Echo

A woman and her daughter were climbing the mountain gathering herbs and medicinal plants. The daughter nearly tripped over a half buried stone as they passed through a hollow, and stubbing her toe, she yelled out in pain, "Oooww!!"

Just then, the daughter heard a cry from the other side of the hollow, "Oooww!!"

Curious, the daughter yelled into the hollow, "Who is there?" to which came the reply "Who is there?"

This made the daughter indignant, thinking someone was playing a cruel game, so she yelled, "You are nothing to me!" And the voice answered in kind, "You are nothing to me!"

The daughter caught up with her mother who was some distance ahead humored by what was happening.

"Daughter," the woman said, "Pay attention!" Then the mother yelled, "You are beautiful!" to which the voice replied, "You are beautiful!" Then the mother yelled, "I love you!" and the voice echoed back, "I love you!"

The mother explained to her open mouthed daughter that the voice is known as Echo, but truly it is the voice of life. "Life always gives back to us what we put out, a mirror of our thoughts, words, and deeds. If you want to have a friend, be one. If you want compassion, give it. If you desire others to be patient and respectful of you, give your patience and respect to them. This is the law."

Happy New Year!

Prayer for Self-Acceptance

(adapted from the Open Heart Prayer of the Padmacahaya Foundation)

Divine Love and Inspiration
I thank you for all of the blessings you bestow upon me.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to accept I am human, and therefore, I sometimes hate and reject myself. Please help me to accept all that I deny within myself, so that I may learn to enjoy life including my habits, personality, weaknesses, and ignorance.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to hear and see the way my thoughts, words and actions are self-rejecting and hateful that I may bring love to them.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to forgive myself and others even when I still feel frustration, resentment, sorrow, irritation, fear and anger.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to love and respect myself including when I behave with arrogance, selfishness, jealousy, and self- loathing.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to love and respect myself including all of my mistakes, fears, worries, burdens and dissatisfactions.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me so that I may learn not to fear darkness, to know that no darkness can contaminate or limit you.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Bless me that I may trust I am Your instrument whether I am filled with calm and peace or filled with anxiety and pain.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to know you are within me so that I may cease my painful searching for you outside of myself. Grace me that I may accept your presence within me and your unconditional love for me.

Divine Love and Inspiration
May I trust that Your Love and Light radiates without limit to fill, illuminate and purify all beings, the entire Earth, the Universe and all existence.

Divine Love and Inspiration
Grace me to accept all paradox beyond my understanding and to trust in your wisdom and love for me above all reason. I thank you for all the blessings that you bestow upon me. I now offer my silence so that I may be closer to you.

Twas the Night Before Christmas (2008)

A special MP3 for my family and friends to celebrate this holiday season...

Mrs. Clause has shared some bad financial news, and Santa's plans fall through. Now who will bailout our weary hero and save Christmas? Listen and celebrate the true meaning of the season.

Twas the Night Before Christmas 2008

Ho Ho Ho

The World of Sound Healing - Part V: Finding a Practitioner

Once you are drawn by a particular form of sound healing, the next step is to find someone to work with. If you are lucky enough to live in Asheville, NC, you'll have a very wide range of practitioners to choose from. Asheville is blessed to have many well-trained and unique sound healers. But no matter where you live, you are bound to find excellent resources close to home with an internet search. Having chosen which form of sound healing to explore, remember that every practitioner, no matter the modality, is going to offer what reflects his or her individual life experience. So choose someone with whom you resonate (pun intended) by asking about their own healing journey. Sound healing requires a great deal of positive intent, focus, and attention. There's so much more to it than just banging a drum or singing or tune. Practitioners will be far more likely to access certain depths if they have plunged those depths themselves, providing you a much richer and powerful facilitation. Enjoy your travels!

