The modern world has created so many avenues of expression. What we say, do, write, publish, post, email, tweet, text, or vote for are all simply extensions of the voice that allow us to transcend the limits of space and time. With this power, we express our thoughts, feelings, and longings into the world. We shape and reshape the world with the power of our voice.
How do you find your authentic voice? How do you express your truth? How do you stay connected to who you truly are in a world with so many competing voices telling you who you should be?
Release and Renewal: The Power of Your Voice
Live Online with Suzanne Scurlock and Dr. Joel Ying
January 8 – 10, 2027
1pm – 5pm Eastern / 10am – 2pm Pacific
I am by nature a quiet person. Speaking up is inherently painful; it surprises even me that I perform stories in public. In elementary school, I simply did not speak unless absolutely necessary. Even role call, simply saying “HERE,” was a challenge where I had to gather my courage. Luckily, I’m at the end of the alphabet. You see, when I was six years old, my parents moved to the United States from Jamaica. When you are just trying to fit in and you have an accent that makes you sound different, you adapt. I kept quiet, learned to mimic, and absorbed the ideas of others. I reached out to figure out who I should be, instead of reaching in. It worked! I learned to fit in, but the cost was losing touch with my own thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
I’ve struggled with finding my voice over the years; but sometimes the old pattern returns, and I feel my throat tighten when I step on stage. In my first attempts at public speaking, my voice never made it to the back of the room–even with a microphone. I seemed to swallow my words. Yet, there was something inside of me that needed to come out. As a storytelling performer, I’ve learned to connect deeply to an inner voice that says, “I have a gift for you.” I choose only those stories that resonate with something in my core.
At the start of every year, I co-teach a New Year’s Retreat with Suzanne Scurlock. In this workshop, we teach the process of expressing your deepest core desire in the structure of a prayer. This year, as I reflect on the challenges of finding my voice in childhood (and sometimes even today), I realize the entire process that we teach is about connecting inside to your deepest longings and giving it voice in the form of a prayer. This is the process that I learned as a storyteller.
The act of expression is powerful; and for many years now, my prayer for the year has been about expressing my voice into the world as a storyteller.
This year, we focus on the Power of Your Voice for our annual 3-day workshop online. Suzanne Scurlock teaches the Full Body Presence process. I open and close the days with storytelling performances. Together, we walk through the steps to connect to your intention for the coming year, release obstacles, give voice to that desire in the form of a prayer, and uncover the action steps to express and manifest that prayer into the world.
Release & Renewal 2027 ~ New Year’s Retreat
Reconnect with your heart and give voice to your soul.
Live Online – January 8 – 10, 2027
1pm – 5pm Eastern / 10am – 2pm Pacific