I have a bold theory.

If it holds true, it can transform your experience of singing. This simple truth can exorcise any negative thinking or fears that keep you tucked away in your mind, and stuck in that old proverbial rut.

Here it is:

Your voice is sourced from your heart center.

That’s it. Not fancy, right? Not mind-blowing. Not even interesting.

But when we have a lifetime of experience that has taught us otherwise, well, it may seem like a truly alien concept.

My aim is to offer a method that aligns this concept with your reality.

Because what we learn from a lifetime of experience here on Planet Earth is that:

1) You either have a good voice or an OK voice or a bad voice.
2) You either have learned how to sing or not learned how to sing.
3) You have either committed to singing or not committed to singing.
4) Your voice is either better than others or worse than others.

Etc. etc. You get the idea.

Is this list kind of maddening? It makes me genuinely upset. It makes me think: is this what we have come to with music-making? A constant internal ticker tape of worthiness and subjective quality and limited to our relative ability?

In my experience, the constant iteration of these societal benchmarks has caused the overtaking of our singing by what I call the “ego voice”.

The ego voice is that aspect of our mind that will seize all functions if left unchecked. This voice is attuned to your unconscious fears and conscious thoughts that have been conditioned by how you are perceived by others.

(Cosmic ugh.)

But where is the magic? The art? The intelligence? The creativity and inspiration? The healing and wholeness? I know you have tasted these things. How can we savor them all the time?

Can you envision a way of singing that does not get mired in constant self-evaluation, but rather allows you the freedom to just, like, sing?

Ideally, to sing in a way that synthesizes the mind and quiets the ego. That enlivens the body and expands your energy. That opens a channel to divine source. That never, ever tells you that you can’t.

The heart allows.

When activated and open, it holds you in a place of quietude, knowing, and limitless capacity. This state of being will connect you with the sacred voice. 

And this is my whole big bold boring theory: when you source your voice from your heart center, you activate a different voice.

But it is a conscious choice you have to make, and an ensuing practice to undertake. The choice and the practice are simple, but not easy.

Here is the practice: 

1) Whenever, and every time, you are going to sing, take one moment to consciously connect with your heart center.

2) When you begin to breathe and sing, stay there. When your attention strays (which it will), return there. Over and over again.

Come back to this place especially when you feel the most scared and lost and limited.

To feel limited is common. To feel limitless? Uncommon. If you take a moment to understand how often you have been taught that your voice is limited, well, it may take time to transform this way of understanding.

But I will guarantee that any thoughts that bubble up that say “You can’t” are sourced directly from your ego voice.

The sacred voice will always say: “You can, and you will.”

allison

Photo by Marionel Luciano on Unsplash

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