Heal My Voice – Page 3 – HEAL MY VOICE

Blogs by Heal My Voice Authors: July 20, 2014

During the month of July, we are shining a light on the Heal My Voice Authors. Every Sunday, the Heal My Voice blog will have a list of blog posts from some of the authors.

So…it’s Sunday, July 20 and week 3 of sharing powerful voices of women! Check out the blogs and leave comments. We want to hear your voice, too.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Fearless Voices: True Stories by Courageous Women

Empowered Voices: True Stories by Awakened Women

Inspired Voices: True Stories by Visionary Women

Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace

Authors:

Blogs this week:

6 Steps That Will Help You Set and Accomplish Better Goals

By Wendy Mata Harper

http://www.mindhacking.guru/6-steps-that-will-help-you-set-and-accomplish-better-goals/

I AM Powered by Orgasm

By Andrea Hylen

http://www.andreahylen.com/i-am-powered-by-orgasm/

On My Mind: Being There

By Ann Quasman

http://womantalklive.com/2014/07/17/on-my-mind-being-there/

7 Ways to Cultivate Love and Compassion for Yourself

By Beth Terrence

http://theheartofawakening.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/7-ways-to-cultivate-love-and-compassion-for-yourself/

Cultivating Leadership

There was a period in my life where I discovered the rich experience of cultivating leaders vs being the person in charge who had all the answers. The experience of working as a Girl Scout leader for 10 years changed the way I saw my role as a leader and expanded me as a person. I learned that my style of leadership was to find ways of empowering others and create an environment for them grow into being more of who they are. I learned when to stand on the stage and when to stand quietly in the background. I learned how to hold a space for someone’s leadership skills to emerge.

One year, a mother of one of the girls from my troop was organizing a court of awards ceremony at a large community event. Our troop was to provide Girl Scouts and flags from our troop for the ceremony. One of the Junior Girl Scouts named Mariam came to me and said she would like to be in the ceremony. She would like to carry a flag. When I mentioned this to the mother who was organizing the ceremony her immediate response was no because Mariam was too loud and boisterous and would never settle down for this serious ceremony. The mother said that Mariam would embarrass our troop by joking and laughing.

I disagreed with her. She was right about Mariam’s energy being loud and boisterous. Mariam had a big personality and she liked to push this limits. She was oozing with power and enthusiasm and was still learning how to channel it into creativity. She was a very talented artist and was full of life. For five years, I had watched her grow as she learned how to harness and use and direct her personal power. I believed that if she said she wanted be a part of this ceremony she would be able to focus and do the job. I knew my role was to support her and provide another experience that would lead her to become a powerful young woman. It was not to create a perfect ceremony. I stood up for Mariam, talked to the mother about giving each of the girls a chance to develop leadership skills and told her this was an opportunity for Mariam to stretch herself into a new situation. The mother reluctantly agreed.

I talked with Mariam about her desire. I let her know that I believed in her and that I stood up for her. I let her know that it was up to her to show us what she could do. This was her opportunity to be a leader for our troop and in the community.

On the day of the ceremony Mariam was excited and nervous. I gave her a hug, looked her in the eyes, told her I believed in her and encouraged her to enjoy the experience. Serious did not mean she couldn’t have fun and enjoy it. I was so proud of Mariam as I watched her stand up straight and proudly carry the flag. There was a moment when Mariam’s friend Katie, who was carrying a flag in the ceremony and walking next to Mariam, began to giggle. No one ever imagined that Katie would be the one to disrupt the ceremony during a moment of silence in the room. Mariam did not react. She stayed focused on honoring the flag, the ceremony and herself. She led the way and demonstrated a new leadership.

Experiences with the Girl Scouts is what helped me to form the structure for Heal My Voice programs and the Board of Directors for Heal My Voice. Creating environments for women to be leaders in the same space. Excavating desire and fanning the flames of that desire. Witnessing the emergence of a fuller expression of their leadership through writing, speaking and greater visibility on social media. Knowing when to listen, when to speak and when to shout my message from the mountaintop. Being inspired by the brilliant shining lights of women and receiving their inspiration.

