Story & Lesson Highlights with Diane Mandle

We recently had the chance to connect with Diane Mandle and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Spend a few minutes expressing gratitude. Meditation, email & messages on my cell, Chi Gong exercises, taking supplements with water, checking my scheduld for the day.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello. I am Diane Mandle, a truely blessed bi-cultural woman ( American/French) who has been working with sound healing for the past 27 years. My Tibetan bowl school offers rigorous training to those who wish to be practitioners. Our teachings honor /integrate Tibetan buddhist principles which are the foundation of this modality. In France, I am on the staff of the Acadamie de Sonotherapie where I also teach sound healing each autumn. I have also been able to teach and conduct sound baths in India, Mexico and Costa Rica. What an honor it is to witness empowerment happening in my clients and students. I love developing materials that help people deepen their practice and understand more fully the beauty and complexity of the sacred sound instruments. My three published books examine different aspects of the power of sound in the healing process. Now, in my life I am doing more mentoring, sound baths and space clearing but no longer offer private healing sessions.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Many years ago, I traveled to Cuba and met South African man who had been in prison with Steven Biko during apartheid. He was in a cell next to where children were also imprisoned.,starving, wailing. and being beaten. He was traveling to speak about that situation and was on his way to Boston. He invited me to his birthday party there. When I arrived I was shocked to see so many white people and asked him how he could have so many white friends after being imprisoned by white Africaners. His reply shook me to the core . He said: ” When you are in prison, noone cares about you. If you are hungry, sick or sad, noone cares..You just feel powerless and sad all the time. I realized that I didn’t want to feel that way and the only thing that didn’t make me feel bad,….. was love. So I decided to change bad feelings into love. That is what seved me. That is why I can love so many white people now.”

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
When I was a child, my family would sometimes rent a cottage in the Catskills. There was a man there that gave ballet lessons to vacationers. My own father was often angry and scary but this man always gave me his attention. Every morning I would go into his dance class to give him a little kiss. He would pause the class when I arrived to receive his kiss, thank me and then continue the class. I felt so seen and heard I asked him if he would be my daddy… He said he would always be my friend and that I had a dad… He pointed out all the ways my father loved me. I was about 6 years old and it was so powerful.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
It’s not really a lie but more of a misconception; which is that it’s fine to play the Tibetan bowls for healing purposes via intuition alone. Being an effective sound practitioner demands a lot of practice, knowledge of how sound moves and mastery at hearing the information the instruments are giving you- then knowing what to do about it. To be a good practitioner requires a lot more than having bowls and playing them without the structure and knowledge needed to do more than create relaxation.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
It has taken quite a bit of trauma but I now really understand the concept of impermanence in mostly every aspect of life. The impermanance of body, security, wellbeing,. This allows me to be more of a witness in life, engaged, yes, but understanding that at any moment everything can change, so holding visions without attachment, not taking things too seriously– all these things make life much lighter.

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