Reverse Speech
I FIRST BECAME AWARE of the existence of reversed messages in speech back in the 80′s after watching the embarrassingly campy “Hells Bells; The Dangers of Rock N Roll.” While it was a very poor approach to a very serious subject, it did manage to get my attention. Messages could be heard when certain songs were played backward.
Some of these messages were created by a technique called “backward masking,” which was the deliberate insertion of a reversed sound track that was merged with the original recording of a song. When the song was played under normal forward conditions, these masked tracks were heard only as background noise or subtle gibberish. But when reversed, they could be heard as they were recorded.
But not every message could be attributed to audio mixing. There were many messages that were being produced solely by what was being sung. I marveled at how difficult it must be for musicians to sing in just the right way to inflect words in reverse. It seemed like a lot of work to go through. In fact, it seemed rather pointless, since most of the heavy rock songs that were revealed to contain messages openly screamed their satanic messages forwards without apology. So why put so much effort into masking what was being sung openly? It didn’t make much sense.
But then I heard about David Oates and his work. So I paid a visit to his website. He had discovered a phenomenon called “Reverse Speech” which occurred naturally, and was therefore separate from the intentional practice of backward masking.
“Backward Masking is a recording technique were words and statements are deliberately inserted backwards into the sound track, whereas Reverse Speech is a naturally occurring part of every day conversation, happening naturally with no technical manipulation.” – Source
“The pioneer and 20 year veteran of this field, Australian David John Oates, describes Reverse Speech as another form of human communication. He states that language is bi-level, forward and reverse. As the human brain constructs the sounds of speech, it forms those sounds in such a way that two messages are delivered simultaneously. One forwards, which is the conscious mind speaking, and the other in reverse, which is the unconscious mind speaking.” – Source
This goes beyond the phonetic sounds produced when words are said backward.
“Reversals are not formed by the letters of the word, they are formed by the sound of speech. Therefore two people can say the same thing and get different reversals.” – Source
So if you hear a message in someone’s reversed speech, you might wonder if it’s possible to reproduce the same reversal by reading or saying the same thing.
“The general rule of thumb is no. However if you can reproduce the speech exactly the same way forwards you may get an approximation of the same reversals. Speech in natural conversation is rarely identical.” –Source
So why do we speak in reverse? Well, David has some theories.
“I wrote my first theory about the dual fold nature of language in April 1987 and at the time some of my questions were, “When does Reverse Speech begin?” “Are we born with it or is it a learned function like forward speech?” Then, as fate would have it, I became the proud father of twin girls in July 1987, and I had a new research project on my hand.” – Source
His discoveries led him to conclude:
“As a result of these very significant finds I have proposed a new theory of language. This theory essentially states that the process of spoken communication in children begins backwards before it does forwards. From as early as four months of age children are pronouncing simple words backwards. Then, as they begin to learn forward speech, these two modes of speech, forwards and backwards, combine to form into one overall dual communication process. – Source
The idea that we learn to communicate in reverse before we learn to communicate forwards may seem like a stretch, but it made me recall another ability that works in a similar way – vision. When we see an object, light bouncing off it reaches the eye and is refracted by the cornea and lens and focused into an image on the retina. But the image made on the retina is both upside down and reversed. And yet, despite being reversed, our brain can make sense out of it and is equipped to translate it. So basically, our vision works with backward and forward images, just like speech does with sound.
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST:
So is it possible to communicate one message forward, while communicating another message from the heart, backwards? That was an unusual idea. So I decided to put it to the test. And who better to test it on than myself?
My plan was simple. I would record myself talking, and intentionally think of something else, to see if it would come through in reverse. So I connected a microphone to my computer, and opened a sound recording program. I then wrote down some “talking points” on a piece of paper, and began talking about them while thinking about other topics. When I finished talking, I reversed my recording and listened for any recognizable words. I heard nothing. There were no messages whatsoever. So I tried recording myself again. And again. And again. Nothing.