(Photo of Authors of Heal My Voice project: Fearless Voices: True Stories by Courageous Women. )

I am grateful to all of the Girl Scouts and parents who provided such a rich learning experience for my own leadership to emerge. I am grateful to the women in Heal My Voice programs (over 100 women now!) who have trusted me to hold some of their most vulnerable, precious thoughts as they write a story to heal. In August, I am taking all of those experiences as I travel to Sweden and meet with Heal My Voice Sweden women in person.

What are you noticing with your leadership style? What is shifting and changing? What are your experiences? Post in the comments. We want to hear Your Voice!

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com

Andrea Hylen believes in the power of a woman’s voice to usher in a new world. She is the founder of Heal My Voice, a Writing and Transition Coach, Orgasmic Meditation Teacher and co- author of Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life. Andrea has discovered her unique gifts while parenting three daughters and learning to celebrate life after the deaths of her brother, son and husband. She currently lives in Los Angeles following the inspiration to collaborate with women in organizations and to travel around the world speaking and leading workshops. Her passion is connecting women to support each other in the full expression of who they are.

Communication From Our Essence

By Andrea Hylen, Founder and Executive Director of Heal My Voice

Reading Dianne Collins book, Do You QuantumThink? I was really inspired with the description of communication. Communication resides in the relationship between one person and another. Communication is not a thing. It is an amorphous living presence that exists in the ether, like music.

Dianne continues in this section of her book to talk about the vibration in communication.

In the Heal My Voice book programs and community, we infuse our stories with our energy, our vibration and our feelings. Writing and communicating from our essence. We are healed in the writing and speaking from our essence and our words and energy heal the women and men who read our stories.

We also have a space called, The Sacred Sanctuary Writing Space is infused with energy every time we gather in it, the way a chapel or shul is infused with the energy of prayer. The energy that comes from each of us

*****

From the QuantumThink Chapter: Being in One Conversation

“You relate to communication as a thing. As something solid, defined. Communication is not a thing in the same way that music is not a thing. When music is playing, where is the music? In the instruments, you say. No, the instruments are vibrating and the vibrating is causing sounds. Then, in the sounds themselves? Music is not just sounds. We don’t say something is music when we hear just any sounds.

Music is non-locate-able. You cannot find music anywhere. Music is a relationship that exists in the “ether” between one person and another. You can’t see what’s in the ether. It doesn’t exist in the world of perception. Sound exists in the world of perception, but music doesn’t. You hear something, but music is a creation that occurs in the relationship between the person making the music and me, the listener.

Music is not in the printed notes on a page. That is just the representation of the form of the music.

Communication is expressed in the form of language, but communication is not the language. It is not mere words, or syntax, or grammar. Communication is neither the form of language, nor the sound of the words. Communication resides in the relationship between one person and another. Communication is not a thing. It is an amorphous living presence that exists in the ether, like music. Communication expressed through language, in the broadest sense of that word, is the music of the human form, of human life. Language is what creates our relationship to life—to everything in our life, and to each other. Communication is a creation that occurs in the relationship between people.

Language is the tool of creation for human beings; the letters are the notes, and the words are the musical phrases. There is also syntax, (the structure or word order), and grammar, (how the word is used); there are facial expressions and body motions and pictorial symbols and signs, but none of that alone is the communication.

The written notes can be seen on the paper, the words can be seen on the paper; but the music can never be seen and the communication can never be seen. The sounds of music can be heard, the spoken words can be heard; but the sound of the instruments is not the music; and the spoken words are not the communication.”

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com

Using Blogtalk Radio to Connect to Your Voice: Part 1

For several years before I founded the organization, Heal My Voice, I spent time immersed in writing, social media and internet radio. I was discovering and exploring my voice and asking questions about what was next in my life.

My first experience with BlogTalk Radio was as a guest. After attending an Evolutionary Women Retreat in Santa Barbara in 2005, I became determined to bring the retreat to the East Coast. In 2007 that became a reality.

The co-founders. Lucky Sweeny, Bonnie Kelley and I were invited to speak on a variety of shows. I was intrigued by how easy it was to dial in to the show from my phone and have a conversation with the host. Once I was driving through central Missouri on a road trip with my daughter. From a rest stop, I dialed the number from my cell phone and had an hour long conversation from my car. Lucky and Bonnie in California. The radio show host in New Mexico. Me in Missouri at the side of the road. Connected and having a conversation on the air waves. How cool is that!

