The protoplasmic host of 33 Bowls: Guest on Awakenings Michele Meiche Blog Talk Radio, 6/15/11

Part 1 Coherence, Hype, and the Unseen

Part 2 The Story of the Great Laughing Master

Part 3 Presence, Breath, Mindfulness, Archetypes, the illusion of Control

Part 4 Perceptions, Projections, Filters, Integration, the illusion of Separation

Music to accompany the talking here: http://33bowls.com

Recently, 33 Bowls Tibetan Singing Bowls was part of show 934, Resonant Bronze: the timeless tones of bells, bowls and gongs.

If you have not heard (or heard of) Hearts Of Space, they have been producing broadcasts, and now podcasts, of Ambient with Soul, otherwise known as Spacemusic, for decades; in their own way contributing to a slightly saner world.

As always, streaming players of the full 33 Bowls recordings are at http://33bowls.com

A quote about 33 Bowls from a gentleman back East: 

" Definitely this is the best performance and recording of singing bowls that I have ever heard -- and I've heard a fair number of recordings. " 

Thanks for the kind words! More words are here and here. Although it would be insider trading to comment on the performance aspect (there are a few spots of "perfect imperfection" that were left in as it was considered better to err on the side of real, and away from polished or artificial) it is fair game to talk about the audio quality of the recording. Having also listened to a number of Singing Bowl recordings, 33 Bowls is the only one that consistently fooled a variety of listeners into thinking there was a live performance of Singing Bowls in the next room. In a few words, clean, clear, nuanced, lucid, more "thereness" there, liquid ease of listening. Considerable "consideration" of the Art and Science of recording went into the recording and production, both the details and the big picture. Playback monitoring is stock equipment, via Lavardin amplifiers, Stealth cables, Fried time coherent Monitor Speakers, Stax electrostatic headphones. However, everything in the recording path is custom and proprietary, nothing is off the shelf. Those details we won't talk much about, but you can enjoy!

As always, the entire recording(s) are available free online (at somewhat reduced bit rate and fidelity) as streaming audio players; Amazon mp3 download is a whopping $1.78; and the CD, which offers enhanced resolution and fidelity is $10; all linked from the main web page: http://33bowls.com --- for iPod/iPhone users to obtain the highest resolution sound when ripping the CD (you are supporting an independent Artist by ripping your own copy, right?), set import settings in iTunes to "apple lossless" (it was probably at factory default setting of AAC). The files will be larger, but if you have the room, go for it.

Observations for the Holidays by Jeanna Riley, Ph.D. reprinted here:

You or Me, or I and Thou

In utero and at birth, we all have the same needs.  In utero, we need nutrients, a warm and safe womb, and a mother who feels at peace with herself and her baby.  At birth, we all need a mother who physically and emotionally nurtures us.  We need to experience attachment, safety, love, attunement, and mirroring.  When we are deprived of these necessities, we are wounded.  If we have “good enough” parenting, the wounds are not so demanding of our attention, although still present.  If we don’t have good enough parenting, the wounds can take a demanding role in our lives.  As we grow, our wounds may be inflicted on others.  And the wounds of others may be inflicted on us.  This dynamic can set up a dualistic style of being; that is, a you vs. me, a them vs. us state; a zero sum mentality. The race is on (the human race) of competition, one upsmanship, loser or winner, resulting in envy and jealousy. This dualistic, black and white modality does not contribute to the healing of our wounds or the wounds of others.  A good friend of mine, Lyda, recognized the unresolved grief that forms the scaffolding holding the wounds and the envy.  The losses that caused the wounds have not been grieved.  Instead, piles of unproductive emotions have been accumulated and acted upon without explicit knowledge of the problem.  We are wounded, so we strike out to defend ourselves.  Out of this, we see bigotry arise, dismissal of those who are “different,” bitterness and hatred develop and are fueled by our unresolved wounds.  There are arguments, disrespect, verbal fights, physical fights, wars.  All created by our early unhealed wounds and unresolved grief.

