Writing – HEAL MY VOICE

Ending

What is ending this year?

For me, it is Heal My Voice. After a three-year process of completing free study guides for the books and a year of Co-Visioning in a group of twelve women authors, the business structure of Heal My Voice is closing. I am in the process, and everything will be finalized by the end of March 2022.
It’s time to expand where I point my attention. I will share more of that in 2022.

The books will continue to be available. The website will stay up for another five years. We will continue to highlight women’s voices on the Facebook Page. Visibility for women’s vulnerable, powerful, inspiring, wise voices will always be important.

Since January 11, 2011, 200 stories were written by 125 women in a nine-month program of healing trauma, loss and grief through writing, speaking and stepping into greater leadership. Women from around the world joined in a Secret Facebook Group and on weekly community calls. Sharing their experiences and process in the small group and then on Blogtalk radio shows. Celebrating each other on social media and taking new awareness and strength into their homes, communities, businesses, and the world.

Endings deserve attention, reflection, and gratitude. Gratitude for the journey, the growth, lessons learned and the experience.

Beth Terrence, the President of Heal My Voice in 2021, led the Co-Visioning group beginning on January 11 2021 and ending in October. We celebrated the tenth anniversary of Heal My Voice and then followed the monthly Heal My Voice process:

Listen

Discover

Explore

Expand

Express

Connect

Reflect

Awaken

Celebrate.

Beth and I met monthly to discuss the focus of each call then gathered with women in a Co-Visioning circle of 12. Beth led us in the process for 90 minutes.

In the Co-Visioning process in 2021, each of the women reflected on what was shifting in their lives – on the inside and the outside. Conversations focused on what was ending and what was ready to be birthed. The vulnerability and heart felt sharing were a blessing to the end of this amazing 11 years with women in the Heal My Voice and Heal My Voice Sweden communities.

Over the next few months, there will be blog posts shared by some of the women authors.

I am grateful for the opportunity to heal and reclaim my voice and to witness the hearts and minds of the courageous, inspiring, visionary women I met along the way.

The books are available at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Andrea%20Hylen

Also on Amazon and can be ordered from your local bookstore.

Andrea Hylen, Founder of Heal My Voice and The Incubator: A Co-working Space for Cultural Creatives. Life Scientist. Live house-free. Widow. Mom of Adult Daughters. Grief. Writing Sexuality. Evolutionary Woman

Next Steps: Support the Voices of Women

Heal My Voice was started in 2011 as a way for women to break the silence, share their stories and step into greater leadership in their lives. For seven years, we have been meeting in secret Facebook groups, behind closed doors, healing our voices and writing 200 stories that are now in ten books on Amazon. Each story was written over a 9 month period in a community of women. The women had the courage to go down into the emotional basement of their lives to tell the truth of what happened to them. By shining a light on the shadow, they have emerged ready to step into greater leadership in their families, communities, businesses and the world.

We are entering a time of even more chaos that will allow us to break free from an old broken system and to rebuild together. There is a climate for change and change takes time with an upheaval, a feeling of “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore,” or a quiet, compelling pull from the Universe. “It’s time.” The next steps for change come with a plan and a structure and the willingness and courage to do the inner work, as well as, the outer work. The next steps involve consistent action, rest, perseverance, patience and courage. Now, let’s roll up our sleeves and use the momentum and timing to implement more change.

After seven years of this nine month Heal My Voice program, we are ending that as a program to begin something new. The ending was all beautifully orchestrated with the final book: Innovative Voices: True Stories by Women Awakening a New World. As the next steps for our stories and Heal My Voice as a non-profit organization are being revealed, we are creating Study Guides to encourage women and men to read the stories.

The first Study Guide is Ready! Click here to download the Study Guide for Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life. This book is the mother seed for Heal My Voice.

The stories are ready to be shared as inspiration for individual reflection and healing, for inspiration in book circle discussions, as gifts of encouragement and hope. These are the voices of women. Our first goal for the next three years is to shine a light on women’s voices. The stories in the books are filled with hope, next steps and triumph. The stories are here to light the way for others during a time when women are speaking up. #Metoo It is time for the healing of the feminine and masculine aspects in all of us. The stories are a foundation for what the world needs now.

