Circuit of Attention: Created when we are making sound and listening to the sound we are making. In Jill Purce’s words: “in this way you complete a circuit of attention and it is this circuit of attention that enables you to go beyond the thinking mind.”

 

Embodied Inquiry: We use open-ended questions as “lenses” through which we take in our experience, recognizing that the nature of our inquiry is an evolving, unfolding process. There are no answers per say, only clues, or “cosmic winks” – tiny (and sometimes not so tiny ) awarenesses that gently draw our attention. As we learn to trust our sensual, sensing bodies as vibratory instruments, we grow in awareness of what is our “storied” reality (memories, beliefs, thought-driven, etc.) and what is our vibrational reality (Presence, newness, nowness).Questions can be “set” like an intention, then released as your day to day life unfolds revealing clues, glimpses, bursts of “knowing” that you are aligned with an expanding perception of Wholeness.

 

Expressive Sounding: Expressive Sounding, in its simplest form, is the voice moving and releasing emotional energy. We use it both to release “stored up” emotional energy, and when we are experiencing something—in the moment—that needs or wants to be expressed, like anger, joy, frustration, pleasure, you get the idea. Expressive Sounding is the perfect Vocal Intervention, because it both disrupts our ever-vigilant thoughts, and acknowledges and honours exactly where we are in any given moment. Woohoo!    

 

Intention: Intention sets up a relationship between our vibrational reality and our desires, wishes and goals. Intention setting can be general; like “I live in Presence” or more specific, like “I eat slowly. I savour my food.” Most importantly, set your intention “as though it is so”—like it’s already happening. Our vibrational reality transcends linear time.

 

Invocation: An invocation is a calling upon, an appeal—to Spirit, Source, God, the muse, guides, helpers, qualities, energies, you get the idea. An invocation may be a request for help, a gesture of praise, or a desire for more presence, clarity, and compassion. An invocation is an act of recognition that we are open to receiving all the help available to us—and vibrational belonging acknowledges that “help” comes from both seen and unseen sources.

 

Open Sounding: Open Sounding is just that: open! It’s all about playing, exploring, and allowing any sound to come—be they sustained sounds like toning, or staccato and more percussive sounds; baby-like sounds, animal-like sounds, or anything-else-like. Just let your voice lead, be curious and have fun!  

 

Original Sounding: (our attempt to describe the indescribable) Mysteriously, the word "original" has two, seemingly antithetical, meanings: Earliest and Newest.  The voice that lives in us is both the sound that brought the Universe into being, and the sound that is entirely unique to us. We are It, It is Us, We are That!  Original Sounding is the vibratory essence of belonging.  What does that mean exactly?  It is an ever unfolding Mystery that eludes simple definition via language. Like all things vibratory, we know when we are aligned with the perception of that Energy that envelops all of who we are as an indispensable facet of All That Is.

 

Pure Sounding: Pure Sounding is the voice acting as a purely vibrational medium, through a technique we call toning. Toning is creating a sustained sound and can be a hum, Aum, Ah (or any other vowel sound), or Overtoning (sometimes called Overtone Chanting, Overtone Singing, Harmonic Singing, Polyphonic Singing). Pure Sounding is a powerful meditative tool because it sets up what Jill Purce calls a “circuit of attention” (see above)—meaning we are creating the sound and listening to the sound at the same time, quieting the mind “chatter.”   

 

Storied Reality: Our storied reality is our individual self-definition, comprised of the constant narrative flow of our thoughts, seeking to make meaning of perception and experience.  It's the story we tell ourselves and each other about who we are, where we come from, what we do, and how we live. It informs the interactive social fabric of our lives, including our beliefs about ourselves and others, our memories, judgements, and self-assessments, our hopes and dreams, fears and foibles -- our evolving tale of our own passage through time.

 

Vibrational Reality: Imagine that your personal storied reality has been distilled of all detail into a single, pure drop of awareness. Now visualize that drop poised on the crest of the flowing wave of collective consciousness in this moment.  That is vibrational reality—all of "you", distilled into awareness, ever evolving, ever new, ever becoming.  Every cell of your being, every level of consciousness is filled with the vibrating essence of All That Is.  You are an integral part of that cresting, flowing wave, in every moment—vibrant, alive, whole.

 

Vocal Intervention: Vocal Intervention is “disrupting” the thought process by making sound. It is especially useful when we experience something challenging, and our thoughts try to intervene and manage and control the experience (assess, critique, judge, etc.). Vocal Intervention is a non-verbal vocal utterance that moves the energy without thoughts “taking over.”

 

Vocal Sounding: Any non-verbal vocal sound. Vocal sounding includes humming, toning, grunting, cooing, babbling, gibberish, you name it. Vocal sounding can be tuneful and rhythmic too.

 

Vocal Toning:Vocal toning is a kind of catch-all term describing the voice sustaining a tone on a vowel. Toning can be a hum, an overtone chant, and Aum, or any sustained sound on any vowel. Vocal toning can be a powerful meditation tool, and have immense healing benefits. Vocal toning is synonymous with Pure Sounding.