Is it OK to use a drum to do Space Clearing rather than clapping?
- Jennifer Stuttle, England
Karen's reply:
Yes, you certainly can use a drum instead of clapping. In the early days of developing Space Clearing I used all kinds of drums, cymbals, even pan lids banged together! However as the years have gone by I have developed the art of clapping so highly that now no-one I have trained professionally has ever wanted to go back to using a drum again for Space Clearing purposes. There are many more levels of information that can be accessed by using your own hands which you just cannot hear when you do drumming.
Drums still have many other uses, though. For example, they are wonderful for various types of invocation after Space Clearing.
I'd appreciate info on whether loud bangs would have to be employed or whether you could 'get away' with quieter ones as I have regard for the peace and quiet of my neighbours. British life is often lived in confined dwellings of cardboard-thin construction and the thought of annoying neighbours/arousing their suspicion is neither pleasing nor conducive to effective Space Clearing!
- Vajrakumara, UK
Karen's reply:
Clapping is most effective when done with will and intensity. Get right into the corner and clap briskly a few times, with the firm intention that all the stuck energy lodged there will be dispersed. With the correct intensity it is not necessary to clap so much. If you clap weakly you'll need to do much more clapping to get the same effect. I suggest you choose a time when your neighbours are out if you are concerned about disturbing them.
I have to smile as I write this. I'm in Bali at the moment and your question brings to mind the annual Space Clearing ceremony precedingNyepi, the Balinese New Year. It's quite something to experience a whole island of 3 million people making as much noise as they possibly can for a whole night (car horns, firecrackers, shouting, loud music, you name it) and then the incredible peace of the next day, when everything comes to a total standstill for 24 hours. No planes are allowed to arrive or take off from the airport, no-one can travel on the roads, no-one works (except for very basic tourist services), no-one cooks, lights fires, uses electrical appliances, makes phone calls, etc, etc. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that could happen all over the world for a day?
I live in a terraced house with very thin walls. I am keen to space clear, however I am concerned that the noise may attract unwanted attention from my neighbours. My opportunities to practice space clearing whilst the neighbours are out on both sides are limited. Is there an effective method for space clearing without clapping and chimes ?
- Richard, England
Karen's reply:
Using sound to break up stagnant energies is the most effective of all the Space Clearing techniques I have pioneered and developed and lies at the heart of the ceremony described in my book.
Certain types of sound (strong, resonant clapping and high quality Balinese bells) have the ability to break up the stagnant energies that accumulate in walls, furniture and objects. The sounds go deep into the walls, furniture and objects in the building. Silent techniques such as wafting incense around may temporarily lift the energies in your home but the effect is superficial and will disappear when the incense smell is gone.
The advanced clapping and belling techniques I teach to my space clearing practitioners produces an effect that is equivalent to (and a lot cheaper than) demolishing and rebuilding your home as well as replacing everything in it. The more resonant the clapping and belling, the more effective the techniques are in clearing out the past and enabling the occupants of a home to have a completely fresh start.
When you do Space Clearing for yourself following the instructions in my book it is therefore vital to include clapping and belling, as well as the harmony ball process at the end of ceremony to reconsecrate your home to higher frequencies. If you are concerned about disturbing your neighbours, by all means choose a time when they are out, but you may be interested to know that complaints are very rare - most neighbours are more curious or intrigued than disturbed by the sounds of the ceremony.
By the way, I notice you use the word 'chimes' in your question rather than 'bell', so just in case you are thinking of using wind chimes, click here to go to a Q & A about why this doesn't work.
I attended one of your workshops a few years ago and I am now reading your book, "Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui", for the 3rd time! I am especially interested in bells.
I had a wonderful experience last week at a health farm - after a wonderful cleansing massage the therapist finished the session by ringing a bell over my stomach. I felt waves go through my body like ripples through a pond and had the most overwhelming feeling of emotion which made me cry. The therapist said this was good as stuck energy had cleared! Anyway if I was a little skeptical before about energies and auras, I'm not anymore. The bells she used were actually 2 metal discs attached to each other by a cord and they had a beautiful tone, but she didn't know where they came from.
