Sharing Our Voice in Ways that Invite, Include, and Welcome

I’ve been meditating in some form or fashion for a long time. Recently, that looks like 20 minutes of mindful sitting or walking about five days a week. Back in 2019, when I was trained in Transcendental Meditation, they recommended two 20-minute sessions daily. I couldn’t quite keep that up, but I’ve been able to keep up one session most days. I often spend a good deal of that time focusing on my breathing, trying to breathe deeper and focus on breathing from my diaphragm. I do body scans, box breathing, and a review of my chakras. 

According to ChatGPT, chakras are energy centers in the body that influence well-being and are rooted in ancient Indian spiritual traditions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. The seven main chakras are:

• The root chakra (red) at the base of the spine is the energy center for grounding, safety, survival, and stability 

• The sacral chakra (orange) at the lower abdomen is the energy center for creativity, pleasure, emotions, and sexuality 

• The solar plexus chakra (yellow) at the upper abdomen is the energy center for confidence, personal power, and self-esteem

• The heart chakra (green) at the chest is the energy center for love, compassion, and connection

• The throat chakra (blue) at the throat is the energy center for communication, truth, and self-expression

• The third eye chakra (indigo), between the eyebrows, is the energy center for intuition, insight, and awareness

• The crown chakra (violet) at the top of the head is the energy center for spiritual connection, meaning, and consciousness 

  
  

When I meditate on these energy centers, I start with the root chakra and move upwards. I spend a few moments checking in on each energy center and seeing if something is flowing, if it feels stifled, etc. Sometimes I feel tenderness in an energy center and give it a few extra breaths, almost breathing life into that energy center in my body. My goal is to come away from the meditation feeling more balanced in my energy centers and to note where I may need to direct my attention and energy for my own wellness. 

Last year, when going through this energy center scan, I would often find that my throat chakra was feeling closed. I would see a dull blue in my mind’s eye instead of a vibrant hue. In reflecting on why this might be, I realized that while I take pride in being a community builder and space holder for others to open up and share their thoughts, I wasn’t actually doing much sharing myself. I may have even been hiding behind my facilitator role so as to not have to share my thoughts. I have often chosen to keep quiet because of how polarized our society feels and how our words can unintentionally hurt others or elicit reactions that can make us feel hurt. My sense of psychological safety to express myself seems very low these days, and so it is in part a rational defense mechanism. 

At the same time, I have made a conscious choice recently to share more of myself and my perspectives with others. That is often in one-on-one conversations and with people I trust deeply. But I have been sharing more. It feels nice to express myself. I feel a stronger sense of agency. I also like the chance to work on articulating my perspective on important issues of our day. And I like hearing my trusted confidants react and riff with me so we can come to more of a shared understanding of who we both are and why we see the world the way we do. And more recently, when I do my chakra clearing, I have noticed that the blue color looks much more vibrant. 

Something I think about that I’m curious your take on as someone I like, trust, and care about, is how can we find ways to express ourselves in a way that opens, invites, includes, and welcomes the voices of others? I like it when my sharing can help unlock the words of another person. It makes my heart feel warm when, after I share something personal, someone says something like, “Wow, I was thinking that too, and I’ve never said it out loud,” or “You’ve articulated exactly how I feel about this issue, and it makes me feel seen.” I like conversations where no one is trying to convince anyone of anything, though I do often find myself seeing new ways of thinking after talking with someone. It’s about increasing my understanding of the world and how we can live in it in safety and harmony. 

Who are the people you feel comfortable, safe, and/or brave with to share things that are important to you? I would be honored if you responded to this by pinging me and sharing something with me. I’d love to hear you, witness you, and hold your perspective in confidence with you. Maybe we talk all the time. Maybe it’s been a while. But I’m here for you and want to honor your perspective and lived experience, no matter how different from mine. 

And beyond any one perspective- how do we share in ways that open up space rather than close? How do we unlock the voices of ourselves and each other? What does that look like? How can we do more of it? Happy to hear your thoughts anytime.