The Bowly Trinity

The law of three, the (holy) trinity, the three forces, the law of Triade, each of us has probably heard of them once. The number three has been used since ancient times and is the power of all creation which uses the law of three forces to create; and as the great mathematician Pythagoras has said, “all is numbers”. The three powers of creation are 'active', 'passive', 'mutual or neutral'. These three forces are to be found in several religions.

In Christianity the trinity stands for the father, the son and the holy spirit. For the Taoists, it's Yin, Yang and Tao. The ancient Egyptians had a notion of the trinity with Ra, his face, Ptah, his body and Amun, hidden identity. In Hinduism the trinity stands for Brahma, the creator, Shiva, the destroyer and Vishnu, the preserver. To the Sumerians, Anu is the father, Enlil is the wind-god of the earth, Enki is the god of waters and wisdom. In Taoist Alchemy, each represent one of the three essential fields of the body: jing, qi and shen.

Art of Spanda uses an explanation of the three energy fields of the human as they are also described by the Rosicrucians and in the field of Anthroposophy.

The Rosicrucians define 'the Dense Body' which is the physical body with head, limbs etc, our 'Vital Body' which refers to our blood, chemicals and DNA, and our Desire Body (actions, habits or passions) which is formed from the result of our thoughts, actions, and habits whether they be good or bad.

Anthroposophy states that as we live on the earth, we consist of a physical body, an etheric or life body and the astral body. Governing these three bodies is the “I.” This fourfold human nature has in itself the dispositions for a higher development. Our “I” by its own volition transforms the three 'lower' bodies, and incorporates into them higher parts of human nature. The working onto and into the astral body by the “I” causes the development of the 'spirit self'.

In soundhealing, the trinity is represented in the three Tibetan singing bowls we use. We use a set of three differently tuned, hand made bowls, which, according to tradition, are made of Seven Metals or known as Seven Metals Bowls :

One Metal for each of the Planets: Gold represents the Sun, mercury represents Mercury, iron represents Mars, lead represents Saturn, silver represents the moon, copper represents Venus and tin represents the planet Jupiter.

We use a Basic bowl which resonates in a deep base tone that affects our physical body, the lower dantien as it is called in Taoism, which transforms Jing to Qi energy. Qi is most commonly translated as 'energy' or 'life force'. 'Jing' is translated as essence which is seen as the basis of growth, development, and reproduction. One subtype of essence, congenital essence, is inherited from your parents and is necessary for foetal and childhood development.

In modern mysticism we would say the bowl affects the lower chakras. Secondly we use a 'heart bowl' in Art of Spanda, who's base tone resonates with the heart and the chest and it affects the vital body and the etheric energy field. In Taoism it represents the middle dantien which controls the transformation of Qi to Shen. 'Shen' is translated as 'Spirit' or 'Mind'. Shen is responsible for consciousness, cognition, emotional life and our presence. The Shen is responsible for things like thinking, planning, and feeling. It is considered a yang entity that is rooted in a yin substance: the blood. We see the link to the Rosicrucian vital body. In modern mysticism we would say the resonance from the heart bowl effects the middle chakras.

The third bowl we use is the high tone bowl, it affects the astral body, the desire body and it resonates with a high base tone. In Taoism it supports the higher dantien which transforms Shen to Wuji. Wuji refers to the unmanifest aspect of Tao: Tao-in-stillness. It is the undifferentiated timelessness in Taoist cosmology. Wuji refers to a state of non-distinction prior to the differentiation into the Yin and Yang that give birth to the ten-thousand-things-, all the phenomena of the manifest world, with their various qualities and behaviours. Here we can find a link to the Anthroposophical 'spirit self', our true nature that precedes the world and all experiences. In modern mysticism we would say it works on the higher chakras. When we practice our sound healings, the three bowls are placed respectively at the feet or at the lower belly, at the heart and above the head. Each bowl in itself also has three tones, a low base tone a middle resonant tone and a higher upper tone, representing in itself the trinity as well and thus working it's resonant magic in a fractal like manner.

The Bowly Trinity...