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SACRED VOICE
How to define your voice.

Think back to the last time you were about to start singing something. What was the first thought that came to your mind?I hope this comes out ok.Don't do it wrong.What will they think of my voice?Is there enough ________?Am I doing all the things right?At the same...

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A solution to transcend worry.

I'm sitting in a room full of unopened packing boxes in my new home.It's been a time of rapid upheaval and change in my family's life. My back aches from lifting and my mind is cluttered (just like my new dining room).Yesterday I opened a box labeled "AM Desk" and put...

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What is your *real* voice lesson?

Sometimes I joke that everything I have learned about life I learned from singing. But it's so true! It has been quite the journey, though. Sometimes it was pretty tricky, sticky, and ugly. But then also wildly illuminating, crack-you-open joyful, and triumphant.  The...

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How to believe in your ideas

I know you may not talk about it, but I know you have A Thing that's been on your mind for a while. That quiet vision, that unspoken desire, that shimmering dream, that kernel of an idea, that sticky feeling that you really, truly, wholly want something. Maybe it's a...

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Are you a Sacred Rebel?

As a young girl, then a teenager (oy), then a young adult, I would never in one million years have considered myself a "rebel." I have excellent manners, listen to instructions, pay my bills on time, do my chores, and do all the Right Things you are meant to do as a...

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The wisdom of Rest

I am taking some time away up on the coast of Maine with my family for two weeks. (Two weeks. It seems like two years!) It's such a vital reflection point, taking the space and time to remove yourself from the regular comings and goings of life and work. It seems like...

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How to be patient

Do you know Frog and Toad? They are *wonderful* anthropomorphic children's story characters (but really, these stories are for adults). In a story titled "The Garden," Toad comes to visit Frog one day, and sees his glorious and abundant garden. My goodness! he...

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Personal genius

One time recently I was watching the Beatles documentary, Get Back. It's a long, arduous haul through a rocky period for the band. But there was one moment caught on camera that created a new awakening for me about the creative process. It's a scene featuring a mumbly...

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Navigating the Messy Middle.

There is a place between your desire and its culmination. I call it the Middle. Otherwise known as in progress, in process, undergoing, unfolding, happening, rolling out, you get the idea. Years ago when I was a student, I was impatient for my voice to hurry up and...

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Leading in your own life

Leadership is a term that implies some kind of role, or top-tier position, or a person stepping into the spotlight to take charge. But I believe that true leadership, if understood at the personal level, is about how we courageously step forward in our art, and in our...

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The pursuit of greatness

What does the term greatness bring up for you? I believe we all strive to realize our best, and seek our own, personal version of greatness in our lives.  But somehow, when it comes to music, art, the voice, and personal expression, we tend to relegate "greatness" to...

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Your voice purpose

Have you ever experienced that inner longing that hungers to know... How am I supposed to use my voice? It creeps within our consciousness, and bubbles up every so often (or sometimes very often), because it's a really important question. But damn, the answer can seem...

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Where does your voice belong?

I recently hit a major parenting milestone: it was (finally!) time to crack open Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with my little one, Adrian. 🪄 Some of my very favorite stories are centered on characters with one specific archetypal quality... Harry Potter. Luke...

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Perfectionism.

It was over dinner the other night that Adrian, my darling six-year old, eagerly reminded my husband and I that we hadn't yet asked him what happened at school that day. Well, it wasn't pretty. In a nutshell, he became so frustrated with himself that he couldn't spell...

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Ride the ups and downs

Like good days and bad days, we understand that life always changes, just like the weather.  Weather is a state of external conditions that you cannot control. Rather, you adapt. But no matter what is happening outdoors, you are still the same person, right? It's the...

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How to make beautiful sound

W R I T T E N  B Y  Allison Mondel Last night I was scurrying home from the grocery store, and pulled into my driveway just after dusk. As I was gathering my bags from the trunk, I turned to look up at the chilly sky. (I always look up whenever I am outside.) I spied...

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Naked singing

W R I T T E N  B Y  Allison Mondel No, no, no. Not what you think. Not really, anyway. But why does singing sometimes feel so naked? Especially when you are going solo. Just you and your voice. You and your sound. You and your thoughts. (Oh, the thoughts!) You and...

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Your one and only voice

W R I T T E N  B Y  Allison Mondel When I began graduate school I became instant friends with a talented singer who entered at the same time. One afternoon we were leaving class and walking across Harvard Square, headed to our favorite tea café. As we were walking,...

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Sensitivity is double-sided

W R I T T E N  B Y  Allison Mondel "You are too sensitive." "Stop being so sensitive." "I am too sensitive." I have heard and said these statements my entire life. And for good reason: I am insanely positively heroically epically sensitive. It takes a lifetime to...