Some ideas on how you can be involved and support the voices of women:

Buy Heal My Voice books.

https://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Hylen/e/B002C1XZCU/

Read the stories and write a review on Amazon

Give the books as gifts.

Donate the books to community centers, schools and religious institutions

Find little free libraries in your neighborhood and place books there. https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/

Become a sponsor of Heal My Voice.

Send a donation

List your business

http://www.andreahylen.com/summer-miracles/

Sponsor a woman in the writing programs.

Share the website and radio show link
https://cssitemove.com/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/healmyvoice

Your Voice Matters!

Thank you for your support!
Andrea Hylen

Andrea Hylen believes in the power of our voices to usher in a new world. She is the founder of Heal My Voice, an organization that inspires women to heal a story, reclaim personal power and step into greater leadership. Andrea discovered her unique gifts while parenting three daughters and learning to live life fully after the deaths of her brother, son and husband.

She is following her intuition as she collaborates with women and men in organizations and travels around the world speaking, teaching and leading workshops. Her passion is authentically living life and coaching others to do the same. To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com and www.healmyvoice.org.

4 Ways You Can Pursue Your Dreams AND Be A Great Mom

From one of the contributing authors in the Heal My Voice book: Innovative Voices: True Stories by Women Awakening a New World.

Guest Blogger, Tamara Latrese Robinson

What do you dream of?

You probably have hopes and dreams for your children and their futures, but what are your dreams for yourself? Do you remember what those dreams are? Have you placed them on the back burner?

Do you dream of going back to school? Opening your own business? Writing a book? Meeting your career goals? How about that project that keeps getting pushed aside for other activities?

Whatever your particular dreams are, you owe it to yourself to pull them off the back burner and begin to pursue them. You’ll be a happier mom and your kids will gain a whole new level of respect and appreciation for you. Check out these four ways you can chase your goals and still be the best mom you can be.

1. If your children are old enough, involve them in your goals and dreams. Ask them to hold you accountable to completing a dream-related task. They’ll get a kick out of bossing you around and they’ll unwittingly give you the time you need to meet your own goals.

2. Let your family/household know when you need time to complete a task (online course, finish reading a book, journal writing for upcoming blog or book idea). Give them the incentive of your undivided attention with their activities once you’re done.

3. Be diligent and resilient. You’ll make mistakes and missteps along the way. When that happens, have the determination to dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and try again. Remember that old saying we all learned in school – if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

4. Write your dreams down. Write them in big letters and post them in a place where you’ll see them every day. The constant reminder will help you maintain focus and help your family realize first, that you have dreams and then, how important your dreams are to you.

Here’s a bonus tip: Break your dreams down into manageable, daydream-sized goals. Is your dream to become an author? Make your first goal creating an outline for your book. Is your dream learning to dance? Make your first goal signing up for dance lessons. Is your dream to get fit? Make your first goal a healthy diet. Is your dream to open you own business? Make your first goal identifying your target market.

It’s important for you to invest time and energy in yourself. It’s the only way to create the best version of you so you can be the happy, healthy, productive mom your kids deserve.

Tamara Latrese Robinson is an international bestselling author of the books “Live and Love Out Loud” & “Time to Focus On You”. She helps busy moms deal with the very real feelings of guilt experienced while attempting to create time for themselves. As a busy mom with a teenage daughter, Tamara understands the feelings and emotions moms encounter with mommy guilt and placing themselves on the back burner. With a constant focus on family, it is common for moms to feel overwhelm and guilt with no clear plan for personal downtime or self-care. Tamara’s focus is to help busy moms create time for themselves, place their goals and dreams higher on their daily priority list, and avoid mommy burnout.
Tamara invites you to download a copy of her Simple Steps for Busy Moms to Avoid Being Overwhelmed
www.FocusOnYouFreeGift.com

Discover Your True Potential: What does that mean to you?

Discover Your True Potential: Building an Innovative Business (and Life!)

Today is an overview and preparation for the 8 Tips to Building an Innovative Business and Life. On the video, I begin with a story about a moment when I was sitting on the metro in Washington, DC and asked a series of question:

*Why am I here?

