THE COURAGEOUS VOICE
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THE COURAGEOUS VOICE |
Today is the day you vow to follow your heart and not your fear. If only it were that easy! The Courageous Voice podcast chronicles international artists, creatives, plus a handful of scientists, and their stories of fear, courageousness and creativity. Hosted by singer, storyteller and self-proclaimed joy spreader, Chanda Rule, The Courageous Voice inspires us to share our voices courageously in spite of our fears through courageous conversation and community.
With feet rooted in gospel, a heart filled with soul, and a voice touched with jazz, singer and songwriter Chanda Rule has been weaving stories through song, humming melodies, and bending words since her childhood. Her “bewitching voice,” as described by the Baltic Times, has a flexibility and range that has graced a variety of musical projects.
A published writer and storyteller, Chanda also uses her music for community building and communal healing. Her stories that combine original narrative, sacred text and music have been awarded, commissioned, and featured on podcasts for spiritual living.
Listen to The Courageous Voice wherever you get your podcasts, or using our archive below!
PODCAST ARCHIVE:
Closing Season 1 | “Courageous Voice”
Dec 13, 2022
The first season on The Courageous Voice podcast is wrapped up with a short chat with show host, Chanda Rule. Tune in to hear what inspired her to begin the podcast and a few life experiences she calls Courageous.
“…It is my hope that something that is said in these interviews will inspire you. I come across so many people…that have so much on their hearts that they want to share with the world. And there’s always so many things that give the illusion of standing in the way of getting those things accomplished. And so, I hope that this can be an inspiration to someone to start to push through and navigate through to do it anyway…”
- Chanda Rule
Gene Pritsker | “Courageous Voice”
Nov 14, 2022
Enjoy this frank, honest, sometimes humorous, always inspiring conversation with composer, guitarist, rapper, teacher, producer Gene Pritkser. He’s also known as a mischief-maker and a cultural blender who has written over 800 compositions. Listen in as Gene opens up about his early life and inspirations, his musical journey as a new music composer, and staying grounded in his artistic vision.
In this episode we chat about:
- Doing what you love
- Becoming a “finisher” of projects
- Inspirations for music creation
- Pushing artistic boundaries
- Music making as a model for human relations
- Creating art for yourself first
- Film orchestration
“…the truth is that I do write music for one person only to please. I always tell that to everybody….because the art I’m creating is for me, and I hope other people enjoy it.”
- Gene Pritsker
Abiona Esther Ojo | “Courageous Voice”
Oct 17, 2022
Meet Esther. Vienna based, award winning visual artist and photographer whose work is based on identity and representation. Get inspired by our conversation about her artistic process and the beauty of expressing the verbally inexpressible through visual art.
In this episode we chat about:
- How community affects artistic process
- The artistic process: from imagination to visual creation
- Processing emotion, grief, and life change through art creation
- Documenting Black hair styles, hair care, and policy through visual art
- Diversity into the Arts spaces in Europe (Austria)
“With every art work I make, I start with my own story, I start with my own experience, but at the end of the day, it’s part of my healing journey…”
- Abiona Esther Ojo
Osian Roberts | “Courageous Voice”
Sep 6, 2022
Settle in to this open, honest, sometimes funny, and often vulnerable conversation about living a creative life with Osian Roberts, saxophonist, composer and arranger, as we chat about his journey from visual art, to acting, to music — and finding the point of it all, through success, failure, and the steps in between.
In this episode we chat about:
- the creative life
- challenges of perfectionism
- talent, skills and hard work
- Self learning
- fearing failure
- choosing the creative path you love vs the one you are naturally good at
- finding creative balance
“The point is to aim towards perfectionism, it’s not to actually reach it…why would anyone expect to be perfect at something they can’t do and succeed straight away?”
- Osian Roberts
Denise Van de Cruze | “Courageous Voice”
Aug 8, 2022
Fill up on this empowering conversation with Denise Van de Cruze, social justice advocate, world traveler, owner of Vienna-based queer cafe Villa Vida, and self-proclaimed nerd activist for the people.
