Forging my own Singing Bowl

A Spiritual Journey

End of August this year, I joined a small group of women near London to forge my first singing bowl. Guided by Gabriella Songbird and Heather, we all emerged into a deeply spiritual journey, while using our hands to let a singing bowl emerge from a flat piece of metal at the same time.

I met Gabriella during a Gong Camp in Wales earlier this year. Using her selfmade instruments, a cello and her voice, she wove the most awe inspiring and deep sound bath I ever attended.
Gabriella is an experienced singing bowl and gong maker, who decided early on in her life to dedicate her SoundBaths solely to nature. Every single of her instruments was and is forged with a clear intention; coming to her through meditation, intuition, stories… So every bowl and gong is tuned in to nature; animals, mountains, oceans, whales, trees, bees, dragons… And they all harmonize with each other - tuned by nature. Gabriella lives in Portugal, coming to the UK several times a year to offer workshops. So I was incredibly happy when I could join the last workshop for this year.

Friday afternoon

Perfect weather and shaded by a huge Sycamore mother tree, we open the circle by sharing our stories and wishes - followed by choosing the right metal for the bowl that is going be birthed this weekend.
Gabriella brought her bowls, all made from brass, copper or bronze.
We close our eyes, not knowing which bowls she will play and listen to their individual sounds. The sounds emanating from the bowls Gabriella plays last, lay their vibration like a soothing hug around me. So brass it will be for me, as it turns out.
Gabriella and Heather then open the workshop with a wonderful energizing sound bath to invite all the frequencies needed. We are attuned to nature and ready to go.

I get my flat square of brass, whose edges are removed by a huge cutter. And then it is time to file. And file. And file… First with a coarse file, finishing off with a smooth one - until we all hold a perfect circle in our hands.

These circles then go in to their first sacred fire. One by one, we stand by the fire, carefully placing our bowl to be on the fire wood, sending out our intention and inviting the frequencies needed for this accomplishment. Goose bump moments…

Dinner, laughter and then tired, but elated to bed.

Saturday morning

All metals are ready to be worked on, as they have been softened by the firing the evening before.

So we all get a piece of wood with a little indentation and a hammer with round heads. Now it is time to hammer. And hammer. And hammer… Always starting from the middle, then working out to the edge in concentric circles - which is easier said than done. But soon everyone has found their rhythm - and from time to time a few join unintentionally in to total hammering unison. Once in the flow of hammering, forging a bowl is a deeply meditative process. Alas, my flow is interrupted more often than I wish, as turning the metal sheet, which slowly, slowly grows into a shallow 3D-shape, after every blow of the hammer is challenging.

A sometimes hard lesson in patience. Taking a deep breath, remembering the intention, inviting the frequencies and let if flow helps to get back on track. Again and again and again. And so the bowl slowly takes on its shape.

Welcomed fire breaks. Resting the hands, watching the metal change its color in the most fascinating ways; sometimes even letting emerge blue and green flames. The metal itself turning pink, purple, silver and finally giving out this specific sound when gently tapped that tells you it is ready to be forged again.

While it cools down, you grab something to eat, join the conversations around you, share experiences, and then return to your intentional, sacred hammering. Everyone has their own pace; the former sheets of metals now nearly resemble a genuine bowl.

Sometime in the afternoon

Gabriella takes a look at my bowl, smiles and hands me a bigger hammer. And with even more powerful strokes, my little bowl becomes deeper and deeper.

So the day goes by; one last firing; cleaning off the ashes and then we assemble for the evening circle. Bowls are played - some sound amazing already, some still need more work - like mine.

During all this time, Gabriella is there for us with profound experience and help, sometimes helping to hammer out little „noses“ one (me) accidentally hammered in to the rim. Heather sits down with every one of us and talks about the energies she feels, impressions she gets, helping to send the intentions on their way.

Sunday - the last day

Some of us wonder, if we will manage to finish our bowls in time. 'But we needn't have worried. More hammering and firing; and then the „inverse“ hammering process starts. (I actually don't know if it is called this way): Now we get a wooden hammer and place the bowl upside down on a round metal head. Every uneven bit gets smoothed out, the inner part of the bowl starts to shine more and more.

One last firing - giving every last bit of energy that doesn't belong to the bowl's intention and its frequencies to the fire and let it burn off.

Now that the bowl is clean on the inside, the deep cleaning from the outside starts. Any ash residues have to go - and then we close the workmanship circle (nearly) by again filing, filing, and filing the rim until it is perfectly smooth. One last check by Gabriella and the final finish can start - with the finest steel wool available, we polish our bowls until they are as shiny as can be.

Now that the manual work is done, the tension is palpable: How do they all sound? One last time, we gather to sit in a circle in the Sound Sanctuary - and the Birthing of the Bowls begins.

One by one, we talk about our journey, experiences, dreams and feelings - completing the welcoming of the bowl into the world by playing it for the first time - and every bowl just sounds amazing. Every single bowl is then introduced to the family of bowls - represented by Gabriella's bowls. They are now all connected, all sending out their own special frequency, helping with different tasks.

This was the most profound workshop I ever attended. Mother Earth held and grounded us, the spirits sent their help and frequencies - and we amalgamated it all in to wonderful new healing tools.

If you would like would to experience a Sound Bath with my precious little bowl (and all my other instruments, of course), then let me welcome you in my SoundLounge.