The Mastery Book of Himalayan Singing Bowls. Copyright 2016 by Emile de Leon. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Temple Sounds Publishing except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Digital Printing, 2016
Photography: Emile de Leon
Photographic Model: Nomita Ramchandani
Layout and Editing: Melissa Vivigatz
ISBN: 978-0-9882661-1-7
Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.
This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.
Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Temple Sounds Publishing
228 William Street
Middletown, CT 06457
e-mail:
Tel: 860-347-3220 * Website: www.templesounds.net
Emile de Leon performs live with the singing bowls at various Tibetan festivals, meditation and yoga centers, has made guest appearances on television and radio shows as a speaker to discuss the Tibetan bowls and headlined a benefit concert for the Tibetan Nuns Project. Emile also conducts workshops in wellness centers across the East Coast regarding the spiritual and healing aspects of Tibetan singing bowls.
Emile de Leon is available for public and private concert performances and group meditations, commercial studio recordings and music licensing for television and film as well as personal productions requiring the Tibetan singing bowls.
Emile de Leon is a member of SESAC.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my wife Melissa Vivigatz. Who makes all the good things in my life possible, and who continues to be a creative inspiration to this day.
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And to my mother, who brought music and the metaphysical realities into my childhood with unconditional support.
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And to all my musical friends in this life, all creating, helping and healing thru music, the worlds most sacred science. You know who you are and will always be in my heart.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of many people over the years, especially my wife, novelist and artist Melissa Vivigatz who was invaluable in the design, formatting and editing of this book and whose unending support was instrumental in making it a reality, and my soul brother Joe T. for his incredible passion for the bowls through the years.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: EMILES FIRST EXPERIENCES WITH BOWLS
I have composed this book on the Tibetan Singing Bowls for four reasons. The first is to clarify, and share in written form my discoveries as well as theories about the Tibetan singing bowls (TSB) after more than a dozen years of working with them in meditation and musical as well as healing modalities. The second is to put outwardly in place a cohesive and practical guide to the location, selection and playing of these ancient instruments combined with an understandable terminology. The third is to elucidate the reader in a musical sense regarding my hands-on experience in playing with the singing bowls in performance and recording situations. And the fourth is to share with the reader my personal experiences as a musician and seeker of truth for more than thirty-five years, of which the TSB comprised a major part.
I prefer to leave it to other writers to investigate and dwell upon the mysterious and at times somewhat vague historical and religious aspects of these instruments. I have no set religious affiliations in connection with the bowls except for the beauty of the sound itself and the pure meditation these bowls induce. If there is a definable religious affiliation connecting the singing bowls with any particular sect I have yet to encounter it in any tangible form other than second- or third hand verbal information from unverifiable and perhaps questionable sources. There may be some hidden truths contained in this oral information, but up to this point it is probably just speculation and hearsay. That said, the bowls do fit enormously well into the Eastern culture and mindset and also into the evolving New Age movement in the West.
The ancient truths of the bowls may perhaps always remain shrouded in mystery, and as usual with oral historical transmission, myths appear to grow through the passage of time, and in the absence of concrete recorded information, facts become scarce or unverifiable at best. It is up to the reader to weigh carefully what is being said and written from all sources that may appear, and hopefully more knowledge will eventually come to light. And if not the ancient knowledge emerging, then perhaps newer discoveries forged in the present from these mystic instruments created so long ago, helping humanity in the here and now.
My personal tale with the Tibetan singing bowls begins here...
The awakening to my personal journey with the Tibetan singing bowls started in a rather large Tibetan shop in New York City in 1995. I had encountered a very short time before an American Tibetan Buddhist playing these ancient instruments and had immediately felt a very strong and essential connection with the sound. The more I listened to his performance the more I became curiously entranced as he was evincing long and soft tones with a wooden mallet using several of these golden bowls together on stage. And even more importantly, I was captured by the deep and meditative music that seemed to call me softly but powerfully inward. Right then I pondered that these were the most captivating instruments I had seen or heard for a very long time very much similar to when I was a young boy of seven or eight hearing African drums played for the first time. It really blew my mind. I knew I had to play the bowls.
After twenty-five years of being a professional musician this was a perfect gift to me, or should I say quite a real moment of truth. I knew then that I must acquire some Tibetan singing bowls as soon as possible. Having spent a good part of my childhood in NYC and at the present still living very close to the city, a couple of hours drive by car, I easily located a Tibetan shop in the downtown Manhattan area where the bowls could be seen in person. So I hightailed it down to the city.
When I finally arrived at the shop the Tibetan woman at the counter who owned the place happily agreed to show me a case stacked full of these instruments, and as I peered through the glass I could not help but notice the many different sizes and shapes of the bowls as well as a plethora of other ancient Tibetan items of fascination. I felt I was at the beginning of a new and beautiful journey in my musical life. My only dilemma was then to decide which of the various singing bowls were coming home with me that day. When I started to play them and hear the differences, only then did things became much more obvious.
