Trigger: when you transition between daily events, such as before meals or before you start a project
Prop: a bell, a singing bowl, a chime
Tool: ring your bell, or sound your chime. As you do, close your eyes and listen to the sound. Breathe the ringing tones into your body. Feel the sound vibrations in the air. Listen even as the sound dissipates into the air and into stillness.
When I was a little girl, my family was active members in a local congregational church. We went every Sunday; I attended the youth group; we gathered for regular fellowship dinners. Most of all, I enjoyed the sense of community. But my favorite annual event was listening to the bell choir on Christmas Eve.
The men and women, clad in deep scarlet robes, assembled along the tables in front of the congregation. They donned their white gloves and, grasping the leather handles, readied their bells by flipping them quickly to their chests. Then, the conductor waved his baton to signal the beginning of the song and one by one . . . then in pairs and trios . . . the musicians flicked their arms and wrists forward, releasing bell sound after magical bell sound. At the end of each song, they held their arms extended, letting the tones wash over the audience. It felt like we were dusted with magic.
One year, the youth choir was asked to participate. This was very exciting news! I was assigned the “A” bell and I was to ring it loudly on any occasion that an “A” note was included in a chord. I was nervous, but at fourteen years of age, I felt ready to take on the challenge of “Hark how the bells.”
There I stood between the “G” and the “C”. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. It was amazing! I almost felt like bells were ringing inside my body. I had never experienced anything like it . . . the resonance seemed to fill me. I was afloat with the exhilarating sensation of sound.
Ever since, I’ve had a soft spot for bells – from big cathedral bells to tiny jingle bells. Bell tones can elicit emotions from joy and merriment to a sober centeredness. Whatever the feeling, bells touch our hearts and souls.
Purpose: when we create a pause in our days to focus on the healing vibrations created by sound, we allow our spirits to be touched.
