The more well-known form of acupuncture which everyone is familiar with is an alternative healing technique based on traditional Chinese medicine. It involves the penetration by single-use thin needles along the skin of the body, or the application of heat, pressure, or laser light to correct imbalances in the flow of qi through channels in our bodies called meridians.
Vocal acupuncture is the name we use to describe the power of spoken affirmations. We believe it to be an apt metaphor, emphasizing the therapeutic power of affirmations as healing treatments and catalysts for manifesting our greater good. As positive statements they help boost our mood and immune system.
Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, in her very enlightening research and subsequent book, Positivity, assures us that people who experience more positivity and then voice it become “more optimistic, more resilient, more open, more accepting, and more purpose-driven.” She goes on to say that “positivity opens your mind and allows you to appreciate what is in such a way that you want to talk about it which reinforces your positive outlook.”
Vocal acupuncture, as a spiritual practice, invites you to use positive affirmations, affirmative prayer, mantras, optimistic phrases, and positive self-talk as often as you can. It means building these positivity statements into your spoken words and vocabulary.
The words we use not only penetrate deeply into our psyches but they become embedded in our cellular architecture as well. Our entire bodily constitution is affected by the thoughts we have and the words we use. Our thoughts and words – whether they are positively framed or negatively charged – are self-fulfilling triggers!
In his bestselling book, Buddha’s Brain, Rick Hanson says, “Every time you say a positive affirmation, every time you engage in positive self-talk, every time you sift positive feelings and views into painful, limiting states of mind – you build new neural structures. Over time, the accumulating impact of this positive material will, synapse by synapse, change your brain in positive, life-affirming ways.”
Neuroscientists are telling us that certain positive words – like ‘peace’ – ‘compassion’ – ‘joy’ – ‘kindness’ and ‘love’ – have the power to alter the expression of genes throughout the brain and body, turning them on and off in ways that lower physical and emotional stress
According to positive psychologists Rowe, Hirsch, and Anderson, in the 2007 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, another practical consequence of thinking and speaking positively is the mind-broadening powers of our enhanced creativity. A positive mindset changes the way you think and act in a wider range of circumstances. When you ‘see’ things in a positive light, more positive ideas come to mind, and more life-affirming actions become possible .
As you can see, this spiritual practice offers you mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. It is one of our favorite practices and we believe it will be one of your favorites too! Vocal acupuncture, in all of its spoken forms and expressions, is a centering practice, one that increases your chances of walking the spiritual path on practical, positive feet.
Global Center for Spiritual Practices 