As I stepped out my front door, this morning, I listened to the woodpeckers tapping a half mile away. I heard the ringing bell of a child’s bicycle across many blocks. It was as if my awareness and sensing now had a chance to widen. We each have increased space in our lives, in one […]
In 1971, jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron rapped “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”*. A classic rant against an oppressive racist culture, it reminds us that dramatic changes in the world do not happen on a screen. As we enter the last days of 2019, the ‘screen’ plays out in the spin of social media. In […]
I am up extra early today, on the Summer Solstice, not wanting to miss a second of the many light-filled minutes ahead. The sky, in a mercy of gentleness, offers a cover of soft white. But we know where the sun is; we can’t be fooled. The birds sing. The trees are fully fluffed with […]
Let a breath come into you. Let it arrive in the place of your felt sense, the place of your ache, your uncertainty, your longing: whatever is coming up in this moment for you in your body and your heart. Let a soft sound arrive in this place, and let a sound be carried on the […]
How do we as women show up in the world? How do we claim our presence as unique individuals, as well as part of a very important movement into greater feminine consciousness? Our voices are not only about creative expression, they are also a very real vocalization process that engages the core of our sensory […]
Gazing around my office, my eyes rest on the elegance of a simple Passamaquoddy basket. A delicately woven creation of golden sweetgrass and blueberry stained ash, each strand is a threaded moment in time. Worked by human hands, it has been woven into a distinctive wholeness all its own. I am struck by its intrinsic […]
In a quiet private room of a therapists office, sometimes shouts are heard. In a moment of distress, a howl can be a long overdue reclamation of personal power and freedom. There is a time and place for this level of noise. Yet in a caring conversation between two people in heartfelt alliance, there can […]
Yesterday I presented a workshop entitled “Recovering Vocal Presence after Sexual Trauma” at the Colorado Counseling Association annual conference in Denver. I had a wonderful experience with some very engaged participants who were quite animated about this work I do with Essential Voice Expression, and ready to learn more in my upcoming workshop, “7 Notes […]
.. and the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. – attributed to Anais Nin This beautiful quote is so sensorily evocative. One can viscerally experience the sensations of the tightness of the bud and how painful it can be in […]
A key aspect to vocal recovery is establishing a safe, secure place from which to express oneself. The second ‘note’ of 7 Notes to Freedom – a step by step path to vocal reclamation – is called Boundary Calls. Many among us have experienced the trauma or hurt of having our unique voices (core expressions […]