The Mystery Of Speech And Sound

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He who speaks little is spontaneous and natural

Tao Te Ching

Much always lays hidden in Lao Tzu's so very concise language. One single word of his often lays open to us the whole of gnostic philosophy.

If we want to try to fathom the full depth of what Lao Tzu means here, we will need to unveil the mystery of speech and sound.

The first thing you need to bear in mind is that human speech is always closely connected with two processes: the process of breathing and the process of thinking. Unless you breathe you cannot speak. Without a properly functioning mind you cannot express any language in sound. The larynx -- the organ with which you bring forth articulated sounds -- is of relatively minor significance compared to the respiration and the thought processes.

When various authors state that the human being can speak and is distinguished from other animals because he has a perpendicular larynx, this is only a partial truth. For all the organs of the material body are necessary if we are to function properly in matter.

In both animal and human heads are several minute organs which connect them directly with the astral spheres. With many species of animals and human types it is not so much the heart as the solar plexus which plays a large part in that process. This fundamental connection between the living, material being and the astral sphere determines the quality the whole nature of the creature concerned.

The astral plane is not uniform throughout. It is made up of countless domains, each one qualitatively different from all the others, and in each one of these astral domains, countless possibilities and situations are manifested. So it is easy to understand that every human being possesses an individual astral type, a personal astral key. This key is expressed in every aspect of his being, and is present not only within him but also round him. On this factor rest the whole nature and quality of a person's breathing.

By this we mean to say that, even though we all live in the same respiration field, in the same atmosphere, each of us still possesses a highly individual, personal respiration-field, which is formed and prepared by our personal astral condition.

So with every breath we take, both the head and the heart will function in a way determined by our astral condition at that moment. In this way, life really does  arise from breath, in more than one sense. From our breath arise not only our mental activities but also our desires. There is an inner, astral basis which arises via the chakras, and there is an outer astral activity, which connects with the inner, astral basis via the breath.

Whenever a thought is produced by the brain or a desire is born in the heart, these emanate from the head and heart and project themselves into the astral substance that surrounds us on all sides, in the same way as a fish is surrounded by water. These projections are then reflected back and in this way our fundamental astral nature, our respiration field and our breath , as well as our thought-life and our desire-life, are kept within a certain framework.

Now imagine that thoughts and feelings are aroused in you which do not correspond to your fundamental astral type; they are alien to it. Then they will always have been caused by some influence on your respiration-field, for the other route, via the chakras and the etheric body, is too heavily obstructed by the blood, the nerve fluid and the endocrine system. So how do these influences and their subsequent results penetrate into your respiration-field? Well, that happens through speech. When a person speaks, he does so during an exhalation. One does not speak when one is inhaling. You can only do that in a forced way -- artificially -- and only for a few brief moments, and your voice will sound very un-natural.

When you inhale, the astral substance in your respiration field enters your head and impels you to some sort of mental activity. Then, on the outbreath, you use your voice. By speaking, you activate the image, the power, the vibration which the inhaled substance conveyed to you. You convert the astral values into a living reality, which is magically active. So speech becomes a creative act by means of the air exhaled.

End Part I

From "He Who Speaks Little Is Spontaneous and Natural" - The Chinese Gnosis - Catharose de Petri, Jan van Rijckenborgh

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