The focus of the call was to talk about the next Evolutionary Women retreat which was scheduled for Oct 2008 and BlogTalk was an easy way to promote it. We talked about women waking up on the planet, conscious evolution, Barbara Marx Hubbard and shared the details of how to sign up for the retreat. There was great content and conversation and there was an opportunity to share the info about the retreat and how to sign up for it.

Another radio experience:

In September of 2010. I launched an e-book club to help people discover their own inner journey. I had moved from Maryland to California 10 months earlier and had written a book about my experience of a hero’s journey. One of my sponsors was Kathryn Yarborough, the founder of Flowing with Change.

For Kathryn’s sponsorship, she chose the social media sponsor package. On one of our Skype planning calls, I suggested we coordinate a tele-seminar for her to share more of her work and wisdom and experience. Over two or three conversations, the tele-seminar evolved into a BlogTalk Radio Show called Living on the Edge. We made a one-year commitment to co-host a show twice a month to share a conversation about what it looked like to live on the edge during all of the transitions in 2011.

With all of the changes happening in the world, we took our private conversations and shared them publicly. We weren’t really sure how this would support our businesses but we felt a strong inner calling to share our experiences publicly. Women sharing challenges and solutions.

Getting Started

1) If you do not have a Blog Talk account. Go sign up. I had an account for years just for listening to shows. It is free. It is like signing up for a newsletter or mailing list or Facebook or Twitter account. Set up the account. You cannot change your username but you can change the name for the show, if you decide on a different name.

www.blogtalkradio.com When Kathryn and I started our show. We used my account and changed the name from Andrea Hylen to Living on the Edge.

2) Go listen to some shows. Find categories that interest you.

3) Blogtalk has lots of tutorials and on Youtube you can search and find people offering ideas and suggestions.

Tomorrow I will share some more experiences of using Blogtalk with individuals and groups and I will share another tip.

Share your experiences with Blogtalk in the comments section. We love to hear Your Voice!

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com

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Awaken and Stimulate Your Writer Senses

By Andrea Hylen, Founder and Executive Director of Heal My Voice

Writing for healing and self-discovery; here are some ways to open your senses and connect to the richness of a story.

1) Artist Date: In The Artist’s Way, author Julia Cameron talks about taking yourself on an artist date. It awakens your senses and helps to release your thinking brain.

Go to an art museum, a craft store, sit down with a pad of paper and crayons or pastel crayons and draw something or just scribble. See what creative medium is calling to you. Write down words with gel pens, colored pencils or markers. Crayons can awaken the inner child memories. Go to a fabric store and feel the fabric. Take a walk through a farmer’s market and pause to see the colors, smell the foods, listen to the conversations, touch the fruits and vegetables and flowers and feel the sensations in your body.

2. Listen to a variety of music. What were some of your favorite songs during your childhood, as a teen, in your early adulthood? What memories does the music stir and awaken? What are the feelings? Listen to different genres: folk, pop, jazz, rock, classical, country, hip hop and blues. Listen to different cultures: African, Asian, Caribbean, Brazilian, and Avant Garde. Immerse yourself and see what

3) In a journal, choose a scene and practice writing about feelings and emotions and what the scene looks like. How would you describe this to a person who is blind, who is hearing impaired, or cannot smell or taste?

4) Get a different perspective. If you are writing about something that happened with another person, spend time thinking about the story from their perspective. Write a short story from two or three or four perspectives.

5) Sit in a coffee shop or a park bench and make up stories about the conversations that are happening with the people around you.

6) Look at the story you are writing with a microscope and look at it with a telescope. Go in to describe the little details closely and then zoom out for the big picture details. Play with the story from the minute to the broad details.

7) Take walks. Connect with the rhythm of nature. Look for clues along the way. What are you drawn to? Colors, shapes, textures. Do any woodland creatures cross your path? Google the “Animal Speak” message if you see a squirrel, a dog, a giraffe or another animal. Animal speak wisdom for a dog crossing your path is to reflect on the meaning of loyalty in your life. Google the Animal totem for birds, animals and insects.

8) Connect with body-mind-spirit with physical activity to stimulate ideas for your story. Yoga, jogging, swimming. Ask yourself a question or set an intention before exercising. In yoga, I always set an intention to learn or shift something during the session.

9) Read someone’s story in a book or article and see what feelings it stirs up for you.

Wake up all of your senses!

