You are an artist.
“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you and into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”
– Martha Graham
It's hard to describe the feeling of a room full of people using their voices in a way that is pure, unbridled and free.
Through our voices, we can meet here, underneath the layers of all that holds us back from each other.
Our voices let us carry ourselves and each other through waves of emotions too complex and nuanced for words to describe, through sorrow, playfulness, rage, tenderness, joy and beyond.
When we meet here, we make magic.
The beauty is that if you can speak, you can do this! Whoever you are, no matter whether or not you have had any vocal training, your voice is an opportunity to make beautiful art out of what is inside you.
I do mean it, you know! Just like Martha Graham says in the above quote, you are unique. There is only one flavour of you in the entire universe. And that means your expression is unique, and so is your voice.
There is a creative force in every one of us, and when we know how to connect to it, it can bring us into presence and flow.
Our great spiritual teachers tell us to love every part of ourselves, to welcome and honour all that's within us. For me, there is no greater way of doing this than taking what is inside us, feeling it, and expressing it creatively on the voice.
When we do this, we can take joy, anger, sorrow, pain, excitement, despair, and all those complex and nuanced feelings that we don't even have words for, and make them into art. We make ourselves feel seen and held, and we experience release.
My 8-week Voice Activation course has just started in Stockholm. Already in the first session we've had beautiful experiences with this. I have witnessed that every person in the class is an artist, and so have they. And so are you!
And, in the process of connecting to your voice, not only do you get to know yourself better, you also find that, more and more, your voice is there for you when you need it most.
Let me show you.