Even if the speaker is not identified as divine, a voice heard in the absence of a visible speaker, for many people, invites the possibility of a relationship with something beyond the self. Some assert that it was God who has spoken to them. Many people, especially those who self-identify as spiritual or religious, find their experiences of hearing a voice deeply meaningful as a point of contact with something beyond the self. There has been a resurgence of interest in the biographical meaning of what voices have to say. However, this innovation has not completely removed the mystery and has not completely undermined the meaning of such experiences. It is a modern innovation that has “explained” voices on the basis of mental illness or aberration, turning mystery into diagnosis and (in many cases) denying meaning to the content of what the voice says. They have meaning.įor most of human history, we might add, they have also had mystery. They are associated with a sense of agency and, at least sometimes, if not often, a sense of presence. It is therefore not surprising that we have discovered that “voices” (AVHs) 1 are not just voices. Who spoke? Where did the voice come from? What does it mean? A voice is not just a perception, not merely a hallucination it is an act of communication.

The presence of a voice implies the presence of a speaker, and a voice heard in the absence of any visible speaker immediately invites questions. Hearing a voice is not like hearing a waterfall, touching a stone, or seeing a flower.

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