The World of Sound Healing - Part IV

Tuning Forks
Tuning forks, similar to those used to tune a piano, are also used as instruments of healing. One system of using tuning forks called Acutonics is similar to acupuncture, but rather than inserting needles, special tuning forks are used along the meridians, or energy pathways, of the body. The vibrations created by the tuning forks are received through the body recalibrating organs and cells and bringing about a healthy vitality and restored balance.

Individualized Compositions & Specialized Equipment

Many sound healing practitioners are skilled musicians and improvisationalists able to bring forth music that is created specifically for an individual, group of individuals, or a specific intent such as “world peace” or “DNA activation” either live, in CD form, or both. This music can then be used by an individual for meditation, movement, or relaxation. The personalized intent behind the music continues to work with all levels of the listener’s consciousness, bringing about the realization of that intent often first by clearing that which is preventing it and then by supporting its unfoldment. The benefits of such music composed especially for healing can be accentuated through the use of specialized sound healing environments and tools. Sound tables, similar to massage tables, contain specifically placed audio equipment to deliver sounds directly to the body and are sometimes enhanced by sacred geometric design or highly resonant materials such as gemstones or copper. Sound chambers, specially designed rooms, some using light as well as sound, further heighten and intensify the delivery of sounds to the body.

The World of Sound Healing - Part III: Tibetan & Tribal Instruments

The Tibetans, particularly Bon shaman, are masters at healing with sound. Tibetan bowls, bells, ting-shas, the shang, gongs, and other instruments are used to shake up the energy in the body and dispel disease, shift stagnated energy, or fill the body with healthy vitality. For example, ting-shas are special bells used to scan the body and actually change pitch or timbre to signify energies in the body that need to be cleared. Bowls are sometimes placed on or around the body to allow their vibration to penetrate into the cells while bells and gongs are played near or around the body to shower it with intense, audible vibrations. Science has shown that Tibetan bowls emit alpha waves which are very like the waves emitted by the brain in meditation. Achieving this state is essential to healing as it activates the body’s own wisdom to heal itself.




Drums and rattles are tools used by shamans of cultures all over the world for their healing benefits. Percussive instruments shake up stagnant energy, bringing space and new life to your energetic field. Rattles, for example, are easy enough for anyone to use just about anywhere. Use them after an argument to clear the air, in the car to dispel road rage, or around the head to break repetitive thought patterns. Drums have traditionally been used to create sacred space and a morphic field in which shamanic journeys are taken. A soul-retrieval is an example of this type of healing in which the shaman searches other realities for pieces of the client that have been rejected, lost, or stolen. The drum assists the process. But it is enough to simply participate at a local drum circle in order to feel the intense power of drums and their ability to alter your current energetic state, getting you out of your head and into you body.

Many find the sounds of another tribal instrument even more relaxing. Possibly the world’s oldest instrument, the Aboriginal Didjereedoo is a long hollow tube with a multi-textured vibratory effect. Though only one "note" or drone can be played, the overtones are extremely rich and grounding. Didjereedoos are often played along the body or onto a specific body part to alleviate pain, tension, and illness.

The World of Sound Healing - Part II: Voice

The voice is by far the most versatile and sensitive of all the sound healing modalities, and the range of healing offered is as individual as those who facilitate it. There are voice healers who help clients access their own voices either through singing, toning, chanting, speaking, or even movement. One needn’t be a “singer” to take part in this type of experience, but for those who are a little shy about singing solo, there are toning groups or workshops offered by practitioners. The results of such vocal exploration can be greater confidence to express oneself, richer vocal qualities, purer and more effective communications, stress-reduction, and an experience of joy. A healer may also use his or her own voice to help others. For example, a healer may sculpts sounds by sensing subtle energy needs and matching or contrasting various frequencies that help a person move energy in various parts of the body. Still others may sing improvised melodies or lyrics that relate to healing a certain memory or experience in the client’s life.

