Pleasure Leonardo,
I wrote 4 emails on "The Power of the Spoken Word" which I can post on here, if that is okay.I would love to read those emails so, yes, please do post them here.
Thank you Sid. Looking forward to that.
The text is quite long, and one of the links is old and no longer works.
Greetings to one and all on this august forum,
As I have mentioned before I have always had an interest in the spoken word, in fact it has been said that I talk too much, and if the truth were to be known if you were to give me the time and enough space I could talk the wallpaper off the wall.
Writing is a very different matter and I find it very difficult indeed. My thoughts are faster than the words that finally reach the paper and they are not the same. Anyway - 'whatever' as they say in Pittsburgh.
In our 'Rosicrucian Manual' (AMORC) it is written that "Ontology teaches what are the universal and natural laws."
It is also clearly stated in the Rosicrucian ontology (and number 4 of the "Rosicrucian Creed") that: "God breathed into Man the Breath of Life and Man became a living Soul".
Also in the same Manual (page 62 depending upon which version you have) you will find the sentence "In the beginning was the word" and after the sequence of 12 symbols, with explainations, the words:
"And in this wise was the triangle of 3 equal sides, called the TETRAGRAMMATON, produced by Law."
So what does all this have to do with the 'power of the spoken word'?
Well at birth we take our first breath and let out our first cry (some louder than others) and from this time on we are linked with the above.
In our early studies we learn about vibrations. We learn that regardless of the fact that there are a multitude of different types of vibrations we are told that there are are in fact only 2 types i.e., 1. The vibrations that God sends out, and 2. The vibrations that we send out.
In our studies we learn the importance of being "True of Voice" but I believe that the actual subject of the 'power of the spoken word' has been sorely negleted (I may be wrong) but I do not remember reading anything on the subject.
Learning about the 'spoken word' is like learning a foreign language it is not like learning an intelectual subject in school, but more a skill in observation and listening, and as an anology it can be compared to learning to swim i.e., to learn to swim one has to get into the water and 'get wet'. There is no way one can just sit next to the pool with lots of books about how to swim and expect to stay afloat if one falls into the water.
If you have a serious interest in 'getting wet' with regards to actually discovering the power of the spoken word then, if you have not already done so, take a few courses on rhetoric, body language, projection of the voice, speaking to the public and giving lectures etc., etc.
The aim is to make a study of the subject from a Rosicrucian point of view because the *metaphysics of the subject are of the utmost importance to the Rosicrucian student; in fact it may well be the 'missing link' that you have been looking for for so long in your studies upon the path. Never-the-less your research and experience upon the subject of the spoken word and its power and potential will certainly be an adventure in learning for you as a Rosicrucian student.
*Metaphysics - An inquiry into ultimate and fundamental reality or the nature of being. Also an inquiry into the nature of knowledge. - Rosicrucian Manual
May I suggest that you purchase a notebook so that you can make notes on your studies on the subject of the spoken word?
Write the words *VOX in large letters on the title page and underneath the words "May I be true of voice."
*VOX is a latin word for voice, tone, speech, word, expression etc.
You may also find it of value to study the above mentioned page in your Rosicrucian manual and its importance may be revealed to you in your studies and meditations.
Please participate in this important discussion with your thoughts and experiences, so that through this exchange we may all gain further insights and knowledge in this important subject. A subject that is a living part of our personal landscape from our first breath at birth until our transition.
If you are not already a member of the Confraternity of the Rose Cross (CR+C) and have a sincere interest in the study of Rosicrucianism, then I am sure that you will find the "Introductory Monograph" by our Imperator Gary L. Stewart, very enlightening.
Regards,
Sid
+++/777/LLL + one "L" for laughter from Dr. John, who was one of the "old guard", and an untireing worker in worship and service,who was a staunch defender of the Order, and the integrity of the person and the Office of Imperator, a Brother and a friend to many of us, who was always "true of voice".
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The Power of the Spoken Word (2)
I'm not sure where to start, but I thought it best to start anyway, and just see how things unfold.