What I'd like to know as well is if it is OK to buy and use second hand bells if they are purified before use, and do you have to be careful of what's engraved or depicted on the bell eg. animals or star shapes. I would be grateful for any advice on this.
- E.W., UK
Karen's reply:
The first thing to understand is that if someone rings bells over your body and makes you cry it doesn't necessarily mean that stuck energy was cleared. Unless this was accompanied by very clear understandings and resulted in a dynamic resolution to a particular problem you've been experiencing then all that happened was that this person created turbulent waves in your astral body that caused you to cry. The therapist was probably well meaning but has no real understanding of what she/he is doing.
The second thing is, as you may remember from my workshops, I recommend that you only ever use high quality bells in your own personal energy field. Since discovering them many years ago, I now use only Balinese bells. They are simply the best in the world. Inferior quality bells can do more harm than good.
As to second hand bells, this depends entirely on your level of sensitivity to etheric imprints. My husband is the only other person I allow to use my bell and I can tell immediately if someone else touches it. The best method I've found of purifying bells involves using a particular type of Balinese holy water. All symbology has an effect so yes, you certainly have to choose appropriate engravings.
Is it usual to feel heady/almost dizzy after space clearing with a Balinese Empress Bell or is it from too vigorous use of the bell, or not being able to handle the energies?
- M.W., Canada
Karen's reply:
Balinese bells have the ability to simultaneously clear lower energies and instill higher frequencies in a space. They are the only bells I have ever found that can do this and that's why they are the only ones I recommend for Space Clearing.
Because they are so powerful, if you ring them more than is required it can leave you feeling heady and temporarily dizzy. It takes the average Balinese priest an entire year of training to learn how to ring a bell correctly so don't be concerned if it takes you a while.
If you are ever able to come to my Space Clearing workshop, the easiest way to learn is to see me demonstrate. If this is not possible, take a measured approach and allow the bell to teach you what's needed.
In your book, Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, you mentioned that towns in Bali do a consecration ceremony for a new bell. We recently bought one of the Bali bells with the wooden handle. Is there a consecration ceremony you would recommend before using the bell for Space Clearing?
- L.A., USA
Karen's reply:
Actually it's not that towns in Bali do consecration ceremonies - ordinary folk folk do not own bells at all. They are only made for priests and priestesses, who will then perform their own consecration ceremony in their own private temple before using the bell for the first time. The ceremony requires at least a week of preparations, takes over an hour to perform, and the cost of the offerings alone comes the equivalent of about US $150 - a huge sum, when you consider that the average Balinese person earns only $1 per day!
It would obviously not be possible to replicate this complex ceremony in theWest, but it would be excellent for you to create your own personal ceremony to welcome your bell into your life. I suggest you create offerings that represent the four elements, and the best ones to use would be those that I suggest in my book: flowers for earth, incense for air, a candle for fire and holy water for water (there is a description in my book of how to make holy water). As you perform the ceremony, call on your higher spiritual connections to be present, to bless and consecrate the bell. Also, hold in mind the function you will be using the bell for (Space Clearing), and ask for help from the higher realms in performing this function. They love to help but will not do so unless invited.
I have a question in regard to practicing the ringing of the bell. I want to become proficient with the use of it. Is it safe to practice anywhere? Or is there a specific space?
- C.C., California, USA
Karen's reply:
Balinese bells are powerful and when I train practitioners how to use them we have to do it in a series of short lessons rather than one long one because otherwise everyone gets 'belled out' - a heady, spacey feeling of energy overload. If you feel this, it's time to stop. Otherwise it may develop into a headache and the room may feel too intense afterwards.
Personal belling (the new name for the technique described in my book as chakra balancing) can, of course, only be done with Balinese bells (to do it with other types of bells can be damaging), and you need to be careful not to overdo this. Three passes of the bell from base chakra to above the head is the maximum, and I don't recommend it more than once a day.
