Today’s share is inspired by a workshop experience I had last weekend with the incredible poet INQ.

He’s an Emmy-nominated poet, multi-platinum songwriter, world renowned keynote speaker, and the best-selling author of Inquire Within.

I’m so grateful to have been invited to an intimate poetry workshop with him which surprised me in a few ways that I wanted to share. 

As someone who writes daily and captures my feelings, learnings and what I want to share, I’m not someone who just writes to flow in an artistic way. This experience was all about poetry writing. Now, poetry in my school days was a chore and definitely not something I enjoyed. This was somehow so different. 

I loved the prompts and questions the speaker asked and then how clear the story came to the page in just a few minutes. 

This 90 minute workshop felt like days, and I felt an expanded version of myself on the other side of this. Maybe it was also INQ’s vulnerability and commitment to holding such an open and loving space. 

It reminded me how being in touch with our creative channels and allowing space to flow in this way is a great way to be in our light. 

Today, I want to share the few prompts that were shared with me and encourage you to try this for yourself and see what happens. I found it to be healing. I also found it inspired a new aspect of myself.

After we finished writing we were invited to share with a partner. The first time I read my poem aloud I had tears of encouragement, tears of feeling seen and visible and tears of inspiration flowing. 

My partner had a similar experience of heart opening and it felt interesting how similar aspects of our stories were and how much it called me to write more in this way. 

The old tears of uncertainty that accompanied this past decision I was writing about had long past and been filled with my clarity, certainty and ease with where I am today because of that choice 12 years ago. It feels so good to deeply feel gratitude for our path and what we’ve chosen and see how it makes so much sense. 

Validation for our decisions is so impactful. We can have this in a moment of truth and clarity within, and we can also see it with hindsight years later. 

I realized there are three very helpful parts about capturing and sharing our stories. Whether it’s with a best friend, family member, child, co-worker or audience. 

1. Visibility.

Being willing to be seen. It’s hard to grow and expand our self-worth, our business, our family and our presence when we’re unwilling to be visible. 

If you aren’t being fully yourself–you often hang out with people and feel like you have to hide parts of yourself. Or, you may notice yourself distracting yourself more with your coping mechanisms. Lower vibration topics, late night dinners, alcohol, shopping, surface conversations…When we’re in this place your tribe can’t find you and you don’t resonate with them. We can feel lost and stressed without the support we desire when we’re lacking visibility. I’m talking about the depth of visibility here not necessarily being present and seen physically. 

Being willing to first be yourself with yourself then allows you to expand. 

Reading the poem I wrote reminded me of the importance of being willing to be seen. 

And, also this is so complementary with body scanning, somatic and chakra work as well. When you’re in touch with why you may do something or want to do something, you’re willing to potentially be uncomfortable and look a little further. You’re willing to get in touch with your heart and crown and get your own information and clarity. You don’t have to work so hard to make something fit out of guilt or pleasing someone else—there’s more space to honor who you are. 

2. Vocality.

Being willing to be heard. A lot of times we can be blocked in our throat chakra. This can be for so many reasons. Whether you aren’t in touch with your truth yourself, have doubts/fears/expectations, don’t want to rock the boat, try communicating with others that are disconnected so they invalidate your experience and then you start to hide how you feel. 

Being vocal helps you:

• Own your space

• Your standard of what you desire 

• Helps you create healthy communication and boundaries. 

It also has the potential to show you gaps in what you may currently surround yourself with which is great feedback if you’re wanting to up-level your community and message right now. 

3. Vulnerability.

Being willing to own where you are and how you feel. It doesn’t mean this is all of you or that you’re any less than when you share from those overwhelmed, messy or fearful parts. It means you are human, relatable, worth loving and worthy of respect however you are. 

We may share stories about something we’ve been through but I experienced something different reading about a past experience through this way of writing. It opened my heart in a new way and helped me feel safe and seen in a beautiful way. 

The friendships whether for a quick reason, season or lifetime may be to be determined but that imprint is lasting of how it felt to open up in a moment. I’ve done a lot of workshops, retreats, bonding experiences…but I really appreciated the simplicity and ease and depth of these interactions this weekend that were opened up through vulnerable writing and sharing. 

So, first I invite you to reflect.

1. How visible are you willing to be? How do you choose to make yourself seen each day? Is this ultimately reflecting your highest and most aligned self? Is this who you want to be? 

2. Are you vocal when something matters to you? Do you express it with ease or hesitation? Do you wait until something blows up or until someone else finally says something? Do you validate yourself and what you have to say? Do you feel nervous speaking your truth? Do you take time to know your truth? Can you speak from a place of love and neutrality or do you tend to be reactive if you share? Or, do you hold back? In what settings is it easier for you to be expressive? Where might you tend to hold back a little bit more? And, if so, why? Are you focused outside of yourself? On others’ opinions? Fear of things changing if you speak up? 

3. Are you vulnerable? Do you put yourself out there in the ways that feel congruent for you? Even if you’re comfortable on stages all day long…it may not mean you are comfortable being vulnerable. You know that edge of your comfort zone. Do you expand past it? Do you let people in easily? Do you allow people to really know you? Do you share your desires, your heart, your fears, your concerns, your thoughts, your process, your hopes, your disappointments…? 

What areas of your life are you most comfortable being seen, heard, and felt? 

And, here are the questions that INQ asked us to use as a prompt for our poems:  

• What is a time that you took a giant leap and it paid off? 
• How did you feel? Before, during and after this leap? 
• How did it change who you are? 
• What did you learn? 
• How do you want to pass down and share this lesson? 

Set a timer, free write and see what comes. We set a timer for 15 minutes and I wrote for about 6 minutes without stopping until I felt complete. It felt so freeing to be in my flow in this way. 

Here are some of the lessons from our incredible speaker. (he also just released a new poetry album on itunes. I recommend giving it a listen.) 

1. Claim it. Write a poem and claim it’s a poem. It’s that simple. It struck me how simple it can be to do that with anything. 
2. You don’t have to make it great, you have to make it true. How much pressure we can place on ourselves at times and this is all we need to do. 
3. Whatever is closest to creation is closest to source. This is what he loves the most, whatever he created last.

I love this because I can feel an interesting attachment to what’s been created in the past and then fear of recreating and maybe it will make it messy or I’ll try to fit too much in. The truth is each time I teach or share something it gets simpler and more refined. Hearing this concept in this way inspired me to keep creating and being willing to start fresh and love that the most. 

Here’s to you tuning in and tapping into your most creative and free-flowing self today

Love,
Laurin