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As humans, we’ve all been given a voice. It’s our soul, it’s the thing that happens when we “speak from the heart.” It’s part of who we are, our identity, how other people know us. Our voice is both our audible words that we speak, but it’s also words we write–how we experience the world and express our experience. And, as humans, our voices and the words we articulate with them are powerful.

The journey to finding and using your own authentic “you” voice truly is a continuous discovery process. It’s a pursuit of continued curiosity, growing awareness, and an intentional willingness.

There are many aspects to finding and using your voice that are compelling and valuable. Today I want to share a few thoughts on how to find your voice, and a few more ideas on how to use your voice.

A massive key to this journey is to consider it a practice. This allows us permission to try something new, to believe we could get better, and to recognize there might be a different or better way of using your voice than how you’ve known thus far in life.

First, let’s look at “Finding Your Voice.”

1. Practice Writing:
A practice of journaling or writing for creativity joy allows for concentrated time to get words from your brain to the page. Many of us don’t fully know what we think until we write it. Others of us don’t fully communicate what we think until we write it down in a way we could share it to make sense to someone else.

When we practice writing to find our voice, a couple of helpful prompts are to complete the following sentences:
– I remember…
– Something important to me is…

Give yourself a timer for 5-10 minutes and allow whatever comes out to come out. Your personality and thoughts will be exposed for yourself to see. This awareness allows the possibility for growth.

Then, once you’ve written it, read it aloud. There’s no need to share it with anyone while you’re in the early stages of discovery. If you do want to share it, be very clear that you simply want them to celebrate with you on the journey toward discovering your own voice–not to hear any critical feedback.

Reading out loud doesn’t have to be for someone else to hear, but simply for yourself. Recording yourself reading your words aloud and listening back can be a very (painful, at first, but then) healing process–as well as revealing. When you give yourself time to listen to how you hear and what you’re saying, it’s a practice that can lead toward using your voice in a healthy and proactive manner.

2. Listen:
Awareness through listening to our own voices and becoming confident in them can be just as beneficial as listening to others.

Listening to a variety of voices (in books, on podcasts, in documentaries, on social media, in your neighborhood) can be vastly influential in your personal discovery of your voice. When we listen to what a variety of people say, in order to simply listen to their voice, instead of listening to agree or disagree with them, it can be empowering for those to whom you listen, but also enlightening for you as you listen. You’re exposed to different perspectives and ideas.

Giving time to listen to women, children, and underrepresented people of all ages and genders means you have a willingness to learn and grow and be in spaces to listen which may not be entirely comfortable when viewpoints aren’t shared. But, listening to people who have a different race or ethnicity or culture from you can truly be a great practice in your own personal growth as you hone your own voice.

Second, let’s look at “Using Your Voice.”

1. Practice speaking (and keep practicing!)
Not only can you read your own words aloud and grow in your comfort level and acceptance of your own voice, but you could read aloud what you’ve written to share with a loved one. It’s important to note that when we share something we’ve written, especially at these early stages, that we are clear about the expectations for when we share.

Saying something like, “Hey, I am practicing how to use my voice. I wondered if you could give me your full attention and listen to something I’ve written. And I literally just want you to cheer me on and celebrate with me that I’m learning. I don’t want any feedback. I’m kind of just learning how to be comfortable in my own skin. And, you’re a safe person for me to practice…so…thanks for listening.”

2. Use your voice to give others a voice.
Is a woman or person of color interrupted during a work meeting? Use your voice to give them the opportunity to finish what they were saying before they were interrupted.

You can also try asking, “Whose voice have I not heard?” Then, you can offer an opportunity for them to speak when you ask them to. But, remember that this is an invitation, not a requirement for someone to speak. As you know with your own journey to find and use your voice, not everyone and not everywhere feels comfortable or safe to practice using our voices.

3. Look for opportunities (and take them)!
There are many quieter, smaller, (potentially less-overwhelming) and very valuable opportunities that can help you grow into your voice.

