temple bells - how to use?

Thu Jul 8 11:23:32 PDT 2010

Wendy's MO is mine as well for the opening and closing. Thanks for 'charging
and conditioning' idea - I'll use it.

In addition, I usually have mine in my briefcase at all times and find many
chances to offer to use them in all kinds of situations that seem to need
them (vs. yelling or clapping to get attention).  As we all know, it's
wonderful to see how people respond. Always helps a community come together
in a much moer gentle way than most folks have experienced. Often times,
someone who knows me in such a setting will seek me out and ask, "Do you
have your bells?"

Thank you for this discussion, karolina - wonderful.

Best to All - Steve

On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 1:27 PM, Wendy Farmer-O'Neil <wendy at xe.net> wrote:

> Really good points, Chris.
>
> I use the bells only as part of my initial opening of the space and then to
> open the closing circle.  I often use them before participants arrive to
> condition and charge the space as a lot of venues have cluttered energy or
> low energy.  I've found ringing them in the corners of the room and in the
> center of the space (and anywhere else that intuition says needs a lift)
> helpful. (Again, I do this before other participants arrive, as part of
> general set up.)
>
> Cheers,
> Wendy
>
>  On 8-Jul-10, at 9:35 AM, Chris Corrigan wrote:
>
>  Bells can get overused and can lose their appeal and charm, so use them
> infrequently and with the pacing and mindfulness that Lisa and Wendy both
> suggest.
>
> Also, be careful how you pick them up.  I find that the bells reveal one's
> inner state like nothing else.  If you pick them up without consciousness,
> and you grab the cord in the middle, they clatter and ring and crash and
> lose their power, and you will find yourself embarrassed and apologetic.  In
> all things balance is good, but not in picking up ting sha.  If you pick up
> the bells by the cord holding them closer to one end or the other, the bells
> won't collide.  That way when you finally do ring them the sound will have
> been previously unheard and therefore more powerful.
>
> Finally, something I have learned working in Native communities here in
> Canada...if there are a lot of Elders in the room, the bells will often
> remind them of the time they went to Church-run residential schools which
> were resulted in very traumatic experiences for many many people.  As a
> result I rarely use bells anymore in these contexts, preferring instead to
> call people back together with a drum or some other more appropriate
> attention-getting sound.
>
> Chris
>
>
>  ----
> Chris Corrigan
> chris at chriscorrigan.com
> http://www.chriscorrigan.com
>
>
>  On 2010-07-07, at 8:57 AM, Lisa Heft wrote:
>
>  I bow to you, Ms. Karolina.
>
> I only know what I have noticed.
>
> 1) If you ring them 'to let people know things) - for example to signify
> the change in time for sessions - you are actually breaking into peoples'
> thought process. And there are always enough timepieces (electronic and
> otherwise) that people have and even clocks on the wall, plus session
> convenors' interest in their next sessions - to let people know in a
> participant-centered (rather than facilitator-driven) way when the time is
> shifting.  So when I do it, I only ring them at one certain time - to draw
> peoples' attention to the fact that Closing Circle is beginning. When I
> introduce how the day will go (usually after they post their topics on the
> wall), I include the fact that I will not be telling them about time, that
> they have these timepieces, but that I will see them in Closing Circle at
> ''x o'clock" and that I will be in the room if they have any questions.  And
> when I use them this once - they really capture peoples' attention, because
> they have not over-heard it.  If I am not mistaken, the fabulous Elwin Guild
> uses one ring of his bells after the very last comment / all is over at the
> end of the event.  Elwin, would you like to share how you use your bells?
>
> 2) I 'ding' the bells about 4 to 6 times, letting the full sound of each
> ding run out, before I start the next ding. I breathe. And I find the dings
> are much like a graceful breathing.
>
> 3) If it is a very large venue I hold them up to a microphone.
>
> 4) Some people hold them like cymbals (the 'faces' on vertical planes
> opposite each other); some people hold them both facing down, next to each
> other (lightly holding the straps so as to not affect the sound), and touch
> them to each other. This last method is my method.
>
> 5) When buying them - ideal is to go to an actual store (a Tibetan store
> for example) to listen to the music and tone of each set of bells, to feel
> which is the one set that speaks to you.
>
> 6) I went to great lengths to make a connecting piece that was not the
> original leather - so that I could put things on it that meant something to
> me. It turns out that it can affect the sound and can stretch and I am
> wondering if perhaps keeping the original simple leather piece might be
> best. Although mine is still the way I created it and I enjoy how it looks.
>
> What do others do and know about their bells and their use of them?
>
> Cheers from a gray California morning,
> Lisa
>
>                 *
> Lisa Heft
> *
> Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
> *Opening Space*
> lisaheft at openingspace.net
> www.openingspace.net
> *
> *
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>
>
>
>
>  On Jul 7, 2010, at 8:31 AM, Karolina Iwa wrote:
>
> from facilitating wikisym2010 in gdansk, poland,
> i am writing with a question:
>
> many of us - including me - use temple bells during os events to attract
> participants attention.
> anybody knows the full code of respectful use of the bells?
>
> i would appreciate your contributions to decreasing my ignorance.
> thank you in advance for sharing.
>
> karolina.
>
>
>
> ____________________________________
>
> karolina iwa.
>
> trainer & facilitator
> collective intelligence & self-organisation
>
> D: +49 15774 932139   PL: +48 880 747578
> ____________________________________
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>  Wendy Farmer-O'Neil
> CEO Prospera Consulting
> wendy at xe.net
> 1-800-713-2351
>
> The moment of change is the only poem. -- Adrienne Rich
>
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