My history

My name is Miguel Lourenço, and I was born in 1971 in the city of Barreiro, Portugal.

At the age of 13, in 1985, I moved with my parents to Africa, more specifically to what was then the Republic of Zaire (currently the Democratic Republic of Congo), where I lived in Kinshasa. I took with me my first computer, a Timex 2048, where I developed my first programs in BASIC - an experience that immediately sparked my passion for programming.

At 18, I returned to Portugal, where I completed my training as a Computer Programming Analyst. In 1991, while still a student, I began my professional career as a computer programmer in COBOL. Over the following years, I collaborated with several software houses, participating in the development of complex and challenging projects, believing at that stage that programming would be my lifelong profession.

Between 1985 and 2006, I dedicated countless hours to working in front of a computer. However, this intense rhythm eventually caused serious injuries, namely chronic tendinitis in my arms, hands, and fingers. From 2006 to 2010, I went through an extremely difficult period, marked by debilitating pain that required continuous medication and hospital treatments. Simple activities, such as eating, became impossible without assistance.

In 2010, a remarkable episode completely changed my trajectory: a friend placed a Singing Bowl in my hands and made it sound. More than the melody, I felt an intense vibration running through my hand and arm - a deeply transformative sensation. I bought the bowl right then and there and, for two months, I played it daily, alternating between my hands. At the time, I thought it was just a pleasant experience, but without realizing it, I was beginning a process of self-healing.

The result was surprising: in just two months, I fully recovered, without pain and without medication. Fascinated by this experience, I decided to deepen my study of the therapeutic effects of sound and vibration, attending Singing Bowl courses available in Portugal.

The year 2011 marked an important point in my life. It was then that I decided to share my knowledge of Singing Bowls through my first workshops and therapies, and I began to realize that the results were fascinating.

In 2013, I traveled to Italy to attend my first training in "Planetary Gongs." I loved discovering these gongs, even more than the training itself, although I remain very grateful for the experience. From that moment on, I committed myself to sharing the benefits of Sound Healing through meditations, workshops, and courses, transmitting not only technical knowledge but above all my personal experience.

In 2014, I registered the Universe Gong brand and began sharing my knowledge through courses called "Universe Gong Training", for all those who wanted to discover the benefits of working with the Gong. Until 2019, I used gongs from a renowned German manufacturer in my training sessions.

Also in 2014, I started organizing Sound Healing Portugal, a four-day event designed to more openly promote the use of sound in Portugal.

That same year, I also had the opportunity to discover the Acama® Therapeutic Singing Bowls in Austria.

In 2016, I made the decision to definitively leave the profession of computer programmer and dedicate myself exclusively to promoting the therapeutic use of sound, through Singing Bowls and Gongs.

In 2017, I created the Escola Internacional de Taças Tibetanas, offering more structured courses with a more professional organization.

However, in 2019, I realized that my activity was too tied to reselling gongs from an established brand, when my true purpose was to create and promote instruments that reflected my own vision. That year, I began producing my own gongs in a small workshop of less than 30 m².

From 2019 to 2022, I crafted planetary gongs using traditional methods, working with nickel/silver alloy, common among manufacturers. However, in 2021, I felt the need to innovate and explore new sonic and aesthetic possibilities. I began researching new nickel alloys with distinct chemical compositions and started producing planetary gongs with different colors and unique acoustic characteristics, marking a new phase in the history of Universe Gong.

I create gongs out of passion and with the conviction that each gong holds an extraordinary ability to promote physical, emotional, and even spiritual healing - beyond the logical explanations known about the impact of vibration on the human body and mind.

Each gong I make is handcrafted, entirely by hand, with the conscious intention that it may serve as a tool capable of helping someone. This is the magic - the possibility that something I create can transform another person's life - and it is what motivates me every day to get up and continue this path.

In the first three years of production, I did everything myself: cleaning and preparing raw materials, designing, hammering, tuning, packing, shipping, speaking and responding to clients, invoicing, purchasing, customer service... a workload that soon became impossible.

In 2022, my first collaborator joined me to help with the production process.

In 2024, two more joined: my wife, in customer support, and another colleague for shipping and logistics.

In 2025, another collaborator joined, focused on international resellers.

Because I decided that my life mission is to create Gongs and share my knowledge about sound!

Over the past six years, I feel deeply grateful for having shipped gongs to 48 countries and for building an international network of partners who share the same principle as I do.

And, above all, for having by my side an amazing team!

Hug of Sound

Miguel

(History of the Universe Gong and benefits of the Gong)