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Take back control of your voice

One of my favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. I had a mural of Oz painted on my childhood bedroom wall. I even had the theme of the decorations for my bat mitzvah reception decked in Oz technicolor. One of the most creative was a "smoky" sign  made of wire and cotton...

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shifting gears

I will never forget that time when I stalled out and was stuck in a rental car in the middle of a busy road in Limerick, Ireland. I had literally just pulled out of the rental parking lot, on my way to Kildare, driving crossways east across the country by myself. On...

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to err is human

I have mastered the art of "Don't let 'em see you sweat." That's easy. That's what you learn in professional training: the art of illusion. What I have not mastered is the art of Not Sweating. Have you? What do you sweat about? I sweat about, oh God, the same thing I...

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healing from voice rejection

I'll never forget the time when this man laughed in my face when I was just about to sing. Or looked down at his desk in disappointment after I had just started to sing. Or spent 45 minutes telling me why I wasn't up for the job. And then asked his personal assistant...

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reclaiming your sacred nature

I am trained as a classical musician, still working in the field and meeting the demands of the work in various ways every day. But I have long felt a disconnect from the overly technical approach to vocal training. Please do not misread this: I LOVE vocal technique....

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six ways to help you love your voice

Do you love your voice? I don't mean, is your voice good enough/lovely enough/functional enough to love. But do you love your voice inherently? I recall one time, several years ago, when I cursed God for my voice. I was mad. How could I have ended up with such a...

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the power of mantra in our practice

My experience was instantaneously reflected by the intention of my words reflecting my thoughts. When I pulled out of this precious calm center, I felt myself doubt and wobble. When I stayed present and clear, I succeeded. And when I say succeeded, I mean that I experienced ease, clarity, and joyfulness. And my singing was so much easier. I felt like my voice had wings! It could do whatever I wanted! I felt like a magus, waving my magic wand and weaving a spell, dancing with the words and the music on the page. I felt connected to Source.

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“with heart and mouth”

How can we stay centered on the deeper purpose of our singing?

We learn how to focus our awareness in order to focus on our purpose. Awareness heightens the senses and calms the thinking mind. It connects us with our instrument, and keeps us focused.

As Hildegard states, and as I teach in the Studio, we focus our awareness on our heart. The heart is the seat of the Sacred Voice. It is here that we are both connected to our divine source, and here that we experience that longing to praise the very same divinity.

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trust is a four-letter word

Trust is cultivated when we set up conditions within ourselves to succeed. Not flail and flounder and fear and feel out of control. But to feel great, to sing great, to feel free of those hand-waving thoughts that are constantly questioning what is coming out of your mouth. 

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what people think about you

In singing, I recognize that one of our greatest fears is the negative perception — and reception — of other people. This external focus can be slightly distracting for some, and absolutely debilitating for others.

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singing in a pandemic?

You know, for the entirety of this global crisis I could not even bring myself to say "Covid-19." It felt like saying "Voldemort."  Well, obviously one can only avoid this for so long. The same goes for many realities that we have encountered, and are likely to...

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why your voice gets stuck

I was up against a wall. Literally. My tongue was valiantly trying to poke out of my open mouth to formulate some semblance of an "ah" vowel whilst singing a downward scale. 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. The teacher was attempting to have my tongue stay politely in place when I...

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truly, wildly self-configuring

I had a dream the other night that was such a transparent display of unconscious fears that I laughed out loud when I woke up. In the dream, I was trying to help out some conductors. (Oh God, this is too much!) By "helping" I mean pleasing, being pleasant, can-do,...

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listening to desire

I decided on Valentine's Day that I would no longer be a soprano. I mean, a "Soprano," as a title on my resume. Ironic, that this decision should come to me on the Day of Love. I made a decision to let something go that made me feel no love. (I love that!) I had...

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Where has my voice gone?

Well, it depends on which voice you mean.  Is it the ego voice? Or the Sacred Voice. The "ego voice," based in your mind, is terrified of something: rejection, judgment, punishment. It craves validation and acceptance. The ego voice is fed by the External. It allows...

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Your Voice is Not Faulty

Ouch. For days. There was a pain lodged in my back ribs that was inescapable. I was a new mother, about six months into the ordeal, and would describe myself as what many would call a "hot mess." I felt broken. But I would not have been able to describe my situation...

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What is your Sacred Voice?

When I first started The Sacred Voice Studio, I honestly had no idea what a Sacred Voice really was. I knew it was a something that was calling to me, a whisper of a concept that was vital and personal, but I had no conceot of what would evolve into my current understanding.

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Allison Mondel
Allison Mondel is a musician, teacher, and mystic. Her greatest delight is to understand how things work, and share her wisdom with others. She writes about the higher nature of the voice, transcending personal roadblocks, and realizing your creative vocation.

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