One of my key teachers, Michele Grace Lessirard of Marketing for Healers, has asked the question in her circle lately, “Where have you gone silent?” We have been considering, with all the mayhem in the world and our shadows clearly parading in front of us, what we are stuffing down and keeping quiet about.
What is happening in the greater world is we are being confronted with choices. We have an election coming up. We have stand-offs in North Dakota where we can choose water (life) or oil (death). We have issues with the value of women and blacks and gays and people with disabilities and every other population who has been stuffing their outrage for decades, centuries even—all finally coming to a point where being silent just isn’t cutting it any more.
I see this cycle happen a lot with many of my clients. They show up excited about their business and wanting to be seen by their ideal clients. They know I can help them with that and off we go. Many (if not most) will inevitably hit a point in the Discovery process when their shadow shows up and a voice from deep inside says something like, “Who do you think you are? Who would want what you do? You don’t even have it all together yourself yet! How can you possibly put yourself out there as an expert? You’re not enough. You’re not ready. Go get a ‘real’ job!” In truth, I have been through this cycle many times myself.
Silence is not golden. It is no longer tolerable. It causes us to dim down our Light, to devalue who we are and what we have to give, to be invisible, to not be heard, and ultimately it allows darkness to prevail.
Where have I gone silent? In March of this last year I left Maui because of a toxic relationship. I spent 7 months rebuilding my life. Except for family and close friends, I did not speak widely about my experience or how it has effected me. I continued a cycle of protecting those who are abusers, manipulators, and bullies. I just wanted to hide. I wanted to protect myself. I went silent. I stopped showing up and I stopped being creative and expressive as a writer. I stopped sharing my life and my heart with the world.
I do not intend to unpack the nitty gritty of what happened or vilify the other person. That is not the point of breaking my silence. I don’t want to give them that much energy. My intention, however, is to reclaim my voice. It is time for me to show up, speak up, stand up, and rise up again. It is time for Raven to FLY.
The step I am taking at this time is to begin blogging again. I have thoughts, ideas, opinions, feelings, observations, learnings, and little nuggets of wisdom that I hear make a difference for some people and can be helpful. As we enter the darker months of Fall and Winter, I am lighting a candle. I am holding the Light high. I am here to shine.
Where have you gone silent? I urge you to break that silence, find your voice, and join the conversation. I think many of us are having the “I thought it was just me…” kinds of conversations.
Let’s talk.
Put something in the Comments. Send me an e-mail. Write me a letter. Give me a call. How can I support you in finding your voice and shining your Light? That’s what I really do. SoulPrints and logos and all that are just the medium for helping you show up in the world.