I have found my true voice again! It all started with my singing along with some songs from the Glorious Music album ‘The Glory of This Life’.

Suddenly I noticed my voice was very soft and nice but it just did not seem to fit with me anymore, so I decided to try singing with my ‘everyday talking voice’ instead of using my ‘singing voice’. What I began to notice is that when I sing with my ‘special singing voice’ I don’t feel I have very much volume and resonance, and the sound feels to just come from my throat; previously when I used my talking voice I did not like it because it sounded too loud and raw.

However, when I tried it this time I enjoyed the sound of my true voice, which was in fact simply my ‘talking voice’ singing. It felt good in my body, it resonated in my throat and after a while also in my chest. I then felt such love for myself and that my true voice was amazing just the way it was.

It was at that moment that I realised:

• I had from a very young age an idea of what a perfect female voice should sound like.

• I never liked the sound of my true voice and because of that, I had invented a special voice to sing with.

• That this ‘special’ singing voice was very artificial.

• That my special singing voice was only coming from my throat and not from my whole body. It was like I was being cautious so that if it came out wrong nobody would hear it.

• My real and true singing voice comes not only from my throat but also from my heart and whole body and with that, if I open my mouth wide enough, I can create a lot of volume.

• Singing with my real and true voice is a bit scary because it really shows all of me; it says here I am!

I have realised what a difference it makes to sing with MY TRUE VOICE – and where I feel this in my body, especially in my chest area. My chest feels more expanded and warm. I also feel my eyes are more open and when I sing like this I feel much more open to people. And that was only after maybe 20 minutes of experimenting with singing with my true voice along with the songs of Michael Benhayon, Emmalee Benhayon and Miranda Benhayon!

This is beautiful work in progress and I have yet to fully explore this new true voice of mine; how to sing with it and also how to talk with it. I often feel when I talk that my voice is soft, a little too nice and not very loud, even if I want it to be strong. So I am becoming aware that I am probably not always speaking with my true voice! I love singing and if I explore my true voice more with singing, it will help me speak more consistently with my true voice as well.

I am inspired by the beautiful music from Michael Benhayon and GM Records and the workshops of Chris James and Sounds Wonderful to explore and sing with my naturally beautiful and true voice.

By Lieke van Haastrecht, Student dentistry, Belgium