#InnerVoice #SpeakYourTruth #SettingBoundaries #FindYourVoice #ThroatChakra
I remember watching Australian Idol back in 2006, the year Jessica Mauboy was one of the contestants.
Some contestants brought their guitars. Some played the piano. Others had carefully rehearsed performances designed to show the judges what they could do. And then there was Jessica Mauboy. She didn’t need an instrument.
Her voice was her instrument.
Something about that stayed with me. Perhaps because when we think about our own voices, we tend to think only of the sound that comes out of our mouths.
But our voice is so much more than that.
It is how we express ourselves. How we communicate what we need. How we say yes and no. How we speak up when something doesn’t feel right.
And sometimes, our voice is how we finally tell ourselves the truth.
For much of my early life, I felt as though my voice was paralysed.
Not physically. I could speak.
But speaking my truth, saying what I really thought or needed, setting boundaries and allowing myself to take up space didn’t come naturally to me.
Like many people, I learned to keep the peace. I adapted, stayed quiet and put other people’s needs ahead of my own. Sometimes it seemed easier not to say what I really thought. Sometimes I didn’t even know what I thought until much later.
Over the years, I did a great deal of inner work, and slowly something changed. I began to reconnect with a part of myself I had spent years suppressing.
And somewhere along the way, I realised I wasn’t simply finding my voice.
I was learning how to use it.
To say no.
To set a boundary without feeling I had to justify it.
To speak up when something didn’t sit right with me.
To trust my own discernment rather than constantly looking outside myself for reassurance.
Perhaps most importantly, I learned that using my voice didn’t mean I had to speak all the time. Discernment taught me that too.
There are moments when speaking your truth is necessary. There are other moments when silence is the wiser choice.
Having a voice isn’t about being the loudest person in the room.
It is about being willing to hear yourself. And that can be surprisingly difficult.
We live surrounded by opinions, expectations, advice, social media commentary and other people’s ideas about how we should live. It is easy to become so used to listening to everyone else that we lose touch with our own inner voice.
Sometimes we mistake fear for intuition.
Or people pleasing for kindness.
Or keeping quiet for peace.
Or constantly explaining ourselves for communication.
Learning discernment has been an important part of reclaiming my voice. I’ve had to become more curious about what I was actually feeling, and why.
Was I saying yes because I genuinely wanted to, or because I was afraid of disappointing someone?
Was I staying silent because nothing needed to be said, or because I was afraid of what might happen if I spoke?
Questions like these can change things.
Because sometimes finding your voice doesn’t mean discovering something new. Sometimes it means finally giving yourself permission to acknowledge what you already know.
There is another reason this subject has been on my mind lately.
Just as I’ve become more conscious of using my voice to stand in my power (setting boundaries, speaking up, trusting my discernment), my physical voice has started teaching me a very different lesson.
I’ve had periods of throat problems. At times I’ve even lost my voice.
The irony is not lost on me.
Given my own spiritual beliefs and my relationship with the chakra system, I can’t help noticing the symbolism. The throat chakra is traditionally associated with communication, expression and speaking our truth.
I’m not suggesting a physical health issue can be explained away by an unbalanced chakra. I don’t believe life, or the human body, is quite that simple.
But I do believe in paying attention.
Perhaps the timing is just an interesting coincidence. Perhaps it’s an invitation to become even more conscious of how I communicate. Or perhaps it’s a reminder that finding our voice is not a one-time event.
We can spend years learning to speak our truth and still have moments when we retreat, second-guess ourselves or wonder whether what we have to say is important enough.
Maybe that’s part of being human.
What I do know is that our voices carry far more power than we sometimes realize.
A voice can encourage someone.
It can hurt someone.
It can advocate.
It can challenge.
It can comfort.
It can establish a boundary.
It can say I love you.
It can say enough.
And it can say nothing at all.
So the question isn’t necessarily whether we are speaking loudly enough. Perhaps the better questions are these:
Are we using our voice consciously?
Are we saying what we mean?
Are we listening to ourselves as carefully as we listen to everyone else?
Are we willing to speak when something matters, and willing to stay silent when silence serves us better?
And when the voice inside us says something we don’t particularly want to hear, are we willing to listen?
I’ve spent a large part of my life learning that my voice is not something I need to earn.
It was there all along. I simply had to become willing to use it.
Like Jessica Mauboy on that Australian Idol stage all those years ago, I have an instrument.
So do you.
About the Author
Irene Kelvin is an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Results & Spiritual Coach and founder of Guiding Light Results & Spiritual Coaching in Sydney, Australia. With more than 25 years of corporate experience and formal training in holistic counselling, Irene brings together practical results coaching with complementary spiritual approaches to help clients gain greater clarity, confidence and direction.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism and Business Communications) and a Master’s Diploma in Holistic Counselling. Her professional background spans communication, strategy and leadership, which she now combines with her interest in spirituality, intuition and personal growth.
Irene’s approach is grounded and practical, while leaving room for clients to explore the intuitive and spiritual aspects of their own journey. She believes clients have their own answers and that coaching provides a supportive space to explore what matters, make informed choices and move forward.
Irene Kelvin
Founder & Coach
Guiding Light Results & Spiritual Coaching
Guiding Light Results & Spiritual Coaching
