The Way of the Gong™

Beyond the Terrestrial Sphere According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek: αἰθήρ aithēr[1]), also spelled æther or ether , also called quintessence , is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. -  (courtesy of good old Wikipedia)  In working with the Gongs/Bowls/Bells, it’s easy to think about bringing all of our experience and ideas with us when we play them. After all, this is the Western way we have been taught, “practice hard, work on your ideas, refine your technique.” If you are a performing musician, you know that when you play you bring with you all your accumulated knowledge and ideas. You are expected to produce (or more accurately, reproduce ) a specific musical experience. Photo Credit: Toby Frost, ABC Classic FM It's easy to get caught up in planning and perfecting what we do. “I've got to remember to do this, because it always gets a reaction.” Or you may have a basic list/o...

There's no way to avoid it. There are always 2 sides to everything. It's the nature of the Universe.  Black/White Up/Down In/Out Left/Right Hot/Cold Good/Evil And so there is also 2 sides to every story. In Part 1, we looked at facts that were more or less wishful thinking . In Part 2, we looked at how wishful thinking , or more accurately, intent, may actually create our Universe. So where do we go from here? If you play Gongs/Bowls/Bells long enough, it becomes clear that something is happening. It may be difficult to put your finger on exactly what is happening, but you know something is. And this something may be experienced differently by each and everyone of us. So that makes trying to find a solid answer a bit of a sliding floor. Perhaps the preeminent philosopher of the 20th century, Alan Watts, may have hit on the ultimate answer: To Speak The Truth     As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the ...

First Things First 1) If you haven't read last week's blog post, please read it first here . 2) Take a few minutes to read this article and watch the video on recent experiments in Quantum Physics here . 3) Please realize that this blog is my thoughts and ideas filtered through a mix of music, Buddhism, physics/science, various spiritual traditions and esoteric organizations.  4) It's important to understand that I reserve the right to change my mind and beliefs based on being presented with new evidence. 5) I believe above all, that the Universe is fluid, and everything we know is changeable and changing.  Now this week's blog: A Question of Intent In my previous blog, we looked at how many people assign specific ideas to Gongs, Bowls, and Bells; especially connecting them to the Chakras. This is suspect at best. Even the whole ancient Chakra systems have been bent and folded to fit western ideas. For example, assigning a note from the western 12-note...

[As of July 9, 2016, I have added additional content at the end of this blog in order to clarify a few things. ~ MB] Rarely a week goes by without some sort of amazing claims being made on the internet about the powers of Gongs or Singing Bowls. There is an unbelievable amount of 'fact' that is really more personal opinion, or even wishful thinking. I've written before about the folly of assigning various Chakras to Singing Bowls (That's a Heart Bowl, that's a Crown Bowl) and how that's more a way to sell bowls than anything. I remember years ago, when buying Singing Bowls, that they were just Singing Bowls . There was no description or properties assigned to them. It was just, “Here's a stack of bowls, go through them and see what you like.” Now, especially if you look on Ebay, There are Heart Bowls, Root Bowls, Crown Bowls, Healing Bowls, and even complete Chakra sets of bowls. These are all labels that were assigned to them by someone. And they are grea...