Q: Why are singing bowls using during Centering Prayer? Did Thomas Keating use or implement them?
A: Thank you for your question. Let me answer it in two ways.
First: The ringing of bells at religious services is common in most traditions. Bells have always been a sign that something important is happening in the ritual or that something is about to happen which is special. I know in my own Roman Catholic tradition the bells call us to worship, they signal the beginning of a ritual, and they alert us to the importance of a particular part of the ritual, such as the consecration of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. They also ring to send us forth into the world.
Second: Working with Fr. Thomas from the beginning, our usual routine was to introduce the Centering Prayer time with a reading from scripture or a simple saying, such as, ‘Be still and know that I am God,’ and then we ended our 20-or 30-minute period with a devout and intentional praying of the Lord’s Prayer. As we entered more and more into days of prayer and multiple days of retreat, gradually the use of the singing bells was introduced to enhance that gentle and wonderful movement from being quiet into the gift of reverential silence.
I personally have always felt that the gentle ringing of a singing bowl or bell rung several times gently allowed my attention to surrender to a deeper intentionality and silent receptivity. It got me out of my head into my heart, open to whatever surprises awaited me after the prayer was over.
I hope this sharing of my experience has helped. Feel free to respond.
-Fr. Carl J. Arico
