Welcome to Day 24 of our 40-Day Retreat.
Over the last sessions we have been speaking about the intellect at the centre of the brow. Previous to that, we spoke about the subtle energy centers within us that are called chakras. We said that they are all centres of ego expression, that you can express the ego or “I” quality through these centres.
Review of energy centres
Just to refresh your memory: at the top of the head at the crown centre we feel aligned to the Source – the divine power of the Universe. The ego is in the Source, inspired by the Source, united with the Source, and works in harmony with the Source when the crown centre is open and active. At the brow the mind is very much in operation, focus, concentration, introspection, intellect, intention, intuition. The throat is about vocal expression. The heart is about emotional expression. The navel is about vital energy in expression. The sacral area is sexual energy in expression, and at the base of the spine it is expressing in and through the structure of the physical body.
Those are centers inside of you: centres of action, centers of awareness, centres of the “I”. Just to remind you, we are dealing with these centers so you can work with them in terms of action in the world in a better way. These are centres of action. Our goal is how do we bring them in action in an intelligent way? I also talked about learning how to be wise in action.
A powerful instrument of expression
Today, we will deal with the throat, with vocal expression. As you can see, I am taking a sequence of going downwards. Here we can explore the power of words or speech through the voice centre. We are able to bring subtle energy or the ego into vocal expression using speech, and by extension, language. We are an organized developed society with complex languages. We can express our ideas, thoughts and feelings in words so that we can have a relationship with the world around us, with those who can understand the language.
Words have the power of influence, to inspire or degrade
It is important to note that when we speak and interact with our world, we can influence it through this vocal power, positively and negatively. I am sure if you reflect upon this, you will agree that we can lift people with our speech or words, or we can abuse them, demoralize and humiliate them, degrade them, and destabilize them using our words. So we can inspire with words or we can degrade with words, hence the importance of words in communication.
You carry a very powerful instrument of expression. When you begin to express in relationship it is certainly going to affect your own ego, your feeling as you express. When you are expressing your own power asserting your ego, there may be elation and excitement. And when you express anger, hate, bitterness you are likely to feel the effects of them which, of course, go towards undermining your well-being.
Use your power of speech wisely
As you journey on the path of self-development you need to use this power wisely. I say this because when you speak to someone, in the way of abusing them, (here we take the negative side) after you have spoken and abused and demoralized someone, that can be a very painful experience at the receiving end.
Let us say that you have become repentant and sorry and you have decided to make up for it, let us also say that the person agrees, then even though the situation may appear to be resolved, I would like you to remember that the memory remains. It is there. I am sure you remember people saying, “I will forgive you but I will not forget”. That echoes this situation.
Sometimes even though they speak intellectually about forgiving, I am not too sure whether at the depth of their being that that’s really forgotten in the way of true forgiveness. So when we use this power negatively, we have to be very careful about the after effects.
Scars left behind
I remember a little story about someone who was trying to teach another person a lesson about anger. He told him, “Every time you get angry, go and put a nail in the fence.” So every time he got angry he would put a nail in the fence, but he was trying to figure out what is the lesson in all of this? So he was told to go and pull out all the nails in the fence. All the nails are now out, and what do you see? The fence has a lot of holes. Something was left behind. The nails were out of the fence but they left holes. That is the scar of abuse.
Therefore if you think in a deeper way, these negative experiences influence the person in the future. They are remembered. You abuse a child, demoralize and humiliate them and then you try to make up for it, but that is a memory that is going to stay. Furthermore, it is going to affect the child later on. So those seeds of memory come back in the future if not dealt with in the right way. We therefore need to be very careful about what we leave people with when we use the power of words.
The discipline of speech
Conversely, you can lift people. You can give them gems to remember by the wonderful things you say to them, by the wonderful words of wisdom you offer them. These are going to remain with them as seeds in their memory. It will inspire and lift them, and make their journey in life a better one. Now, which would you rather do? Which one will bring you greater uplift?
On the spiritual path when people recognize what words can do, they want to remain quiet because they are seeking some kind of purity in speech. So they think, “I better stop speaking.” Others have taken the vow of silence, yet others have taken a vow not to speak for a day. And that’s fine, but I think there is something even better than that.
I think the discipline is not just about being quiet, because the mind can still be destructive and we can suppress the vocal expression. I think it’s more about being able to speak as much as is necessary, and to speak to uplift. So if someone wants to use speech on the spiritual path to help in development, the idea for me is the discipline of speech. Not just saying “I would not speak”. It’s the discipline of speech that’s more powerful.
Speech allows you to use your whole being
Speech allows you to use your whole being. It allows you to use every centre of energy as you express every chakra. The passion can come from your heart chakra, and healing. As you speak, vital energy can come from the navel centre. The lower centres can grant you and hold you in a very grounded or secure position physically and vitally. The brow can give you concentration in speech, mental power expressing itself in speech, the power of ideas and the power of imagination. The physical voice gives you vocal power that comes from the physical skill of the voice itself - how you manage tone, loudness, softness.
Speech as a tool for growth
When you are connected to the Source and you have a powerful crown awareness, then in a very natural way your speech becomes uplifting, because you are expressing the most sublime part of you in the speech. And speech becomes an instrument of spiritual expression. So those on the spiritual path can use speech or vocal expression in a powerful way as we do through singing, chanting, relating to each other, through communication of words and ideas as we have discussion. Speech becomes a tool for growth. We can use it as well in service, in making people happy, in guiding people along the spiritual path, and making the world a better place as well. We can use it in service as some people do in motivational speaking, guiding, presenting.
Different stages in the science of sound
I want to leave you with a science that is involved in speech. You will see this when you begin to observe a little more. In the ancient wisdom of the subtle energy called Kundalini, it is said that speech comes from the source of power inside of you, and the source of power or subtle energy comes from the base of the spine. It is said that the depth of speech comes from the base, the source of the energy itself. And as it arises it comes to the sacral or second centre, then the navel. When it comes there, you can give it the power of intentionality. You can increase the power of intention and will, and you can intensify the desire. When you are speaking, the intention or desire comes from lower down. When it comes to the heart, it allows you intelligent expression. You can use different qualities when it comes to the heart, and so the heart is said to be associated with the intellect when it comes to speech. And the final expression of speech is through the throat.
In the Sanskrit terminology, speech is said to be the deepest point called para. Then at the point of will and intentionality it is the second and third chakras. It is called pashyanti. It becomes visible and active. At the heart it is called madhyama, the middle. At the throat it is called vaikhari. These are the different stages in the science of sound. If you really begin to follow this in your expressions, you will actually see that the energy associated with sound comes from deep below.
Mastery of speech - a personal experience
I want you to observe how you can see this when you speak. Then I will like you to learn how to master this. When I speak that’s what I feel. I feel that this power is coming from way down in the base, and ends up through the voice. I use the vocal skills to tone the voice or to make it louder. However, I can feel that my voice is grounded deep inside of me and the power of the voice is coming from way low down. I can increase the intention of it from the second and third chakras, and then I can modify it at the heart. I can bring this wonderful quality in the heart. So I feel the mastery of speech in doing so, and I wish that you can have that experience if you observe more how speech flows.
Speech has great power: Power to influence, power to create spiritual growth through discipline and service. Speech follows a science that allows you to master it and to feel the source of energy that flows with speech.
I leave you with this today.
