Raise your Voice.
Lift your Vibration.
As a member of this course, any session with me is 40% off through January 31, 2024.
To book, select the Your Sacred Voice options.
Your Dreams, Goals, & Intention
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to complete this Goals form.
Knowing more about your hopes and intentions for this course allowing me to bring in the teachings and guidance that most strongly support you. Plus, this will help you focus your intentions to get what you wish from this experience.
Allies and Teachers
Before our first class gathering I invited in any allies or teachers who wished to join us.
Click below to see this reading, along with the guidance and wisdom it offers.
Getting Ready
— Start to notice when and where, if at all, you sing, hum, chant, or vocalize in any other way.
Notice how your body responds - Where do you feel it? Do you move? What is the sound like? Is it soft or loud? Where does it come from in your body? How does the vibration feel?
No need to try to change or achieve anything, just start to observe the ways you are interacting with your voice.
— Join our Your Sacred Voice group on WhatsApp.
This is completely optional, but provides a welcoming and supportive place for you to share your experience and connect with others in the group. WhatsApp can be access on on both mobile devices and computers. Click this button below to join.
Behold, a sacred voice is calling you;
All over the Sky a sacred voice is calling.
—Black Elk
Class 1
Prepare for our 1st class —
— Be in a space where you can be focused and present, and free of distraction or interruptions.
— Select an object, picture, stone, feather, or other item that you can see or hold, to help anchor your intentions and work in this class. Allow this item to represent and remind you of your goals in this adventure. Place your item somewhere where you will see it daily and feel happy and inspired.
If you are not able to have this with you during the class, that is fine! You can choose your object later, and through your intention, instruct it to be an anchor and support to you in this growth and expansion.
Inviting Vibration In
Audio Recording Link Passcode: yS+u61
Practices to Invite in Vibration —
Listen
Witness the song of life around you.
Try this in the early morning if you can, and hear the song of the waking world. Observe the energy & frequency of the birdsong as they great the day. Take some time to listen during the early morning, midday, sunset, and night. Note the different qualities and feeling of each time.
Does listening to the sounds of the natural world feel different than listening to the sounds of machines and urban life? What about recorded music? Contemplate that even the sounds of the modern world are part of this symphony. All that is present on the earth is of the earth.
Listen to the world around you with more than your ears.
What is it like to receive vibration in your physical body? What is it like to listen with your heart?
These are just things to observe objectively, and notice how your body receives vibration.
Clear
Continue to work with Air -
to clear places you are stuck, particularly in your throat area. Ask Air to help you, and allow this to happen.
Breathe into any place in your body you wish to clear, with a strong intention to do so. Work with your exhale in particular to release and clear whatever is ready to go.
You can also work with a feather to move energy. Ask the spirit of the kind of bird whose feather you are using to assist you. Wave the feather over your throat or other body part, fanning or “dusting” that area. It does not need to touch your skin, but it can as you wish.
Don’t have a feather? You can also use your own hand to do this, and invite in a bird ally to help you. Owl and Vulture/Condor are good particularly good helpers with this.
Use your instincts, and remember to thank Air or any bird you may have worked with.
Breathe
Keep working with Air as an ally and a helper.
Greet Air daily. Say hello and ask Air to help you in expanding your vibration, song, and power.
Allow your breath to move into places in your body to support your with clearing, with flow, movement, communication, and exchange.
Notice what it feels like to breathe into these spaces with intention and curiosity.
Allow this simple act of breath, partnered with intention, movement, and observation, to be powerful and profound, centering and supportive.
Be a Vessel for Vibration
Open up your voice and allow whatever sound emerges to come out. Allow yourself to explore. Don’t be shy about it. This is your voice, your vessel, to move vibration through.
Develop a habit of toning and singing every day; the more the better!
Link making sounds to another action or daily habit. Something that feels easy and natural to combine with your vibration exploration.
Tone/Sing/Play with sounds during or after you cook/walk the dog/ drive/ shower/do the dishes/pray/meditate/etc…
Make it easy and fun, and find where it fits naturally in your life.
