Growing up as a girl child of the 60's I was taught that women must find their voice. We were taught about the Suffragettes who succeeded in procuring the vote for women. We learned about "the Story of O". We learned to burn our bras and speak up in politics and in the bedroom.

But I am not sure we found our voices. In fact, all that pushing to make our place in a "mans world" may have left us completely unable to speak with our feminine voice. We became "assertive" women who took ourselves very seriously, for fear that the "man's world" would not.

One of the things we failed to notice is that men didn't really have a voice either. They were (and are) as busy trying to be something other than themselves they didn't notice the voice they were using to so powerfully assert themselves was not really their own. In the end, women and men both lost connection with their own voice along the way in a surge of competitive effort.

Another thing was lost with our voices, was our ability to play. We lost understanding of the nature and importance of pure silliness and the creative thinking required for play. Sure, there are fields where play is somewhat more acceptable, but even there it has taken a darker turn as those fields push to make their place in the marketplace (video game designers, advertising, and the entertainment industry).

When I was younger I actively pursued a career in acting. I was a very serious actor. I am not sure what drove me, but it certainly wasn't the fun of play-acting. Somewhere along the line I had forgotten that acting is "make-believe".

Then, many years later, just when I was starting to get burned out in my counseling practice I discovered something called "InterPlay". Founders Cynthia Winton-Henri and Phil Porter describe it this way, "InterPlay is devoted to fun. It teaches the language and ethic of play in a deep and powerful way. If you are convinced that seriousness is the path to inner wisdom, then you might want to look elsewhere."

"InterPlay is sneaky," says an IntePlayer writer, "You think you're just having fun, but later you realize that your writing is easier, your life is easier."

InterPlay happens almost without conscious awareness working it's magic in a warm comfortable atmosphere that allows for easy shifts into creativity, organizational health, and success. The basics of InterPlay tools and practices are easily acquired and don't rely on having special talent or skills. These tools effectively produce a spirit of cooperation, community and spirit that results in greater creativity and productivity for organizations.
Using the InterPlay tools and practices, we find our selves more open to listening to what we really need to say and become open to full self-expression.

One of the foremost tenets of InterPlay is that we are each encouraged to have more of ourselves present than we have ever been allowed. The transformative power of InterPlay opens us all, male and female alike to find our authentic voice. We no longer have to push ourselves to assert our truth; we simply speak our truth from the heart as our spirit leads us to express it.

We no longer find ourselves in a battle between the self we are supposed to be and the self that we truly are, we just speak out authentically using the InterPlay practices as a platform to express our hearts truth.

Melody Brooke, MA, LPC, LMFT is an author, speaker, workshop presenter and counselor. Melody holds an MA in Counseling and Guidance from Texas Woman's University. She is also a Certified Radix Practitioner, Right Use of Power Teacher and InterPlay Teacher. Melody's 19 years work with individuals, couples and families provides her with a unique approach to solving clients' problems. Her life-altering book, "Cycles of the Heart: A way out of the egocentrism of everyday life", is based on her experience helping people resolve their relationship difficulties with themselves and others. To find out more about InterPlay and "Cycles of the Heart" go to Melody's Homepage