by Elizabeth Yelen

How often have you heard phrases like "we need to raise our frequency," "the higher your frequency the easier it is to manifest things in your life," and "they’re just a low frequency person." There is a grain of truth in all of these statements, but because the language is clumsy, they tend to come across as "high frequency good, low frequency bad." Often this is not the intent of the person speaking, but the structure of our language can override intent and the message may become quite garbled.

The thing about frequency is that we are referring to a wave. In order to better understand the concept, understanding a tiny bit about waves is very helpful. There are two primary things that determine the shape of a wave. One of them is wavelength – this is what I believe most of us think of when we think about raising our frequency – but the other part is the amplitude, or height of the wave.

Let’s start with amplitude. The bigger the amplitude or height of a wave, the taller the peak and the lower the trough. Think of an ocean wave. Taller waves lift you way up high, and then plunge you way down low again. Not only will a taller wave lift you higher up into the air than a shorter wave, but it will also sink you down lower than a shorter wave, because the troughs dip lower. In a sense, you cannot get way up high, without also going way down low.

Now let’s move on to wavelength. Wavelength is the distance of one wave to the next wave. Wavelength is usually measured from either the peak or trough of the first wave, to the same point on the second. Again think about an ocean wave. When the ocean is calm, the waves are gentle swells that are usually far apart from each other, which is an example of a bigger wavelength. When the ocean is rough and choppy, the waves usually come very quickly on top of one another, which is a shorter wavelength. So the shorter the wavelength, the more quickly the waves come.

This brings us back to frequency. Frequency is the measure of how many waves happen in a specific time frame – usually how many waves per second. So a faster, or higher frequency is really just more waves happening at a time than a slower frequency.

So what we mean when we refer to raising our frequency or raising our vibration, is not actually shortening the wavelength, but increasing the amplitude. In increasing how high and low we go, we are able to see more levels of reality, and work at more levels as well. If we think back to the ocean wave again, it is carrying us to a higher vantage point at its peak, and then dipping us down to be able to look deeper in its trough. This gives us a different perspective on whatever we are looking at, because we are able to see more of it and see it at more angles. At the same time, we can still see all the angles and parts of it that we saw before our amplitude increased, because we still travel through the same places that we did before.

So frequency and amplitude, while they can be related, are actually different things. As such, they have different purposes. Frequency is a very important and effective tool. For example, if you are working with someone that is bouncing off the walls, usually the last thing you want to do is to work them up even further by hitting them with a fast frequency. There are exceptions to this, but in most cases a more soothing and grounded environment is more helpful, so make use of the gentle ocean swell, rather than choppy waters. On the other hand, perhaps the person in question tends to stay too slow in their frequency, so is getting mired down and stuck in the mud. For that person, a faster frequency – the rough and choppy ocean wave – would probably be more appropriate.

Then there is amplitude. We all tend to have trouble not judging against smaller amplitudes. In our culture, we often think of getting ahead and being more advanced. In essence, we are obsessed with being the top of the class, the cream of the crop, and judging in favor of one and against another. However, each plays a vital role in the whole and different amplitudes really just mean different functions. If you think of a symphony, there are instruments that play low, middle, and high parts and if one of your ranges is missing, the symphony is lacking.

Just as in an orchestra, we serve as different parts of the symphony. Someone playing a piccolo (miniature flute) may feel out of place amongst those playing cellos. But that does not mean the piccolo player is wrong and needs to pick up a cello, it just means that the piccolo player’s instrument and role is different than that of the players surrounding her. By allowing each person to serve where they are called to serve, and not judging against them, allows us to work together more effectively and become more whole both as individuals and as a community.

The same is true of amplitude. We all serve at whatever amplitude we are in, and there are some jobs that require a person with a smaller amplitude, and some that require a larger amplitude. And even some that require one somewhere in the middle. Losing people in any of those ranges misses out on a part of the orchestra.

So let’s raise our frequency if we want to get things moving and lower it if we want to calm things down. Let’s increase our amplitude, lower it, or keep it as is, if that is where we feel drawn to. Allow each person to choose for themselves where they want to be. Freedom is a precious gift; let’s give it to ourselves and each other.