We know the words, "To speak from the heart", or "To speak with the words of the heart", to listen with the ears of the heart, and to see with the eyes of the heart. Perhaps you remember the drawings from ancient Egypt where the Soul stands before the scales to be judged, where there is a 'feather' on one side of the scale and the vehicle, container, or hyeroglyph of the heart, on the other side of the scale. The feather being the symbol for the Egyptian word for truth, and the Godess called Maat, with the candidate's heart being measured with 'truth'. It may also be of some interest to you to know that the statue of Thuthmese III at Rosicrucian Park in San José, also stands upon a wedged shaped
symbol for the Egyptian word for truth, i.e., he is not only 'true of voice' but even the ground upon which he stands is 'truth', meaning that he walks in truth.
There is also an old saying roughly translated "If that which you wish to say is not nicer than silence, then don't say it.", (not always an easy thing to do), so the power of the spoken word also has a lot to do with silence, as well as the observation of the person speaking, as well.
"Speak, only to prepared ears", is another.
As a daily exercise in observation, turn off the sound of your TV and watch a large selection of different people speaking on different channels. Observe their facial expressions, eye contact and body language etc.
Research has also shown that many people watch the lips and the mouth of the person that is speaking to them, some concentrate upon the eyes. Some people turn their face slightly and look more with one eye than the other, and if my memory serves me well, when a woman looks more with the left eye she probably has experienced greater dominance from her father during her upbringing. With a man who uses the left eye, I believe it shows a stronger influence of the mother in his childhood.
There are many places where one can also observe people talking to each other, as well, in a café or restaurant, on their cell phone, people at work, and you can go to a lecture etc.
If you have a family, then you can observe their use of the spoken word, their state of mind and emotions, happy or sad, frustrated or angry and so on.
Do you speak English only, or do you understand more than one language, and have you ever been to a foreign country? Do you have a specific language that you like, and if so why? Have you looked into it? In an experiment with sparrows taken from New York to San Francisco, sientists discovered that the sparrows actually changed the sound of their tune from that of where that had been taken. In the same way that people in every walk of life have a dialekt of some kind, and sometimes one can tell where someone is from, their education and status etc., just by listening to how they speak and the words they use.
In a language school where I used to work in the evenings, we had a large selection of dictionaries, and for the metal industry alone there were 2 volumns. Each profession, pastime, line of interest etc., has its own vocabulary, which also makes the study of language and its use very interesting and worthwhile. Language is not just another subject that one learns at school, it is a skill, and much like swimming, you have to get into it and get wet to discover what it really is, and to discover its many facets and uses.
As another personal example, I went to live in Canada (Vancouver) for about 7 months when I was a kid, and went to school (12th grade) in a small town called Agazzi in BC. Anyway, when I returned to the UK I was driving everyone absolutly nuts because I would end virtually every sentance with 'hey'. Am I glad that I got rid of that one.
As another exercise, try and read your daily newspaper aloud, or a book that you are reading, and you will notice a difference, in that it is something that you have perhaps neglected or are not used to.
Do you read to your children, and did your parents read to you when you were a child? All of these things are very important from the very first day that a child is born i.e., language and the spoken word.
Today, many children are just sat in front of the TV to keep them quiet, and people wonder why we have a problem with communication. There is nothing wrong with TV as long as there is a balance with regards to the use of the spoken word, and communication with adults and other children. How can a child discover the power, importance and value of the spoken word if they just sit in front of a PC and play games all the time? How many children have rarely had a conversation with an adult? Do you consciously make an effort to speak to your child, or children, other than the usual "How was school today?"?
When was the last time you you said "Thank you!" to someone?
Many years ago while I was watching a telivision programm here in Germany about the native American Indians, their trabal customs etc., an Indian woman from the Black Hills (Siox?) started to speak in her native tongue, well my whole body started to tingle and rush, it was as if she was speaking to the hills, to her tribe and to her ancestors, and from the heart. For me it was like another initiation into the power of the spoken word.