Play
Be curious….How low can you go? How high? How LOUD? How quiet?
Allow the sounds you create to change and evolve in a way that feels easy and natural, that allows you to express whatever is there, including happiness, sorrow, frustration, fatigue, love, longing, ease, peace….the possibilities are endless. Perhaps what emerges is even melodic. How does this feel?
Does the vibration feel different when you link it to a specific intention? Such as the instruction to clear, to open the heart, to ground? To be silly? To express a particular emotion?
How does it feel when you are alone? How does it feel if you are with other? If you have pets, how does it feel with them? How does it feel when you're outside versus?
How is it different? How does it change in your body?
Be brave! Be curious! Explore!
Observe
Start to notice what resistance may come in for you around opening your voice.
How does your body react when you sing and express sounds? Does it tense or relax? Are there certain sounds, pitches, or vibrations that feel more comfortable in your body than others?
What happens mentally when you sing? What imprinting, thoughts or beliefs are being internally whispered to you?
No need to reject or judge this, just start to observe.
Beyond your own body — How does the natural world around you change when you share your vibration and songs? Do birds or other animals react? Or perhaps a gust of wind may come in.
What else do you notice?
Start to make a practice of welcoming the space around you with tone and song. It's particularly nice to fill your own home with your vibration, with your voice.
Spend time connecting with the object that you choose to anchor your intentions for this course.
Whisper, tone, or sing your dreams and goals into this object.
When you see this object let it inspire happiness and the desire to sing!
Let it be an extension of your Joy.
Remember
Place the object you selected to represent and anchor your intentions for this course somewhere where you will see it daily.
Let this object represents your hopes and goals, and when you see it, allow this connection with your dreams it inspire you in a way that evokes happiness and joy.
Invite in other reminders to support you in lifting your voice. These can be songs that uplift you and awaken happiness, clothing that you feel confident in, even vibrant colors of the rainbow that light you up energetically. Welcome in and seek new sources of inspiration and support.
Tone
Keep being curious about your energy centers, your chakras, and how you can use tones and vowels to access, clear, and harmonize these areas.
Here are the vowel sound we worked with for each chakra.
Again, these are just a suggestion, be open and find out what works for you in that moment.
UH (as in UP) — 1st chakra
Ooo (as in TOO) — 2nd chakra
Ooh (as in GO) — 3rd chakra
Aah (as in MA) — 4th chakra
Eye (as in MY) — 5th chakra
Ay (as in PLAY) — 6th chakra
Eee (as in SEE) — 7th chakra
Songs to Expand your Vibration.
The Vibration playlist is a resource for you to expand your sense of song, melody, rhythm, and range.
Listen to it as you wish, allowing it to support you in inviting vibration in and expanding how you embody and hold vibration.
Your unique soul song wishes to be sung,
to be brought into form.
Class 2
For our 2nd class —
— Be in a space where you can be focused and present, and free of distraction or interruptions.
— Have some water or herbal tea with you. We will be drinking it during class.
— This class will include a drum journey, which is similar to a self-guided meditation. For this, it is best to be in a quiet place where you can either lay down or sit comfortably. You may also wish to have something to cover your eyes, if that allows you to relax more fully.
Bringing in Form & Connection
Practices —
Catching a Song — of a place, plant, animal, element or other ally
#1 — Greet the ally. Say hello. Offer sincere respect, a compliment. Share your intention.
#2 — Reciprocity. Make an offering, such as a physical offering like a sacred plant, flowers, crystals, stones, or water. A blessing or a song work too. The offering should be made with sincerity, attention, intention, and focus. Connect the offering to your heart in some way. Do not rush.
#3 — Listen. Get quiet. Perhaps meditate. Match the pulse of the natural world, of the ally. Build trust. Show commitment. This all is a process that you can do repeatedly to deepen this relationship, understanding, and exchange.
#4 — Allow. Allow whatever you receive to be receive. Trust in it. Things can be received in many ways, such a feeling or emotion, a physical sensation in the body, a visual, shape, pattern, or image, a melody, rhythm or tone. With melodies, whistling can often be a good way to first find it.
