“I Give You My Word”
Reflections on Sound, Sacred Listening and Creating Our Reality
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According to an eastern framework for understanding the body, the throat chakra is our center of communication. I once heard it described as a pressure value for our body. We can either build up held back words to the point of potential explosion, or we can speak incessantly (or carelessly) and deflate our energy. This center is about speaking our truth, yes, but also about listening. Have you ever thought about the fact that the throat and the ears are just inches away from one another? This is obvious, and yet how often do we consciously consider the relationship between our voice and our ears?
There is a beautiful flower called Allamanda Cathartica. I looked up Allamanda’s botanical information and in the bloom description it says, “yellow with white throat markings.” Perhaps it is interesting to think about what it means to have white light in the throat? According to Green Hope Farm, Allamanda’s affirmation is: “I AM attuned to the voice of the Creator.” Taking the Allamanda flower essence clears the energetic band around the head that filters the content that comes into the ears. If we have been exposed to harsh communications, such as fighting in the home, this band can become clogged and block our ability to hear the truth. It occurred to me that when we have a block to hearing the truth, we also have difficulty speaking our truth. This is one way in which the throat center works symbiotically with the ears.
In Native American culture, it is my understanding that some societies have placed great emphasis on sacred listening. Additionally, there is a cultural awareness of using words judiciously. This is because words carry power, and in speaking, we “spend” some of our power. There is also a vibration to everything we speak and everything we hear — all sound embodies a vibration. The vibrations we create through our voice reverberate internally in our bodies. As we externalize the sound of our voice, we also hear the sound and take it in through our own ears. In his book Sound: Native Teachings and Visionary Art, Joseph Rael says, “I have spent fifty years trying to teach this truth: Sound is powerful…The power is not primarily in the intellectual concepts language is expressing, but in the very sounds of the words.” Why is this important? Because we can learn to use our voice in an effective manner to create conditions of peace. Rael says, “Sound can teach us a way to create without destruction.”
A balance of listening and speaking allows us to maintain balance within our energy and our body — we are neither on the brink of explosion nor physically exhausted. This balance of speaking and listening is also an internal art. I recently took a course with Eckhart Tolle, a great contemporary spiritual teacher. He talks about the importance of learning to exist in the state of ‘Being.’ This is in balance with the state of ‘Doing.’ In the context of my topic, I can relate ‘Being’ to listening and ‘Doing’ to talking. These concepts also refer to the internal state of our mind. When our mind is constantly busy with thoughts, we are talking to the Universe. Likewise, when we quiet the mind, we are listening to the Universe. So, this dynamic of balancing our energy is external — by speaking and listening to others; and internal — by speaking and listening to the Universe, or our deepest self.
I wanted to write this article to explore the phrase: “I give you my word.” Perhaps we have heard this most often in movies. Can you think of a time when you have heard this? It carries weight, doesn’t it? If a writer uses it effectively and an actor effectively verbalizes it, we literally feel the underlying contract. The phrase “you have my word” is recognized as part of the chivalric code which developed between 1170 and 1220. The intention was that this statement served as a bond, a surety, of a commitment to complete or adhere to whatever was promised through this statement. From a more esoteric perspective, it is an energetic contract that binds two souls. If one utters these words and then does not adhere to what is committed, there are consequences at the soul level. When we deeply realize the significance of giving our word, we can begin to use the voice consciously and judiciously. We start to understand the power associated with our voice, and how we create with the vibration and verbal contracts we make.
In Paul Selig’s book, I Am The Word, he shares some interesting perspectives on the concept of “the word.” “The Word is the vibration of God in action. Word is action. It is creation.” He also gives a method by which to align ourselves with the Creator. The phrase “I AM Word through my body,” is a decree by which to align ourselves with the pure vibration of the initial creation. Per Selig, “’I AM Word’ commands the change on the level of particle response, so that your entire frequency, physical and consciousness form, will begin to realign itself to the frequency of God.” Regarding terminology, it makes sense to use the word God interchangeably with Universe, Source, or whatever term fits with an individuals’ world view and beliefs. Acknowledgment of a deity is not necessary to understand the truth of what is being conveyed — that we came from a pure, harmonious frequency and that we can return to this pure frequency through stating our intention and mastering our inner and external voice.
“’I AM Word’ commands the change on the level of particle response, so that your entire frequency, physical and consciousness form, will begin to realign itself to the frequency of God.” — Paul Selig
To further clarify, our words create our reality in the same way that we were created — through vibration, which is synonymous with the concept of “the word.” Vibration arises from Beingness. Eckhart Tolle calls this the “vertical dimension,” which is also timeless. Quieting the mind in the vertical dimension means experiencing the state that precedes creation. From silence, something arises in consciousness and is birthed as vibration, as sound. The urge of consciousness steps down through multiple levels of vibration until it has the density, the form, that we can see with our eyes. We are the Word made manifest. Rael says, “…from nothing comes all that is.”
Viewed in this light, “you have my word” takes on a much deeper significance. It is not a commitment to make lightly. On one level, we can view this phrase as a contract between two souls, and on another level, we can view it as a contract with the Creator. I, Creator, give you, Creator, my Word.
For those interested in energy healing and working with past lives, it seems relevant to spend some time in meditation considering any lives or realities in which we have “given our word.” We can renegotiate any contracts that are still open, and in doing this work, potentially make a huge difference in our present life experience. Of course, this is not something to undertake lightly. I recommend ensuring that your heart is open and clear before engaging in such renegotiations. The connection between the throat and other energy centers such as the heart is also important. Let us save that discussion for another day, while in the meantime we consider the significance of our words.
Word I Am Word. And so it is.