I did this for an hour. By the end I was getting tired. I was tired of talking for no reason, and tired of concentrating so hard on trying to get myself to say something in reverse. I was also getting a bit bored. So on my last attempt, I unintentionally strayed from my plan. My mind began to wander away from what I was trying to get myself to say. And as I rambled on about nothing in particular, I looked over to a window and was impressed by the contrast of dark storm clouds in the sky and a bright shaft of sunlight shining down upon some trees causing their leaves to absolutely glow. It was beautiful, and I said so first in my mind or “heart,” and then made some comments about it in my pointless rambling speech. I hit stop on the recorder, and listened one last time to see if I had gotten myself to say anything. I froze at what I heard.
In reverse, I heard myself commenting on the beautiful scene I saw out the window. I heard myself speaking, clear as day, pardon the pun. So I copied that section and isolated it, so I could hear what I was saying forward at the time when I was speaking backward. Sure enough, backward and forward, I was talking about the beauty I saw out the window. Forward was what I said out loud, backward was exactly what I was thinking at the time.
Well now my curiosity was souring. Was it a fluke? A coincidence? Reverse speech is comprised of short phrases and comments. It never carries itself as a second conversation, just as a commentary that annotates things said forwards. So while my comments about the window, trees, and beauty, were all clearly spoken in reverse, and represented my thoughts as concise phrases, still, it was hard to come to terms with. So I tried again.
This time, one of the talking points I had written down was the name of a girl I knew who claimed to follow God but was turning into a seductress. I was quite ambivalent towards her, harboring both concern and disgust for her in my heart. So when I came to her name on my list, my feelings were very strong. As I talked, I talked as if I was describing her to someone in front of me. I struggled a few times to keep from describing her in terms I had been hearing at work. Foul terms associated with swearing. It was a real problem I was suddenly struggling with at my new job, because my mind wanted to adopt the “style” of speech of those around me. But my spirit refused to swear. At least out loud.
So when I played back the recording, I heard nothing until I came to the section where I had talked about this girl. In reverse, I heard myself speak of my fears for her eternal future, and then, I spoke about what she was becoming. I heard myself call her the very names I had kept myself from saying out loud. It was vulgar. And it was exactly what I thought of her but would never say out loud. That scared me.
I tried speaking about other people, and was horrified to hear myself speak so coarsely, and perversely. I was rude and brutally unkind in my honesty. I wanted to believe that the person speaking was not me, that it was a demon impersonating me, or some kind of prank, but I could make no such excuse, because I knew my own thoughts. What I was hearing was, unfortunately, true to self. And I was disturbed not because I had never heard such thoughts in my own mind, but that I had never heard them spoken out loud, and with such abandon and unrestrained liberality. Normally I only hear myself speak words which I have carefully chosen for public consumption. But now I was hearing myself talk without restraint. It was startling and sickening. The outward mask, or facade, that I paraded before the world was gone. The lights were turned on, and what was hidden in darkness was exposed.
While I prided myself on being disciplined enough to never speak in vulgarities out loud, I had not put as much effort in vanquishing my internal thoughts. And now, I realized that those thoughts were not as hidden as I had thought. I felt exposed. Dirty. Embarrassed. It was sobering to hear myself as I really was. But it was heartbreaking to realize that I was hearing what God hears. I was hearing the thoughts of my heart, or soul.
I was overwhelmed by the revelation of my own depravity, so I deleted everything. I didn’t care whether it was good, bad, or neutral, I wanted all traces of my internal thoughts to go away. Even if no one believed me later, I never wanted anyone to hear the corruption of my heart, for truly, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV). I later read on David Oates site that it’s “ill advised” to record and analyze friends and family, “as it can cause tensions and conflicts. It is also ill advised doing reversals on yourself as it can cause psychological stress” – Source. I experienced some of that stress to be sure. However, I would also say that there is no better test subject than one’s self, because it leaves no doubt about the connections between forward and reverse speech. You just have to be prepared to hear the real you, the one you have grown accustomed to being hidden. Hearing the part of you that is never allowed to speak is very disturbing I assure you.