? — What if you don’t hear it? Listen more. Ask again. If you get a no, ask, “Is there anything I can do? Is there anything I can do to honor you?” Keep building the relationship.
#5 — Express gratitude for whatever you received. Give a blessing as a thank you. Reflect their song, or whatever you received, back to your ally. This honors the place, or ally or spirit you are communing with and continues to build trust and connection. If you are called to, perhaps another offering.
#6 — Truly allow your self to hold this vibration, shape, feeling. And allow your self to express that vibration, as you have been practicing. Perhaps anchor it in some way you can return to. You can anchor it in your heart with your intention. Make a recording on your phone. Draw a picture. Or find another way that speaks to you.
Keep working with Water
Program your water or herbal tea with your intentions and prayers. Ask the water to help you with whatever you are working on. Express gratitude and honor to the water for the help and support you are receiving.
This is a particularly good practice to do with your first water of the morning, especially if you can be outside or facing greeting the day in some way. Although this is practice that you can do anytime, throughout your day.
Allow
Keep working with granting yourself permission in whatever way you feel you need it. You can give yourself whatever permissions you feel you need. You can do this in the mirror, into your water as we did in class, in the shower, as you drive, or during whatever daily practices feel like a good time to do this.
This practice can be done with attention and focus, and can also be done more casually during your day. Both are very helpful in their own way, especially if you repeat this practice. Allow yourself to receive new instructions for how you show up and express yourself.
Make Space
Invite in space for sound to arrive. Sometimes songs show up later after you have asked for them. Make time and space for this. If you frequently listen to music in the background, make sure you allow for some quiet time too. See what happens. If you start to sing during this time, great. Even if the song is a pop song or a commercial jingle from your childhood. Go with it. Play with it. If you wish, allow it to change and evolve into whatever vibration emerges.
Listen
Practice listening in new ways.
Sit, with your eyes closed if you wish, and listen to every sound around you, whether they are from nature or human creations. Notice and observe these sounds. Hear them all at once as the symphony of the moment, without judgement or analysis. This is listening with wide focus. Then, hone in on one of the sounds. Really hone in on it. So that all else fades away and your full listening attention is on that one vibration. This is listening with narrow focus. Then return to wide focus listening. Practice this various time throughout your day to exercise your awareness of the vibrations around you.
Rather than listening to the world around you, practice listening WITH the world around you.
Repeat
Keep working withe the practices from Class 1. They will continue to support you in welcoming in new frequnecies, in exercising your vocal range and capacity, and in learning how your body holds and receives vibration.
Woven Songs
To see some images of the woven song tapestries of the Shipibo people of the jungle regions of Peru and surround areas, visit our class Allies page. There are images both at the top and bottom of the page.
I should have some of these clothes available to purchase soon from the Shipibo community in the Ucayali River Basin in Peru that I mentioned.
You can learn more about this community here, through the Center for Shamanic Education, a nonprofit that I'm honored to work with which supports the perpetuation of shamanic traditions and practices in Indigenous communities. This article is about Edith, the Shipiba woman who taught me the Sirenita song that I sang in Class 2.
Give yourself Grace.
These processes can activate shifts in how you hold energy, and in changing old patterns, imprinting, and habits.
Invite in plenty of grace for yourself during this time.
Let your Mama Help.
Here is an audio as well as written practices to work with Mother Earth to ground and clear your energy.
Lean into Support.
Sharing on our WhatsApp group can feel really nourishing to your expression and also supports others in sharing their own perspective and voice. I’m also here for you. You are always welcome to email me and share anything that is coming up for you both positive and challenging.
Songs for Form, Flow, & Connection
The Connection playlist is a resource for you to explore songs of ally, nature spirits, and places, particularly of those connected to water. Listen to it as you wish, allowing it to support you in inviting greater connection in, and tapping into the form and flow of your expressions.
Have a song that you wish to share?
You are welcome to add it to this playlist.
Watch for all that beauty reflecting from you and sing a love song to your existence.
