I always look so very forward each year to the moment I’ve chosen to create my annual New Year’s letter. As some of you may know, I love the solitudinal opportunity to ‘dig deep’ and creating this annual letter is that reflection point. 

I always strive to hold myself accountable in life, personally, professionally, and in my art. To the best of my ability, each and every day, I commit to live in the Sixth Ritual of the 7 Rituals of Vocal Awareness: Pay Attention/Deeper Listening. Solitude creates the opportunity for me to listen deeply. To attempt to embody that oneness with Source and Self which is each of our birthrights, in as synergistic and integral a way as possible.

My daily prayer and meditation time each morning is my first opportunity of the day to be at one with Source and Self, and to live in the integration of mind/body/spirit that is a foundational part of the Vocal Awareness belief system. Decades ago, I recognized that Vocal Awareness became my due north, the gift of this Work that was given to me 62 years ago this month.

This January is always a momentous time for me; this year, even more so. I turn 80 at the end of this month, I begin my 62nd year of teaching, and I am also releasing the paperback edition of my Vocal Awareness — A New Form Of Mastery Journal this first quarter. In addition, I had the privilege of co-writing Jolinda Wade’s memoir, Conquering Me, which is being released this month. Jolinda is the Hall of Fame Basketball player Dwyane Wade’s mother, and to have her powerful story entrusted to me to share was one of the true gifts of my life. Jolinda is remarkable, and her story of conquest stunning.

As I was reviewing a couple of my recent New Year’s Letters, I saw that there were a few relevant thoughts from 2024 that I wanted to paraphrase in this one:

“Vocal Awareness is designed to support each of us in being and doing our very best for our Selves, our families and as we choose, the societies in which we live.

Since the creation of Vocal Awareness, one fundamental goal has always been Personal Sovereignty: To help all those I work with to achieve their own enlightenment and enjoy their own empowerment.”

Continuing.

“As one of my favorite poets, Rainer Maria Rilke said over a hundred years ago, “I want to unfold. I do not want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.” Here is another translation of Rilke’s same poem: “I want to unfold. Let no place in me hold itself closed, for wherever I am closed, I am false.”

Whatever interpretation/translation one reads, the goal is the same—to live in the truth of who we are—doing and being our very best every single day. Living in this way can enable each of us to fulfill our legacy, our promise and through the vibration and energy we carry forth—not simply feel empowered, but actually, be empowered. 

For generations I have taught singular truth: Voice is Power. In this context, I want you to understand that as we refine the very vibration of our Voice/our Self and align it with our life Vision, we are then given the privilege to make a contribution to our Selves, our community, our families that only each of us can make, in return, making the world a better place because we are in it.”

Before transitioning to this year's New Year’s letter, I shared the above, for Vocal Awareness teaches Empowerment Through Voice; it teaches Life Mastery through Communication Mastery.

In a word, Vocal Awareness teaches Mastery.

I love that the philosophy, the principles, the success of Vocal Awareness throughout the decades has done a great deal to enhance human communication. But now, ironically, as humans, we have also evolved to the point where we have created AI. Now, our ‘Human Communication’ is being taken over by Artificial Intelligence. Systems are being designed to impersonate human communication.

I’ve been approached a few times over this past year by people who are involved in creating and developing AI platforms. I worked extensively last year with the CEO of one of the top Software companies in the world, and this has gotten me thinking about not just communication as we all traditionally think about it, but how AI is being ‘taught’ to sound ‘more human.’

Vibration, energy is intrinsic to the human voice. Sound is vibration. This vibratory energy represents us to the world. When we speak, our identity is revealed in the sound of our voice and through our body language. Who we are, our joy, our success, our sadness, our fear, our trauma, our very essence—our singular identity—our life, is reflected in everything we say and how we say it.

However, quite simply, AI is not human; it cannot reflect the same vibratory qualities. There is no pressure flow to produce sound. There is no larynx, face, or body, no physical structure to produce sound. There is no human being to reflect and reveal the very quality of who we are every time we say anything.

So this got me thinking, what does human communication actually mean? What does it mean to speak as a sovereign human being?

The origin of the word ‘being’ dates back to Old English, about 900 years ago, and simply means to be or exist. The Latin root word for human is ‘humanus’, meaning: of or belonging to man. Quoting “the word has evolved over time, reflecting ideas of what it means to be human, from its initial association with Earth and mortality to its current connotations of rationality, morality.” So one interpretation of human being might be ‘to be a moral person.’

I ask rhetorically, can AI be a moral person?

In all the seminars that I teach, all the masterclasses, mastermind groups, and podcast interviews, people often have profound reactions and make extraordinary personal discoveries, as I help them open up to the various elements of the Vocal Awareness Technique. A Conscious Loving Breath comes to mind, for example, the importance of pitch, of releasing our tongue and jaw and upper body tension…  I could go on.

