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The second part of the
program involved a more subdued experience with a Tibetan bowl meditation
session run by Frank Mannens. Mannens started
experimenting with the sounds produced by ‘playing’ Tibetan bowls
around five years ago and found the soundscapes they created produced a
unique atmosphere conducive to meditation and relaxation.
‘I’ve been told some
bowls produce sounds which resonate with particular chakras offering
therapeutic effects but aside from that, in my experience, if you open
yourself up to the sound, it cannot help but touch you. I can’t tell you
how, but it will happen,’ said Mannens.
Through hitting the inside
and outside of different sized bowls and running a stick around the edges,
the sound Mannens makes has an almost hypnotic effect. The chime of each
bowl rings out and bleeds into each other. Each new tone echoes through
the room and harmonizes seamlessly with the existing notes. The gentle
ringing permeates the entire space, the ears and the bodies of people
lying with eyes closed in meditation. Afterwards, audience members
admitted to a feeling of deep relaxation and also to a disorientation of
their sense of time and place.
Gwyneth Donlon, Mei 2008
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