There are several Tibetan rugs that bear a close resemblance to Chinese rugs but plenty others that betray the concept of Tibet, have also been found.

But most rugs that one finds exhibit a blend of Tibetan style with Chinese patterns. Tibetan rugs are essentially Chinese rugs with a difference. In color, Tibetans prefer bright, enthusiastic colors. Even the simplest of Tibetan furniture and humblest household utensils are lively and the least ugly.

Different Types of Tibetan Rugs

1. Area
2. Wool
3. Stripe
4. Prayer
5. Antique
6. Tiger

Nowadays, one can find these rugs in a range of several materials. There are wool and silk blends rugs, rugs of Hemp and rugs made from fibers of Banana. There are many exporters who make custom rugs for Interior designers, rug dealers, architects, design firms and other aspiring designers and artists. Various designs of these rugs to choose from are now at one’s disposal. Most rug makers have their own line of designs.

The prices of these rugs are based on the quality of the wool used in making them, in addition to the design, luster, longevity, feel and durability of the rug. These days, New Zealand wool is increasingly being used for making these rugs, since it can observe dye for rich colors easily.

For eco friendly people, there is an option of vegetable dyes that are used in place of chemicals also available in the market.

Traditionally, Tibetans used natural resources for obtaining dyes. The indigo obtained from India was used to obtain blue color, for red madder, they used lac, which was brought from Bhutan, for yellow, indigo was mixed with green, which was also got from rhubarb a plant abundantly found on the hills of Tibet and for browns alpine valley walnuts were used.

Until aniline dyes were invented, these natural dyes were used to knot the prettiest of Tibetan rugs that mankind ever came across.

By the way there is a popular Tibetan rug company called Vermont Tibetan Rug which you might want to buy from.

The particular way in which the Tibetan rugs are made where wool is wrapped around a rod and then piled up is now considered an ancient technique. The designs are exceptionally different as they include every thing from the vast use of colors to the plethora of religious symbols. Distinguished floral patterns inspired by the local vegetation are often seen.

Most prominently seen are the Buddhist symbols as well as rare snow lions and tigers motifs. The rugs are available in many sizes the most common is the sitting sleeping size called the Kanden. A small square rug may traditionally be used for meditation, an important part in the Tibetan culture.

Antique Safavieh Tibetan Rugs

Most of the rugs are made up of the purest sheep virgin wool. Unlike many others around the world which may be cotton or reed based. The dyes used to color these rugs come from a variety of different oils. Earlier rugs usually thought to be from around the 1800 hundreds are said to vegetable dyed. Very few rugs from this period are said to be chemically dyed.

Vegetable dyes, once cooked in a vat, applied to the wool are impossible to reproduce to an exact match. That is why sometimes we get wonderful variations in color within a single rug.

The modern Tibetan rug shows influences from India and china. With the increasing westernization the dying and weaving patterns are changing and one fears that the traditional Tibetan rug may be lost for ever. The Tibetan may use these rugs for a variety of purposes that may include as sleeping mats wall hangings saddles etc.

Each rug has a unique story of its own. One is often captivated by the simplicity of its design, how wonderful it looks even though the minimalist use of color. The rugs represent not only the isolation of the Tibetan people but how as humans even in isolation our individuality seeps deep in to us and very so often colors the world around us.

Effects of Tibetan singing bowl – Singing bowls of high quality produce complex and harmonic overtones. When struck with a soft mallet, they produce the tone of a warm bell. In Asian countries where Buddhist religion is practiced, during prayers, the sounds they produce are meant to induce hypnotic meditative trance and are believed to be a method to get blessings from the spiritual world.

Nowadays, they are used all over the world irrespective of the spiritual traditions as a part of alternative health care therapies, meditation, relaxation and religious purposes. They are also used in music therapy, yoga, for performance and simply for entertainment purposes. History suggests they were traditionally made in Tibet, Japan, China, India, Korea and Nepal. Presently, they are made in Korea, Japan, India and Nepal.

Rare & Antique Tibetan Singing Bowls

Buddhists in China, Japan and Vietnam prefer to use the singing bowl while chanting when the bowl is struck at the singing of a hymn or mantra. They also signal changes in activity or just mark the elapsed time. Their use in Tibetan culture has the support of various folklores, which describe them as magical tools to transform the matter and self..

Some singing bowls are made from quartz and crystal. But the authentic Tibetan one which the purists consider as the only true singing bowls are made of alloys consisting of several metals are multi-phonic as each metal generates its own harmonic tone, simultaneously resulting in multiple harmonic tones. New bowls of high quality bronze have this property but most new bowls are made of simpler alloys that produce just one or two overtones. The sound improves as the bowls age. This is the reason why new bowls don’t sound as warm as the antiques.

Antique Tibetan singing bowls were made of an alloy of five metals usually bronze, tin, copper, zinc and iron. I have heard of the even rarer Seven Metals singing bowls of Tibet but I need to research more them. Many antiques made from gold, silver and nickel have also been found. The traditional manufacturing techniques are lost but people making new hand-hammered bowls using the traditions are still found in places like the hidden corners of Nepal. The antique singing bowls feature decorative circles, lines and rings that are engraved onto the surface.

The west is yet to explore them because the written and oral traditions of the Himalayan region are mostly beyond the knowledge of the west. Several statues and paintings have been found in the Himalayan region, which depict the use of these bowls. The private collections of a few people have singing bowls dating to 10th and 12th centuries.

The tradition is believed to suggest the existence of these bowls to be older than these centuries. A few bronze bells have been discovered in Asia, which date back to 8th and 10th centuries BCE. The popularity of these rare Tibetan singing bowls as a collector’s item has increased manifold. The popularity is due to the brilliant craftsmanship and the hypnotic sound effect they produce.