Reply To: Exercise 7: Your Authentic Voice
Authentic Voice
Did your voice change?
I’m not sure if this means my actual physical voice or what I was saying. I had meaningful conversations each time, deeply personal and satisfying. In the conversation with Josh, I realized that each of them hadn’t exactly followed what he was suggesting. That being said, my voice when I was “just talking to myself” was maybe physically different. The invitation to speak with my “authentic voice” is something I took seriously and spoke deeply about the things I was feeling that I might not have spoken outside of that invitation.
Did it feel more authentic? If so, how?
I talked to myself throughout the week and hearing out loud the voice that was inside was interesting but didn’t feel particularly revealing or different. When speaking with Josh and he pointed out the difference when I was speaking “about” what I was thinking, vs speaking directly my thoughts, I saw the difference and heard that it felt more “authentic” to him. When I spoke to others, I started with speaking my thoughts and then that progressed to sharing more deeply what I was feeling. It became less an exercise and more a deep conversation. Those felt authentic and deeply nourishing.
Did you fear saying anything you’d regret? Did you say anything you regret?
No
How do you feel about speaking more openly?
I made meaningful connections in each conversation.
How did others respond?
Each person I spoke with responded positively, frequently with further conversation that took us to deep places of connection.
Do you want to do it more? Less? Differently?
I’m not sure. Based on my conversation with Josh after the other conversations I had, I don’t think any of us were doing it the way he had in mind. I got a lot out of my conversations with classmates and I would like to have more like them. In terms of the assignment, I think I need to try more simple practice with it to know.