AN INFLUENCED SOUL:
As I reflected later on my own experiences with reversed speech, I began to realize the significance of what had taken place. My example of reverse speech was influenced by my work environment, and reflected the inner struggle I was having at the time. I was fighting to keep myself from conforming to the vulgar style of speech everyone else was using at work.
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (1 Corinthians 15:33, KJV)
But this influence can easily come from the spiritual realm as well as the physical.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5, KJV)
We are heavily influenced by what we entertain or permit to abide within us. This is why born-again believers are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18). We are commanded not to quench Him, but allow ourselves to be influenced by His guiding presence (1 Th 5:19; John 16:13). God’s presence, when it’s actually there, has a profound effect upon us. It’s His influence upon our soul that allows us to renew our minds (out of which our communication flows).
“And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:27, KJV)
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2, KJV)
If a Holy Spirit can influence us to the point of altering our minds and thoughts, so can a unholy spirit. This is true of both human spirits and fallen angelic spirits (demons). And this influence, regardless of where it comes from, is very real.
“Sparks, Nevada – After James Vance demolished his face with a sawed-off shotgun at a church playground, he rode his bicycle around town shocking people with his grotesque disfigurement.
Plastic surgeons had been able to restore his ability to eat and breathe, but were not able to restore his smooth, youthful face.
James’ physical deformity stunned the town, but not as much as the message he later delivered: Heavy metal music drove him and his closest friend to strike a suicide pact, one that only James survived.” – Source
The music they listened to was composed by the rock band, Judas Priest, and was filled with reversed messages that urged its listeners to commit suicide. And so the parents of these two boys sued the band because of the power of their reversed messages. The band denied knowingly delivering such a message.
So where did the message come from? It came from their influenced souls. The demonic spirit of suicide had successfully influenced the lead singer to the point where his heart was parroting the suggestive idea’s of the demon. The suicidal lusts of the demon were triggered by the music being sung, and began to be expressed unwittingly by the unguarded heart of the singer. This message found the equally unguarded hearts of James and his friend, and they responded.
This susceptibility to reverse messages is determined by the source of what our hearts respond to. If a message comes from someone or something to which we have opened our hearts, we are far more likely to respond to the instructions of the reversed message. For example, David Oates found that children subconsciously respond to the influence of reversed messages, especially when those messages are being communicated by their parents.
“Furthermore, I have discovered that many of our children’s learned behavior are coming unconsciously from their parents speech reversals. Because reverse speech is a communication process, children are constantly hearing the speech reversals of their parents and taking in those characteristics. At deeper levels of reverse speech these codes of behavior are stored in metaphor and archetype which carry with them the energy of the behavior. As the children hear the reversed metaphors of the parents, the behavior also becomes a part of them. Thus children will appear to repeat parental patterns unless change is created in either the parents, or the children, at the unconscious level.” – Source
This influence is especially potent to those who are drawing from their fallen nature instead of a divine one. What do I mean by “fallen nature?” Our “natures” are the base of our desires. And they are influenced by either an external or internal source. For example, the term “fallen nature” refers to our natures being predominatnly influenced or controlled by a fallen source, be it the desires of our flesh, or the desires of external fallen spirits (of men or angels). The phrase, “divine nature” refers to a nature that is influenced or controlled by the Holy desires of Divinity. Thus, salvation occurs when we are saved from the control of fallen sources, and willingly submit to the control of the Divine.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4, KJV)
However, the fallen nature is inherent in our bodies, and will not be done away with untill our bodies are redeemed in heaven. So when we receive the divine nature of God, it wars against the fallen nature of our flesh. Paul refers to the fallen nature as our “old man” or former self, and to the divine nature as our “new man.”
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. {24} O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? {25} I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. {8:1} There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 7:23-8:1, KJV)
So we must put the old or former man to death, while nurturing the new man, or new nature, which was created in us at the time of our salvation.
