Singing Your own Song – A Source of True Joy and Belonging

We each have a song to sing and eventually true happiness is defined by whether you are singing your own or someone else’s song.

Most people die with their music still locked up inside them because they never said Yes to themselves and allowed themselves to be controlled by fear.  

Saying yes to yourself is an incredible affirmation because it puts you in sync with source and a universal loving plan which is always saying yes to you and asks you only to listen and respond to your own inner voice and sing your song.

Singing your own song is the ultimate act of love for in singing your own song you become part of a universal chorus and a  Unified Field ~ which has been patiently waiting for you to play your part in a constantly evolving loving plan.

It is with that in mind that I share a beautiful story by Alan Cohen, from his book  Living from the heart , which captures the joyof knowing and singing your own song.

They’re Playing Your Song

By Alan Cohen author of “Living from the Heart.”

” When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she  goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child.  

They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that  expresses its unique flavor and purpose.

When the women  attune to the song, they sing it out loud.

Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else. 

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the  child’s song to him or her. Later, when the child enters  education, the village gathers and chants the child’s song.

When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood,

the people again come together and sing.

At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song.  

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they  did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

When I have shared this story in my lectures, a fair amount  of people in the audience come to tears. There is something  inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish  those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it. 

In some of my seminars I ask people to verbalize to a partner

the one phrase they wish their parents had said to them as a  child. Then the partner lovingly whispers it in their ear. This exercise goes very deep, and many significant insights start  to click. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are !

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which  the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the  individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to  them.  

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity.  When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it.

Those who love you are not fooled  by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty, your  wholeness when you are broken; your innocence and your purpose when you are confused.

One summer when I was a teenager I went to the community pool, where I met a man who changed my life. Mr. Simmons talked to me for about ten  minutes. It wasn’t what he said that affected me so deeply;  it was how he listened to me. He asked me questions about my life, my feelings, and my interests.

The unusual thing about Mr. Simmons was that he paid attention to my answers. Although I had family, friends,  and teachers, this man was the only person in my world who seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and valued me for who I was.  

After our brief conversation I never saw him again. I probably never will.  

I’m sure he had no idea that he gave me the gift  of a lifetime. Maybe he was one of those angels who show up for a brief mission on earth, to give someone faith, confidence,  and hope when they most need it.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings  your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always  reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when  you are not.

When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song.  

In the end,  we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warble at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home. “

I remember vividly one summer day as a young teenager when I met my extremely gifted grandmother for the first and only time at my home in Nahant, Massachusetts ~ she took me by the hand, looked into my palm, squeezed my hand and knowingly smiled. At that moment, I knew I was loved and special and I never forgot her loving gesture and silent acknowledgement of my unsung song ~ which later became the discovery and sharing of a Unified Field of love and soul consciousness which lies not only beyond time and space but also beneath our deepest fears and whose principle property is the universal urge to unite ~ which we continue to resist at our ultimate peril.

By standing alone and with great courage singing my song ~ I have become an integral part of something far greater than myself and sense a deeper belonging.

Allen L Roland, PhD

Heart centered spiritual consultant and advisor Allen L Roland can be contacted at allen@allenroland.com Allen is also a lecturer and writer who shares a weekly political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com. He is also featured columnist on VT and is a featured guest on many radio and Television programs