The simple point is that by releasing certain habitual behaviors, for example, such as tongue and jaw tension or short constricted breaths, participants experience a part of their humanity, their humanness, that has been blocked to them for decades. 

I ask rhetorically, can AI engage in the same transformative experience?

I sometimes say in my programs that we trap trauma in our tongue, jaw, neck, and shoulder tension (I also have always found it fascinating that the base of our tongue is the strongest muscle in our body per diameter, because that's basically where, in heart, we physically constrict ourselves without even knowing).

Speech is habit, we speak habitually, unconsciously, unaware of what could really be possible if one could live/communicate in a consciously liberated state with absolutely no fear, overcoming all traume and thus no tongue, jaw, neck, and shoulder tension and in full Conscious Awareness, engaging what I refer to as a Conscious Loving Breath, virtually at all times, to enable us to embody as fully as possible a personal sovereignty.

What is it to communicate without fear or trauma preventing us from being the human beings we are capable of being? What is it to speak in the sovereignty of who we truly are, with no fear of what others might think of us?

What would it be like to be able to truly communicate as earnestly, as caringly, as empoweringly, as fulfillingly as possible? What would it mean to live in the truth of one of my precepts that power develops out of freedom; freedom out of letting go; letting go out of knowledge. The more information we have, the freer we are allowed to live in the power of our possibility—to Be ourselves.

I am an artist, and I’ve taught and studied great artists for generations. I’ve also taught elite athletes, Hall of Famers, Olympic Gold Medalists for decades as well. I’ve observed that all these individuals have virtually been trained for a lifetime, and practiced a prescribed series of disciplines so that in their performance moment, they are truly in Mastery. In addition, they ritualistically integrate mind/body/spirit into their pre-performance moment. Lastly, again in this pre-performance moment, they are in some form of prayer or spiritual ritual, fully hubristic, however, not ego-centric.

In this context, Vocal Awareness is the only communication system that also follows a prescribed series of disciplines/Rituals to help us achieve Life Mastery through Communication Mastery, and unlike any other form of Mastery, there is “no off switch.” The goal, as I stated at the beginning of this letter, is to live in the integrity, the Conscious Awareness, the embodiment of one’s Self.

In all creative art, in all forms of Mastery at the highest level, one is trained to be and do their best, but when it comes to ‘human communication’, Mastery is virtually impossible to achieve. When it comes to ‘communicating in Mastery as a human being’, that opportunity does not exist. In fact, quite the opposite takes place. We're actually often told, when claiming one’s power, “Oh, don't act like that, what will people think? Oh, you shouldn't say that, you sound arrogant.”

So when speaking about human communication, before Vocal Awareness, there was never any method that taught Communication Mastery. We actually have no concept of what it could mean if we were able to communicate with higher consciousness in what I refer to as Conscious Awareness, fully integrating mind/body/spirit, and this hubristic notion of being and doing my very best at all times. What would that do for us? What might that feel like?

Should it be acceptable to hide our true Self from others? No. Do we need to continue settling for the way we have communicated for thousands of years? No.

So, is there a way to communicate in the fullness of our humanity, in the fullness of what it is to be a human being, in a profoundly liberating way that has never been achieved before? Is there a way to actually access Personal Mastery through Communication Mastery? The simple answer is yes. The Vocal Awareness Method is that proven system.

As I near the end of this year’s, rather complex but hopefully interesting and inspiring New Year’s Letter, I return to the conversation about AI and human communication.

Yes, AI can be digitally perfect, but it cannot be human. Human communication can only be achieved by us. One has to live a life, one has to achieve, fail, dream, conquer, struggle, soar… One has to live the Journey. 

As we begin—not simply a new year—but quite possibly the opportunity to truly achieve Life Mastery through Communication Mastery. I ask rhetorically, wouldn’t that be awe-inspiring?

In closing, as the New Year begins to unfold, create your own solitidunal moment to design the person you aspire to be. I encourage you to use my website or my Journal as a template to support you in 2026 and beyond. Learn the 7 Rituals of Vocal Awareness, learn how to create your Personal Statement, it will help you identify how you want to be known. The website or Journal will help you create your Vision Statement, Goal Statement with timeline, and much much more.

Many of us often make New Year's resolutions. Here is a life-affirming, personally empowering one, that will lead to Personal Mastery. Commit for one week to begin your day with a moment of solitude, prayer, or spiritual ritual. Then continue with the 7 Minutes a Day Vocal Awareness practice. Track your Journey in your personal journal or your Vocal Awareness Journal. At the end of your week, consider extending these Rituals and practice for another week, and so on. 

Imagine, 2026 could actually be the year you claim your power and live in the sovereignty and Personal Mastery that IS your birthright.

Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Arthur