What happens when you discover your voice is actually a gateway to spiritual awakening? In this soul-stirring conversation, Malcolm Stern welcomes singer-philosopher Chloe Goodchild, founder of The Naked Voice, for a profound exploration of sound, silence, and authentic expression.
From an unexpected beginning—childhood deafness that immersed her in the language of silence—Chloe reveals how she transformed limitation into transcendent possibility. Her journey weaves through collaborations with composer John Tavener, where she embodied "the faceless, dark sound of the lost feminine," and spiritual pioneers like Gabrielle Roth who asked her simply to "sing stillness."
The dialogue delves into life's essential questions: What if suffering offers the highest form of vitality? How might chaos serve as a catalyst for transformation? Why do some follow their soul's calling despite conventional pressures to pursue security and status? As Malcolm notes, "Inside every one of us is a daemon that will drive us nuts until we do what we were born to do."
Both hosts reflect on embracing eldership rather than retirement, continuing to expand their gifts and wisdom with age. The conversation culminates in Chloe's stunning performance of "Om Tara," a devotional piece to the Buddhist deity of compassion that embodies everything discussed—the integration of sound and silence, suffering and transcendence, individual voice and universal connection.
For anyone questioning their path, feeling silenced, or seeking deeper meaning amidst global uncertainty, this episode offers a resonant reminder that authentic expression isn't about performance but presence—a way of "restoring living presence to the ears of humanity."
Chloe Goodchild: Singer, Author, Founder of The Naked Voice (North Atlantic Books 2015)
https://www.chloegoodchild.com/ | https://www.thenakedvoice.com/
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Presenter
Malcolm Stern has worked as a group and individual psychotherapist for more than 30 years. He was a co-founder of Alternatives at St James’s Church in London and runs groups internationally.
He is the author of Falling in Love / Staying in Love (Piatkus 2004) and Slay Your Dragons with Compassion ( Watkins 2020). He co-presented Channel 4’s relationship series, ‘Made for Each Other’ in 2003 and 2004 and sailed on the ‘Rainbow Warrior’ with Greenpeace in the 1980s. The book he is currently writing is an exploration of the shadow and its necessity in our evolutionary development.
To become equal to the dream sewn within us, our heart must break open and usually must break more than once. That’s why they say that the only heart worth having is a broken heart. For only in breaking can it open fully and reveal what is hidden within.” – Michael Meade
This is a series of podcasts based on the premise explored in Malcolm Stern’s acclaimed book of the same name, that adversity provides us with the capacity to develop previously unexplored depths and is , in effect , a crucible for self reflection and awareness. Malcolm lost his daughter Melissa to suicide in 2014. It slowly dawned on him over the following few years that he was being educated and an opportunity was being presented where new insights helped him forge a path through his grief and despair. As part of that cathartic journey, he wrote “ Slay Your Dragons with Compassion ( Watkins 2020 ) where he was able to describe some of the practices that had helped him shed light on a way through the darkness.
