Voice is an amazing and beautiful and transformative instrument. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Voice has the power to comfort and soothe and nurture and energize. Those vocal vibrations, especially when we are chanting or singing or sounding, have tremendous power to heal and transform, both the giver (or the singer) and the receiver.
So what is happening in the Entertainment World when so many incredible vocalists and singers are being tragically struck down by addictions, abusive relationships and sometimes, all too often, meeting very tragic and untimely deaths? This question has been on my mind since my own fairly recent foray into the world of vocalizing and singing which began shortly before Michael's Jackson's death. Curiously enough I had just begun taking singing lessons with a teacher who had had vocal training with Michael Jackson's vocal coach. So I was feeling somewhat connected to that world of entertainment and amazing voices. And now, sadly, the awesome voice of Whitney Houston has been forever silenced. And Amy Winehouse. And from my younger day is the tragedy of Janis Joplin's untimely death. And how many more have struggled and continue to struggle, through horrendous addictions and abuse and mental illness and who knows what else. It is just not enough to criticize these singers for drinking or taking drugs or for falling into abusive relationships. That kind of criticism is really nasty and clearly coming from those who have no idea of the toll that kind of entertaining and vocalizing can take on a human body. Constantly being pushed to vocalize or sing at full force can blow the human nervous system right out of the water. The voice is directly connected to our nervous system. In addition to that I'm sure none of us "regular folks" can even begin to imagine the pressure that is put on these singers -- by producers, managers, advertisers and yes -- even by us, or maybe most especially by us (the audience) to keep producing more and better. How must it be to, night after night, tour after tour, album after album, have to try and satisfy an insatiable audience?And insatiable managers and producers? Or, in Michael Jackson's case (and I'm sure many others) to have to try and satisfy an insatiable and demanding father?
Adding that stress on top of the kind of emotional or spiritual, or maybe even physical woundedness that many of these folks have suffered in their young lives, how else could they cope, except by falling into addictions or other kinds of self destructive behaviours?
Through the "Eyes" of the Chakras
And now, back to my favorite topic --
Chakras and the Voice. Looking at the Entertainment World's destruction of human lives from the "eyes" of the Chakras -- here is my theory!!
According to ancient yogic philosophy, we all have an
immense spiritual energy coiled up in our Root or Base Chakra (see my previous blog post). That energy is called the
Kundalini and it is related to our Creative force and our Life Force. Awakening our Consciousness (or our journey into Enlightenment or Higher Consciousness) involves drawing that Kundalini energy from the Root Chakra, up through the whole Chakra system - one Chakra at a time until it reaches up into the Crown Chakra. That journey through the Chakras can be an exciting, dynamic, creative, inspirational and sometimes euphoric process. However, in order to
safely draw that energy up, it needs to be done slowly while we simultaneously do whatever we need to do to heal and strengthen our physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. As the Kundalini awakens more and more, we need a nervous system that can adapt to the increasing energy that is moving through our system -- hence the development of Yoga postures way back in ancient times.
The original purpose of yoga postures was to prepare the physical body's systems to handle this awakened Kundalini.
The lower three Chakras (Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus) involve our lives and our physical bodies here in this material reality. The upper three Chakras (Throat, Third Eye and Crown) takes us more into the etheric realms, or the "unseen" dimensions. The Heart is the connector between the two realities. The vibrations of the upper Chakras are very high and rapid, just as the vocal vibrations of head voice are much higher and more rapid than the deep chest voice, which connects us more to the vibrations of the lower Chakras.
When the whole Chakra system is in balance, the Kundalini energy can move easily from Root to Crown. If there is any weakness or wounding in any part of the system (as there is in most of us -- that is our human journey and challenge) the Kundalini cannot move freely. If one is constantly energizing the upper Chakras, for example, the Throat as singers do or the Crown as serious meditators do or those looking for a "spiritual high" may do, or if one simply preferes to "hang out" in the spiritual realms as an escape from the "real world" or the material issues in our lives, that Kundalini energy will be drawn up through the lower Chakras,
but at great cost and possibly damage to the unprepared nervous system and the unhealed lower Chakra wounds. It is very common at this point to fall into chemical or behavioural addictions or abusive relationships. At this point, it is not a matter of choice, but a desperate need to somehow get grounded and cope with the unbalanced power of the Kundalini energy. I speak about this from first hand experience -- not as a singer obviously, but as someone who dived full force into spiritual practices like meditation and developing psychic abilities (Third Eye and Crown Chakra). I know what it is like to experience the full force of that awakened Kundalini energy without having understood the importance of developing a strong physical body and nervous system and doing the emotional healing work first or at least simultaneously. It can throw one off balance and out of touch with reality.
I believe that might be what is happening to
some of these people with the amazing supervoices. They may well be unleashing powers within themselves that they are not prepared for and have no way to cope with.
After Michael Jackson's death, someone commented that his singing and his dancing and his amazing energy (from his own awakening Kundalini) was actually awakening the Earth's Kundalini as evidenced in the way that his music got hoardes of people energized and singing and dancing. What power, what amazing creativity -- but what a cost to that human being. We don't have to look very far to see the struggles and the pain of his existence.
I love the fact that, since Whitney Houston's death, I have heard comments on CBC radio like
"What does this say about us as a society, that we are simply watching these people struggle and suffer and die?"
I recently attended an amazing and life changing presentation on the topic of
"The Power of Self-Care in Health Care" given by Larry Nusbaum, a Toronto based Physician, Psychotherapist, Musician, Storyteller and I would add Magician and Shaman. Way too many health care providers are also succumbing to addictions, burn out, illness and even suicide because their whole focus is on taking care of others.
So now my question, or reflection is:
"How can we bring the Power of Self Care into the Entertainment World?"
How can we help these gifted, creative, inspiring people to care for themselves so they will not have to succumb to addictions and burnout and untimely deaths?
And one last thought....
Maybe, instead of us (the audience) demanding more and more (music, entertainment, etc.) from these gifted entertainers, we could simply appreciate their talents as an inspiration to awaken and develop our own special gifts and talents.
That's my passionate rave for tonight!!
Keep singing, keep dancing, or doing whatever you love to do!!
Barbara
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