Time Your Meditations With Tibetan Bells

I was first introduced to the app, Insight Timer, in 2011 by a student who studied The First Degree of The Radiance Technique® with me.

I was charmed immediately.

Insight Timer is a perfect example of how technology can support our meditative journey. A primary function of the app is to time your meditations, prayers and/or yoga. It also offers a wide range of guided meditations.

The timer utilizes the healing sounds of Tibetan singing bowls. The tonal quality of the bells is remarkable.

Insight Timer uses the sounds of Tibetan singing bowls to time your meditations.

Sometimes We Need A Timer

As lovely as it would be to think we should have vast amounts of time to meditate, going with the flow as it were, and shifting only as our inner mood would indicate, the fact of the matter is that most of us are running 90 miles-an-hour.

Our jobs require us to report at prescribed times. We pick up family members and take them to appointments. We attend classes. Meals require planning and preparation. Our lives demand structure.

Timing my meditations was previously relegated to the strident buzzzzzz of a kitchen timer. This screeching sound had no volume control. Muffling it under clothes or blankets did little to soften the effect, or it masked it so much I couldn't hear it.

Being blasted out of a serene meditation was unsettling to say the least. Actually, it was just plain awful.

Then, Insight Timer entered my world. Once the bells in this app started ringing for me, ending a meditation session was more gentle.

For your meditations, there is an app called Insight Timer.

Insight Timer To The Rescue

Use of Insight Timer is intuitive. There are a number of bells to choose from and you can vary which bells you use within the same session. Start with a certain opening bell, have another bell that sounds at intervals during the meditation (if you wish, you're not required to have interval bells) and finish with yet a different, third bell.

Save your meditation settings in what is called a preset so you don't have to set it up each time you meditate. Select your preset, push start and off you go. Presets for meditation, yoga, tai chi, and/or TM can all have different times and interval bells.

Insight Timer, an app using Tibetan singing bowls to time your meditations.

Insight Timer For Students Of The Radiance Technique®

For students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), Insight Timer is a marvelous tool. You can use it for your TRT® hands-on.

One of my presets is a 1-hour session with 5 minute intervals. This is for my full TRT® hands-on session. I set the interval bells to ring twice and the final bell to ring three times, just to let me know I'm at the end.

When I have extra time, I lower the volume of the bells. If I doze off the bell won't disturb me, but if I'm awake, I'll hear it. Sometimes I've come to my final bell with more positions still to do and only then realized that I must have "slipped out" during my hands-on.

You could create a 20-minute session when you only have time to do four of the hands-on positions.

Insight Timer is helpful when students have a TRT® Hands-on Exchange or when they gather for a timed Hands-on Meditation together. You can set your device in airplane mode to prevent notifications from other apps.

With Insight Timer, you mediate with people from around the world.

Insight Timer Online – Connecting With Other Meditators

Do you want to connect online with others who are using Insight Timer? Turn it on or turn it off, your choice. Some people find it supportive to know they are sharing meditation times with others from around the world. I have Insight Timer friends in Europe, Australia, Japan, India and across the United States.

When someone asked about being "friends" with other meditators on Insight Timer, this was my response:

“The "friend" allows you to see your friends meditating with you. It also allows you to write your own free notes to one another if their messages are set to "friends only."

I have met virtual "friends" from around the planet and enjoy this international aspect. We often meditate around the same time and sometimes interconnect with one another regarding topics and questions.

Our hearts are not limited to geographical boundaries in terms of inner support and building more light for the planet. So, I would say, just let it unfold as it seems right for you. Namasté.”

Insight Timer can be used offline as well for your meditations.

Technology To Support Us In Light

Since the app is available on your smartphone (iPhone and Android) or iPad, it travels with you. Sometimes on my lunch break at work, I pull it out for a rejuvenating 20-minute meditation session.

Fortunately, it doesn't depend on the internet to function. It works when you are offline, in airplane mode or if you are meditating outside with no wi-fi.

You're invited to try it.

Hearts in the Wind