My first memorable introduction to the subject of the spoken word was many years ago in dreams, and one day while I was visiting the office of the Francis Bacon Lodge in London (just passing through), an elderly Brother (one of the old guard) turned up and we started talking about dreams, the spoken word, vowels sounds, and the receipt of words in dreams etc. He also was able to tell me the meaning of a word that I had experienced in a dream, and continued by telling me about a member of his family knew the power of the spoken word, and was very skilled in its use. She used it in an old lullaby that she would sing to her baby, and using the power of the words she would actually wrap her baby in protective strands of silk, via the use of the words in the song, and sing her baby to sleep.
Another exercise: Take some time and think about something that you would like to say to your partner, husband or wife, children etc., and after some 'thought', write 'what' you would like to say in your VOX notebook with the time and date. Then become aware of 'why' you want to say the words, before you say them, and looking upon the words as a 'vehicle' place your thoughts, love affection and emotion into the sentence, either while you are writing it down or after you have written it down. When the time has come to say i.e., release the words that you have written down, look the person in the eyes and speak from the heart.
This same exercise can also be used at your place of work. Perhaps there is someone whom you have not praised lately, someone who has gone that extra mile for the department, or an extra hour for the company. Someone that you have perhaps taken for granted. How about your friends and neibours? How about the lady at the shop? If she is looking nice to day then why not say it? There are many examples, and I am sure you will make many discoveries when you start to understand, fully, the power of the spoken word.
When we use the spoken word we are using vibrations, cosmic and metaphysical laws, and we project and send out into space that which others receive.
The permanent thing about all these phenomena is the 'invisible force or power' behind the manifestation of the spoken word. 'The letter or word itself' for expressing the force, has no power of itself, and the letter or word in and of itself as a vehicle cannot create a manifestation.
In the same way that metal, copper, gold and silver etc., do not have power in and of themselves, so to is it much the same with the 26 letters of the alphabet, but when words are set into motion, they become collectors and transmittors of a force that we call language and the power of the spoken word.
In the use of the spoken word, it is the form through the use of words, as a vehicle expressing the force or vibrations that we put into them, and it is not believed to be in the vibration, itself, but rather it is the vibration that creates the form and expresses itself through it, while at the same time, transcending it. This principle flows throughout all forms of language touching all life, giving it power, motion, and quality. These in turn touch the landscape of our mind, thereby influencing our body, heart beat, thoughts, emotions, our psychic body, and state of mind, both for good or bad.
To quote from a past article "Without the vibration and the law, the form is dead. Likewise, without form or instrument the vibration cannot function."
If I were to give a lecture and mention the colour 'yellow' or 'blue' you would automaticly think of these colours and not the actual word 'yellow' or 'blue'.
When working with the power of the spoken word we would do well to remember an important rule i.e., "That which you send out will return to you."
Regards,
Sid
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The Power of the Spoken Word 3
Greetings,
The following text has not been changed or adapted for this forum, so if it contains anything that you feel does not belong to your own personal landscape then just disregard those parts, and replace them with your own examples. - Sid
The Power of the Spoken Word 3
To continue in your research into the power of the spoken word you may find it of some value and interest to purchase a few tapes or CDs of lectures, and just listen, observe and feel the voice of the speaker. Some of you may be fortunate enough to still have the original tape of H. Spencer Lewis and some of the tapes by Ralph M. Lewis. These are very interesting Rosicrucian tapes in their own right, but even more so from the point of view with regards to the study and observation of the spoken word. A number of tapes were also made from the open forums that were held in a number of cities around the world, in which Ralph M.
Lewis' sucessor Gary L. Stewart answers members questions and discusses the subject of Rosicrucianism etc.