-Local media sources: radio programs, newspaper, magazine
Example: One woman I know took a season of regularly writing a letter to the editor about an issue that was important to her. She explored her voice and practiced using it.

-Community events:
Example: A local community group is looking for someone to help compile, write, and edit a newsletter each month. You can explore your own voice as you write to suit the voice of the group.

-Schools:
Example: Maybe your niece or grandson’s class as school is running a neighborhood meet the expert panel and you have a special skill. You could visit the school and share what you know, practicing asserting your voice and becoming confident in what you have to say and how you can say it.

-Volunteer Reader:
Example: Many nursing homes or assisted living homes, as well as schools, would love volunteers to come in and spend time using their physical voices to read books or magazines to their residents and students. This continued practice can help you grow comfortable with physically using your voice with an audience of listeners.

4. Recognize the power of your voice.
Your voice matters. Your thoughts are valuable. Your presence in someone’s life can be extremely impactful. Consider the words you speak aloud and write.
-Who could you look in the eyes and speak an encouraging word to?
-Who might you ask for forgiveness from?
-Who can you write a thoughtful note of gratitude to?
-Would would love a phone call and the opportunity to speak with you?

All of these ideas can assist you as you set off (or continue) on the journey to finding and using your voice. As I offered earlier, this is certainly not an exhaustive resource, but simply a place to start or start again.

As you work intentionally to find your voice, I hope you can enjoy the process of practicing writing your thoughts on paper and the occasions of listening to voices unlike your own.

As you practice growing in confidence in using your voice, I hope you can find favorable circumstances in which you can practice speaking, use your voice to give someone else a chance to use theirs, and to look for and seize opportunities to keep learning and practicing. Most of all, I hope you recognize the power of your voice both in its physicality and its heart.

May you use your voice for good!

Vision Divina: What is it?

It’s generally defined as a type of “sacred seeing” or an encountering of the divine that occurs during prayer. It originated in ancient contemplative Christianity as a way to connect with God to visual art, a sacred image, or by meditating through looking at something.

It’s a simple, but potentially challengingly slow practice. You might choose to keep your notebook by your side so you can journal your experience, or you may decide that you’d like to journal about it as you reflect later on. It’s your choice.

This definition is part of an exhibition created and curated by Molly Ovenden, called “Contemplative Springs of Hope.”

Click here to visit the online gallery experience.

Step One:
Choose a piece of art which you would like to contemplate. Especially if this is your first time trying Visio Divina, I recommend simply choosing a piece of art or photograph you have already hanging on your wall. Perhaps you have a stained glass window. What you choose isn’t the most important aspect, so allow yourself some grace to simply decide on something.

Once you have your image (which may even be from Pinterest!), let yourself get comfortable to sit in a space where you can be quiet for a few minutes. Take a deep breath, roll your neck and shoulders, place your feet on the floor if you can, and maybe even close your eyes.

Maybe you pray to welcome the divine or something like, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Step Two:
Open your eyes and allow yourself to take in the whole picture, painting, sculpture, window, photograph, etc. Allow yourself the gift of curiosity and begin to notice the shapes, the colors, and the way the light shows up. Begin to take note of the details in the background, the middle ground, and the front of the art, the foreground.

Once you have visually meandered across the whole piece of art, you might want to note what has drawn your attention or peaked your interest. Just like in Lectio Divina, often this noticing what stands out can be God highlighting something special for you to receive in this moment. You could write this observation in your journal.

Step Three:
You may want to take another deep breath, make sure your feet are still on the floor grounding you, and now, focus on the bit that was highlighted for you and holds your attention.

You can begin to hold any or all of these questions or similar curious imaginings.

• How might God speaking to you?
• Why do you think God brought your attention to this particular spot?
• Might there be a message that was created within the painting or artwork that relates especially to your life today?
• Where might there be an invitation?
• Are you aware of a certain calling from God?
• Is a specific long-lost or very present memory brought to mind?

