I recently read an article in the New York Times entitled ‘In Zen Painting, It Takes Years of Practice to Do Almost Nothing’. 

One of the thesis of my Work, for me personally, has been the discovery that the Journey is never outward toward accomplishment, but always and only inward toward discovery of the deeper Self.

In this enlightening article about Zen painting, the subheading of the article says, ‘How do you make an artwork sing? Let your unconscious mind do it.’ 

Vocal Awareness teaches Communication Mastery, which is a metaphor for Life Mastery. In this Work, you will learn to become the best communicator you can possibly be, while at the same time learning to embody and fulfill your Self in True Mastery as well. 

The trigger for shifting our behavior from what I call unconscious to Consciously Aware is through breath. I am a classically trained singer with a master of arts in music. When I teach singing, I often will say “a song without a rest is not the same piece of music”. But in our current age, which I call ‘the fingers and thumbs age’, we are actually on the cusp of losing the art of public discourse. 

How challenging is it for us to look one in the eye and merely speak? How often do we IM somebody or text or email rather than pick up the phone, call, and talk with them? How often are we concerned on a daily basis with what others think about us? (which we are never going to know anyway, since we can't read their minds). But we are conditioned to seek approval. 

Claiming Your Vocal Power

Vocal Awareness teaches Empowerment Through Voice. So going back to how we shift our behavior so that we become more capable of Claiming Our Power and not presenting our Selves but being our Selves, we open the door to discovering what in Vocal Awareness is called a Conscious Loving Breath. 

Let's practice it. 

I am going to ask you in a moment to take a nice deep top of the morning breath. But before doing so, place one hand in the middle of your chest, right on your sternum, and the other hand right on your thyroid cartilage, right on your larynx, with your index finger just above it, touching the base of your tongue. 

Take a nice deep top of the morning breath now.

Notice how your larynx and tongue flex and your chest rises.

Now, keep that hand on your throat, and take the other hand and place it under your armpit and wait for me, and place it on the armpit. In a moment, I am going to ask you not to take a deep breath, rather allow a slow, silent, Conscious Loving Breath. Do not take it, you will allow it and please do not rush it. 

I am going to count you in, relax your neck and shoulders, and slowly, lovingly begin. 

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

And notice how you feel now.

You will notice that your larynx and tongue did not flex, they relaxed. And the chest did not rise, your ribcage expanded. And your internal and external space are instantly quiet. You will note that you also feel more relaxed, more grounded, more centered. 

The first breath that we all take when you gasp for our first breath of air, being expelled from the womb, is called an intercostal diaphragmatic breath. I just returned you to that primal breath by asking you to experience a slow, silent, Conscious Loving Breath, and enjoy it while you do so.

I hope to return to your primal breath by tapping into the word allow and the word love. In this moment, I'd like you to recognize that I haven't taught you something new. Rather, I've shown you what we all give away. 

So now, simply, of course, think about what I've just shared with you, and begin to practice it. Create 45 seconds or a minute before an important meeting, a phone call, virtual session, to allow a slow, silent, Conscious Loving Breath. That's five seconds, no rushing, and enjoy it while you do so. 

Notice how not only your voice changes, but your entire sense of Self is more embodied and more attuned. 

This is the first step in understanding, in all communication, it is not just the message that matters, but the messenger. 

Enjoy the discoveries that await you.

Start your Journey!