What if, just what if, we were to recognize the destructive, unfulfilling path we are on.  Become aware of our own dynamics, of our own pain.  Then, what if, just what if, we allowed ourselves to grieve about our losses; to cry and wail, if this is what is needed.  Then, what if, just what if, we held that little child in ourselves and comforted her/him?  What if we could feel true compassion of the struggles we’ve gone through and could give love.  Under this nurturing care, perhaps our wounds would begin to heal.   Scars might begin to form, reminding us of the wounds, but the wounds no longer bleeding.  Then, what if, just what if, we could begin to feel compassion for others; others who strike out to hurt us, others who betray us, other who are hurting as we have hurt.”  

I think we would evolve from a “You or Me” to an “I and Thou” as Martin Buber so beautifully describes.  We would realize that we are all connected; we are one tapestry, different threads making an amazing piece of art.  We would no longer need to strike others out of our pain nor strike back when someone strikes at us.

If we were filled with compassion for ourselves, we could feel compassion for others.

As our granddaughter quoted, “When you pick a flower, you jiggle a star.”

Now, it is my work to honor connection with compassion.

An hour of  conversation about music, resonance, coherence, perfect imperfection, intuition, the hundredth monkey, and Tavern Bands:

Sounds to accompany the conversation: http://33bowls.com

Copyright Blog Talk Radio and Dr. Karen Vizer, original link here

Since you asked, an hour or so of everything (almost) you wanted to know about 33 Bowls:

Sounds to accompany the words are at http://33bowls.com

Copyright Michele Meiche Blog Talk Radio. Free podcast downloads are available at the Blog Talk Radio page where this interview happened and the 33 Bowls facilitator went full geek; the same interview starts at around 25 minutes: BlogTalkRadio interview Just the streaming player widget: pop-out player

The phrase/concept/hypothesis mentioned in the interview: "The Caruso Effect" should be credited to the one and only Keith O. Johnson of Reference Recordings.

The was much in the way of thought and deliberation over the paradox of a ringtone of 33 Bowls. Would it be almost sacrilegious to the Artisans who created these wonderful Singing Bowls, or to the Art of Singing Bowls in general? On one hand, the short attention span, the distraction factor, the health issues, the numbing down of intuition, the ease of tracking and wiretapping associated with mobile phones all are not so good. On the other hand, the interconnectivity, and concomitant community available is a very good thing. Information is golden. On yet another hand is the serenity, coherence, mindfulness, presence of Singing Bowls that one just gets the slightest hint or taste of in a 29 second snippet. What evolved was recorded specifically as a ringtone, rather than just sampling part of an existing recording. Probably one of the few ringtones recorded in high resolution 24 bit 88.2 kHz sampling! As with all 33 Bowls recordings, no compressors or limiters were used, but for this one, the dynamic range was held within a tight window. Less nuance, more of a stand out and hear this kind of quality to it, but still with plenty of texture, overtones, binaural sub-beats. Maybe someone hearing them on your phone will be reminded or even motivated to engage in some kind of mindful practice, or maybe they will be gently reminded to relax and chill a bit more.

Grab life by the Bowls. Best listened to with headphones.

Visit 33 Bowls for more Tibetan Bowls, less Chopper.

Is it possible that standing out from the crowd (even if the crowd is refined, polished, shining, beautiful, and talented) by "just" showing up and being yourself is the best way to provide meaning and value to that crowd?

As always, visit http://33bowls.com for sounds to accompany the visuals.

More visuals of the area where 33 Bowls was (were) recorded. The setting Full Moon to the West and shortly after, the pre-Dawn light of the Sun to the East. Space holds experiences, and music can hold the space. An intention of 33bowls is to "hold the space" to enhance whatever feelings, sensations, experiences are present rather than to tell a particular story, or communicate emotions as much music does. So it's "there", but it's not intrusive. Even though it's not telling you anything, it's not boring, it's facilitating you telling what you need to tell, being present in the moment.

Visit  http://33bowls.com for sounds to accompany the visuals.