Experience RISE Sound Bowl Meditation for Relaxation and Inner Calm
Written by Mary Welp, Owner, Creator, Author, and Coach
Mary Welp is a hypnotherapist who developed a practice that marries self-hypnosis and meditation. She authored the book, RISE Hypnotic Meditation, in 2021 and teaches the practice in corporate and community settings.
Two nights a week, I go to local community centers and lead a sound bowl RISE Hypnotic Meditation. They are donation-based classes, and all are invited. This has been such a fun experience for me, as I watch people settle on their mats and let go. The subject matter is always different, mostly whatever is on my mind that week.
We always begin with the breath. To breathe in and relax their bodies on the mat is an important first step. I invite all to follow in a rotation of consciousness into their bodies. When I began meditating, I had the false impression that by letting my mind wander outside the body, into the ethos, that was how to find the magic, but I was so wrong. It is in the body and through the senses that we drop down into ourselves and find our highest knowledge. Body scans are an excellent way to ground into our bodies. Just stopping to ask the question, “How do I feel?” to specific parts of the body is a great start and often a rarely asked question. Often our bodies have to become very loud with pain or tension before we notice.
The second step is to have the group imagine a beautiful and safe space. Sometimes it is in nature, and sometimes we go back into a special place we enjoyed as a child. Beth shared with me that at some point, while I was guiding the group to a forest, she saw herself in her grandmother’s attic, a place she loved to escape to as a child. She told me she hadn’t thought of that attic in years, but her mind knew right where to take her to feel safe and open to address what she needed that day.
Roger is a regular at these weekly RISE meditations. He has been coming for years. Roger has told me often how most weekly meditations take him to his happy childhood in Buffalo, New York. The snowball fights, his grandmother’s kitchen, and the voices of his family come back in his mind’s eye when he does his meditations. He often sits up after the class with the most lovely smile on his face and two thumbs up. Roger has helped me to see what a great gift and reference point our programming can be to install the very change or comfort we are needing.
Kathy shared that the benefit of these hypnotic meditations for her is that, even for a moment, but sometimes longer, she doesn’t think and what a surprise it was to her when she first realized she wasn’t thinking, she was just being. That feeling is what keeps her coming back every Tuesday night, to have permission to be, not to do.
Ruth shared with me that the peace and calm she is able to cultivate during the sound bath meditations she uses as a reference point for other situations in her life. Whether in family dynamics, traffic, or issues with friends, she reports that she is quicker to pick up on the unrest in herself and how to breathe the calm back in. Grounding ourselves in peace can often change the outcome of a confrontation, or at least help us not feel overwhelmed by it.
Our minds have not had the time to adjust to computers and cell phone use yet. Our nervous systems are based in safety, the kind of safety that is felt when the birds are singing, and the rivers are running. As early humans, we grounded ourselves in nature. If we were close to water and the birds were singing, we knew that all was well. We could survive that moment. That connection to nature may be further away from us now, but our bodies and minds still need to feel that safety, calm, and peace to gather the energy for the next obstacle life decides to hand us.
I encourage those who participate in my RISE Sound bath meditations to practice every day, even if just for one minute. Stopping to take a conscious breath and ask, “How do I feel?” is a beautiful and purposeful way to connect with your nature, remembering that we are so much more than what we do. We are nature itself.
Read more from Mary Welp,
Mary Welp, Owner, Creator, Author, and Coach
As a craniosacral therapist and hypnotherapist for over 20 years, Mary noticed many clients struggled with limiting thought patterns affecting their lives and relationships. They were aware of their issues but unsure how to replace old habits with healthier ones. Mary developed the RISE system, which empowers clients to control their change and break free from outdated patterns. With the pandemic halting one-on-one sessions, Mary explored teaching RISE in group settings, discovering it encouraged mutual learning and effective change. RISE, an acronym, offers a straightforward, adaptable tool for lifelong use. Mary's mission is to empower people to live their best lives, personally and professionally.