Allow these thoughts and questions and wonderings move from your mind to your heart.

• What emotions are you aware of?
• What do you feel in your body as these thoughts come to heart?
• Where in your body do you feel a response?
• What words could you use to describe anything stirring as you hold and notice this feeling?

Take a moment to allow God’s words or presence to communicate with you in those deep places of your being.

Step Four:

Whether you were aware of much of an interaction with God, allow a time of gratitude to come to the surface. Often God has been speaking to us when we don’t realize. But today, as you as you took time to contemplate this artwork, it’s likely that something happened in you.

In this moment now you can take a moment to respond to the divine encounter with God. Perhaps this is when you’d like to record something in your journal. Allow your words to originate from the depths of your soul where this experience occurred.

• What is your response?
• What is your prayer?
• What yearnings or desires are you present to?
• What emotions have been whirring that you could give voice to on your page?

Step Five:

Especially at time like this of deep spiritual encounter with the Creator, words don’t quite give us what we want to say, so don’t worry if you haven’t written anything in your journal–or, that you haven’t written anything eloquent.

Invite your soul to linger in silence and solitude to simply commune and be in the presence of God. God who made you. God whose love for you is immeasureable. God who is with you and for you and will never leave you. Relax into the stillness. Allow yourself to be soothed by God’s loving presence.

…

When you are ready, come back to the present and the here. You may want to take a deep cleansing breath and invite some gentle movement in your body. Take a moment to share a prayer of gratitude for what God did in this time, and for yourself–taking the time. Jot a last few thoughts in your journal, if you’d like.

…

Yay! You’ve done it.

Visio Divina really creates a practice of preparing our hearts and souls and minds to connect in a meaningful, intimate way with the Creator God. This practice of viewing on image or piece of artwork can transfer into your life, too. You may begin to view your life through a sacred lens that reveals God’s messages for you hidden within creation, not just artwork. Eventually, all of life will feel like and become a sacred space and holy ground.

As I write this, it’s the first week of July in 2023. It was a cool, breezy morning and I spent time writing outside, nearly mosquito-free, and it was delightful! Since it’s the beginning of the month, I always like to reflect. I look back on each month about what went well and how I might like to adjust focus or priorities for the next month. I reflect on my priorities and goals overall in life and also in my creative work.

I also like to reflect regularly each week and ask myself the same five questions. I wanted to share these with you as we’re in the middle of summer. I’ve heard a few friends who have lamented that summer is almost over. Eeks! Especially my friends who have school-age children, the summer can bring an extra level of creativity needed. It can be a time of summer doldrums and boredom…so, let’s overcome those doldrums and bring some new creativity in your summer for yourself or any young ones you have in your life.

Let’s get into the questions and share some interesting insight for how you can overcome summer doldrums and re-invigorate creativity to enjoyable be present in this season.

1. Who is in your life?

Where I live in northern Minnesota, summer is such a special season. We finally have warmth and sunshine. It’s such a welcome break from the below freezing cold and snow that we jokingly (in all seriousness) say lasts 10 months of the year! Now that we don’t have to wear socks with our sandals, we can participate in a lot of different activities. With different activities come different people.

Assessing who the people are in your life can be helpful to keep creativity alive in your life. If you find yourself alone in your office or your home and the weather is gorgeous, you may want to join a sports league, go to a coffee shop with another mom or work-from-home friend and work outside to catch the sunshine. From walking groups, running and mountain biking clubs, to paddle boarding, kayaking, and many other water sports (examples: fishing, pontooning, rafting, wild swimming, etc.), there are so many opportunities to get outside and meet new people.

Maybe you’re happy with the people who are in your life, but you need to change up your activities and how you spend your time. Often reflecting on the “whos” in your life helps you to assess all of the “whats.” Seeing who is in your life allows you to decide if you need to expand or narrow your relational circle.