Voice Analysis is another branch of voice healing with many variations. The premise for voice analysis is that changes in pitch, volume and speed of the expressed voice reveal strengths, weaknesses, and imbalances of the individual. These deficiencies are then brought into balance using frequencies or tones and exercises that can help by restoring the voice to its full power. Whether performed by a computer or a practitioner, voice analysis can bring a new awareness to the potential of one’s voice, our greatest tool for self-expression and creation.

The World of Sound Healing - Part 1

As our lives become ever more complicated and the world around us continues to change at breakneck speed, more and more people are seeking different and deeper ways to connect and return to wholeness. The field of sound healing, while ancient in its roots, is just now emerging into the mainstream in answer to this need, garnered by the support of ever-increasing clinical applications and research. So, what is sound healing all about?

Sound is simply vibration. And science reveals what we can’t see with our eyes—that all of life is vibration. What appears solid, like a hard table, is actually comprised of vibrating atoms engaged in a musical composition of great mystery and complexity. Our bodies are no different than that table; we only appear solid to the limited perception of the eye. But unlike the dense table, the body is much more impressionable to shifts in energy.

Disease manifests when we fall into resonance with harmful vibrations, be they of mind, body or spirit. Sound healing, by tapping into vibrations that are supportive and beneficial to our bodies, and through something called entrainment, brings the body back into a state of health. But just as you don’t need to understand how the internet works in order to send an email, you don’t need to comprehend the scientific or spiritual principles behind sound to benefit from sound healing.

The world of sound healing is rich and diverse. There is without a doubt something for everyone. But with all the choices, how on earth does one decide which form of sound healing may help? This series is meant to provide background information to help you make your choice, but it is by no means exhaustive. Once you know what is available, follow your intuition, experiment, and trust your own experience.

Stay tuned for Part II.

Meditation for Opening the Ear Chakras

Working with sound makes one highly sensitive to the subtle energies that are always at work and at play in our physical bodies, our thoughts, our emotion and our interactions. Here is a meditation designed to help you open your ear chakras wider and wider, making it easier to perceive and thus have some response-ability toward sublte energies.

Sit quietly and listen. Begin by listening as you normally do...to your breath perhaps, the noise of a pet or of people speaking in the next room. Tune in to as many different sounds as you can. Then turn your attention inward. Begin to listen to your own heartbeat, the sound of your internal organs digesting or secreting or working, the sound of your cells dividing and your bones growing. It may at first take some imagination. That is fine. Our imaginations have the power to lead us into new perceptions, as imagination is really attention.

Now, begin to expand your hearing to things beyond your immediate surroundings. Can you hear the neighbors, cars on the freeway a block away, crowds cheering at a game in the next town, planes flying in the skies of a state across the country? You get the idea. Expand your hearing into space. Listen to satellites shifting. Listen to the sun's flares boiling. Listen to the sounds of empty space.

Finally, bring your attention back to your immediate surroudings. Do you hear more now than you did? Does the hiss of the refrigerator sound different...perhaps it has more layers, more overtones? Is your breath noisier? Whatever sounds you hear, relish them. And know that the work you have just done will work for you.

Remember!

The power of the word, ya'll. Check this out!

Easing Chronic Pain with Sound

I came across this truly beautiful piano piece today for easing chronic pain. Follow this link and scroll down to the MP3 sample. Ahhhh...

Other artists composing sweet healing music for mind and body:

Kenneth Hope

Richard Shulman

Visionary Music

An Interview with Dielle

Why is the voice so important to you?
It is expression. It is creation. It is how we turn our insides out. And for some reason, when I sing, I like what comes out, so much better than when I speak. Without the voice, how would I stake a claim, share an idea, share a feeling, share anything?? And here, realize that silence is also part of the voice. Silence speaks volumes, as they say. Voice is like the very soul of a person. How could it not be important?

