Understanding Mindfulness Bell Volume 2

Each time the bowl is struck, it rings for about 1 minute and 45 seconds. Yes – the singing bowl used in Mindfulness Bell Volume 2 is quite large and it has an incredible sustain.

During the first 10 minutes of this meditation, the sound never completely fades away; the bowl is struck again before it fades to silence. This is your settling in period. Slowly but surely the gap between each strike is increased, allowing you to gradually experience longer and longer moments of complete silence. As time goes by, the bowl is also struck a little more softly, resulting in a more mellow sound.

By the 15 minute mark, silent spaces of around 20 seconds have opened up between each bowl strike. By the 30 minute mark, these silent spaces have increased to 45 seconds. If you choose to continue meditating for more than 30 minutes, these silent spaces continue to increase in duration, from one minute to just over two minutes towards the end of the hour.

In this way, Mindfulness Bell Volume 2 gradually trains the mind to become more and more attuned to a state of silence. It provides a measured amount of stimulation that gradually recedes, allowing the listener to enter into deeper and deeper states of meditation.

User Tips for Mindfulness Bell Volume 2

While listening to this recording, simply absorb your attention in the sound of the mindfulness bell. No mantra is required, no special breathing techniques are needed, just let your awareness be consumed by the sound of the bell. Your mind will become clearer and more calm with every bell strike, and as the bells fade into silence, your mind is given the opportunity to experience a very natural state of stillness. This bell actually encourages your mind to become still and silent, yet alert.

Recommended Uses – Royalty Free

Mindfulness Bell Volume 2 was released on a royalty free basis so that professional teachers & therapists may play it publicly (for example, while teaching a class on meditation). But of course, it may also be used in any other way that our standard license terms permit.

Further commentary from Christopher

I’m going to comment here by repeating much of what I wrote when I launched Mindfulness Bell Volume 1…

Each and every bell has its own unique sound. Some are quite unmusical, whereas others have harmonics that mingle beautifully. Some oscillate too quickly or in awkward patterns that are distracting, whereas others oscillate gently and with a tempo that is deeply relaxing. Some bells are shrill and really clang when they are struck, some others are too boomy.

To me, bell sounds are something that can be appreciated in the same way that some people appreciate fine wine. The texture of a bell sound, its harmonic structure, its tonal balance and the way it sustains all combine to produce an aural experience that can range from dissonant and disturbing, to pure, sublime and transcendent.

The two most prominent tones of this bowl oscillate with a low delta frequency of 0.7 Hertz, and a delta frequency of 4.5 Hertz. (You can hear these oscillations pulsing away in the audio sample). Higher harmonics also pulse with frequencies of 3.6 and 2.1 Hertz. Much like the effect of binaural beats, this cluster of delta frequencies are deeply relaxing and can actually help to guide your brainwave activity into a state of deep meditation or sleep. The higher harmonics of this bell add a metallic tinge to the sound that is absent from Volume 1, adding complexity and richness to its overall tonality.

After launching Volume 1, two years passed before I found the perfect bell for Volume 2. I love the sound of this meditation bell and find it incredibly soothing. I confess that this is the most expensive Tibetan singing bowl I’ve ever purchased, but the moment I heard it cost became utterly irrelevant. To a meditation music composer like me, some things are simply a “must have”.

I reach for this bowl on a regular basis to tune into its deep penetrating tones and clear my mind, so I’m very familiar with how it sounds “in the flesh”. If you’ll allow me a moment of complete immodesty, then I’ll happily boast that what you hear in this recording is a perfect reproduction of the original sound. Like most recording artists, I’m my own harshest critic, but every time I listen to this recording, I get a fantastic feeling of satisfaction and a swell of pride (down ego, down boy). It’s actually quite difficult to capture the natural tonal balance and the power of a singing bowl. You can’t just throw a microphone in front of the bowl and hope for the best. Specific equipment and recording techniques are required and this is something I feel that I’ve now mastered. I can’t say that about many things in life, but when it comes to selecting and recording Tibetan singing bowls, I’m in my element.

Some people will probably think it’s a bit strange of me to make such a fuss about recording Tibetan singing bowls. All I can say is that I have a great love for these beautiful, noble instruments and I am very passionate about recording them to a standard that honors their intended purpose and makes the most of their capacity to relax and heal us. If you enjoy the sound of this bowl even half as much as I do, then you’ll be blissing out in no time.