2. What are you listening to?

There are so many different sounds in the summertime. Because we can get outside so much more easily in this neck of the woods, it can be a treat to do normal things outside. A memory I have from childhood is bird watching. We did this year round, but when I could be outside to spot the birds in the nearby trees, and better yet–hear the birdsong, it was magical.

Listening to and identifying birdsongs could be a joyous summer tradition to develop in your family with friends, no matter your age. Like gathering with people to partake in seasonal activities outside during summer, listening can be communal, too. Where my husband and I live, there is a lot of live music year round at local public attractions and breweries. But, when it’s warmer, the music reverberates joyously outside in tents, in parks, by the lake. Asking yourself what you and your family or friends are listening to can be a gift to point toward an enlivening solution.

Whether you take up bird “listening” (ie: bird watching) or attending concerts in the park, these special and “out of the norm” activities can add creative inspiration to your life.

3. What are you reading?

Reading is a year round activity in the Ovenden household for me, at least! But during summer, I like to read certain types of books and more books in general. For students and children, to continue reading may feel like a chore, but if they are given the chance to pick fun or silly reading, their relationship with books can improve. Or, at the very least, it continues the creativity and learning they’d been doing the last several months in school.

Maybe a child wants to spend time reading a graphic novel or comic books. That’s brilliant that they are enjoying reading. Give them the gift of literary enjoyment so they can take it with their whole lives. It can be a great idea for kids to have several types of reading on the go. They can explore lighter literature alongside chapter books or series, depending on their age and ability. As a Language Arts teacher at heart, I’m always going to promote reading for enjoyment as well as for learning.

During the summer, I like to ask myself what I am reading because I tend to give myself permission to choose lighter fiction. There are some incredible books written by amazingly prolific authors who do a really good job writing lighthearted cozy mysteries or chick lit love stories. One practice I have in the summer is to have several books in a stack whose titles include keywords like summer, lake, beach, sun, etc. (I like to do this in other seasons, too!)

Thousands of books come into the world every year. If it feels overwhelming to pick what to read, ask your local independent bookstore staff for recommendations on what to buy or you can ask a librarian–libraries often have summer reading programs and contests, as well as curated summer collections to help you feel inspired by reading something new or different this season. Maybe you’ll even try a new collection of poetry here!

4. What are you eating?

This is always a great question for me as I’ve been paying attention more to my body and how it responds to certain foods. In the summer when the weather is great, my body feels better, too. So, when I eat something that doesn’t make my body feel amazing, it’s a lot more noticeable for me.

In Northern Minnesota, there is not a very long growing season from many fruits and vegetables, so it’s usually challenging to get the freshest fruits and vegetables year round. Choosing strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, scapes, etc. can be really exciting when the flavors are so much stronger in season.

If you’re used to eating out of a box or from a wrapper, asking yourself this question can jolt your culinary spark to include foods without wrappers. You may likely have a local farmers market once or twice a week nearby. If you’re not sure where you might go, you can always ask your local grocery store where their most seasonal and local produce is in the store. Then you can choose seasonally.

5. What are you creating?

There is so much to create over the summer. New habits or routines with food or friends. Travel plans or memories of meals outdoors. I remember as a child roadtripping to several state parks and taking the activity classes happening in the event centers. One summer my mom and I learned how to make dream catchers out of willow branches. We got hooked on creative these beautiful mobile-esque sleeping accompaniments to catch bad dreams to be consumed by spiders or melted by dew drops.

Maybe you are creating a garden full of flowers you can pick for fresh bouquets in your home. Creating barbecue spreads for the neighborhood families to eat together can be a fun challenge, too. Maybe you create new habits around reading or eating or exercise. Whatever you are creating, I want to encourage you to press in to it because we can have movement and momentum through creativity.

Sometimes undertaking art projects can feel overwhelming and messy when you’re stuck inside, but splatter painting, sun printing, gelatin printmaking, or another messy collage or art project can be great to do outside, too. Many local programs in schools or art organizations have special summer programming for adults and children to explore new areas of creativity in art.