Another very interesting voice that I strongly recomend for your further study of the spoken word is that of the past Grand Master of Great Britain Raymund Andrea. I understand that there were only 2 tapes made containing 4 lectures by him. Some people did not like his first two books called "The Technique of the Disciple" and "The Technique of the Master", because they were regarded by some as being too devotional, but nevertheless I personally belive that they have considerable value, especially for the young Rosicrucian student upon the path. His 4 booklets containing Rosicrucian essays that were published privately by the Francis Bacon Lodge in London, are very different indeed in
comparison to his previous work, and are of considerable value and importance for both the new member and the more advanced alike. Why? Because he is writing from a wealth of many years of personal experience within a Rosicrucian landscape. Now it you receive great inspiration and illumination etc., from the written word then think how much more experience can be gained from listening to the spoken word of those who are "True of Voice" who are speaking from personal
experience and from the heart.
Do you still remember the tape "Secreto Eterno" that Dr. John was so interested in, and the very special "King's Chamber Vowels" with the visualization on a moonlit night in Egypt? As you know in our studies we learn about the use of vowel sounds, and these are used in our Convocations as well, but has anyone actually gone deeper into the actual power of the spoken voice?
While listening to the spoken word you will often discover that one is very quickly 'drawn into' the actual words of the speaker, and your mind starts to analyse and react to what the person is saying to you and one starts to travel with them upon the path of the spoken word. How often have you been drawn into a conversation, even when you are listening to what strangers are talking about, you will find that it is not long before you are walking in their landscape.
Have you ever 'projected' the thought of a word into a group of people sitting at a table, just to see who picks it up first. There is also a simple exercise where one can work with another person to see how a conversation amongs a group of people can be directed and changed. I believe it is called "The acorn and the elephant" exercise, where one can literly change a conversation to start talking about an acorn, and finally end up talking about an elephant. Great fun when kangaroos meet at the pub club.
When you have a moment look up the subject of the vocal chords in a medical dictionary or a medical encyclopedia. Then consider the drawings by Robert Fludd in the booklet by Joscelyn Godwin, called "Robert Fludd" Hermetic philosopher and surveyor of two worlds, published by Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-81017-6. Pay attention to the drawings especially when they show someone speaking or using the breath.
As a simple exercise, try and utter a sound without air from the lungs, and you will notice that it cannot be done. Empty your lungs and then try, and you will see that it is impossible. Therefore we require the air that is first breathed into the lungs first, before it is projected through the vocal chords in the throat. The throat is like a round pipe and the chords are like an open line through a circle through which the air passes. Now, there are a number of drawings by Fludd on the subject of "The Divine Monochord" and "The Great Monochord", "The Elemental Monochord", and that of a picture of a Man in which ..."the Spiritus Mundi, the limpid spirit, represented by a string. It extends from God to the earth" ... etc. It is the proverbial tightening of this string or chord as in the tuning of a musical instrument that is so rare and so difficult for the student upon the path, i.e., it is a living process to which we become linked once we have taken our first breath at birth.
Regarding "The Great Monochord": "Fludd's syncretic cosmology is summarized here in its fullest form. Four all-embracing statements stand at the top:" (of the chart or drawing) (JG).,
"The monad generates a monad and reflects its ardour in itself."
"The One is all things and all things are One."
"GOD is all that there is; from him all things proceed and to him all things must return."
"The infinite dimension of the Tetragrammaton: in and between all things."
In another drawing from a work in which Fludd makes a study of the pulse and the blood, and two quotes from the Bible are written on the page, the first 'above' "My bones are pierced in me in the night season; and my pulse takes no rest" (Job 30.17). and in the circle with a heart in its centre, the words "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live" (Ezekiel 37.9).
There is also a drawing called "The System of the Universal Pulse".
In Russia there are monks who withdraw into the silence of their cells to prepare themselves over a period of many days for an exercise in which the blood is actually saturated by the Lord's Prayer through long hours and focus upon the heart. It has been written that this is a dangerous exercise so I am not suggesting that anyone should experiment with this. It is only given here as another example of the use of the spoken word.