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com

Finding Our Voice, Living Our Heart

By Beth Terrence ~ Heal My Voice Author, Facilitator & Board Member

Being vulnerable doesn’t have to be threatening. Just have the courage to be sincere, open and honest. This opens the door to deeper communication all around. It creates self-empowerment and the kind of connections with others we all want in life. Speaking from the heart frees us from the secrets that burden us. These secrets are what make us sick or fearful. Speaking truth helps you get clarity on your real heart directives.” – Sara Paddison, The Hidden Power of the Heart

It took me until my early thirties to really accept that in order to live a life of authenticity and truth I needed to make a paradigm shift. This shift was based on moving the guiding force in my life from the mind to the heart. I’ve been blessed to have many teachers along the way who have shared their heart wisdom and who have helped me to find the courage and strength to access my own vulnerability.

I grew up in a world where “everything was okay”, all the time. Even when things were really not okay, when they were chaotic and at times, insane, the messages I received were that we didn’t talk about that, we just said, “I’m fine, everything is okay.” Needless to say, it was very confusing and it didn’t take long for me to have the awareness that what people share with the world and what is really going on in the their lives, let alone inside themselves, is vastly different.

The “I’m fine, everything is okay” was my paradigm for a long time. Even as I began to do some deeper work, to explore my inner landscape, and to access my emotions, there was still a part of me who held onto to that pattern. In fact, at times, it still emerges today. I believe this pattern is inherent for many of us and is one of the great obstacles to shifting into the new paradigm.

I see this on both the personal and collective levels. As individuals, when we say, “I am fine, everything is okay,” and it is not what we are feeling, we are denying a part of ourselves and we are denying our own truth. We are also putting a wall around our heart that is then forced to hold in and suppress what our true experience is at that time.

On a larger scale, we all see and experience things in the world that are not okay. And, we do focus on those things and address them in a variety of ways. I wonder what things could look like if we all really spoke up about our true feelings about what goes on in our world. Most often, it is anger that is the driving force to speak up and/or take action. But if we were to go into the depths of our heart, what would we share about our world and what might we feel that really needs to be spoken?

One of the tools I have found that supports this opening is the process of Council, which is based on traditional talking circles used by many indigenous peoples. When we come together in a council or circle, our intention is to share our hearts and our truth, tuning into what is arising in the present moment. A talking piece is used to indicate that whoever is holding the piece is the only speaker at that time and the others circle members are listening until it is their turn to have the piece.

The council process can support communication, self-awareness, collective wisdom, relationship, community building, and peacemaking. Council is one of the tools we utilize as part of the Heal My Voice Chrysalis House Program and it’s principles are inherent in the structure of all of the Heal My Voice projects.

Although Council is usually done in a group, the principles of Council are a powerful tool that can be used in creating a shift into the new paradigm and particularly in breaking the old pattern of “I’m fine, everything is okay”. It is way to step out of the mind and into the space of the heart to access our deeper feelings and allow truth to emerge in a space of safety, respect and acceptance, both with ourselves and others.

Here are some of the basic principles of Council, which can be used to support a group process or as a foundation for living daily life in a more authentic and conscious way:

1) Listen from the heart. Take a few moments to drop down from the head into the heart space. Whether you are in circle listening to others, or tuning into your own heart wisdom, listen with openness, knowing there is no need to give advice or feedback. We often feel that we must have answers for other people and really what we need is to be heard and to have our heart sharing witnessed. So much healing comes from the place of listening and sharing. As we listen from a heart-centered place, we are being more fully present and allowing our own vulnerability to emerge. Also, where we really need to begin this shift is in listening to our own hearts and being willing to hear our own true feelings without trying to suppress, resolve or fix them.

2) Speak from the heart. Take a few moments to be still, to drop from your head into your heart and allow what is true for you in that moment to be arise. This may be something you need to practice with yourself as well as others. Before we are able to become vulnerable with others, it is necessary to be willing to be vulnerable and truly honest with ourselves. Speaking does not have to mean words; it can include sound, song, and even silence. In Council, the intention is to speak what will serve you, the circle and the highest good. This is a great way to think about what we need to communicate.

3) Be lean. Focus on what is important and what is really at the heart of the matter. We often have many thoughts circling round and round in our minds but when we drop into the heart space, it takes few words to express what we feel and what is important. This practice fosters clarity and understanding.

