Bowls for Elephants: Our Upcoming Journey to Thailand

Just a week away till my departure for Chiang Mai, Thailand and the amazing "Bowls for Elephants" project we have been planning for a year now with Patara Elephant Farm. This journey includes my practice with Singing Bowls, Vibrational Sound Therapy, and the developed understanding of an elephant's sensitivity to sound and vibrations — a fascinating theory I have become beyond passionate to explore.

About Singing Bowls and Vibrational Sound Therapy
I offer a therapy at my store, Dari Rasa Trunk Show in Bozeman, Montana, called Vibrational Sound Therapy, which include reading a person's chakras (learn more about them here) with a pendulum as a baseline for what chakras need any attention. I then use Singing Bowls to create balance, include Tibetan Singing Bowls, Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls, Alchemy Bowls that are Gemstone and/or Precious Metals — and the 18 bowls in my studio each have their own unique personality. Each bowl has its own musical note; ranging from A to G, each note corresponds to a specific chakra. Historically created in Asia, concentrating in Nepal, China and Japan, these bowls are played using a padded mallet or other tool. Strike or rub the mallet on these bowls to create a friction that creates a vibrational harmony and continuous "singing" sound. The science of healing with Singing Bowls is fascinating, and the therapy is known to be 97% effective. 

How "Bowls for Elephants" Began
The project, "Bowls for Elephants" is an honor that I take very seriously. I was in Thailand in February of 2012 and a paying customer at the Patara Elephant Farm. At the farm, one pays a healthy fee to be what they call an "Elephant Owner for the Day." You work with the mahout — a Hindu word for a person who rides an elephant — and one particular elephant from the herd for the day. We learned about their care, including feed, foot care, parasites, examining dung, bathing in the river, and were given Thai words that the elephants respond to. Fascinating! The day also included talks on the current situation in Thailand regarding elephant conservation, which was illuminating. I could not help but fall in love with the majestic elephants. The day also included a trek riding elephants bareback, which I sadly could not participate in because I was still healing from surgeries and complications with my achilles tendon. I found myself embarrassed and crying because of many emotions surrounding not being able to go, which was, ultimately, my choice.


As my elephant, Mae Wan Dee, the mahout, myself and Ben, a manager at Patara, walked the path returning to the farm, the mahout stopped us — he and Ben were talking about something that was of importance. Ben told me to look at the majestic Mae Wan Dee, see her eyes, hear her stomach rumbling and hear what she was saying to me without words. I saw deep compassion in those soft eyes, and I felt such a deep love without any judgement, which allowed my own heart to feel compassion for myself.  The emotions I had felt of embarrassment and shame around not being able to go on the trek melted away. I accepted the love of this one amazing and kind elephant and saw things through a different lens.

Once back at the farm, we spent time with Mae Wan Dee, feeding her and just watching her while having amazing conversations with our guides. True to form, I had travelled with energy stones and crystals in my pocket which I shared with Ben. Ben was fascinated by the stones, and I ended up gifting him my favorite Phantom Crystal — a variety of quartz — that I had with me. I taught him that the Phantom Crystal in particular is about Universal Awareness, which was the perfect gift for him and his work. We discussed what we both do in our work, and I shared with him what I do with Vibrational Sound Therapy. That conversation was the invitation to return to try the therapy with the elephants.

Bowls for Elephants: An Idea Comes to Fruition 
So Ben and I have stayed in touch, planned for months, and I am ready to return to Chiang Mai to do this work. At Dari Rasa Trunk Show, we raised money for 3 months through the sale of Singing Bowls (items that were donated to sell for the project) and simple donations to our Bowls for Elephants fund. At our first fundraising event on November 15 (which was a stunning night, if I may say so — and the catered Thai food was a big hit), I spoke about our intention, and discounted all the singing bowls in the store for 3 hours.

We sold 20 bowls and many items in the store and created a lot of excitement around the project. People were incredibly generous. The purpose for raising the money was to purchase a set of bowls for Patara Elephant Farm and have the gift of the bowls come from Bozeman, Montana. Those bowls are now in Chiang Mai waiting for the work that is about to begin.

The day they shipped out was like sending a child off to college for me, I cried, I was so thrilled. Silver Sky Imports, the company who put together the set, did such a beautiful job of creating specific bowls for us, including a special trip to Colorado to find the best Lepidolite for a specific bowl that works to clear depression.

My sincere gratitude to Silver Sky Imports for their love of what they do and the intention to create the best set of bowls for this journey.