Simply Authentic...Your Soul Voice is Calling. The Inner and Outer Voices

The Inner and Outer Voices My voice teacher, Linda Brice http://authenticvoiceconsultants.com/, founder of the Transformational Voice® system, calls the voice a double mirror. I love this analogy. What’s going on within is reflected in the voice, and the voice reflects what’s going on within. Working with the voice raises consciousness. As the voice changes, the person changes, and as the person changes, their voice changes. I once worked with a voice student who came to me with slumped shoulders and a disappointed head, her voice barely rasping out. She had suffered physical injuries in a car accident. But when I asked when she first started losing her voice, she replied, “In my first marriage of 28 years.” Sue got the concept of the double mirror. I recently, out of nowhere, had a flashback to the summer I spent in Orlando, Florida. I was 19 years old and had one of my first “real” jobs, in a steak restaurant called Western Sizzlin. It wasn’t an ideal job, but it was better than the one at the bakery I had to get up at 3:30 am for. Ultimately, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed working there, and the people I worked with. I’d settled into a groove… I laid by the pool and swam a bit early afternoon before driving the rickety wood-paneled station wagon to the restaurant right before the heavy rains hit. I got off work around 11:00 pm, with time to meet my roommate for drinks before we headed back home and started the same routine over again. Then there came the day one of the cooks threw a steak on the floor. If you’ve never worked in the kitchen of a restaurant, know the floor is constantly filled with foodstuff, whatever is tracked from one end to the other, and needs to be cleaned often. We literally hosed down the floor at closing, and topped it off with mopping. But let’s get back to that steak thrown on the floor. And turned over on the floor once again, before being put on the grill. I was aghast. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota, and was naïve, frankly. I thought that kind of thing only happened in the movies. I turned to the tanned, sandy brown curly-headed cook, whose name is coming to me now as Alec or Alex, and asked him why on earth he did that. He said, with complete and total satisfaction, “A black man raped my sister.” He had obviously taken note that this particular customer was an African-American male. Okay. Rape is a concern for any woman, including me. I have not experienced this ultimate violation, yet I know many women who have…including sexual abuse by family members. All the same, I asked the cook, “What if a white man had raped your sister?” He didn’t have an answer for that, and appeared rather agitated. This cook and I worked together the rest of the summer before I moved back to South Dakota to finish college. We never spoke of it again. And I never saw him place any more meat on the floor. Now I wonder why I didn’t say anything to the manager. Bob Bell was a good manager and had hired at least one African-American woman and an African-American man. Joe, Latino, and Nadsia, originally from Russia, were there when I started – Nadsia taught me how to make the desserts. Yet, perhaps, with no managerial involvement, I made my voice heard…and my voice made a difference. Honing our authentic voices isn’t only for us, personally. It’s for helping voice the world we wish to create, with each breath and vocalization. Please join me in making it a loving and compassionate one. If you found this post helpful, please spread the love and pass it along to a friend! Authentically Yours, Laura

The Authentic Expression Wishweavers Circle: Nine Steps on the Soul Path to Your Dreams

1. Form your community, support system—a master mind group, or “Wishweavers Circle” to help you tap into your potential.

2. Create a vision of a perfect day in the life of your authentic self; start focusing on what you want to do, instead of what you “have to” do.

3. Identify and disarm self-defeating thought patterns and behaviors that keep you stuck.

4. Receive resources, contacts, ideas, encouragement and accountability from others in your Circle to expand your idea of what’s possible and gain clarity.

5. Take a vague idea and turn it into a firm plan with concrete action steps.

6. Internalize your deepest desires, develop confidence to believe and know your vision as a reality, and truly feel you can accomplish your dreams.

7. Learn to voice your desires and set healthy boundaries in a powerful, clear, respectful and compassionate manner, in your authentic voice.

8. Learn to put disappointments and set-backs into perspective, and wildly, madly, passionately celebrate successes in a safe, fun and nurturing environment.

9. Maintain an on-going Wishweaving community for life to keep you on track and thriving forward into your highest potential. Home study program $50 off through February! Register here: https://laurahandke.com/register/