In another personal example, as a child I experienced Holy Mass in Latin, and found the whole atmosphere very moving and till this day I have a special feeling for Gregorian Chant for this reason. Unfortunately, after the Mass was changed to English it lost all its magic for me, and it 'felt' like an empty shell. Fortunately one can still get the Mass in Latin on CD, and though rare there are still churches where Latin Mass is said. I would suggest that it is the spirituality that is put into the vehicle of the Latin, and not the Latin itself. Meaning that any culture, religion and language can carry and contain spirituality within the spoken word.
To close this chapter I would just like to mention a rare Rosicrucian called Heinrich Khunrath, and what he had to say about people and the spoken word. He was known to be a man of few words, and wrote that one can recognise a bird by its feathers, and by its beak, and its song, in the same manner one can recognise a person by what they say and the way that they say it. When I find the exact part of the text in old German I will give you the exact translation and wording at another time.
Consider the importance of 'silence' with regards to the actual power of the spoken word i.e., its use and non-use both within the mundane world and upon the spiritual path as well, and perhaps you will remember the article by H. Spencer Lewis called the "Magic Power of Secrecy". More about this another time, but in simple terms if you have a dream, or a plan of action etc., then refrain from speaking about. Do not waste your mental energy through the incorrect use of the spoken word and at the wrong time.
Successful people are silent people. At least they know by personal experience when to speak and when not to.
Regards,
Sid
P.S. If you are ever in a pub, do not start a conversation with a kangaroo
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The Power of the spoken Word 4
Another exercise:
1.) *Enclosed for your meditations is a symbol from a work by Heinrich Khunrath.
*Will post it in your photo album at another time, and a clearer and more modern version will also be posted in the photo album as well.
Go to the photo album at "Yahoo" groups: "The Pittsburgh Rosicrucian." at URL:
groups.yahoo.com/group/the_pi...h_rosicrucian/The small circle in the middle represents the 'absolute', as well as a number of forms of the universal Monad 'before a period in the past', to the more than perfect and general unity of ONE/part, as well as the 'plusquamperfectum' (more than finished) of an action before a time in the past, of the general and natural ONE. Out of/from the impure and rough ONE in/to the (becomes the) highest and purest subtle ONE." - Heinrich Khunrath (roughly translated)
Khunrath mentioned 3 types of perfection:
1. That which had been 'perfected' before a time in the past.
2. That which was perfect.
3. That which was more than perfect.
In the purest form of this symbol there is no small circle in the middle of the circle, square and triangle. This I believe to be the purest state or condition that is 'within' the centre of the 'tetrahedron'.
2.) Look up the information on the internet or in a medical dictionary about the vocal chords, and how speech is formed etc., and pay special attention to the shape of the voice box etc.
3.) Then go to the following website and view all the plates of Khunrath.
www.library.wisc.edu/librarie...nrath/bib.htmlOr you can go direct to the thumbnails of the plates at:
www.library.wisc.edu/librarie...th/thumbs.htmlThere you will find a number of examples regarding the spoken word, especially the plate that has a figure kneeling inside a triangle of words in 3 layers.
In the plate where Khunrath is kneeling in front of his Sanctum or Oratorium you will notice that on the right hand side of the room is his Laboratory. Take a close look at this plate and allow it to enter your landscape.
Those of you who remember what you received "In work and Worship" at the completion of the 1st degree Initiation will find this plate of special interest
as Khunrath's room is (worship) ORA et LABORA (work). In the middle of the plate you will see an empty chair which has a small symbol that I am sure has a secial meaning to members of the Masonic Order, as well as to our Rosicrucian students on the forum.
In the Rosicrucian Manual, H. Spencer Lewis reminded us to remember the degrees 60° and 120°, which is a possible reference to the chair in the middle of the plate.
In the same way as the different sides of the human body have polarity so too do each side of the vocal chords as you look at them and I believe as Khunrath was refering to them in the completed Work as AGENS and PATIENS which are also in the plates, with both together representing 'Quintessance' in all 3 symbols.
Regards,
Sid