Many of us learned to suppress our emotions at an early age. We were often told not to cry, to be quiet, or to smile, to pull ourselves together, etc. If you were anything like me, you were raised to be a good, clever, service minded and productive person.
For me, since I was a professional performer at an early age, I felt I had no time for the upset or pain that I felt when hurt or injured. So I chose to ignore it completely or turn it into laughter. I became so good at suppressing pain that sometimes I did not feel anything at all.
The problem with suppressing our emotions is that we then also cut off major aspects of what makes us the unique, creative, passionate, loving and thriving human beings we are meant to be. With each aspect of our personality there is an intricate layer of emotion setting the tone, guiding the way and revealing the subtle nuances of creative possibility that resides within that particular aspect of who we are. And for each layer of emotion that we suppress or deny, we literally prevent ourselves from having access to the fullness of who we are.
When we allow ourselves to be present with these emotions. When we dare to invite them into the room and give them a voice. When we dare to listen fully to what they have to say or sing. When we embrace them with all of our consciousness and all of our love, there are treasures beyond our wildest imagination to behold.
Our emotions hold the key to our brilliance, our creativity, our curiosity, our ability to grow and learn and love and be loved. And when we allow all aspects of these emotions to be heard and seen and expressed fully, we also allow the magnificent texture of the fabric of our being to shine.
In communication, our emotions hold the key to heartfelt expression. This means that if we want to communicate powerfully, we need to be on board with the fullness of our emotional spectrum. And that means accepting every aspect of our emotional makeup. The good, the happy, the brilliant, the joyous, the divine, the serene, the ecstatic, the passionate and compassionate, as well as, the silly, the insecure, the bad, the ugly, the sad, the terrifying, the lonely, the self conscious, the malicious, the devious, the cowardous and the un-feeling.
When I teach Journey to Vocal Freedom, I emphasize the importance of including our most vulnerable selves. Those parts of us that we have pushed aside or denied because they embarass or scare us. These parts often belong to our younger selves. And when we allow those parts to be heard and seen and loved and nurtured, there is magic to behold. We suddenly discover that we have so much more to say, to sing, to discover, to explore, to give and to receive. And we begin to realize the symphony of possibility that resides within our own being.
When we add the texture of these voices to our own, we discover a whole new world of possibility in terms of communication, connection and authenticity. Each layer of emotion that we welcome into our conscious communication opens new doors of heartfelt connection with others. This, in my opinion, is also how we make the world a better place: By gently inviting every aspect of who we are, one emotional layer at a time, to sing along.
If you are curious to learn more about Journey to Vocal Freedom and how we can work together, feel free to visit www.journeytovocalfreedom.com and sign up for a free Discovery Call.
Musically Yours,
Caroline
Caroline Waters' Vocal Freedom Blog 