4) Be spontaneous. When you allow yourself to drop into the heart space, you may be surprised by what arises. We often think we are going to talk about one thing and then when we allow ourselves to move below the surface, something very different emerges. Allowing ourselves to be spontaneous and let go of agenda allows for playfulness, real-ness and our true voice to emerge.

One thing I would like to add to this list is patience. Shifting into a heart-centered way of being is a process. The heart moves much slower than the mind. As the energies of our world are moving faster and faster, the need to slow down and drop into this heart space is even greater. I encourage you to take some time to explore your heart, to access your vulnerability and to allow your deeper truth to emerge.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, feelings and reflections.

And, if you are ready to explore this more deeply, I invite you to join me for Love Yourself, Live Your Life Summer Breakthrough Teleclass Program starting 7/22. Learn more…

Beth Terrence is a Shaman, Holistic Health & Wellness Expert, Speaker and Writer. She has been working in the field of Holistic Healing and Transformation for over 18 years. This path evolved from her own healing journey through fibromyalgia and the impact of trauma on her life. Beth found that by taking a holistic approach to life and well-being, she was able to achieve of a state of happiness and wholeness that she never imagined was possible. Her mission is to support others in cultivating a heart-centered, balanced and joyful life through discovering the healer within.

Writing has always been one of Beth’s greatest passions. Since childhood, she has written poetry and kept a journal. Participating in a Heal My Voice project opened the door to Beth stepping forward in the world as a writer. Her stories are featured in Inspired Voices: True Stories of Visionary Women and Harmonic Voices: True Stories Of Women On The Path To Peace. Beth joined the Heal My Voice board of directors in May 2013. Additionally, she is the lead facilitator and program developer for a Heal My Voice program that brings writing and creativity to women in addiction recovery at Chrysalis House in Crownsville, MD.

Beth is available for Integrative Transformational Healing Sessions & Programs by Phone/Skype or in person in Annapolis, MD. She offers a variety of classes, workshops and trainings on Holistic Healing, Transformation, Writing and Creativity in the MD/DC/VA area and virtually. Beth also writes regularly on her own blog, The Heart Of Awakening: Searching For A New Paradigm, an online resource for transformation and healing. To learn more about Beth’s Integrative Transformational Healing Services, visit http://www.bethterrence.com.

Where To Connect With Beth:

Website: www.bethterrence.com

Blog: http://theheartofawakening.wordpress.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bethterrence

Twitter: @BethTerrence

Contact: beth@bethterrence.com

Sacred Sanctuary Writing Space

A few years ago, I was inspired to create a space for Heal My Voice writers to gather and energetically receive support and consistency for writing. I called it the Sacred Sanctuary Writing Space. Every month, I create 12 audio recordings on the first 12 days of every month with an inspiration and silent time to write.

I cut words and phrases out of magazines and collect them in plastic sandwich bags. Every day, I close my eyes and connect with the energy of the day. Then, I reach in to the bag and pull out a clipping.

I begin the recording with some thoughts about the words and then “open the space” for 25 minutes of silence. At the end of the 25 minutes, I say a few words and end the recording.

It is a tool and a resource for setting up a time and space to write.

Here is the recording from July 1, 2014:

The phrase is ” The Guide: Home”

Enjoy!

Sacred Sanctuary Writing Space:

July 1, 2014

http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=57217512

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com

Blogs by Heal My Voice Authors: July 13, 2014

During the month of July, we are shining a light on the Heal My Voice Authors. Every Sunday, the Heal My Voice blog will have a list of blog posts from some of the authors.

So…it’s Sunday, July 13 and week 2 of sharing powerful voices of women! Check out the blogs and leave comments. We want to hear your voice, too.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Fearless Voices: True Stories by Courageous Women

Empowered Voices: True Stories by Awakened Women

Inspired Voices: True Stories by Visionary Women

Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace

Authors:

Transition: Becoming the Queen

By Andrea Hylen

Transition: Becoming the Queen

Creating Healthy Boundaries~Stops Your Suffering

By Marilyn O’Malley

http://www.marilynomalley.com/2014/07/boundaries/

It’s My Birthday!

