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In the beginning, there was sound.
In the creation story in the first chapter of the gospel of John we hear, “In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God, and the word was God.” Words and language are collections of sounds, to which we attribute particular meanings so that we can understand each other. The word “universe” (uni versum) means “one word.” We might imagine that the entire universe consists of sound vibrations, pure and simple; said another way, everything is made of sound.
Non-Western cultures have known for millennia that sound can be used as a tool for healing or for altering consciousness. Sound—the voice—has been used as a means of achieving ecstasy along with ritual and religious purification, exemplified by Nada-yoga (the yoga of sound) in India. In this system, each sound frequency corresponds to one of the body’s chakras.
Shamanistic ritual music, like the holy songs and dances of the Sufi and polyphonic songs from Tibet, also use sound and the power of the voice as a tool to achieve a higher state of consciousness.
Hans Jenny, a doctor and researcher from Switzerland, did ground-breaking work on the influence sound can have on material things. His experiments sent sound waves through media such as water, milk and sand. Different frequencies cause different shapes to manifest themselves as the media vibrate, and Jenny documented these forms with photographs. It turns out that the same shapes caused by the vibrations are also visible at a molecular level. Jenny believed that the key to understanding how we can heal the body with the help of sound lies in our understanding of how different sound frequencies can influence genes, cells and various structures in the body.
Sound can create harmony or chaos
Sound can create harmony or chaos. Sound can penetrate the physical world. We are familiar with this from the Bible, in which Jericho’s walls fell with the help of the trumpets’ blast, and from the opera’s prima donna, who shatters glass and mirrors with her high C.
These are two examples of how sound can influence material things if we can find the frequency that can crack walls or shatter mirrors. And if we can do that, it would certainly be thought-provoking if we could also repair walls or mirrors with the help of sound! In any case, we certainly experience both the positive and negative manipulation of sound in our daily lives.
It is possible to react so violently to loud or powerful sounds that you are physically affected, experiencing headache or other bodily discomfort. This could result from irritating mechanical sounds at your workplace, or a teenager’s boomin
Lisbeth Hultmann
g rock beats hour after hour.
We use the voice consciously or unconsciously in our daily lives, and we react to it as well. When a mother comforts her child after he falls and hurts himself, she uses her voice intuitively. She drops into a lower register, speaking more calmly and slowly, as if she is caressing the child with her voice. And the child calms down. The power of sound and voice can penetrate the filters of intellect and mind to reach deep reservoirs of emotion, provoking a physical reaction. For example, sound vibrations from a big city can directly cause pain, fatigue and nausea. But after coming home and listening to a CD with favourite songs, the physical discomfort can transform in just moments to bliss and well-being. The singing has restored harmony and balance.
Lisbeth Hultmann, a Danish professional opera singer and a certified gestalt therapist, has described in her book “The Power of the Voice” the correlation between your Voice Type and your personality. She lives in Gilleleje, Denmark.
The Power of the Voice, Know your Voice - Know Yourself by Lisbeth Hultmann will be published by Ayni Books, August 2013.
- Do you know what it’s like, when you hear a voice that suddenly and without warning betrays a trembling insecurity behind the self-assured mask, becoming raspy and hoarse, cracked, or blocked by a lump in the throat?
- Do you know what it’s like, when a good friend only has to say “hi” on the phone, and you know immediately that something’s wrong? Do you know those who—in certain situations—have to clear their throats constantly?
The voice reveals the body’s secrets—but it is also a tool with which we can resolve our obstacles. Everything we forget, our body remembers. And everything the body remembers is reflected in the voice.
Our conscious mind reacts to words, but our emotions react to the voice. Words can lie, but the voice never lies.
The voice closes the deal—or bungles it for us and therefore it can be of great help to be conscious about our own voice and the signals it reflects.
The Power of the Voice offers you the tools to understand which kind of Voice Type you are, which advantages and disadvantages it gives you, and how to work with it. So, if you want to know more about the many possibilities of expression of your voice, or if you have trouble with speaking too loud, too low, too fast or if you mumble or get hoarse, which makes your communication insufficient, you will receive help in this book.
Paperback
978-1-78099-938-8 | $16.95 | £9.99 | 8.5x5.5 inches | 216x140 mm | 140PP
eBook
978-1-78099-937-1 | $9.99 | £6.99
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