Inner Work

For the week of: April 8, 2002

Awareness of Talking

A masterstroke of evolution, the ability to speak characterizes us both collectively and individually. To a great extent, we convey and reveal our personality by what we say. And because we conflate our persona with who we really are, we experience a strong pull to lose ourselves in talking. For these reasons, awareness of talking offers a rich, though rocky field for our spiritual work.

We adopt a concrete, physical approach to the practice of speech awareness: to actually hear the sound of our own voice as we speak, to be aware of that sound. Secondary elements of this practice include being viscerally aware of, sensing, our mouth, tongue and throat, our facial expressions and the gestures we make while speaking.

Start with simple situations that require only a minimal amount of talking. For example, as you stand in a cashier’s line at a store, form the intention to be aware of yourself as you thank the cashier at the end of the transaction. Watch for the moment and then be in the sound and physical sensations of yourself speaking.

For most of us, this proves very difficult. As soon as we open our mouths to speak, we lose ourselves and talk in an autopilot or reactive manner, with little or no self-awareness. In situations where we need to be particularly careful, we may have continuing awareness of the meaning of what we are saying due to the presence of the sensitive energy of thought. But awareness of the physicality of speaking brings a new and broader dimension of presence to this most common of activities.

Shining the light of awareness onto speaking takes time, persistence, and clearly maintained intention. For this week practice hearing your own voice, while sensing your mouth, tongue, and throat. Aim to do this at least several times a day. The rigors of this practice, if faced with inner honesty, create the indirect benefit of showing us the limitations of our presence. However, the presence we develop in becoming aware of ourselves while speaking feeds our inner work in many important ways.

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