*Why have I returned to Washington, DC after living in California?

*Why am I back here now?

Then, at the next metro stop, the doors opened and I saw the words on a billboard: Discover Your True Potential.

What does innovation mean to you? What is your true potential? Have you discovered it yet?

Share your experiences and stories in the comment sections.

Grief Transformation: Letting Go of Our Identities, Part 1

By Andrea Hylen

“To let go of duality, we must first establish our separateness. We must first learn where we end & the other begins. As a general rule, if we’re too rigid, we’re over-boundaried. Imprisoned behind a wall of armor, there is no way for anything to touch us. But if we’re too malleable, we’re boundary-less. We’re just a vessel for the world to fill. People with healthy boundaries tend to live somewhere in between.”~Jeff Brown author of SoulShaping.

Four years after the death of my husband I spent a year letting go of the physical stuff in our 11 room house on 3 acres in Baltimore, Maryland and put the house on the market for sale. A year later, I moved from Maryland to California to spend another year peeling away a layer of “costumes,” that consisted of identities I had hidden behind throughout my lifetime. Identities that I felt gave me value and defined my existence on the planet. Daughter, wife, mother, entrepreneur, home owner, Girl Scout Leader, community organizer and many more. Without those identities, I wondered, “Who am I?”

When I arrived in California, I wrote a letter to family and friends to let them know I would not be available by phone. Email and Facebook check-ins, yes. No phone calls. I was going to take time to listen to my own voice and figure out what I wanted to do with the next part of my life. I began to examine all of my past actions with a microscope and a telescope. Focusing in on the little, minute details and stepping back and looking at my life from a big picture perspective, too. I spent more time in solitude patiently waiting, noticing and listening. I learned to sit in the discomfort of not knowing the next steps. I re-connected with myself and my feelings and developed compassion for my process with full approval for crying, feeling angry, sad, and increased joy-filled discoveries of happiness. I began to hear my own voice as separate from the voices of my mother, father, children, siblings and friends. I spent less time reassuring people that I still loved them and defined boundaries that created more space to be myself.

I thought it would take me a month to hear my voice. Instead it took ten months until the separation from my dearest friends and family gave me enough spaciousness to distinguish my inner authority, my voice from the voice of others. I began to learn the difference between the messy ego-based fear and the light-filled wisdom of my higher voice. And in the place of silence in between, I could see more of me and I could see more of you.

One important piece of letting go was to release and grieve. For example, to let myself cry about no longer being a Girl Scout leader. To remember the joy of it, feel the loss of not having that as part of my life and feeling the emptiness without trying to fill it up with anything. Leave it empty and wait for the new to appear.

By letting go and releasing, my step by step soul calling is stronger. The connection to my inner voice is stronger. The need to know all of the answers is lessening. The Self-Love is stronger. I can witness your pain without feeling the need to fix, reassure and change anything in this moment. The witnessing of another without fixing is stronger.

This is the path of living life from inspiration, transforming loss and grief to access the depth of our essence. It is the path to living and experiencing life fully.

Interested in exploring loss and change in a deep 9 month process of writing? Andrea and Beth Terrence are leading a writing program for Transforming Grief: https://cssitemove.com/recovering-voices-healing-grief/

Andrea Hylen believes in the power of our voices to usher in a new world. She is the founder of Heal My Voice, an organization that empowers women and men to heal a story, reclaim personal power and step into greater leadership. Andrea discovered her unique gifts while parenting three daughters and learning to live life fully after the deaths of her brother, son and husband. In addition to serving as Heal My Voice’s Executive Director, Andrea is an Orgasmic Meditation Teacher and Sexuality Coach.

She is currently living out of a suitcase following her intuition as she collaborates with women and men in organizations and travels around the world speaking, teaching and leading workshops. Her passion is authentically living life and supporting others in doing the same. To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com and www.healmyvoice.org.

The Rejuvenating Power of Maverick Living By Sandy McDougall, Guest Blogger

Sandy McDougall is an Author in the Book and a member of the Heal My Voice community.

Feminine Voices: True Stories by Women Transforming Leadership

An inspirational blog!