If you are interested to learn more about this, there are full instructions and practical demonstrations of the technique in my Advanced Space Clearing workshop.
I will be in Bali next week and would like to know where I can buy a bell while I am there.
- Anne Searing, USA
Karen's reply:
If you visit Bali and look around the markets you will occasionally find temple bells for sale. These are made by entrepreneurs wanting to cash in on the popularity of Balinese bells since the publication of my book. Sadly, they are very poorly crafted and absolutely useless for Space Clearing. You would be wasting your money.
Space Clearing bells are available in Bali at my annual workshops, and also in the shop at my feng shui hotel, Dancing Dragon Cottages in Amed Beach (prices are substantially less than the usual retail prices in the West).
In the meantime, the easiest way for you to obtain a bell is to order by mail direct from one of my international offices - go to the Products pages of this website to purchase online.
Hope this reply is helpful. Have a wonderful stay in Bali!
I'd like to know if it is acceptable to use a gong? I don't have a bell, much as I'd like to acquire one at some stage in the not-too-distant future. In the interim, I have a fine Chinese brass gong which can make vast amounts of noise if I want it to and which resonates marvellously. Would this do as an alternative to get me started?
- Vajrakumara, UK
Karen's reply:
Before I had a Balinese bell I had series of different types of bells, ranging from low to high in sound. I found I needed to make several circuits of a building, starting with the lowest sounding bell first and gradually refining the energy with each subsequent circuit as I worked my way up to the bell with the highest note. Nowadays one circuit with a Balinese Space Clearing bell or Empress bell will do the job that all these other bells used to do, and in a fraction of the time. This is because of the unique way the Balinese bells are crafted.
Gongs are very powerful. The sound resonates deeply throughout an area, and you could certainly use one for maintenance Space Clearing once a week or so (providing it doesn't annoy the neighbours!). However if you choose to use a gong for the initial Space Clearing you would ideally also need to use a series of bells afterwards, to refine the energy as I described above.
There's another very interesting difference between using gongs and Balinese bells. I teach my practitioners how to use the bells to access and bring to consciousness levels of information that become lodged in the walls of a person's home. I have found that gongs will only do what I call 'blanket Space Clearing' (ie. they do the job but are not subtle enough to allow information to be discerned) whereas bells can bring to light the most remarkable information, which can be tremendously helpful in moving on the person in their spiritual journey. There are many levels of Space Clearing which I have not yet written about, but there is a little more information about this in my article entitled, What is Space Clearing?
I recently bought meditation chimes that come with a 'gong' or stick to ring them. Can I use them to purify my space in the place of bells?
- Nubia
Karen's reply:
Same reply as for the question above. Wind chimes are not at all effective for Space Clearing and cannot be substituted for bells. They simply do not have the clearing effect of high quality bells.
I want to thank you for your wonderful Space Clearing information.
I have spacecleared twice and have not achieved the results I was hoping for. I am wondering if you can give me some advice or tell me about an experience that may have been similar. I am new to all this and am not financially able to purchase the bells and harmony balls. I have used some feng shui cow bells and visualized the harmony balls. Do you think this is why my results are not that dramatic?
- T.G., USA
Karen's reply:
I'm not surprised to hear that your attempts to space clear using cow bells have brought no results. Glass bells, ceramic bells and Indian bells are also non-effective for Space Clearing. They simply do not have the resonance to break up stagnant energy.
If your finances are stretched, the cheapest option would be a Tibetan bell or a maybe a Western-style school bell, but your results will only be minimal. To make an analogy, it would be like using a blade of grass to sweep a room instead of using a proper broom that is designed for the job.
The Balinese bells I recommend in my book are the best in the world for Space Clearing. There are photos of these bells and information about them on the Products pages of my website. Purchasing a bell is really a one-in-a-lifetime investment, so it is worth saving up and buying one that will do the job you need it to do.
What is Space Clearing?
