Singing The Field

We are facing a defining moment, one in which the Earth calls out to us to embark upon a re-sacralisation of nature, a new ecological and spiritual beginning where we must consciously move from being a disrupting force on the Earth to a benign presence. The Great Work, Thomas Berry

Your authentic voice is a conduit for spirit. I call it your ‘naked voice’. It is the mouthpiece, muscle and messenger of your soul. It is older, wiser and deeper than your rational and dualistic ego would have you believe.  And yet, when expressed naturally and spontaneously, from the core of your being – without self-consciousness or the desire to perform or impress – it can connect you directly with your true nature, from a deeper “field” of energy — a spacious field of vibration, awareness and aliveness that brings you into resonance with yourself and your life, without fear, or separateness, restoring inner stillness and peace of mind.

In this article, I invite you to reflect upon and experience this all-inclusive field as a musical universe singing inside you. I call it a singing field, and for many years, since a child, I have loved to explore what or who it is that activates my human-body field as vibration, sound, and song, awakening a singing energy inside me fuelled by the alchemy of feeling, longing, and the hunger to know who I am, and who brought me here, who birthed wonder and reverence in my heart, and who instilled an interconnectedness with the great web of Life ?  Your naked voice is a unique key that opens the door of your soul into a new language of consciousness, sourced from the unique signature song of your soul.

Your sound has the power to release you from the imprisonment of duality. Your unique voice is not some separate “chattering thing” that you can use, and manoeuvre to control your separate existence on Earth. Once you remember that your whole life—body, heart, mind, soul, relationships—is a FIELD OF SOUND – and that this sound births the “field of energy” that you/we are, Life can begin to invoke new, embodied, courageous conversations.

In the words of the master Indian musician and teacher, Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Creation begins with the activity of consciousness, which may be called vibration, and every vibration starting from its original source is the same, differing only in its tone and rhythm caused by a greater or lesser degree of force behind it. On the plane of sound, vibration causes diversity of tone, and in the world of atoms, diversity of color. It is by massing together that the vibrations become audible, but at each step towards the surface, they multiply, and as they advance they materialize. “The Silent Life,” from Mysticism of Music, Sound and Word

Hazrat Inayat Khan goes on to explain that it is sound that gives human consciousness evidence of its existence. It is in fact the active part of consciousness itself, which turns into sound. The knower, becomes known to her/himself, and human consciousness can then bear witness to its own voice. This is why my respect for our sound – whether spoken, sung or silent – has become so essential and compelling. It is this respect which opens our ears, reminding us not to dismiss, disregard, shame, blame, forget or to ever to take our vocal sound for granted .

All things being derived from and formed of vibrations have sound hidden within them, as fire is hidden in flint; and each atom of the universe confesses by its tone, “My sole origin is sound.  Hazrat Inayat Khan

Sound and music have bridged generations and cultures for centuries, offering a unique and, as yet, untapped resource for the evolution of human harmony on Earth. As we access a deeper connection and resonance within ourselves as sound, we can begin to explore together how sound can create a harmonic resonance capable of unifying the most diverse groups and environments.

The beauty of shared sound and song is that it’s everyone’s birthright.  It helps us to listen deeply, to build self-esteem, awareness and acceptance, to dissolve friction, resolve differences, generate forgiveness, healing, and build mutual respect, access unexpected acts of kindness leading to conflict resolution. Singing from the heart – whether in the shower, the car or elsewhere –  ignites an aliveness that awakens the energies and qualities of love in surprising, unimaginable ways.

Singing in simple, safe, all-inclusive ways becomes the interconnective tissue of a community or culture, inspiring us to:

• Accept and sound our feelings without fear.
• Listen and communicate without negative judgment.
• Express the emotions of our disconnected shadow voice.
• Integrate and transform our terror of an external “enemy.”
• Shift from a “me first” to a “we first” communication.
• Generate mutual respect and harmonic resonance.
• Create cooperative and compassionate relationships.
• Empower conscious leadership and service.

So plunge into the truth, find out who the teacher is, Believe in the Great Sound. Kabir, Robert Bly

Chloë Goodchild, May 2018