"Crystal Bowl Meditation" Review

This weekend I was looking at a display in my local supplement store that carried relaxing music.  I was able to listen to "Crystal Bowl Meditation" (see link at the bottom of the post) that had Tibetan Singing Bowl music.  If you've never heard a Tibetan Singing Bowl, it's really unusual.  If done well, it has a very relaxing effect.

The singing bowls are like a musical instrument.  They are played by striking or rubbing the bowls with a striker.  They are used for meditation, clearing, chakra alignment, feng shui, spiritual workshops, and healing.

It is said that the tones of the bowls can be both heard and felt.  When you listen to a good recording with good headphones, it seems to be true.  Some tones make me feel uncomfortable, and others are very pleasant.  It seems like the bowls can really "speak" to you on a physical level, and a lot of research has been done on soundwaves and healing, so it wouldn't surprise me if the singing bowls actually can somehow help in healing.

The bowls can be made of metal or other materials, but a lot of New Agers really like the crystal bowls because they like the energy of the crystals.  I just think the crystal bowl tones sound nicer.  ;-)

On soundtracks, the sounds of the bowls are usually accompanied by other instruments to create music, especially with woodwind instruments.

Normally I don't care for most singing bowl CD's, because often the musician feels the need to put in distracting or startling sounds.  For me, I'm mostly using this music to relax, so annoying percussion music or other distracting noises only serve to irritate me. But this wasn't the case with this CD.  The Crystal Bowl Meditation music was much more enjoyable and relaxing.  There were two tracks that I didn't care as much for, because it featured someone blowing into a woodwind instrument without making a tone...it sounded like someone blowing into a bottle as the bottle was being filled with water.  I found that irritating.  But other than that, the music was really nice.

There was something about the tones that I found really relaxing and yet...somehow...I don't know...interesting?  Hard to explain, but I can see how someone would find this music perfect for meditation.

Here are a couple of links: one to a beautiful (and pricey--eek!) set of bowls, and another link for the Crystal Bowl Meditation CD. I'll have to settle for the CD, myself!  :-p