August 13, 2014

After decades of being a responsible partner, mother, and major manager of my family household, I went on my summer 2014 Maverick Road Trip and took a 5-week long hiatus from it all. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

After much business building from my desk and office, I took the show on the road, inventing ways for my work to continue using the powers of technology and my own ingenuity. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

After many weeks experiencing summer in the suburbs, I found myself in mountains, on lakes, in the woods, by the ocean, and out traveling on the open road. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

After long months of communicating with many dear friends and family only intermittently and primarily by phone and email, I was actually in their homes re-connecting with them in person. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

After years of dreaming about combining adventure and creativity with purposeful work providing positive energy to others, my dream became reality. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

After I committed 100% to the Maverick Road Trip, any number of creative ideas came to me about how to make the experience more fun, more fruitful, more effective, and more meaningful to me and to those I met. Wow! That was truly refreshing.

To read the rest of the blog, click here: http://www.themaverickedge.com/rejuvenating-power/

Sandy McDougall spent decades being a hard-working, responsible woman. She completed 2 degrees, raised 3 sons, learned 4 languages, lived in 5 states, served on 6 boards of directors, competed in 7 different sports, and held 8 different jobs.

Recently, she reclaimed her fun-loving Maverick spirit. She is now an avid speaker, writer, inspirational coach, and advocate for successful Maverick working and living. Sandy is the creator of the Maverick Road Trip concept. She is also your “go-to person” if you decide that you are ready to break some mold and discover what you truly want to do and who you truly want to be.

sandy@themaverickedge.com

www.themaverickedge.com (for blogs and more)

https://facebook.com/themaverickedge

Blogs by Heal My Voice Authors: October 26, 2014

During the month of October, 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, October 26 and week 4 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

Feminine Voices: True Stories by Women Transforming Leadership

Authors:

Kathleen Nelson Troyer

Sofia Wren

Blogs this week:

Sharing About…when prayer is hard.

By Ellen Marie Dumer

http://69.89.31.108/~deepinyo/2014/02/03/sharing-about-when-prayer-is-hard/

The Busy Person’s Secret to Meditation

By Cassandra Herbert

http://www.justbeewellness.com/the-busy-persons-secret-to-meditation/#more

Consciously Choosing: The Opportunity to Heal

By Andrea Hylen

http://www.andreahylen.com/consciously-choosing-the-opportunity-to-heal/

On My Mind: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

By Ann Quasman

http://womantalklive.com/2014/10/23/my-mind-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do/

Poem of the Week: Halloween Night

By Beth Terrence

http://theheartofawakening.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/poem-of-the-week-halloween-night-by-beth-terrence/

Join Me Over at Journey into Being!

By Kathleen Nelson Troyer

http://gentlymovingforward.net/2014/09/18/join-me-over-at-journey-into-being/

Raffael~Angel of Healing

By Sofia Wren

http://silentvoicesmagazine.com/articles/raffael-angel-of-healing

Blogs by Heal My Voice Authors: October 19, 2014

During the month of October, 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, October 19 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:

Kathleen Nelson Troyer

Blogs this week:

Tell Me A Secret…

By Andrea Hylen

http://www.andreahylen.com/tell-me-a-secret/

Rocket Science

By Sandy McDougall

http://www.themaverickedge.com/rocket-science/

Taking Responsibility

By Karen Porter

http://www.mamaporter.com/2014/08/taking-responsibility-2/

On My Mind: Falling Into Winter

By Ann Quasman, Woman Talk Live

http://womantalklive.com/2014/10/16/on-my-mind-falling-into-winter/

My Fibromyalgia Recovery Story: An Interview on CFS Unravelled

By Beth Terrence

http://theheartofawakening.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/my-fibromyalgia-recovery-story-an-inteview-on-cfs-unravelled/

The Top 13 Things I Would Share with My Younger Self

By Kathleen Nelson Troyer

http://gentlymovingforward.net/2014/03/06/the-top-13-things-i-would-share-with-my-younger-self/

Blogs by Heal My Voice Authors: October 12, 2014

During the month of October, 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, October 12 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:

