The Sword of the Voice - The Tongue

Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t find your voice?

That time when the words just didn’t come to you in an argument or a conversation with a friend when mean or inappropriate words are spoken to you and you find yourself at a loss for words.

Your tongue feels tied, and your nervous system kicks in telling you to stay out of harms way by not speaking up.

It says, ‘nope, you don’t need to say anything, just keep quiet,’ or, ‘they didn’t really mean that, I can let that go, yup I can.’

But you don’t. All your thinking is, ‘did she? No she didn’t, really? I must be hearing wrong, no he didn’t just say that!’ And then you go through all the scenarios of what you might’ve said all night. Sigh.

The quickest way way to heal something is by saying something.

But it’s not just as easy as that is it? Saying something that is clear, direct, respectful of the other person and not angry but firm is a skill to be sure.
There is something unshakeable in those who effortlessly navigate this skill with grace.

For almost 12 years, I had the privilege of learning from Donna Armstrong, an amazing woman who was a master in the art of teaching this very skill.

In addition to various other trainings, she underwent extensive training and authored the manual for Voice Dialogue International. This body of work, developed by Hal and Sidra Stone, delves into the study of Psychological Selves - Selves like the Critic and the Perfectionist.

If I was struggling as to how to say what I needed to say to someone she would help me break down every sentence word for word to see what the energy was inside of it.

When struggling to articulate my thoughts, Donna would meticulously break down each sentence, identifying the energy within it and deciphering which aspect of myself was speaking—be it the Victim, the Controller, the Bitch, the Manipulator, or the Patriarch, among others.

Over the years that I worked with her she helped me to understand all of the parts of me that were trying to protect me or hide me from saying what needed to be said in order to help me feel safe. She then guided me to activate the Selves that could help me to express what needed to be said.

We would pull the fabric of the energy apart to see what was really going on and then clean it up and put it back together so I could speak from the present moment and not from the past.

Donna passed away a few years ago, leaving behind a profound legacy that I feel blessed to carry within me. Her teachings allowed me to understand and integrate the various aspects of myself not just in theory but in my whole heart and being.

The work of giving the tongue a brain involves being direct and clear, allowing words to flow naturally in sync with the power centre. The more we learn to do this the more the heart can really heal.

Donna introduced me to the Archetypes of the body, explaining the truth-telling role of the Queen of the throat, the protective nature of the King of the Crown centre, and the wisdom of the Sage in the 3rd eye.

She guided me in working with the Warrior in the power centre, purifying this aspect to prevent it from being paralyzed by fear or stuck in anger.

The work of The Natural Voice is to awaken your true nature and the Queen of the throat is your true nature. She is a part of us all that speaks on behalf of the needs and wants of the land. The land is the body and her job is to take care of it.

Activating this clear power of truth through the study of singing is a beautiful path and to speak direct and clear in the moment when it is necessary is very, very healing.

The voice delivers the power of the word and the tongue is the sword that shapes this power.

"The sound that grounds is the ground that sounds."