How to Choose a Healing Set
With hundreds of alchemy crystal bowls to choose from in our collections, how do you locate those special bowls that are just right for you? There are literally thousands of combinations of alchemies, notes, sizes, octaves and more, giving the possibility of limitless soundscapes never heard before. Furthermore, their sound expressions change from day to day as the personal and environmental atmosphere shifts in continuous change. So we need not fear that once the decision has been made, and our investment in the bowls has been done, that they become obsolete or we tire of them. Our partnership with them changes as we expand into new areas of growth. The bowls grow with us!
Here are a few guiding steps to help you choose a set.
Step One: Choose the Mother
She sets the tone, and from her the others arrive. She is the grounding bowl, the low tone, the biggest. Visually look for an alchemy that draws you into it’s embrace. Then listen and feel its tone, its overtones (those high tones that float above). Maybe you resonate with A bowls, which are excellent starting points. Make a list of possible Mother bowls and see if there is one that you keep coming back to. Decide on your Mother bowl, and don’t worry if maybe it’s not the right one. There is no one right bowl, just endless harmonic possibilities and creative displays.
The Mother bowl represents the earth, the ground or basis. It is a sense of stability, groundedness. We train with the Mother alone focusing on her timbre, her special quality of sound made up of countless overtones. Some of these overtones we can hear, but most mix with each other to make up a unique crystalline texture. Your Mother bowl will be unlike any other.
Let go, relax, and feel the special resonance of each bowl as you make your choice. They will speak to you and let you know. Take your time and enjoy each one. Try to avoid categorising into “I like this” and “I don’t like that.” Creating divisions of good and bad do not really belong in the realm of sound healing. Let yourself be seduced into her sphere, and let the parts of you that need to be made friends with also feel the sound.
Step Two: Choose the Sky
The opposite of the Earth is the Sky. All of existence is included in these two. The sky is vast, limitless, infinite, inconceivable. Having fully grounded ourselves with the Mother, we now have the sanity of the earth. From there we can expand our vision into limitless possibilities. Earth and Sky form the reality of all existence. The Sky bowl is the Mother’s perfect complement.
When we play two bowls together their interval creates a powerful and completely natural expression of the reality of Earth and Sky. We feel a sense of completeness. Which note is the Sky note now that you have the Earth? We suggest you choose either a fifth interval, a sixth interval, or an octave. So if you have chosen an A bowl as Mother, the fifth is an E bowl, the sixth is an F# bowl, and the octave as a smaller A bowl.
See which one of these intervals feels right for you. Make sure the difference between the cents of the two bowls is not more than 15 cents (see the label where it says + or -). Select one bowl each for the 5th, 6th and octave. It can be an alchemy that complements the Mother bowl.
Step Three: Choose the Heart
Between Earth and Sky is our beating heart, expanding and contracting. The Heart bowl is expressing emotion and our personal style of connecting earth and sky. It joins together earth and sky creating a complete universe.
Which bowl is the Heart? We highly recommend choosing a third interval bowl. This could be either a major or minor interval. If you have A as the Mother, it is C# or C. C# will be more bright and cheerful, while C, the minor will be more melancholic, expressing longing.
Ideally the three bowls you choose will nest inside each other, such as a 9 inch Mother, 8 inch Heart, and 7 inch Sky.
Let Our Training Guide You
This is just a starting point. Our Power of Sound Healing Trainings will deepen your understanding of how bowls interact, while private consultations make it simple to select what’s right for you.
And finally, we invite you to explore our Harmonised Healing Sets lovingly curated based on Earth, Sky, and Heart principles to support your practice.