By Karen Porter

http://www.mamaporter.com/2014/07/birthday/

Radical Disruption

By Karen Ribeiro

http://www.innerfortune.com/radical-disruption/

On My Mind: The Good Little Changes That Make a Big Difference

By Ann Quasman

http://womantalklive.com/2014/07/10/on-my-mind-the-good-little-changes-that-make-a-big-difference/

Love Yourself. Live Your Life. Summer Breakthrough Program

By Beth Terrence

http://theheartofawakening.wordpress.com/2014/07/12/love-yourself-live-your-life-summer-breakthrough-program/

The Body’s Reality

By Adrienne Yeardye

http://adrienneyeardye.com/the-bodys-reality/

Empowering Women In Addiction Recovery Through Writing & Creativity

By Beth Terrence ~ Heal My Voice Author, Facilitator & Board Member

For the past year, I have had the privilege to work on a pilot Heal My Voice project that brings writing, journaling and creativity to women who are in long-term residential addictions treatment. This project grew out of my work with the two non-profits that I volunteer with – Heal My Voice and Chrysalis House. This program developed organically when I shared some magazines with the Chrysalis House that had an article I had written on 7 Ways To Cultivate Love & Compassion For Yourself, based on a post from this blog. It also featured an article about Heal My Voice founder Andrea Hylen. One of the clients at Chrysalis House was so interested in the Heal My Voice program that she reached out through her caseworker to Andrea directly. This empowered step led to Heal My Voice offering a 3-hour writing and creativity workshop at Chrysalis House in Crownsville, MD in May of 2013.

Little did we know at the time that this one event would open the door to a whole new Heal My Voice program. The mission of Heal My Voice is as follows:

Heal My Voice empowers and supports women and girls globally to heal, reclaim their voice and step into greater leadership in their lives and in the world.

I have participated in several Heal My Voice writing programs and over the last year joined as a facilitator and board member as well. After our initial workshop, there was such an amazing response from the clients at Chrysalis House, that we were asked to come back on a regular basis. This has led to me leading a weekly writing circle in addition to a 3-hour monthly creativity workshop, which is supported by other local Heal My Voice authors. Adapting the original Heal My Voice program model to a residential treatment program has been an expansive experience. During this time, I have been working closely with Heal My Voice Founder Andrea Hylen who attends the program when she is on the East Coast. What has emerged is the foundation for a program model that can brought to other addictions treatment programs and recovery centers around the country.

I have truly been awed by the words that have emerged from the women of Chrysalis House. Journaling was something that was always recommended but without facilitation the staff found it wasn’t really happening. By creating a space for writing and creativity, and offering tools and techniques to support self-expression, journaling has become an important part of the each women’s journey in recovery. This is something that is initiated in the treatment process but offers a powerful tool to support ongoing healing and recovery.

Here are some of the words from one of the women in the program:

My Own Prison

I’ve built my own prison inside of me,
It doesn’t consist of a warden or a key.
The walls are layered with bricks of emotions,
The bars are made of rage,
You couldn’t imagine the hell and commotion.

First a foundation built from addiction,
Then the floors are laid of abuse and confliction.
Every brick in the wall has it’s own tale;
I was warned to change but to no avail.

So I ask myself now,
“Was it all worth all this pain?”
The deteriorating life I tried so hard to sustain.
The very reality of being confined;
Holds no comparison to the shackles on my mind.

I know my day will come when I’ll be released,
But the question still lies, “will I really be free”?
Not free from confinement but free from the chains,
That are linked from my heart to my mind that remains.

The power of these words speaks to the impact of this project and how writing can be a vehicle for freedom through self-expression. The Chrysalis House program is just completing it’s first year and we are in the process of creating a book of writing from the women who have participated so far. The message we share with our community at large is :

“YOUR VOICE MATTERS”

This the message we try to bring home to the women of Chrysalis House and so giving them a platform to see their words in print is a way to reflect this message to them.

We invite you to more about the Heal My Voice Chrysalis House Program and if you feel to support this grassroots project, monetary or in-kind donations are always appreciated . In addition to funding for the administration of the program itself, we continually provide materials for clients to make their own journals as well as other creative projects. We are always in need of the following items:

Composition Books

Glue Sticks

Packing Tape

Scissors

Markers

Art & Craft Materials

Here are some of the journals created by the amazing women of Chrysalis House:

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Learn more at www.bethterrence.com or check out her new teleclass program starting July 22nd:

Love Yourself, Live Your Life
Summer Breakthrough Program
With Beth Terrence
5-Session Teleclass

Do you want to live more from the heart?

