The voice is unique in that it is deeply connected with one’s identity; it is a significant part of who we are and how we express ourselves. Yet, the voice says much more than the words one chooses to speak. The tone, timbre, and melody of the voice can reflect one’s physical state of health, as well as express unconscious thoughts and feelings.

Reflecting back upon your own life experience, how do you feel when you find yourself in a situation in which you must speak up? Do you feel comfortable using your voice? Unfortunately, many of us have had experiences in life that led us to “silence” ourselves out of feelings of fear and feelings of inadequacy. This silencing carries a price, as we deny ourselves the opportunity to fully express who we are in the present moment.

If you find that you’re “silencing” yourself, an activity you can engage in to reclaim your voice is a vocal exercise called “toning.” Toning is an easy, gentle way of working with one’s own sound and breath. In toning, the vowels “AH,” “AY,” “EE,” “OH,” and “OO” are individually sounded on pitches of your choosing.

When preparing to tone, find a space where you can feel safe engaging in voice work; this is a time for self-exploration, not inhibition. Once you’ve identified a space that works for you, position yourself in a chair with both feet on the floor so that you can breathe freely and deeply. Breath is an important component to voice work, whether it be for toning, singing, or speaking. You may want to take a few moments to breathe and become more present before beginning to tone.

Once you’re ready to tone, identify a pitch that feels comfortable and then tone on a vowel for 5 minutes. Toning for this amount of time provides an opportunity for your voice to warm up, as well as allow you to have a deeper experience without overtaxing your voice. While toning, bring your awareness to what is happening in the present moment; simply notice whatever thoughts, feelings, and sensations may arise. Afterwards, you may even want to journal your experience. Try this activity for one week, choosing a single vowel to tone each day.

While your experience toning will be unique to you, there are common benefits for those who choose to engage in such vocal exploration activities, including decreased feelings of stress and an increased sense of relaxation. Even more important, when we feel connected to our voices, we can be more authentic in who we are. By exploring our voices in new and different ways, we can gain greater self-awareness, acceptance of our life situations, and discover new ways of relating in an ever-changing world.

Creativity is a word often associated today with artists and musicians. Those “other” people who have “special” artistic talents that allow them to create works of art. The fact of the matter is that everyone of us is a creative being, although it can be easy to lose sight of this as we go about our everyday lives.

However, it is important that you recognize this truth in order to reclaim your own innate creativity that can allow you to become more fully who you are.

In some ways, creativity is a phenomenon unique to human beings. While plants and animals are certainly capable of creating things in the basic sense of the word (eg- plants create oxygen, beavers can create dams), only humans- as far as we know- can actively use their artistic or imaginative effort in order to bring something new into being.

You may be thinking to yourself, “What is the significance of creativity?” Creativity is helpful to us in a couple of ways:

The first is that creativity can allow for the expression of your deepest feelings, as well as convey the depth of your emotion. The ability for people to express themselves is important, and by using one’s creativity, emotions can be expressed in an uniquely powerful way.

Another way in which creativity is important is that, from a cognitive standpoint, creativity can help give rise to innovation. The ability to “think outside the box” is an important strength to have in today’s world as we find ourselves facing many serious problems that require innovative solutions. By engaging in creative activities, problem solving and decision making skills can be developed, while also identifying ways to improve plans or processes.

So what can you do if you’ve lost your sense of creativity and playfulness? The following are some simple ways that adults can regain and maintain a spirit of fun and creativity:

Be curious. By becoming curious about the world around you, you begin to notice new things, thereby expanding your awareness. Additionally, by reconnecting with a childlike curiosity, you can learn new things without the process seeming like a chore!

Celebrate your failures. We learn through our mistakes. By celebrating your “failures,” you can not only learn what to do or not to do in a given situation, but you may have unintentionally found a better solution to a problem!

Nurture your inner child. When you nurture your inner child and allow yourself to have fun, you are providing your mind and body with the opportunity to take a break from the everyday stressors that sometimes make being an adult not-so-fun. While the problems causing you stress or discomfort may not go away immediately, allowing yourself the opportunity to take a break and have fun will help you to come back to the problem later feeling refreshed and renewed. Or… perhaps your creative endeavors will help lead you to the solutions you seek- the creative process is not linear and you never know where it can lead you!

By recognizing and reclaiming your creativity, you are allowing yourself to become more of who you really are. Be it through music, art, cooking, gardening- find whatever is most inspiring to you and have fun creating. It is your birthright!

This past Monday we were blessed in Colorado with beautiful weather for Labor Day here in the US. Motivated by this warm weather, I decided to stop by the garden of the Callahan House so that I could take in its beauty while there were still flowers in bloom.