How do you work with clients?
It’s always different because people come to me for different reasons. Even my workshops are different because different people show up. And even if it was the same people, they would be different from one workshop to the next. So I use what is present and up for people. Some people come to me because they want to sing better. They don’t care about the inner deep stuff. That’s not my ideal client, though. I most enjoy working with people who already know something about energy and want to use the voice to heal. Then I become simply the facilitator instead of the teacher. And I prefer that.

How does working with the voice help people?
Some people are only aware of the surface benefits…they sound better or communicate more freely, which is great. But there is so much more going on. The awareness that voice work builds makes people better creators of life. They start to listen differently. They start to experiment more. And they start to align themselves. And they discover things about themselves they didn’t know. Some people say it feeds them…they long to express for no reason at all.

Why would someone come to you for voice work?
People come to me because they want to sing or they want to improve their voice in some way. They long to sing and express themselves. They come to me instead of some other voice teacher because they also sense, if they don’t know, that there is more to this desire than what it appears to be on the outside. Their soul is longing for something.

What kinds of voice issues do you deal with?
Let me start by stating what I don’t do. I’m not a speech & language pathologist. I don’t deal with medical issues. I don’t teach “singing” either. I don’t even read music. But I can help an already great singer perform & sing better. And I can teach technique to someone who has none. But my sessions aren’t about singing lots of scales and learning songs…although there is some of that, it is not the main thrust.

What is the main thrust of your practice?
For me, the technique, the breath, the variables are all tools with which to play for the purpose of self-expression. The voice is like medicine. It’s a healer. Getting people to experience and get in touch with this is the thrust of my practice.

What is the most incredible thing you’ve ever experienced in your work?

The most incredible thing I've experienced is what I repeatedly experience...I get to hear God every time someone has the courage to do this work, the faith to surrender, and the willingness to open her mouth.

Vocal Meditation: A Modern Mantra

If you are here, you probably already recognize that sound can affect our physiology, emotional state, and thoughts. That's good. Because I'm not interested in proving what science can confirm. Rather, I want to share with you a simple exercise based in sound that can have a profound impact on your life.

Mantras are sacred syllables repeated over and over by practitioners in order to both alter their energetic fields to the frequency of the mantra (for prosperity, equanimity, or compassion for example) and to quiet the mind. Two well known mantras are AUM or OM. There is a reason this practice has persisted throughout the ages and why it is one adopted by so many of today's self-help educators. Mantras work.

But for some, the foreign language or even religious roots of certain mantras can be hindrances to adopting a practice. Here, I offer a modern mantra practice which can be used in your modern life...one that does not require a knowledge of ancient languages. This practice, when done correctly, will have the same effect as an ancient mantra but it will also begin to build your awareness of the vibrational signatures of the words in our own language.

When you feel the mind turning to worry or have had a challenging day, call forth the symbols that you wish to activate. Spend 10 minutes saying words like "triumph, peace, love, happiness, release, letting go, stillness, courage, joy, compassion, steadiness, tranquility, friendship, miracles...". Try to choose words directly counter to your present state. For example, if you are feeling impatient, try words like "patience, plenty, relaxation, stillness, calm, ease." It's okay to repeat words. Follow each word with a nice inhalation of clean, fresh air. As you do so, allow the mind to freely associate with your life experiences of the words. Allow the feeeling states to arise. Notice how your energy field begins to change. You will feel happier, more at peace and much better than you did before.

Words hold energy. We can use this energy for better or worse. This modern mantra practice can train one to "cast spells" skillfully, with intent.

Sound Healing Transmission #4

This is the fourth in a series of free sound healing transmissions. When you listen, close your eyes and feeeel the sounds. Try to surrender to the vibration being offered. Begin to train not just your ears, but your very bones and energy body, to hear what is being offered behind the sounds. Enjoy!

A sound healing blessing for Flow.

Sound Healing Transmission #4

The Sound of Not Knowing

I’ve been to a lot of workshops, various services, and numerous events in my life. They have been wonderful. But they have been identical. So many are based on the premise that we are not enough. They assume that the present moment is somehow lacking.

