The Day the Tibetan Singing Bowls found me.
2015 Was particularly tough for me. I experienced loss on many different levels that year, and it damn near destroyed me. That’s when the Tibetan Singing Bowls found me.
When I felt unable to cope anymore, I embarked on a two-month solo sabbatical. I left my, then home, in Qatar for an under-the-radar hiatus in Western Cape, South Africa. I started my journey in the small seaside village of Glencairn, on the Cape peninsula, where I rented a charming little flat close to the sea.
To get to the closest town, I had to travel past the Tibetan Tea House. What I thought was merely a restaurant, was actually the place of beginning for a journey that changed my life.
After seeing the tea house a few times, I was starting to feel a strong urge to go inside, but I was not ready to be amongst people yet. One Saturday morning however, I scraped together the courage and went inside.
The menu was vegetarian, the tea was exotic and delicious and the little shop had charming trinkets. All of these things were pleasant enough, but it was the bohemian meditation room on the left of the entrance, that shook my soul.
On the floor were these beautiful bows and gongs of all sizes. Embroidered and beaded pillows and crochet blankets filled the room. The smell of incense and an energy of calm enveloped me and I felt as if I had come home.
The hostess informed me that there would be a guided meditation the next day and invited me to join. I agreed and couldn’t sleep that night with excitement for what was to happen in this mystical space the next day.
The time finally came, and I was first to arrive the next morning. The hostess showed me to a deep red and gold meditation pillow on the floor, which was to serve as my space for the duration of the morning.
In front of the pillow, was a small brass (what I thought at the time) bowl and mallet. People arrived and soon the room was packed with like-minded people. Out of respect, or maybe fear, I didn’t touch the bowl, until the hostess asked all of us to pick it up and attempt to rim for sound.
I was horrible at it and just could not get that bowl to make any sound. But I was hooked. Line and sinker and boat. That day I knew that there would be a future for me and the Tibetan Singing Bowl.
