Of Speaking and Listening, the Circle of Sound—A Post from Guest Writer, Deirdre Boyd

 Dear Wonder Child Readers,

The Wonder Child Blog is proud to have Deirdre Boyd as a guest writer today. 

Deirdre Boyd describes herself as a writer of Journey and believes our voices have power and our gifts are wanted. She devours life with great enthusiasm, delighting in the wisdom of her 6 yr old daughter/oracle living in the wonderland of Wisconsin USA. You can visit her on twitter @BeingInJoy.

In fact, twitter is where we met.  We have a lot in common.  When Deirdre shared this beautiful piece of writing with me, my first thought was, “I wonder if she’d let me put that on the blog?”  She graciously accepted.  This is her first ever published piece of writing.  And so, it is with great pleasure that I introduce, Deirdre Boyd. 

Deirdre PG Boyd

 Of Speaking and Listening, the Circle of Sound

         Written by Deirdre Boyd, September 2010          

 

“Sound is at least as intimate as smell, and clearly more intimate than vision.”

Thomas Moore PhD in The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life

It occurs to me that this thought is representative of why poetry must be read aloud…why books read aloud are so stirring…why music lyrics should only be read once and only if absolutely necessary for clarity. It reminds me how I try to evoke sound in my texts and Tweets with little symbols. And why I think before I text~ could I give someone the unique sound of my voice?

Once, my partner left a bit of writing on the table the other morning…just a little piece of paper. He wrote it while waiting for his dinner to re-heat in the oven as my daughter and I slept. It was an essay about why I loved elephants.  I was caught off-guard the next morning, as he had left very early, and when I picked it up and read it in the half-lit kitchen, tears spilled over my cheeks…more and more with each sentence. He captured a piece of my spirit on that small scrap of paper. But it wasn’t until I read it aloud later to my soul-sister, my dearest friend, that I really experienced the writing…it is his genius, but loving a creature like me; even understanding a tiny bit of a creature like me; is a miracle. We both cried over it…she came to respect him more and loved him for expressing his impression of me (for having an understanding of me?!). 

It is why when writing e-mail, one might write as if it would be read aloud, and it would be wise for people to read e-mail aloud. Sound enlightens words on a page…and if you read it and find that it could be intended different ways, you have a chance to reply for clarification. I can’t remember how many times people have misinterpreted another’s e-mail because it wasn’t written carefully! Or those moments, when reading a book, when you just must read aloud a passage to someone, or wish you could? And singing…I am a being who cannot sing without tears if the song moves me, because we become one voice. Many times tears have escaped while listening to music. Our spirits are connected. When I hear music or read a poem aloud, that composer’s spirit and mine are reminded, poignantly, we are One. Our souls expand in those moments. It doesn’t require a standard of others imposed upon it…if something you hear moves you, the connection has been made.

And isn’t it why, when kissing, we close our eyes? The smell of another, the sounds…experiencing that does not require vision…in fact, it is distracting. Vision robs you of the surrendering, the trusting, and the freefall. Experiencing, yes, but missing a deeper essence of intimacy. Listening to a piece of music that stirs your deepest passions, with eyes closed, in a room alone, is truly incredible. It is a doorway to beginning to understand why you need nothing from outside yourself to feel complete. A distracted encounter with another person is like wolfing down fast food when you’d rather be an alchemist in the kitchen! Think of conversations over the phone…are you being intimate or just passing along information? Why not make your phone conversations an exceptional experience every time? Use delicious words and express energy that feeds the souls of others…If the threefold law is real (and I believe it is), what you issue forth is returned to you threefold. Be careful, because if you give in a spirit of selfish returns, then you will be receiving from the same spirit. Every time you interact with another, be sincere and really thoughtful about what you want for them. You will find people doing the same for you more and more, and you will realize you are living a charmed life! Just take a few breaths before speaking or writing. Don’t react, respond. Respond consciously. The more consideration you take in your life, the more consideration you will be given. Trust is important as well. You won’t experience much joy from life if you don’t trust. Intuition comes in strongly here…it must be developed, and only by trusting and possibly learning from a few mistakes can you really become intimate with your intuition. And what does it take? At first, trusting your feelings…your body gives you signals when you are “off.” Eventually, you will begin to hear your intuition like the most compassionate and beloved friend. But in order to hear anything in our experiencing universe, you must first listen.

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog

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