Is it a struggle to be gentle and loving with yourself?

Are you ready to step into your soul purpose from a space of the heart?

Does your inner critic keep you stuck?

Do you want to have a deeper sense of connection with yourself, others and the world?

In this 5-Session Teleclass, you will:

Learn to connect with your heart on a deeper level and live more from the heart space.

Cultivate love and compassion for yourself using a variety of transformational tools including meditation, shamanic journey work, affirmations, self-reflection and creative exercises.

Uncover limiting beliefs and obstacles that prevent you from embodying greater love and compassion for your self and others and also, keep you from moving forward in your life.

Learn to access your essential self and embody your soul purpose from the space of the heart

Begin to facilitate your own process of transformation and healing and create a foundation to continue that process in your life.

Dates: Tuesday, July 22nd – August 19th

Time: 7:00 – 8:00 EST

Where: Wherever You Are – Call in by phone or listen online

Audio replays will be available after the weekly call

Basic Package $97, includes

– 5 weekly teleclass sessions

– an mp3 audio of calls

– weekly transformational resource handouts

– private Facebook discussion group, plus

– 2 special audio bonuses

Register by July 14th for Special Pricing ~ $77

Premium Package $247, includes

– Basic Program plus

– One 1 1/2 hour Individual Session with Beth Terrence in person in Annapolis, MD or By PHONE/SKYPE

– 31 Day May If For Metta Guided Audio Program

Register by July 14th for Special Pricing $227

Are you ready to embrace the truth of who you are –

a being full of loving-kindness and compassion?

How much longer do you want to continue struggling?

Do you want the heart to be a guiding force in your life?

The journey begins with you!

REGISTER NOW THRU EVENTBRITE

Creating a Writing Space

By Andrea Hylen, Founder and Executive Director of Heal My Voice

When I moved to California in 2010, I was in a huge transition. My husband had died in 2005 after a year long illness. I had been a stay-at-home mom and was homeschooling our youngest daughter. I had been out of the work force for 15 years.

Moving to California gave me a chance to start over. For the first 7 months, my daughter and I lived in youth hostels, extended stay hotels, sublet a room until we agreed on a location and found an apt in Burbank.

I found the “bridge” to the next part of my life through writing to heal. Listening to my own voice and following the inspiration one word after another. The first key to writing was to create a writing routine and space.

Here are some of my tips:

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Create a writing environment

*Develop a writing habit

1) Writing in the same place

2) Writing at the same time of day

When my daughter and I moved to Burbank, I developed a habit of going to a coffee shop called Priscilla’s. Every morning, I woke up at 5:30am, meditated for 15 minutes, got dressed and walked the 10 minute walk to Priscilla’s. I would write every morning from about 6-9am.

During the walk, the ideas would begin to flow. I would wave a Good morning to the barista while I opened my computer and took out a notebook and pen. The article or blog or chapter would be pouring through me by the time my fingers touched the keyboard.

3) Playing music

Every morning I would play the same song. During that time it was Jason Mraz’s “Make it Mine”. The sound of the song would stimulate ideas and structure for my words.

4) Setting a boundary: Create a boundary with time. In the coffee shop, I wore headphones even without listening to something. I let people know that I was writing. Other ideas around setting a boundary are to talk with people you live with and let them know you are writing during a specific time. Put a sign on the door. Set a timer and write for that amount of time. Make your writing time a priority.

5) Basic security needs: Take care of your basic needs before starting to write. Food, beverage, temperature of the room. Clean or messy space. Whatever helps you to feel physically comfortable and nourished.

6) Supplies: What do you need? Computer, pens, pencils, internet, dictionary, phone, materials for researching. Headphones.

7) Clear all distractions: Phone call you need to make, errands to run, do a brain dump. Make a list and keep it on the table next to you so you can write down things you will do later. The coffee shop worked for me because of the boundaries and the time of day. No distractions from things in my apartment.

8) Senses: What do you need to relax into writing? Think of all five senses, Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, touch. Candles, flower essences, a blanket, lighting, color. Set up a space that works for you.

9) Timing: Allow for a writing flow and take breaks.

10) Creativity inspirations– Observing the environment around you, inside and out. Taking a class, exercising, reading books. Writing prompts. Walking to the coffee shop and the people who came in stimulated me creatively.

Now, find your space and start writing!

To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com