Kathleen Nelson Troyer

Blogs this week

A Little Dream Comes True

By Andrea Hylen

http://www.andreahylen.com/a-little-dream-comes-true/

Embracing the Problem You Solve It

By Monisha Mittal

http://www.yourinnerease.com/1/post/2013/08/embracing-the-problem-you-solve-it.html

Keep Breathing

By Karen Porter

http://www.mamaporter.com/2014/05/keep-breathing/

On My Mind: The Scaredy-Cat

By Ann Quasman

http://womantalklive.com/2014/10/09/on-my-mind-the-scaredy-cat/

WTL 5: Meet Beth Terrence

By Beth Terrence

http://womantalklive.com/2014/10/09/wtl-5-meet-beth-terrence/

Whales of Tonga: Part 2. Trust. Prepare. Surrender

By Kathleen Nelson Troyer

http://gentlymovingforward.net/2014/10/02/whales-of-tonga-part-2-trust-prepare-surrender/

Baltimore After France: A Mama Porter Adventure!

By Karen A. Porter

President of Heal My Voice

This was the view from our terrace in Caramany, France. We rented a house for two weeks and it was heaven. The weather was great, the food was incredible, the wine superb and the company magnificent. I must have been exposed to some bad bug on the flight to France because I started with post-nasal drip and a sore throat the third night there. If there is a place to be sick, I would choose France. The codeine cough syrup I needed was available without a prescription. My brother insisted that I was sick because I was not drinking enough to kill the germs. Taking mega doses of vitamin C and homeopathic cold stoppers, I managed to feel up to half day adventures. I read four books and we had several movie nights (I learned that the recordings one makes can be played on all DVD zones while commercial DVD’s are zone specific).

I wrote a chapter about anticipating travel in the book Live Your Life With Attitude (Chapter inserted at the bottom of this blog called Anticipation) Interestingly enough, I need to follow my own advice AFTER the trip. Re-entry has been slow. The flight home worsened my cough and the remnants of whatever it was have settled in my throat, giving me a croaky cracking voice. Yes, I realize the irony that as President of the Board of Heal My Voice, I am needing to heal my voice.

So this first week back has been low key. No car- older son has been given my car since he now has a full time job that he did not have when we left. Not a big deal since I needed to stay inside to recuperate. I redid the e-book version of ‘Attitude’ so there is a table of contents that links to each section. I cooked and did some binge watching to catch up on TV series.

One of the joys of travel is bringing things home. I used a bouquet garni in a bean soup, opened the ‘black gold’ coffee and have shared a couple olive oil soaps. I will keep and use at least one of the soaps and we will eventually enjoy some very fine wine. Savor, not save. Enjoy where I am, right?

There will be more trips, other destinations. The adventure, however, is in the moment.

Anticipation

Vacations can be fabulous, amazing, and rejuvenating. They can also be stress-filled, over planned and exhausting. Sometimes the anticipation of a getaway is enough to get you through a rough patch. Maybe the trick is to always have something you are happily awaiting. Having a coffee exactly the way you love it, taking a cool shower during a hot day or using the lemon verbena soap you have been saving can feel delightfully luxurious. Stop SAVING and begin SAVORING. Think of how many things you could look forward to and how many ways you can treat yourself to that restorative feeling of a getaway.

Things I have saved for the future…….

Things I have saved that I would enjoy using now…..

Things I can do differently to make them feel special……

Live Your Life With Attitude is an e-book available on Amazon

Karen A Porter is the author of Live Your Life With Attitude and Live Your Life With Attitude Workbook/Journal, available on Amazon in print and e-book version. Currently the President of the Board of the non-profit organization Heal My Voice, Karen is a contributing author to all the US HMV books. Karen co-authored Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life. Karen is an ordained Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking for the Beloved Community. She practices Sound Massage and leads healing meditations using Tibetan Singing Bowls. Karen is a certified Level 1 Qi Gong Instructor and a Certified Sounds Methods Therapist through the American Institute SMT.

To learn more about Karen’s work or to contact her, visit www.mamaporter.com

Anticipation

Things I have saved for the future…….

Things I have saved that I would enjoy using now…..

Things I can do differently to make them feel special……