When I was a child I was taught that if you held a sea shell up to your ear, you could hear the sound of the sea. This was fascinating to me! Since I was born and raised in Florida, I had a lot of opportunities to listen to the voice of the ocean.
What hasn’t always been easy for me is using my voice or expressing myself. I once had someone tell me “you lost your voice at age 7.” This somehow struck me as true…I recall two incidences early on that I believe affected how I didn’t feel safe in my self expression. One in which I was very excited telling my Grandma something and she said, “Melanie be quiet, the man in St. Paul can hear you” (we were living in Minnesota at the time). I can still remember the feeling of stopping in my tracks and going numb. The next significant time is when my Aunt and I tried out for the church choir. I was 5 years old, she was 7. She made it…..I did not. I was hurt and confused. What I walked away with were the negative beliefs that I was too loud, too much and not good enough.
I learned early on to hold back how I expressed myself. My voice became less and less authentic, and more and more focused on being approved of and accepted. I have spent a big part of my life’s journey finding my voice and feeling safe with sharing my thoughts, feelings, wants, needs, ideas, etc. and relearning that they deserve to be honored and expressed.
Kind Eyes Photography
When Soul Play came along I discovered that it had it’s own voice. Its very own consciousness. This was exciting to me as it meant that I was now able to listen deeper to my inner self and play with what my soul desires to express. It gives me a tool, a way to drop from my head into my heart.
The Voice of Soul Play not only inspired me but required me to look at life in a whole new way. I had already been practicing my 5 Principles of Healing. Now I was given the opportunity to dive deeper into Listening (Principle #2) to my inner voice and play with expanding my soul expression. This is where I started claiming it and integrating it. I asked myself:
What does the Voice of Soul Play sound like?
What does the Voice of Soul Play look like?
What does the Voice of Soul Play feel like?
How do I tap into the consciousness of Soul Play?
What happens when I ignore it?
For me listening to the Voice of Soul Play is carving out some time every day to be still and quiet and listen to my inner self/ my voice/ my soul. It is a walk on the beach, sitting under a shade tree with a glass of lemonade, or riding my bike and feeling the wind in my hair. It is pure joy. It can be having a courageous conversation with someone or making the effort to spend more time with my loved ones. It is all about shifting our consciousness and playing with doing it differently.
My Voice of Soul Play wants me to create space to support my work as a healer, a humanitarian and to be of service. I hold space for my clients in 1:1 Soul Play Healing sessions to tend to their inner self and guide them to hear their soul’s voice. In order to follow my path, I am called to do the same for myself.
Playing with the Voice of Soul Play has been life changing for me.
It takes practice. It takes courage. It takes commitment.
Yet it is easy and joyful.
It is about recognizing it, expressing it and embodying it.
It is a consciousness.
The Voice of Soul Play has been guiding me to make play my #1 priority so it is part of my vibration. What I have done over time is figure out how to apply this soul play consciousness into my daily life. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense. Just like hearing the ocean in a seashell. I have found when I don’t listen to “the voice” I can feel cranky, irritable, overwhelmed, tired, etc. But when I do listen and follow its lead, I always feel more energetic and experience deep joy!
I don’t often find complete, whole shells on my beach anymore. When I was listening to my Voice of Soul Play, I found this magical, full sea shell ~ AND I can hear the ocean in it too!
Today I invite you to ask your Voice of Soul Play to be your playmate.
Set aside some time to get still, get quiet and tap into the consciousness of “the voice.” Then listen for guidance and take one small baby step of inspired action.
Be playful!
This is the key to living an authentic life in open-hearted magic and joy!