— Rumi
For our 3rd class —
— Be in a space where you can be focused and present, and free of distraction or interruptions.
— If possible, have a lit candle or other source of flame with you. We will be working with fire during the class.
Class 3
Practices to Nourish your Heart
Observe how your heart shows up —
Is it Open?
— Filled with compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness (rather than closed, blocked with resentment, grudges, judgment).
Is it Clear?
— Connected to your truth, knowingness, and certainty (not clouded, ambivalent, confused, or doubtful).
Is it Strong?
— Are you in your integrity, authenticity, courage (not weak and fearful, lying and cowardly).
Is it Full?
— Fully committed and present (not half hearted, or unreliable).
To heal your Heart, ask —
When did I stop singing?
When did I stop dancing?
When did I stop being interested in my own story?
When did I stop being comforted by the sound of silence?
To heal, balance, and reawaken your Heart —
Observe your life with wonder, look for solace in silence, dance and sing.
Yay! You’re already doing this!
Keep working with Fire -
Light a candle, and work with the candle to invigorate the spark of fiery energy in your belly, your heart, and your head. Notice how all these flames carry the color and frequency of Truth, Love, and Energy. Remember that the Fire of the flame and the Fire in you, is connected the Sun, and to energy of the Big Fire, of the original Fire.
You can cup your hand around this flame (without touching the flame) to collect Fire energy. Once you feel that your hand is full of the Fire energy, scoop this energy up and and place it anywhere on your body where you wish to have more energy and the nourishing powers of Fire.
Please take care when doing this exercise! Do not touch the flame.
Keep working with the energy of Fire and tuning into the Fire of Truth, Love, and Energy that is inside you. Whenever your energy of action, love, play, expression, or truth needs sparking, invite Fire in to activate this energy. You can do so with this exercise, or simply by working with your intention and breath to connect with and cultivate the spark you carry.
Feel the Feels -
— What songs give you shivers? Seek sounds that bring emotion into your body. Allow yourself to embrace these feelings.
— What emotions exist in you powerfully? These could be strong feelings about events or people in your own life, a collective pattern, or a global situation. This energy can be an offering too to a place or spirit. Try it.
— Tune into your Heart. Either through your intention or through a distinct emotion. Allow your Heart to move up to the throat to express itself; perhaps by sparking a tone, a sound, a tune, a vocalization, coming through as the vibration of your Heartsong.
How does it feel
to hear the song of your own Heart?
Invite Creativity In -
Keep playing with melody, allowing it to evolve and change, to expand and grow, to dance and tranform, just like Fire! Even if you suspect (or know) that the melody originated from someone else, connecting the melody to your intention and heart makes it truly special and unique in that moment.
Speed it up, slow it down, draw it out, or get fancy with it.
Take it high or low, it is yours to play with and explore. Have fun with it!
I give you permission to be Mozart :)
Keep at It —
Keep up the practices from Class 2, especially Catching a Song, Working with Water, Allow, Make Space, and Listen. These are all tools for you to continue to use to support you and your voice in gaining strength, confidence, and power.
Keep noticing what beliefs and rules you have about your voice and expression can be cleared, reset, and rewritten to better support you. Perhaps make a list of these beliefs, and then literally rewrite them.
Keep giving yourself whatever permission you need to show up the way you want to. It is effective to tell yourself this out loud and even in the mirror.
I celebrate myself, and sing myself…
Song of Myself, Walt Whitman
Songs to Express the Heart Song
The Expression playlist is a resource for you to explore the emotions, truth, and song of the heart. Allow it to support you in exploring the range of your heart expression.
Have a song that gives you the shivers or touches your heart? Please share it by adding to this playlist.
How wonderful is the human voice!
It is indeed the organ of the soul.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Class 4
For our 4th class —
— If possible, have a stone or potted plant with you. We will be working with Earth during the class.
Practices for Crafting a Song —
Anchor it.
Anchor it in a recording. Revisit and listen to it to “re-catch” it. Anchor it with a phrase, a feeling, an ally that assists you in connection to it, in audiating, recalling and remembering it.