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; {23} And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; {24} And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. {25} Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:22-25, KJV)
In my reverse speech, I was speaking what was true, but only in that it was true of my “…fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18, KJV). I was speaking out of my “old nature” because I had not put it to death internally. It was alive and well and speaking boldly for all to hear, even though it was hidden in reverse.
This is why it’s so fitting that the King James Version of the bible refers to our behavior as a “conversation” (Ephesians 4:22-25, KJV). Because the motivations of our behavior are literally expressed in our verbal conversation, and manifest in our reversed speech. And both our verbal and our physical actions combine to form our communication of life, also known as our lifestyle.
So imagine the effect on our behavior and our forward and reversed speech when demons are allowed to influence us. This is why musicians can unwittingly sing about Satan and his influence on their lives, even when they don’t believe in him. Satan’s influence is spiritually and physically undeniable. And, because our conscience is far more aware of reality than our waking mind, it recognizes what our corrupted minds are unwilling to believe.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: {21} Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:20-21, KJV)
We are far more conscious of reality than it would appear from what we say in our forward speech. We spend so much effort trying to suppress knowledge that we don’t want to believe, that we end up deceiving ourselves, and ignoring the revelation that our heart cannot deny.
After all, if we can quench and sear the understanding of our own consciences, it’s because there is a real difference between what we subconsciously know to be true, and what we want to be true in our waking minds. So a musician can sing about Satan and hell even though he may not believe in either, and still speak in reverse about what their conscience knows about Satan’s influence upon their soul. Thus their suppressed conscience makes them unwitting hypocrites. For people like this are “speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron,” so that they speak against what their heart not only knows to be true, but says to be true in reverse (1 Timothy 4:2, KJV).
This principle is also known as speaking out of a “double heart.”
“They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” (Psalms 12:2, KJV)
Forward, a man can speak flatteries or of things which seem quite righteous, but the hidden thoughts of the heart will always be spoken in reverse.
“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12:34, KJV)
How can the heart speak out of the abundance of its evil if the mouth is busy with carefully selected messages of “goodness?” One example is reverse speech. The heart will always speak according to what it treasures, which is to say, it will always speak according to it’s greatest source of influence, regardless of what we choose to say forward.
PUTTING IT TO GOOD USE?
One of the problems with listening to reversed speech is that it can often be very dependent upon context. As a language, it can be hard to know what is being intended by certain words or phrases, unless you are aware of the circumstances that resulted in the message. Because without this context, it can be easy to dismiss the reversals of others as circumstantial, or coincidental, or read into them what ought not be. We do this enough with forward speech. So if you had heard my recording, you would not have known what certain references meant, or their significance. You might have easily dismissed them as coincidental, and no message at all. Or, if you didn’t know me, you might assume that I wasn’t saved.
But when circumstances are well understood, there are applications where reverse speech can be very helpful. For example, in the state of Oregon, it has been used in criminal investigations and the results have been independently verified by DNA testing in one case. And it is even being used in politics and warfare, wherein the plans of world leaders are being deciphered and exposed thereby thwarting certain agendas and cutting through the lies of propaganda. Reverse speech is an effective lie detector, especially when you have the means to pursue revelations and confessions made in reverse and verify them with the hard proof of what their investigations find.
Now having said all this, I must make something very clear. Reverse speech is a tool, and nothing more. It does not replace the guidance and revelation of the Holy Spirit. The moment it does, we will head down a slippery slope of personal presumption. And conversely, if we dismiss it’s revelation, it’s tantamount to ignoring the message of people’s hearts, for better or for worse. I do not endorse every conclusion David Oates makes on his website, nor every application for which reverse speech is used, however, I do note the importance of what he has discovered. It’s foolish to ignore God’s design. Everything God has set in place exudes meaning and significance. God has a lot to say about communication, and this revelation about reverse speech only adds depth to His instruction.