THE HEALING, EXPRESSIVE AND CREATIVE POWER OF THE VOICE: through the lens of my personal journey

As far as I can remember, I have always sung.

For a big part of my existence, singing was my only means of expression. At 14, I would grab my guitar and flow with sound through incomprehensible pain for hours at a time, lost and found in my creative bubble, leaving me eventually with a sense of renewal, relief and stillness. The raw overflowing energy in me was given space to fall into place.

Singing allowed me to express my emotions before I was even able to name emotions. In the darkest moments, what I've had was my voice to drag myself out of it and music to soothe my pain.

Singing saved my life.

As much as the music of others did.

I have always listened to a lot of music. At 7, my brother and I would play the old records of my parents - Elvis Presley, Iron Maiden, Supertramp, AC/DC. I first learned to sing with Celine Dion and the Beatles, then with songs on the radio that I recorded on tapes in the early 2000's. In my teenage years, I would go to the music store and listen to every possible CD on display until I found the one that made my heart jump. I have always been very sensitive to voices. When I discovered an album I liked, I sang over it on repeat until I was fed on every particle of its creation.

In the subtle layers of music language, I found my anchor - I found truth, recognition, inspiration.

I'm obsessed with making playlists because songs are precious things - they tell stories, they have spirit and intelligence, they are evocative of moments of our lives and have the power to lift, hold and heal.

All my life, I have surrounded myself with musicians, thoroughly learning, practising, and sharing music. To find myself singing in the right jamming space is one of the most exhilarating and liberating things I can do! And I indulged more recently in the pleasure of improvisation.

It was always easier for me to sing than to speak. Singing is a second nature, if not the first.

The range of music I listen to broadened with time and its complexity deepened with maturity. Now I feel called to open up to a more sacred and intentional way of playing with music - understanding its vibratory intelligence and using my voice as a portal and channel to offer experiences, open people's hearts, facilitate healing, and activate memories.

Along the way, I also learned to express my Voice in a more symbolic way, with words, through poetry and writing. I wrote my first songs, poems and stories at a very young age in bursts of inspiration. Nowadays, waking up at 3 am, sitting in the dark on the floor of my van, channelling anything that wants to be alive through me, has become normality. Writing songs, poems, prose... again, saved me on many occasions.

In this space of both regurgitation and elaboration, I give myself time to find the right words and to put them together in the right way to sublimate my truth.

Words have specific frequencies, a certain sound and music quality that give phrases their identity. The creative power, infinite possibilities and depth, symbolic potential, and musicality of language fascinate me.

These days, I'm studying the theory behind what I have always done and felt intuitively - sound healing - learning tools and techniques so I can share my passion for sound and my therapeutic use of the voice with others. If it benefits me, I believe that it can benefit you, too.

I believe that one of my gifts in this life is my voice.

Through sound, we heal - we unlock and unstuck energy. We give ways, we connect, we find ease, we journey. Sound has the power to tune our bodies, to re-establish harmony in our system, and to activate potential.

Sound is what created the Universe - it gives form to chaos, creates life and matter through vibration.

Thus, our voice is our creative portal - a bridge between our inner world and the outer world.

Through expression, we birth reality.

When we free our voice, we free our life.

When we voice our truth, we embody our power.

Our voice cradles our sovereignty.

Thanks for reading me,

With Love,

Iris

If you are feeling a calling to reclaim your authentic Voice, awaken your expressive power and activate your sacral/heart/throat channel, consider joining my SOULFUL 1:1 Mentorship - an invitation to reclaim your True Voice as a means for Healing, Expression and Creation.