Anchor it again.
As the song evolves and grows, perhaps new elements emerge. Perhaps there is now a "chorus” or a “bridge” as well as verses. You can always rerecord and capture these new elements too. Always welcome the chance for your song to expand and change.
Play with it.
Keep playing with it. Allow it to evolve and change, and to reflect the medicine of the moment. Perhaps revisit the place you caught this song, or the ally who shared it with you.
Add some words.
Explore developing a phraseology so you can easily insert phrases into a melody. Any language works and it does not need to rhyme. I find it useful to have sets of phrases for honoring a spirit, clearing energy, bringing in light and love, and connecting to allies. One approach is to have a set of phrases that are comfortable and familiar to you, allow your intellectual mind to relax so that you can connect more fully with the melody and heartsong flowing through you.
Add a Beat!
Experiment with vowels tones to the beat of a drum or rattle or even the clapping of your hands.
Instruments are a fun and playful way to add dimension to a song. It’s also a fun way to make music with others.
Make a List
List the songs you know and like to sing. Add to it when you can. There are likely more than you think. If you have the goal of learning other songs, also make a list of the ones you want to learn. Hunt down the lyrics. It’s not hard! Just do an internet search. Even if you don’t know the title, a short phase + lyrics in a search will often yield results. Put the song on repeat and sing along while reading the lyrics.
What if the song is in a different language or the words are too challenging to remember?
That’s fine! Make up your own words, or use a syllable such as dai - dai - dai or dee - dee- dee.
Remember, the medicine and the magic are in the melody and the intention.
Make it Personal
Try this powerful practice: Get quiet and still. Really tune in to your breath, and the rhythm of your heartbeat. Connect with your body. Connect with your Essence. What if you could catch the melody of your own song? Ask your Self to reveal your own soul song to yourself. Allow it to flow through you.
Stay Connected to your Mama
Keep working with the Earth. The Earth is such a wonderful support and truly generous source of energy, inspiration, and medicine.
Here’s a page with practices as well as an audio for connecting to the Earth.
Songs to Expand your Voice & Power
The Expansion playlist is a resource for you to expand your vibration, your expression, your power.
Allow it to support you in your expansion of your joy and truth.
Have a song that you love to sing loudly and express your power through?
Please share it by adding to this playlist or emailing it to me
God Respects Me When I Work;
He Loves Me When I Sing.
— from the writings of Rabindranath Tagore
For our 5th class
— Regardless if you are “caught up” or not with all the recordings and practices, please join us as you are! Bring any questions or observations you wish to share.
— Be in a space where you can be focused and present, and free of distraction or interruptions. This class will include a drum journey, which is similar to a self-guided meditation. For this, it is best to be in a quiet place where you can either lay down or sit comfortably. You may also wish to have something to cover your eyes, if that allows you to relax more fully.
—If you wish, come ready to share your song! This is not required, and there is no need to skip class if you are feeling shy. This is however, an invitation to step into a new space of expression and power, with a supportive and loving audience.
Class 5
Expanding Further,
Inside & Out
Audio Recording Passcode: uyA8rS
Practices and Links from Class 5 will be posted soon….stay tuned!
Creativity is an act of drinking water from the infinite, a way of communicating with the divine.
— Don Jose Ruiz, The Medicine Bag
Sacred Songs for Sharing
Finding your voice is a beautiful thing, and sharing your voice with others is sharing your medicine. Raising our voices together is even more healing and joyous.
The Sacred Songs for Sharing Playlist offers suggestions for sacred songs which are good for singing together. The playlist can be found by clicking the button below.
I have also created a Lyrics page for many of these songs which can be found here.
Other good things to know —
— Class audio recordings will be available to you via this page until February 28th, 2024
— As a participant in this class, you can receive private sessions with me for 40% off through January. Sign up for these here, by selecting either the 45 minute or 75 minute Your Sacred Voice sessions.
— Please feel free to reach out to me anytime, even after this course has ended. I am happy to be a resource and a support to you.