When we build a rhythmic life of assessing levels of creativity, we can know that developing a solid summer rhythm of newness can mean that we go into the quieter, darker months of autumn and winter with a depth of energy and new life that can feed our souls as days grow shorter.

Which question feels most inspiring to you?

No matter how you answer these five questions, I hope that you’ll be able to assess your life on a regular basis. I hope that my creative practice of asking myself these, almost weekly, questions helps you make the most of this season and spurs you on to enjoy the fullness of summer even when some folks young and old around you might get “bored.”

If you’re struggling with decision making or feel like you’re at a crossroads in your creative life, I’d love to talk to you. I offer one-time and packages of individual coaching sessions. If you need a sounding board to help you hear the call of creativity in your life, I’d be delighted to offer constructive guidance and professional encouragement. Check out what it looks like to work with me here and here.

Watch Robin Hamman be interviewed by Molly Ovenden.

Visit Robin Hamman’s blog https://www.100cupsofcompassion.com/ where her book, 100 Cups of Compassion is available for purchase.

In this video, Robin shares experience from her faith and fine art backgrounds and wisdom of how together these have brought hope and healing to her life and the lives of others.

Robin loves journaling because of how it’s brought her comfort. Her “little Art Book, Journal, Devotional with a big heart” started as a doodle and transformed into a collection of paintings, Bible verses, and encouraging quotes.

Join Robin on an inspirational journey around the world through countless cups of tea and coffee with heartwarming, hope-filled conversation. The world feels smaller when we share our lives with each other.

• Cracked Cups
  Robin began the practice of painting cups to get looser in her style and help her with commissioned artwork. A coffee and tea lover, Robin found herself painting universal symbols of comfort. She felt inspired by God to paint cups more and more and then share her process and her art with people in need of encouragement.
  
  When she went through a painful season of divorce, cancer, and hurricanes, she found she couldn’t paint. When she got back to art, the cups she painted had cracks. She began adding embellishments to the cracks in her paintings to symbolize how she’d come out of brokenness. Later she discovered the Japanese art of restoring pottery with gold, kintsugi.
  
• Cups of Compassion
  After awhile she had collected quite a few cup paintings and wondered what to do with them. So, she started a blog, began photographing her process, her paintings, and giving them away. Upon discovering her blog, strangers began contacting her to paint cups for their situation or loved ones who needed a boost.
  
  As she heard from all these different people around the world, her heart continued to soften with compassion.
  
• Cross Creativity
  “Go do something in a different art form,” Robin says. While she’d taken a break from painting and drawing, she began journaling and pursuing photography more. She found that any form of creativity can help a person get unstuck and bring new life into their primary discipline. Exploring a new creative hobby can be really freeing.
  
  Allowing time for reflection and contemplation can bring perspective. Taking a break from staring at your art can also give you the necessary distance to discover whether your painting is actually finished.
  
  Robin says, “Everybody is creative. You have to nurture it…Creativity is problem solving and thinking outside of the box.”
  
• Final advice on creativity…
  1) Just do it. “Nothing is permanent,” Robin says. She says that the best paintings are those which are painted on top of other paintings because the mistakes will make them so rich.
  
  2) Stick with it. Sometimes people find starting easier than persevering through the messy middle of their creativity. Robin encourages her students and the listeners to push through the “ugly phase” of creativity to get through to the other side.

Links Robin mentions:
Robin’s Pet Portraits
Robin’s Art & Courses
Stories of the Hymns
Life is Messy by Matthew Kelly
University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine
Robin’s Publisher

Molly Ovenden is a creative writing coach, author, teacher, and visual artist. Visit here to find out more.

Are you a published author who would like to be interviewed by Molly Ovenden? Complete this form in order to be considered.

Are you a writer who feels stuck in your writing process or an author in need a friendly push to get to the next level?

Book a Strategy Call here with Molly Ovenden as your creative writing coach to determine whether hiring her would be your next right step to take in your writing life.