In this episode we chat about:
- Finding places to be of service
- Social justice
- Parenting by example
- The necessity of community
- Living your values
- Social joy
- Black stories and the Black Austria Project
“Wherever I am, I’m going to do work…I can be in the most comfortable place and I will find the most vulnerable people, and identify heavily with them, and I will do work on their behalf because I see that as being on my behalf as well.”
- Denise Van de Cruze
Dr. Sarah Webb | “Courageous Voice”
Nov 29, 2022
Meet Dr. Sarah Webb, colorism expert, writer, media creator. A world traveler, an Auntie, and the founder and owner of Colorism Healing llc, which is a global leader in raising awareness, shifting attitudes, and taking action to dismantle colorism. Enjoy our conversation on bravery, healing, and choosing to share our personal truths and values with the world.
In this episode we chat about:
- Healing trauma and relationships
- Writing and the Healing process
- Exercising bravery and choosing to go against the grain
- Setting boundaries and dealing with push back
- Navigating the “spiral staircase” of the Healing journey
- How to spread awareness about colorism
“…when you exercise courage, you also open up lanes and spaces for other people to feel safe as well.”
- Dr. Sarah Webb
DeShannon Bowens | “Courageous Voice”
Oct 31, 2022
Fall into this beautiful conversation with DeShannon Barnes-Bowens, author, psychotherapist, If a priestess, interfaith minister, and founder of ILERA, an organization that focuses on sexuality and spirituality, intimate partner violence, vicarious trauma, and wellness. Join us as we talk about how she found her life-work and how she brings all of herself to it’s expression.
In this episode we chat about:
- African indigenous wisdom
- Sacred sexuality
- Intimate partner violence
- Healing sexual trauma
- Revisiting and revising previously completed projects
- Interfaith dialogue
- Vicarious trauma
“Someone has to do something. And so I started devoting all my time to try to understand what causes this, how prevalent is this, how do people heal from this? And most importantly, how can we stop this? So my entry before I even got to sacred sexuality, spirituality, and sexuality, I was actually focused primarily on the side of sexual abuse, awareness, and prevention…”
- DeShannon Bowens
Debbie Bronkema | “Courageous Voice”
Sep 19, 2022
Meet Debbie. Pastor, writer, author, and worship leader of connect.faith, an online faith community that explores questioning and growing at the intersections of creativity, spirituality and justice. Enjoy our conversation on building online communities, connecting through creativity and writing, and her new book, “Writing Toward Wholeness: Exploring creativity and spirituality”.
In this episode we chat about:
- connect.faith
- Finding sacred community through creativity
- Building community online
- Creative writing as a spiritual practice
- Intentionality
- Using fiction to tell our own stories
- Starting your first book
“Creativity is a spiritual act…”
- Debbie Bronkema
JG Danso | “Courageous Voice”
Aug 22, 2022
Dive in to this courageous and inspiring conversation with queer poet, mom, intersectional equalities advisor, and human resources expert JG Danso as we discuss her new book, her writing process, and how she uses storytelling to empower and share experiences of intersectional queerness over generations.
In this episode we chat about:
- Queer intersectional organizing and creative writing
- Marsha P Johnson
- Finding the time for writing
- Getting inspiration from visual art and collaborating with other artists
- Healing through writing
- Creating with our whole selves
- Hint.Wien and Vienna’s Queer Writer’s Circle
Excerpt from JG Danso’s new book, A Thousand Ships:
Remember this,
I am the birth of pride
left battered on the Hudson tide
Get up, it’s time to march
for me
- JG Danso
Salem Islas Madlo | “Courageous Voice”
Jul 25, 2022
Get ready to be inspired with Salem Islas Madlo, poet, educator, mom, coach and art therapist, as we chat about the power of the present moment and finding the authentic self on the other side of surrender.
In this episode we chat about:
- Poetry
- Finding power in the fragments
- Writer’s Block
- Healing our inner (and outer) artist
- Mental Health
- The Deep Wild Nature
“When I finally got on the other side of actually having the courage to let go, I realized, on the other side, was my authentic self.”
- Salem Islas Madlo