The Voice of Calling

Dear Friend

The Voice of Calling
Follow your calling, not the crowd - proverb
Planning a voice session for female entrepreneurs at Yael Rose's networking group prompted me to think about how we can stay tuned to the Voice of our Business or Calling in life... Hoping that these musings serve to amplify the light of creative calling in each of us this November...

Calling comes from Within
Vocation is more about who you are than what you do 
Our Calling arises from within via our internal communication systems - dreams, visions, feelings, hunches, longings, senses.  Fortunately you don't have to call a BT engineer out and wait for a lifetime to get started - it simple requires a willingness to finetune our inner antennae.

Answering Calling
The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling - Fabienne Fredrickson 
No smoke without fire - our calling leaves smoke signals and calling cards.  Whatever we get fired up, het up or lit up about is an indicator of our values and potential creative contribution - so an animal lover sets up an animal sanctuary or the person with their nose always in a book pioneers a mobile library for the homeless.  

Calling Encourages
And her song called forth the courage in other hearts to sing their own song - Jane Lee Logan 
The great thing about answering our calling is it gives permission and inspiration for others.  In a choir, members who have more confidence encourage those around them.  Artists are constantly cross-pollinating and cross-referencing creative inspiration as naturally as plants do. I recently enjoyed the daily Creative Sprint challenge this October and loved seeing the shared inspiration and encouragement that happened online between fellow sprinters.  Recent research has shown that the health of our social networks can have as much impact on longevity as smoking or alcohol intake - so when we allow ourselves to grow, we encourage healthy growth in our social circles and loved ones.

Calling Is Big
To be a singer who truly inspires, we must throw our ego out of the show, show up and serve. That's when we truly change the world - Kerri Ho
Calling is always much bigger than our self-defeating concepts or images of ourselves.  It calls us to bigger platforms, wider connections and deeper engagement with life than we may have ever imagined possible.  That this is terrifying and will press all of our buttons goes without saying. Tuning into our calling often catalyses a deep rewiring and realignment of ourselves - as we answer the call, we commit to setting aside distractions and dramas, to listen to our own inner voice. The joy, fulfilment and delight that arises when we live out our calling brightens and lightens the world.



Autumnal Singing Events
Shining Your Light- In this month of fireworks and the lights of Diwali there's lots of wonderful singing events to lighten the longer nights...
Women in Business Group with Yael Rose - Join us for a morning of celebrating and empowering Wonderwomen in Biz - Friday Nov 4th 10am-1pm Free to attend, free coffee/tea with cake at delicious Dalhousie in Crystal Palace.
*NEW CHOIR* - Crystal Palace Transition Town- Celebrating Planet and People in Song - starting from Nov 2nd at the newly opened beautiful Paxton Centre, we'll be warbling and wassailing the winter nights in preparation for festive fun around Crystal Palace Triangle. All voices welcome.

Wishing you a truly sparkling November

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Gathering Creative Treasure

Autumn Treasure - Tim Packer Dear <> Gathering Creative Treasure For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also - Matthew 6.21 The clonk of a conker on my head this afternoon, shaken by a conker hunting squirrel from a tree alerted me that Autumn is indeed here. Like my branch-hopping friend, I too sense the need to gather the resources that will keep my home, heart and hearth warm this coming winter. Hidden Treasure It is in men as in soils where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of, and in your nature, there lies hidden rich mines of thought and purpose awaiting your development - Jonathan Swift The prickly, protective conker shells prised away and discarded by my squirrel friend act as a great metaphor for the defenses, strategies and identities our creativity can become buried beneath.  Life can sometimes appear so prickly, frightening and threatening to our vulnerable creative selves that we bury our treasures - sometimes for a lifetime.  I regularly hear tales of people slowly recovering in later life from the words of teachers or parents they received in childhood about their singing voices.  They experience untold delight when discovering that their voice can be a vessel of vitality. All that glitters is not gold Buried underneath the negative feelings (or simply ignorant or misleading) interpretations of others, the glistening veins of our talents, dreams and aspirations must be actively sought to be found. Like miners we will dig for these secret lodes of riches.  We will pick out the nuggets of self we find hidden below our surface lives.  We will haul these treasures to light, clean them off and claim then. Each bit of authenticity we are able to own constitutes a part of our vein of gold.  Once uncovered the original self is vital and vibrant - not at all the colourless, lacklustre depressive so many of us have felt ourselves become! - Julia Cameron - The Vein of Gold Reclaiming our authentic selves often requires a process of both release and discovery. As we dig through the layers of life's identity parade we have to release that which no longer serves us in order to reach deeper realms. This requires willingness to discard false reflections, constricting stories and seductive offers that might lead us to trade our true gold for glitter. We need to sharpen our discernment and become vitally connected to our instincts and intuitions in order to sense what needs to be yielded to the fire to both kindle and purify our hearts desires. Simple Steps Yield Bounty It's often the tiny steps that define the big moments of our dreams - Chris Burkemann During October I am taking part in #CreativeSprint - a daily prompt to creative action. As sages have told us throughout time, all creative journeys begin with daily, committed actions which develop our trust in our inner resources. Through small steps we build resilient practices which sustain us through life's ups and downs and enable us to master our greatest dreams. Enlivening Creativity with a Light Touch It is through creating, not possessing that life is revealed - Vida D Scudder  Creativity is a fluid, dynamic process that connects us with the quick of life in ourselves and every living thing. Whilst it may yield beautiful outcomes, projects and products - it quickly, if freed will flow on to the next adventure. The joy of discovering our inner treasure is not dependent on externals such as hitting the jackpot/ our desired weight/ bank balance or getting hitched. It arises in all the beautiful moments where we feel truly alive - moments of every hue and shade, every shape and size. This is the true abundance we see in nature's bountiful diversity - reminding us that the treasure is there to be perceived rather than possessed. A light touch enables us to discover life's treasures and experience the delight creative encounters can bestow. Autumnal Singing Events Celebrating Black History Month- This month's choir sessions will celebrate the immense wealth of musical treasure in Afro-Caribbean Traditions with South African freedom songs, Gospel and Spirituals. Do check the Choir Corner below for a group near you. We'll also be celebrating Black History Month with our special guests on the next episode of Inside Story on Croydon Radio - tune in on October 14th 11am-1pm *NEW CHOIR* - Crystal Palace Transition Town- Celebrating Planet and People in Song - starting from Nov 2nd at the newly opened beautiful Paxton Centre, we'll be warbling and wassailing the winter nights in preparation for festive fun around Crystal Palace Triangle. All voices welcome. Wishing you a beautiful October www.therosewindow.org Twitter: @katierosewindow Facebook: www.facebook.com/therosewindow