What would happen if we all stopped talking about what we know, what we think we should know, and what we don’t know and paused in silence? And what would happen if out of that silence arose a sound of unknowing from deep within? And what if we each opened our mouths and let that sound come pouring out joining together in a collective sound honoring the mystery of life?

Let’s stop talking about how spiritual we are. Let’s stop reminding ourselves that we are powerful and just be that. Let’s stop talking about all the inner work we’ve been doing and start being. Let’s stop trying to prove that we are love. Let’s stop trying, period. Let’s simply remember and get on with living.

A Vocal Exercise Gem

When you are feeling tension in your throat, try this great vocal exercise:

Pretend to laugh. That’s right. Make like you are about to split a gut. Give the belly a good jiggle & relish the vibration. Open that mouth wide. Bend over in silent hilarium. Then relax. Breathe. Feel how the stretch of the mouth released tension in the face. Feel how the impulse to laugh lightened the heart.

Oh, go ahead. You know you want to. Laugh!

Vocal Meditation - A Twist on Affirmations

Many people know of and have tried using affirmations or positive statements designed to change a negative thought pattern. I myself, having been exposed to the wonderful teachings of Louise Hay and others have tried them. Sometimes, they work and sometimes, well...they don't do much.

I began a new practice with affirmations awhile back when I started to understand more of the 'secret' relationship between our words, our thoughts, and sound and the hidden power and interplay of each. The practice arose spontaneously during a meditation, and it has had a much greater impact than any affirmation practice I have had.

It's very easy but does take effort and a willingness to sound and feel ridiculous at first. Take any affirmation. Examples include, "I am centered and peaceful" or "My life is filled with abundance." The cool thing with this particular practice is that you really don't have to pretend to believe something you don't. You don't have to think yourself through it either. All you have to do is be willing to say it. The 'secret' aspects of word, thought, and sound will take care of the rest.

Now, sit yourself down in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. If you can be in front of a mirror to witness yourself, all the better. Now begin to say your chosen affirmation. If it sounds phony to you, then say it that way, with all the sarcasm you can muster. If you want to sing it, sing it. If nothing comes up but a gurgle, that's perfect too. The idea is to say it in as many ways as possible feeeling for the moments of resonance when parts or all of the statement ring true. Keep at it. It may not happen right away. Persist. Play. Get your body involved. Shake. Wiggle. Get up and stomp. Allow the practice to reveal to you just where your blocks are. It will happen. You may even have a release as you move through resistance and longing into the place where you can sense the truth of your statement that was really there all along.

You will come to the point where all the resistance drops away. And there, you will find yourself hearing the words of your affirmation as if for the first time. You will start to state the affirmation without the theatrics, drama, and playfulness. Go slowly here. You will begin to speak each word with its own weight and sincerity. Again, tears may flow. You will begin to feel the truth of the statement in different areas of your body. You will sense joy arising. And you will empower yourself.

Enjoy!

Sound Healing Transmission #3

Welcome to the third in a series of free sound healing transmissions...my gift to you! When you listen, close your eyes and feeeel the sounds. Try to surrender to the vibration being offered. Begin to train not just your ears, but your very bones and energy body, to hear what is being offered behind the sounds. You will experience the blessings within the transmissions on deeper and deeper levels as you become more proficient.

This transmission is a Tranquility and Inner Peace blessing. Great for alleviating fear and stress.

Sound Healing Transmission #3

Sound Healing Transmission #2

Here is the second in a series of free sound healing transmissions...my gift to you! When you listen, close your eyes and feeeel the sounds. Try to surrender to the vibration being offered; this particular trans has a very high-pitched ring throughout, so keep the volume lower. Begin to train not just your ears, but your very bones and energy body, to hear what is being offered behind the sounds. You will experience the blessings within the transmissions on deeper and deeper levels as you become more proficient.

This transmission is titled Homecoming and celebrates our ability to commune with the divine.

