The Ceremony of the Opening and Closing of the Shruti Flower (a process given narrative significance in my book - Seeing is Beveiling) is a daily practice that I have developed over the last several years. It is my hope that I can soon share this with a wider community.
The Golden Breathing – Tuning – Toning – Turning – Ceremony of the Shruti Flower
Morning
Consult the 96 notes and chords of the Shruti flower.
Either – over 96 weeks or days – progress through the notes/chords in order – i.e. week 1 – ‘a’ – week 2 – ‘e’ etc. or – choose a different note or chord – at random – each week or day until all 96 have been sounded.
Once a note/chord has been chosen – sit – on a folded pillow – half-lotus and barefoot – having positioned – as well as a rose and a beeswax candle – 3 singing bowls in front of you so that your left hand is in easy reach of two of the bowls and your right hand is close to the third.
Having prostrated – with hands in prayerful posture – three times before the rose – light the candle.
Now – upon the 3 singing bowls – play the following figuration.
With the right hand – sound the 3rd bowl 16 times in quick succession by striking the side of the bowl with the index finger.
At the same time – sound the 1st and 2nd bowls – in the same way – in this manner –
12/12/12/12/12/12/12/12/.
Without pause – now sound the 3rd bowl 24 times in quick succession.
At the same time – sound the 1st and 2nd bowls in this manner – (‘-‘ signifies non-strike)
1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/.
Without pause – now sound the 3rd bowl 40 times in quick succession.
At the same time – sound the 1st and 2nd bowls in this manner –
1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/1--2-/.
Without pause – now sound the 3rd bowl 64 times in quick succession.
At the same time – sound the 1st and 2nd bowls in this manner –
1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/1----2--/.
Without pause – now sound the 3rd bowl 64 times in quick succession.
At the same time – sound the 1st and 2nd bowls in this manner –
1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/1-------2----/.
Now – having allowed the bowls to ring until silent – gently sound the bowls once in turn and set the chosen note/chord sounding on the shruti-box.
Sound the note/chord for 13 ‘breaths’ of the shruti-box.
Sing – on the lowest note of the chord – 13 (or 21 – or 34 etc.) vowels to accompany the shruti-box – exploring the various harmonics that the changing vowels produce.
In particular – you may wish to sing the vowels ‘EE AH OO AY’ – followed by 8 (or 13 – or 21 etc.) ‘AUM’ tones (‘AH OO MM’) followed by 5 (or 8 – or 13 etc.) ‘MUA’ tones (‘MM OO AH’).
Cease toning and continue to sound the shruti-box for 21 (or 34 – or 55 etc.) of its breaths.
After the shruti-box has ceased sounding – gently strike the bowls once in reverse order.
Rise from the half-lotus position and engage in the following –
Gesture A With right hand held aloft – eyes and ears open – palm open to the sky – and left hand towards the ground – palm open to the earth –
Turn 360˚ widdershins – once.
Gesture B With left hand held aloft – eyes and ears open – palm open to the sky – and right hand towards the ground – palm open to the earth –
Turn 360˚ sunwise – once.
Then alternate – in Fibonacci manner – i.e. –
Gesture A – widdershins twice
Gesture B – sunwise once
Gesture A – widdershins thrice
Gesture B – sunwise twice
Gesture A – widdershins five times
Gesture B – sunwise thrice
Gesture A – widdershins eight times
Gesture B – sunwise five times
Gesture A – widdershins 13 times
Gesture B – sunwise 8 times
(A single widdershins turn will prevent dizziness)
Now – sitting – on a folded pillow – half-lotus once more – and listening to your heart – (with a stethoscope if easier – place your left hand over the chest piece against your heart and your right hand upturned on your right knee) –
Breathe in for 2 heartbeats – breathe out for 3 heartbeats (x5)
Breathe in for 3 heartbeats – breathe out for 5 heartbeats (x5)
Breathe in for 5 heartbeats – breathe out for 8 heartbeats (x5)
Breathe in for 8 heartbeats – breathe out for 13 heartbeats (x5)
Breathe in for 13 heartbeats – breathe out for 21 heartbeats (x5)
Now – perform a mudra – keeping to the same mudra for one week – during the duration of which you should breathe in the following way – this time without listening to the heart – (as your hands will be engaged upon the mudra) – but still keeping to its pulse – (which you will have imbibed during the previous portion of the ceremony) –
Breathe in for 8 (or 13) heartbeats – holding the breath for 13 (or 21) heartbeats
Breathe out for 8 (or 13) heartbeats – holding the breath for 13 (or 21) heartbeats (x21)
Now tone once more around the shruti note/chord as indicated above – following this with a listening to the shruti-box’s breathing for a time.