Being there in the garden caused me to reflect upon the hymn, “In the Garden,” which is a song highly requested by the patients whom I work with in hospice. There are several different reasons why I have found this song to be so popular.

• First, many of my patients have early childhood connections to this song. They may remember hearing or singing it as a child in church. Still others may have memories of family members who would sing this song around the house. This often brings back fond memories of early childhood, as well as provides for a sense of safety and comfort as they process through their own lives.

• Second, the imagery in this song is quite vivid. Several patients have told me about how comforting and peaceful it is to imagine themselves standing in this garden. Some people have even been able to feel the dew and smell the roses!

• The third reason is the spiritual interaction and communication that is alluded to in this song. The description of standing alone in a garden with Jesus, whom these patients identify as being their Savior, is a very intimate one. This again seems to provide patients with a sense of security and peace during what is a frightening time for many people.

While many people are uncomfortable talking about the possibility of their own deaths, dying is an inevitable part of life. I find that music can be an especially powerful way for people to reflect upon and make peace with the lives they’ve lived and the decisions they’ve made in life. I consider it to be an honor to bring music to people in this way.

Below is a link to the video recording I made of myself singing “In the Garden” that day at the Callahan House. This recording is the first in what I hope to be an ongoing series of music I use in my hospice work and the reasons behind why I use them.

In the Garden

I would love to know what songs you would find to be meaningful, either for yourself or in the work that you do if you are also a hospice music therapist. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!

Happy first day of September! It’s amazing to me that we are already 2/3 of the way through the year and that fall is quickly upon us!

As we head into the autumn season, I can’t help but to think about changes. As the seasons of the year change, we are presented with a special opportunity to sit, be, and to reflect upon whatever changes we ourselves may be going through. I personally cherish these opportunities for being present to the parallel process that I find to often be occurring between my own internal experience and the experience of the greater world around me. By doing so, it helps me to feel more connected to the cycles of nature.

As I sit here today witnessing the beginning of September in its ever-heated Colorado beauty, I am struck by the realization of marked contrast inherent to fall. In one sense, fall is associated with “harvest,” “bounty,” and “abundance.” Yet, the flip-side of this is what is left after the bounty has been harvested- we find ourselves approaching the seemingly barren darkness of winter.

Within myself I am aware of my own feelings of contrast as I grow into my own greater Self. I reflect upon the seeds that I have planted in both my personal and professional life, while looking consciously and objectively at the fruit that those seeds have yielded. While some things have already come to fruition, I recognize that not everything is quite “ripe” yet for harvest.

But I trust that in time they will be.

What seeds have you planted for yourself? What will be a part of your fall harvest? Please feel free to share by leaving a comment.

(As an interesting autumn-related aside, in Indian mythology, autumn is considered to be the preferred season for the goddess of learning Saraswati, who is also known by the name of “goddess of autumn” (Sharada). Saraswati also happens to be the goddess of music and the creative arts.)

Hello those of you out there reading this, and welcome to my first blog post on the updated SoundWell Sound Out Blog! My intention in writing this blog is to share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences on music therapy, creativity, wellness and healthy aging, life transitions, grief and loss- or anything else that piques my interest. As well, I wish to share resources or articles that I come across which I think those of you in the SoundWell community will find interesting, helpful, or thought-provoking.

With all that said, so much has happened since I first tried my hand at blogging over a year ago. During the past year I left my position as a paraeducator with Boulder Valley School District and officially began my career as a music therapist by working with Compassionate Hospice Care in Broomfield, Colorado. As well, I have provided music psychotherapy services through SoundWell Music Therapy to folks in my community and have gained a comfortably-sized music studio of voice, piano, and guitar students.

Through all of this change and transition, I find it important to express my gratitude for the opportunities that have presented themselves to me this past year.

So on that note, I would like to extend my thanks to those who have helped me in making my professional dreams become reality! First off, big thanks goes out to Nino Gallo of Personal Investment Enterprise through Community Action Programs of Boulder County. Through the support of this program, I was able to learn how to write an effective business plan as well as obtain funding for purchasing instruments, equipment, and resources that will better allow me to provide music therapy services to children and adults living in Boulder County.

My second shout out of gratitude goes to Obbie King of Purplearth Cozmik Imagez for helping me create the WordPress site of my dreams. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This transition over to WordPress from iWeb wouldn’t have been as easy or as pretty without your assistance.

I also wish to express my gratitude to all of my music therapist colleagues out there who have served as an inspiration to me for what can be done both in the therapeutic setting as well as within the larger community-creating setting of social networking. I won’t mention everyone by name here, but I highly encourage you to check out their websites and blogs that I’ve included on the FAQs and Resources page of the SoundWell Music Therapy website.

Lastly, I want to thank you for being here and being you!

Please feel welcome to leave your thoughts, ideas, and comments in the comments section below.