Sound Healing Transmission #2

What's in a Name?

There is a well known practice within toning circles of chanting names. This can be done in all manner of ways, with each person chanting their name into the group and the others echoing this back, or everyone chanting just the vowel sounds within their names all at once, or even one person in the center of a circle receiving their name as it is chanted by everyone else. There is a soothing and healing gift within this practice.

There is a great deal of power within a name. First of all, the name itself as it sounds carries a certain frequency. Then there is the power within the sound of each present vowel. And then there is the traditional meaning of the name, and finally, there is the personal meaning and associations. Chanting your name to yourself can help you uncover the secret energy treasures within your name.

What if you have always disliked your name or just feel energetically detached from it? Well, if you dislike your name, chanting may help you cultivate an appreciation for it. And often, hearing others chant it can restore it to its original power template free of any negative associations you may have. But what if you do not resonate with your name?

I believe that names should help us remember who we are and where we are going. Names should reflect our service to the world. But often our given names just do not fulfill this purpose.

When I had just turned was 38, I was in a near-fatal car incident. I was driving home late at night when two coyotes crossed in front of me on the freeway. I slammed by brakes and spun out of control as my life really did flash before my eyes. It was a strange time-space suspension experience. When I finally stopped spinning, I was facing oncoming traffic on the freeway. By miraculous protection, I was able to right myself and pull over. The odd thing was, I had no fear. As I was pulled over on the shoulder, I heard myself say, "Just take your time. Relax." But I already was relaxed. My heart wasnt even racing. When I woke up the next morning, I had a knowing that I had to change my name.

About this same time, I was reading The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho. In it the prophet Elijah experiences a death of sorts of his old life and so chooses a new name to reflect his new life. His purpose becomes his name. Whatever name I received, I wanted it to reflect my purpose.

So, I spent the next couple of months nameless. I shook off the trappings and energy of my old name and awaited the revealing of my new name. I had been reading Being and Vibration
by Joseph Rael in which he writes that the name of humanity is Drinking the Light. I liked that phrase. It spoke to me of my truth. But I was not about to go around calling myself Drinking the Light. So I waited some more.

About this same time, my job contract ended, my lease was up, and I was freshly divorced. So I packed up what I could fit in my car and drove away following a call into my new life. Somewhere on the road between Ohio and Pennsylania, I heard a voice say "Giselle." My reaction was, "You have got to be kidding me." But the voice was insistent, so I just sat with it for awhile. Giselle turned out to be a hint. The rhyming Dielle was the answer, a derivitive of Drinking the Light. Only later did I learn that Dielle held additional meaning that pointed to the service I am here to provide.

Not everybody wants or needs to change their name of course. But I encourage you to consider the symbol of your name and whether or not and in what ways it serves your life...or maybe even limits you. And if you find your current name somehow lacking in energy for you at his time in your life, ask to receive a new one, one that will remind you of your truth. It will be given. It is up to you whether or not you use that name secretly or publicly or at all.

Sound Healing Transmission

This is the first of many sound healing transmissions I will be making available over the internet. Each transmission is a gift from my heart to yours and comes from my deepest, purest expression for the healing and transformation of all humanity. May our suffering end and our magical being begin.

This first transmission is a blessing to honor our spiritual teachers and/or call in our spiritual teachers in this lifetime. Thank you for allowing me to share this gift with you.

Sound Healing Transmission #1

Breathing Exercise: The Sobbing Breath

Here is an exercise for purifying your blood, lungs, and energy field. Breath in in short deep breaths as if you are sobbing (or you can imagine you are sniffing out a fire somewhere). You want the inhalations to be quick and forceful. When your lungs are full, hold a moment, and then release the breath. Breath in again in the same manner as if sobbing. This time, hold a moment, and then release the breath on a tone. Do not try to "sing" the tone. Allow it to be whatever it needs to be. Begin first with AH, then EEE, and finally OO. Be explorational with the expression of the tone. Play with volume, voice placement, pitch fluctuation and other variables of vocalization. Sounds may be harsh or they may be "pretty." See what feeels the most fulfilling and continue for at least two minutes or until you feel complete. To end your session, breath normally.

