Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use [Paperback]

Eva Judy Jansen (Author), Bert Wieringa (Illustrator), Tony Langam (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1990

There is nothing in the world that does not speak to us. Everything and everybody reveals their own nature, character and secrets continuously, The more we open our inner senses, the more we can understand the voice of everything. Singing bowl is one of the ritual objects of tibetan. It has therapeutic value as well. This book imparts information on the use of sound in meditation, healing and prayer. This book explains the himalayan bowls and the special sounds they make, called sound message. The author discusses the meeting between East and West, sacrificial dishes, how the bowls work, synchronization and inner message, shamanism and brainwaves and practical instruction for working with these sounds. The mysteries explained here are a wonderful overview if you want to open your heart and mind to the value of this phenomenon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: Binkey Kok; First Edition edition (December 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9074597017
• ISBN-13: 978-9074597012
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lore of the Bells helps explain the Lure of the Bells, July 9, 2001

By 

Robert Wisehart (Lancaster, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use (Paperback)

As a teacher of yoga and meditation since 1972, I first ran across these sensational Tibetan Bells (Singing Bowls) around 1985. Since then I have acquired nearly a dozen well-tuned bowls, and use them extensively in my own personal meditations, in leading group meditations, and to aid in spiritual healing.

Having collected legend, facts, and lore on these bells for many years, I was excited to find so much of what I had already learned-- plus a whole lot more-- was finally collected in one convenient and well-ordered form.

Ms Jansen's book has been a great aid in helping me to better understand both the physics and the spirituality behind the phenomenal effects that my clients and I have experienced from playing these bells. I highly recommend it to anybody who may be thinking of purchasing a Tibetan Bell, as well as to anybody who already owns one or more of these devices and wants to maximize their experience of the bowls.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly the least accurate title I've seen., February 12, 2008

By 

EAO (Fayetteville, AR, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use (Paperback)

I assumed a "practical handbook" would have a bit more information on, well, the practice. The only section of the book that actually explains how to use singing bowls is a whopping 22 pages long and much of that covers how to choose a singing bowl (by your intuition and how a bowl sounds and feels when you strike it near different parts of your body - fabulous, if you know a seller who will let you manhandle their merchandise). The instruction that is given can mostly be summed up by one word. Experiment. That's about the end of the practical section of instruction and use.

Most of the beginning of the book is history. It's very interesting history if you can get past the fact that it's delivered in a boring and rather vague manner.

I was so excited when I bought this book, but it was a severe disappointment. I didn't learn a single thing about using my singing bowl that I hadn't already learned from idly messing with it. I learned a bit about singing bowls from a historical perspective, but there has to be a more thorough, better presented book out there on the subject. I do not recommend this book.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Reference, September 16, 2000

By 

H R Kuehne - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use (Paperback)

As the new millennium unfolds, I think that this phenomenon (the influnence of sound on our sense of tranquility) is going to play a progressively more important role. When/if that happens, perhaps someone will write a "better" work on this subject. Frankly, I tend to doubt it. 1.2 million Tibetans who MAY have known the answers have so far been slaughtered by the Chinese, and the end is nowhere yet in sight. Of those who still remain, none seems able (or willing) to comment. In another generation, no one who knows the truth may survive.

I have several bowls, the largest of which is slightly in excess of 14". This bowl is capable of producing (in my consciousness, at least) the low C pedal of an organ. Since the organ pipe required to produce that tone is over 30 FEET long, as a mathematician I understand that this is physically impossible. In this book, Ms Jansen explains to you why it IS spiritually possible.