How to invite a bell to sing: this can be one of the most rewarding meditation practices you will ever learn. Bells are powerful instruments used in many different cultures and religions worldwide for everything from signaling time to ringing in celebrations.
Some people also believe the sound of bells to have healing properties that can help with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. But bells don’t just make noise – they can also create silence within us when we use them as an object of mindfulness during meditation practice!
In this post, we will explore how to invite your bell to sing effectively in your practice so you, too, may enjoy its benefits.
Meditation Bell: How to invite your bell to sing
Know your bell. The size, shape, and sound of your meditation bell can all make a difference in how it’s used for practice.
Consider the environment you will be practicing in; decide if there are sounds that might interrupt or distract you from being mindful (children playing outside, traffic from nearby streets). Choose an area where these potential distractions are minimized.
Choose a place to sit – either on the floor or on some cushioning surface – with enough room around you so that when striking the bell during mindfulness moments, no one else is within reach of its vibrations. You don’t want anyone to get hit by it accidentally! Sit cross-legged or kneeling facing east towards sunrise.
Choose a place to hold the bell. You can either strike the bell on your thigh or sit with one knee raised and rest it there as you shake the bell in front of you. It’s best not to cup the bottom half of your hand around where you’re shaking it because this will dampen out some of its resonance.
When striking, make sure that both hands are relaxed, so they’re hanging down at about waist height, and use a light grip so that when you hit someone else nearby (or yourself), hopefully, nothing gets hurt!
Strike hard enough for an audible sound but try not to let any excess energy flow into other parts of your body such as shoulders or back; relax them with your breath.
Close your eyes and tune in to the sound of this bell as it resonates through you and around you, remembering that all sounds are impermanent; they will stop soon enough.
If there is a specific intention for sounding the bell, think about what that might be while striking it with full awareness – like peace or joy. If not, enjoy listening to yourself or someone else strikes the bell and let its sound resonate within.
Direct any thoughts of “I am good” towards others nearby who may hear these words within their own mind space without consciously hearing them spoken out loud from you (this can happen!). Let go of any other worries by noticing how much space they take up in your mind.
When you feel ready, take a deep breath in and out of the nose or mouth to charge up your lungs with life force energy before fully exhaling into an “ah” sound, which will form lasting vibrations on its own as it resonates from within.
Then invite someone else – who may be near or far away – to join this bell’s song by striking their instrument (or just thinking about how they would do so) at the same time that you cross yours; think about the intention for when sounding theirs like peace or joy if possible.
Strike your bell again after another person joins to complete what is called “around.” This brings everyone together energetically and allows the vibrations to rise off of the surface of your bell and fill more space.
Strike it again, if you feel so inclined (or in response to someone else’s invitation), for another round; spend some time sensing how this feels before ending with a deep breath out through an “ahh” sound into silence or just stopping at any point that is comfortable for you.
You may want to do this regularly as part of what I like to think about as my prayer practice – whereby meditating on something infinitely sacred, and there can be no unwanted thoughts distracting me from going deeper within myself. And while these bells are not religious objects per se, they still help invoke spiritual feelings in those who use them.
There are many different types of bells that you can purchase, each with its sound quality and size – to find out what might be best for you, and various experts often recommend in the field of bell ringing to visit a local retailer or shop online to make a choice based on your preferences and needs. Once you have decided what you really want, next thing is to learn how to invite your bell to sing with you.
- You will also want to have some mallet for striking the bell so that if there’s something special about your chosen one (a particular tone or weight), then this becomes an option as well.
Once you’ve found a few bells, it is essential to take care in cleaning them and storing them correctly – not only do these steps help preserve the quality of the sound, but they can also lengthen their lifespan.
Again, while ringing a meditation bell may be seen by some as worshiping another deity, many people use these instruments simply because they enjoy how peaceful and relaxing they are. An excellent way to start using them would be with guided meditations, which provide instructions on what kind of focus should go into each meditation part.
Benefits Of Meditation
Bells:
A bell is a resonant instrument. When it is struck, it vibrates at its natural frequency for some time.
There are many benefits to using meditation bells and gongs in your meditations, including the following: they can help keep you focused on one topic; provide a change of pace from silence which allows what has been learned to sink in more deeply; create group harmony through rhythmic sounds that have an almost hypnotic effect.
- Improved concentration skills
- Increased emotional well-being
- Reduction of stress levels by lowering blood pressure and heart rate
- Relaxation while decreasing anxiety levels
- Development of self-esteem as confidence increases.
Final Words
Understanding how to invite your bell to sing is a great way to start your meditation. Learn about the different types of bells and how they are made by reading this article and their benefits for beginners who want some extra guidance on how to get started.
If you’re not sure what type would be best for you or which bell may create the sound that resonates with your beliefs, then we will help guide you through our selection. You can choose an instrument based on its size, shape, or color – there’s something special about every one of them (a particular tone or weight), then this becomes an option as well.
Again, while ringing a meditation bell may be seen by some as worshiping another deity, many people use these instruments simply for their pleasing sound.