This is a great exercise for releasing pent up emotion. My clients tend to discover a natural progression in the tone from being at first somewhat resistant, then moving into a fullness of emotion, followed by catharsis and ending in peace. This gives you an idea of the potential within this very simple exercise to move lots of energy! Enjoy!

Music Can Save Your Life

Today I saw Wynton Marsalis on the Colbert Report. He has written a book titled Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life. I haven't read it yet, but from his interview with Stephen Colbert, I know it says something very important. Music, like jazz, teaches us how to listen. And beyond that, when we truly engage with music, it teaches us how to hear the truth. In this age, with so many of us searching for what is true amidst the illusions we face and the lies we are told every day, music can save our lives.

That's what it is all about, my friends. The great human battle is the one between truth and lies.

So, the first thing we must do when asking ourselves, "What is true?" is to do what one of my teachers don Miguel Ruiz has said over and over again. Don't believe me. Don't believe anyone else. And especially, don't believe yourself. Only then will you be free to experience truth which doesn't need anyone to describe or expound it.

I agree with Wynton. Jazz, and all music, can train our ears to perceive truth. Music takes us on a journey into the realms outside of words, dogmas, and meanings. It takes us to the heart and soul of things. That is where truth lies.

The Voice of Life Speaks

I am here now.
I stand before you and you don't see me.
I speak and you don't hear me.
Why are you still only just pretending?
When will you wake up and begin to speak my Language?
I am here now. I am here now. I am here now.

Fear is your imagination and so is faith;except fear is undirected, while faith is directed.
Anothony Robbins

Tongue in Cheek

The tongue is one of the strongest muscles in the body and considered a very important organ for diagnosis in Chinese Medicine. It sits in the mouth, a large opening of the body that leads into and past the voice box, down the esophagus, and through many important organs, out the other end. In effect, we can consider the tongue to be a gatekeeper of everything that passes into the body through the mouth; it protects our most vulnerable innards from outside influences. The food we ingest is both tasted and digested with the help of the tongue. And of course, the tongue is necessary to form all the sounds of our language.

The tongue may also serve the role of "trap door" determining what leaves the body as well. Anything that arises within us may in effect be stopped by the tongue as we attempt to "swallow our feelings" or "keep our thoughts to ourselves". Herein lies the healing work to be done. By starting a conversation with out tongue and exploring our habitual holding patterns, we can begin to access congealed emotions and expressions that are negatively impacting our health and well-being.

So, let's give the tongue a break with a healing meditation. Sit down in front of a mirror. Begin by warming up the tongue sticking it out while opening the mouth wide as in "ahh". Then bring the tip of the tongue as close to the nose as possible in a nice stretch, then try to touch your chin with it in the same manner. Next, while keeping your tongue out, move the tongue from left to right. And finally, make a complete circle or two (this last one can get pretty messy!).

Now that the tongue has stretched and relaxed a bit, open your mouth and gaze down your throat in the mirror. Notice the role your tongue plays. Raise it up to your soft palate and feel its strength and protection. Pull it down as in yawning and feel the vulnerability. Just notice and pay attention to your experience. Now, let your tongue know that it can take a much needed rest. With your tongue relaxed in your mouth and your mouth open wide but comfortable, begin to tone on an exhalation. Don't worry about how you sound. You may feel a little silly, but go deeper. Allow for anything to escape. Intend to release whatever may be hiding out down there.

I use this exercise with my vocal meditation clients, and it had never failed to provoke an unexpected and deep healing. Sounds of anger, sounds of joy and laughter, and tears are just some of the responses that arise. It releases a tremendous amount of energy and prepares the way for all the work that follows.