Tuneful Bowls

When I arrived in Roberts Creek last week, my mind was all over the place; hence the confused post! I felt like too much was going on in my head and it needed to get out of there, fast. I was in the perfect location, a quiet and peaceful seaside town. And it seems someone up there heard my cry for help, and along came Jay with his singing bowls.

Any of you who have been to Tibet or the surrounding countries may have heard of these creations. Basically they're bowls of varying heights and depths, which are struck and stroked with wooden bats wrapped in suede. They can be made of varying materials; the ones I witnessed were made of varying precious stones such as quartz crystal, and others were gold plated. They are played with the hopes of soothing the soul, drowning out all the chatter in your mind, and lining up your internal chakras.

And there he is; Jay! Originally from Arizona, Jay has been on the road for six years now (lucky bastard) and has made a living from performing his singing bowls to various different groups ranging from paedophiles, prison inmates or your regular John Smith's and Jane Doe's. And making a very good living off it he is too.

As it so happens, Jay was staying in my hostel, and had a performace down at the yoga centre a few days after my departure. So, he decided to give us all a little taster of the action. I like to think I'm fairly open-minded, so decided to start of having faith in him that they would actually help me, with just a tiny shred of doubt bubbling under the surface.

And I have to say, whether you believe that they line up anything in your soul or not, they certainly soothe you. The sounds and vibrations from each bowl joined together in harmony, along with Jay's comforting voice, sent me off in a little peace-trance. That annoying chatter that went on in my mind for days previously was deafened by the bowls and brought to its knees.

I'm not one to have too much belief in fate or luck, but it was a pretty sweet coincidence that Jay was in Roberts Creek at the same time as me. He was exactly what I needed to get my head straight when all I could think was stressful thoughts. His general outlook of life, with his sometimes struggling financial situation, really helped me to take a step back and realise the important things. My chakra feels a little bit more in line too...whatever that means.