Neutrality: Absence or Capacity?
I believe, that many of us feel really ready for change. And to do their part in creating it. Systems are crumbling, “truths” are being revealed, our bodies and lives crave for depth, rhythm and connection. And how is that change going to happen? When we go back in time, change often came from confrontation - protest, wars, fighting over positions. And there is something deep inside of me thinking, maybe knowing, that this is not the way it works anymore. We have worked so much, understood so much, we know, that there is more to our physical reality and that we are part of a great, vast weaving of energy. How are we supposed to move into unity from a place of separation and opposition, even if it’s “peaceful” opposition?
That's where neutrality comes in. Not that neutrality alone will create shifts by itself, but it might be time to ask how we can understand neutrality in its core. I feel that, very often, neutrality is associated with stepping back, shutting down, being indifferent or not caring. With emotional flattening and taking a position “above it all” instead of staying in contact. And yes, neutrality can be a way to bypass what feels uncomfortable, if misunderstood.
In sound, neutrality is not silence. Silence is the absence of sound, but neutrality is a quality of presence - a state where sound can travel without being distorted. When a space is too noisy, subtle tones disappear. But they are just masked, not gone. And when “opposing” sound constantly interfere with each other, a lot of energy is spent without much meaning emerging.
And I see something similar in people and systems under tension: When we think and act in polarity, energy circulates in familiar loops. Reactions trigger counter-reactions. There is movement, intensity and even passion - and very little room for something genuinely new to arise. So, in my very personal way of perception, I feel that neutrality is not withdrawing care or disengaging. It means that we finally step out of the interference pattern. When we stop feeding the oscillation, the systems slows down. The noise floor drops. And signals, that had been present but masked, become audible again. This is why deep listening and presence are so powerful.
Everything we experience - feelings, events, circumstances - is neutral in its essence. Until we decide which meaning we give to what is presented to us, how to see it, and which story to put around it. When we practise to observe without reacting immediately, without judgement, we start experiencing the polarity of life from a neutral centre, our anchor, and stop feeding thoughts, emotions or stories. From the outside, this may look subtle and quiet, maybe even passive. But from the inside, this practice requires a lot of contact and responsibility.
When working with sound, healing and transformation does not come from forcing change. It comes from creating enough coherence for the body to be able to hear itself again. When that happens, responses organize on their own. And often in ways that could not have been planned. Not being pulled between the polarities of life means that circumstances lose their emotional charge. And when we witness polarized energies from a state of neutrality, we fuse them in our heart's zero point, from where all possibilities can arise. Action, that is taken from this place of calm, steadiness and stability, does not add more noise, but clarity. And systems - bodies, relationships, groups - respond differently to clarity than to pressure.
In our cultural setting, where care is often equated with visibility and commitment with opposition, this kind of neutrality can easily be misunderstood. It can look like “not showing up”. But in its core, it's quite the opposite. It is showing up when nobody is noticing (yet). It is showing up in presence and listening. It is showing up in a deep willingness to understand and stay in the polarities of life without armouring or collapsing. In this sense, neutrality is not absence. It's capacity. It's the state where sound - and change - can travel without distortion. Are we ready to make the shift?