Now – upon the 3 singing bowls – play the figurations given above – but in reverse – i.e. begin with sounding the 3rd bowl 64 times etc.
Before extinguishing the candle – having prostrated yourself once more – five times – before rose and candle – say the following verse –
‘Fire in the heart –
The thinking heart –
The thinking heart wills love.’
Having extinguished the candle – continue to gaze into the rose for a time.
This ceremony lasts – at its shortest – about 40 minutes – though higher Fibonacci numbers may be reached – at any point during the ceremony – at participant’s discretion.
If the turning described above is not possible – it may be equally beneficial to twiddle one’s thumbs in like manner – and to much higher numbers in the Fibonacci sequence!
Of course – variations on the above will be inculcated as required.
Evening
In the evening – reverse the numbers – i.e. turning 1,1 – 1,2 – 2,3 – 3,5 – 5,8 – 8,13 etc.
And breathing – in for 3, out for 2, - in for 5, out for 3, - in for 8, out for 5 etc.
Be sure to listen and to be receptive between these disparate gestures.
Communal Variation
When performing the Ceremony with 2 or more people – sit in a form approaching a circle – with roses and beeswax candles towards – spokelike – its centre – the ceremonial space being scented through the burning of one or more essential oils.
The Ceremonial Rose-Tree would be – if possible – an excellent centrepiece to proceedings – drawn in chalk if not able to be constructed.
It would be optimal if each participant had their own shruti box and singing bowls with which to partake in the ceremony. Gongs would be yet more delightful.
Ideally – The Communal Ceremony would end with a group improvisation whereby 3 - 5 of the company would choose – by the role of the die – beforehand – separate rhythmic motifs – which they would then play – (while the tone or chord for that day is sounding and upon which those present are toning) – on any percussion of their choice – the motifs always to be built from 5 discrete note values – lasting either 1,2,3,5, 8 or 13 semiquavers in duration – always at Crotchet = 60.
Resources
A shruti box.
3 singing bowls.
A rose.
A beeswax candle.
A book of mudras.
A stethoscope.
An open heart.
Further points of research
The golden ratio – encouraging such a ratio to thrive between heart and breath – the Chladni stand and its ramifications with respect to ‘tuning’ – the harmonic series and the nature of coherence and form – the sustained tone and its seemingly infinite richness and expansiveness – alone and in combination.
The Opening and Closing of the Shruti Flower
96 notes and chords to accompany the practice of golden breathing – toning and turning
1 a 33 cef 65 fgab
2 e 34 dfg 66 gabc
3 d 35 ega 67 dgc
4 f 36 ceg 68 egc
5 g 37 dfa 69 dbc
6 b 38 cfg 70 ebc
7 c 39 dga 71 eab
8 ab 40 cfa 72 fbc
9 ga 41 dgb 73 egb
10 cd 42 eac 74 fac
11 de 43 cga 75 fab
12 fg 44 dab 76 gbc
13 ce 45 cab 77 fgb
14 gb 46 cea 78 gac
15 eg 47 dfb 79 gab
16 fa 48 cfb 80 abc
17 dg 49 cgc 81 dc
18 cf 50 cefa 82 ec
19 gc 51 dfgb 83 eb
20 cg 52 cdef 84 fc
21 da 53 defg 85 fb
22 db 54 efga 86 ea
23 ca 55 cdefg 87 df
24 cb 56 defga 88 ac
25 cc 57 efgab 89 bc
26 cde 58 cdefga 90 ef
27 def 59 defgab 91 d
28 efg 60 cdefgab 92 a
29 fga 61 efgabc 93 b
30 cdf 62 fgabc 94 e
31 deg 63 cgabc 95 c
32 efa 64 egac 96 f