How exploring the wisdom of your voice can help you to become more authentic and better voice your wisdom.
“The human voice: mysterious, spontaneous, primal. For me, the human voice is the vessel on which all emotions travel - except perhaps jealousy. And the breath, the breath is the captain of that vessel.” — Claron McFadden
It was the very first evening of a singing retreat on the Greek island of Corfu. I was sitting in a candle lit circle with 22 other people from all parts of the world: different ages, backgrounds and characters. We were chanting a simple Mantra for more than half an hour, and I felt strong resistances coming up. My throat felt bad, the song felt dull, I was bored and annoyed by the other people.
But the song kept on going, and after some more time, my mind gave up the chattering complaints. I kind of surrendered to the experience, not wanting or refusing anything anymore. And then suddenly, something magical happened: I found myself singing on a much higher note with a new melody and a crystal-clear voice, without putting any effort into it. Pure creativity was flowing through and out of me, and tears of release and joy were running down my face. I knew immediately that something profound was happening.
A Glimpse into Awaking
What I experienced during that night is what in Zen-Buddhism is called “Kensho”, a glimpse into awakening, a mystical experience of bliss and oneness that opens the way to further steps of self-realization and enlightenment. It is a state of letting go, a state where the mind comes to a stop and where the duality between the “Self” and the world temporarily ceases.
In the Chinese Taoist tradition, a concept called “Wu Wei”, which literally means “effortless doing” or “non-action”, describes a similar phenomenon. The idea behind this is to get out of our own way by stopping the excessive thinking, planning, wanting, trying and doing, so that things can happen in their own intelligent, natural, and therefore effortless flow. This is the essence of Bruce Lee’s famous quote “Be water my friend!”.
The Organ of the Soul
On an intuitive level, we all know it already. There is something very significant, intricate and almost mystical about the voice! Our voice is as unique and distinctive as our fingerprint and a quite characteristic element of our identity. It is directly connected to the quality of our breath, our emotional state, our level of self-confidence and well-being. It also transports the level of drive, devotion, authenticity and trustworthiness we bring to the table.
In our voices, we carry the hidden code for the extent of love or fear that is behind our words. Thus, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that also the attractiveness of a person is strongly related to their voice. We can deeply fall in love with somebody’s voice or being strongly repelled by it. The voice is clearly more than a communication apparatus, it is rather the "organ of the soul”.
The voice is also the most beautiful and versatile musical instrument of all, and the most difficult to master. Chanting, which is the collective form of singing, has played a pivotal role in invariably all tribal cultures and shamanic traditions as well as in all churches, synagogues and mosques across the globe.
And even in modern metropolitan life, many people are deeply touched, moved and transformed by the voices of their favorite music stars. Talent shows like “The Voice” are real blockbusters, and Karaoke apps are bestsellers. Indeed, we all are “shower rock stars” and intuitively sing when we are in good mood or sufficiently drunk. To sum it up: We all have a natural, deep desire for an authentic and creative vocal expression, for speaking our truth and singing from our heart!
Fear and Shame
But at the same time, the free flow of our voice is often inhibited by layers of fear and shame. We feel vulnerable and naked when we put our most authentic self and our unfiltered emotions into our voice. We fear sounding stupid, insecure, disharmonious or even annoying, and we fear being judged, neglected and rejected by others.
Hence, instead of enjoying the creative flow of our voice, we often feel a strong discomfort around public speaking or singing and avoid according situations as good as we can. And that makes us consciously or subconsciously feel bad, because we are not expressing our true nature and full potential.
What to do
Creative vocal expression is a divine gift given to all of us. It is a source of joy, that is completely healthy and free. And the only thing it needs to start your personal discovery journey, is your courage and some ideas on where to start. So what can you actually do?
Well first of all, no matter how you think about your own voice: activate, explore, understand and expand your range of possibilities.
Do you remember how it was when you were a child? You were making all kind of silly noises, imitating animals, singing songs “off-tone”, making airplane and racing car sounds, whistling, crackling or swooshing. Re-connect with that, it is your true nature.
Consider singing regularly with other people. Become part of a choir, chant in circles, form an amateur band or invite your friends over for a weekly “Youtube Karaoke session”.
Does that highly resonate with you and you want to go deeper? Get in touch with me and book a free coaching session with a focus on voice liberation.
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