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 your fears.

Of being heard and seen… by them. Others.

Others who may have something to think about you and your voice. Others who may attack, or deny, or reject, or criticize, or abandon, or betray, or be upset, or disallow.

Others. Them. Outside of you. Outside of your skin. Outside of your control. Others with arrows who may, or may not, use them to hurt us and our naked singing selves as we risk exposure to being heard and seen.

Which leaves you with two different options on how to proceed with this singing business.

Option #1 
Don’t ever be naked. Build your suit of armor. Stay safe, blend in. No risk, no attack.

Option #2
Shine from within. Build strength from self-love and trust. Try new things, step forward. Take a risk, weather any storm.

I know the answer is obvious. I also know how insanely difficult that feels and IS. Human beings are not hard-wired to take risks, but rather to stay safe at all costs. Our life literally depends on it.

To bring forth your unique voice into the world can feel like one of the biggest leaps you could take. So naked!

But this does not have to be so insanely difficult. It helps to understand what you are feeling, and how you are unconsciously responding to your fear of being exposed. Because when you understand, you can manage all of this swirling, chaotic fear and move through it anyway.

So, as Ariadne led Theseus through the labyrinth, let’s walk through this…

Remember: when you use your sacred voice and deliver a message with sacred intent, you are unleashing a surge of power. You may not be used to it, because it is not something we typically practice in our everyday lives. But when it’s time to show up and make a holy sound, things heat up.

So I want you to consider your energy management.

When you take that risk, when you step forward, be prepared for that surge. It’s going to look like nerves and feeling like you are a floating head without a body. It’s going to make you think about anything and everything that could be more pressing than what is actually happening in the present moment. It’s an Ego Takeover.

(For singers, this is typically expressed as either an obsession with either the notes or the quality of your sound.)

That energy surge is going to make you feel ungrounded. But like a lightning rod, you need to be anchored. You learn how to secure yourself in two places: within and without.

Within, you anchor into the heart.
Here is the present moment, the source, the whole.

Without, you anchor into the body.
Here is the physical, the instrument, the vessel.

Not a willful pressing, but rather allowing the intention of your energy to be connected, firm, and dare I say… safe.

Safe within yourself to stand your ground, connect to your higher power, and unfurl your sacred flag.

The arrows may or may not come. You cannot control the reactions of others.

But I believe the entire point of coming to this planet in the first place is so that you can contribute in some way to the betterment of humanity. That may involve having to show yourself! 

You can start right now. Begin to feel into that yearning of sharing your voice. Move that feeling into the heart, and listen to the inner guidance you receive.

The important thing is that you respond to it. But you know you are not going to like it, because it means you have to get a little naked. (On the inside, that is.)

So be wise to yourself: when you choose to be heard, you are going to react in fear.

This makes you 100% normal.

But the test is to remove your song-armor and move through the fear, knowing that you are ever-safe in the heart.

It’s a practice. And a prescription. For art, and for life.

Hugs,

allison

IMAGE: Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash 

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