Author: Bobbye

Bobbye Middendorf, MA, partners with evolutionaries as mystic-catalyst, healer, and poet -- evoking experiences of hope, self-grounding, self-trust, resilience, and joy. Spoken Word Alchemy opens portals for Yin Arising via mentoring; she offers inner wisdom guidance and word altars. With WayMakers, this award-winning wordsmith regenerates their clarity and expansive expression to live life as a work of art.

Snow Is Earth’s Crystal Medicine

With all the weather-related stories blizzarding the media, I was entranced by this perfectly timed insight from a Toltec teacher visiting Maine.  I acknowledge with gratitude the source. The following comes via Joanna Pinney Buell at
http://thedowsingdeva.wordpress.com
And her post advising “Don’t-let-overwhelm-stop-you-from-showing-up”

“Weather is not an impediment. It is a blessing. The snow is beautiful, sparkling crystal medicine for you and the earth.”
— Dabadi Thaayrohyadi
January 30, 2011 in Blue Hill, in Maine

Translate Your Vision into BEE-ing: Your Code

A few years ago, I created a personal mission statement. As a solo-soul-preneur, I am the face and being of my business.  At the end of 2010, I was called to update that document. Usually the word “mission” for me is a non-starter. I’ve read far too many mission statements that put me to sleep.

As the Write Synergies Guru, I teach people the magic of growing their results (in words) greater than the sum of the parts. To do that, it calls for stepping into a level of Being in the World (and in the moment) that can only be expressed as your mindful and conscious Presence.  Sometimes, that Presence yearns to share itself by owning the parts that it encompasses. Maybe my colleagues would benefit by revising their “mission” statements into “Presence” statements…Or what I call the Code.

As a writer and a mentor for those crafting,  honing, and polishing their public messages, writing is one piece of my process. Let me share a secret: Who you are Being, from your deepest essence, is what makes the critical distinction between you and everyone else. So ponder the following questions. Take them to heart. Write your answers. Then share your riches here and with your own community of customers, clients — your circle and tribe.

First, who are you Being?

= From your Being, what is your Vision for 2011?

= What is your process for bringing that Vision to life?

= What are the words, the code that you live by when you are truly expressing from your highest and deepest self?

Please share!

For me, it is out of a place of deep inner space, of silence, of a kind of solitude, of words written by hand and by keyboard.

The Write Synergies Code

Out of the deep inner space of silence and solitude grow discernment, intuition, compassion

Walking a spiritual path, I commit to living these core values:

Listening deeply and with loving attention

Exploring with joy, curiosity, passion

Living mindfully and artfully with health, serenity, abundance

Knowing the sacred flow in all energy exchanges

Promoting peace, creativity, wisdom

Expressing compassion for Gaia, nature, and all sentient beings

Advancing with honesty, integrity, authenticity, gratitude, imagination

Connecting with the highest expression of those intersecting my path

Embodying a focus on the Light within and highest good for all concerned

Such foundational and visionary work is the beginning of declaration — what some might even call the basis for a Manifesto. Rest assured, that is coming. Living and expressing fully from this deep place calls on all our intent, requires that we show up in these new and powerful ways of Being.

I have been able to share, above, acrostic messages as part of my Write Synergies Code. These totems and ways of Being are also part of the code and reminders to me about the deeper forces at play in all aspects of life.

We are being called to wake up and act from a more powerful place. Start by unlocking your Being, shining a light on your Vision, and acting each day in the truth of your Code!

Join me on the Write Synergies Path!
Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru

Your Mark

When I read Seth Godin’s comments on making your mark (his “Soles” post) from last week, something clicked. How about for you? Here’s an excerpt:

“The concrete impact of our lives and our work is the mark you make on other people. It might be a product you make or the way you look someone in the eye. It might be a powerful experience you have on a trip with your dad, or the way you keep a promise.

The experiences you create are the moments that define you. We’ll miss you when you’re gone, because we will always remember the mark you made on us.”

–Seth Godin  (see the full post here)

The particular magic that each of us brings to our interactions with people — these are the gifts that make the difference. And it’s the giving of these particular gifts that is the true purpose of our coming into this world. It is in the giving of the gifts of ourselves, our uniqueness, the sacred center and essence of who we are — these are the signs that we are in the space where we can “make our mark.”

It’s what I call “owning your greatness.” It’s encompassed in the phrase “Living your Legacy.”  The potentiality to make a mark is always there. Our responsibility is to come at it mindfully and for positive, life-enhancing purposes.

Epiphanies

Just like Christmas is always on December 25, so Epiphany is always on January 6. We’ve finished the twelfth night of the Christmas season and move on to the season of Epiphany.

I always loved the idea of epiphanies — those great ah-ha-s. Epiphanies were a big deal for Stephen Daedalus in James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, one of my favorites of the “great books.”

Epiphany, beyond the capitalized version of the religious holiday, according to Merriam Webster (at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epiphany :

2   an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being

3  a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment

Such illuminations are indeed possible — especially using the writer’s toolkit. It’s a matter of paying attention to what is there, as one friend says, “Notice what you notice.”

Together throughout 2011, we will explore the many possibilities for synergies, legacies, epiphanies.

Here’s to Love, Peace, Joy …
and Epiphanies filling your 2011 to the brim!

Solstice Greetings from Shangri La

2010 Pre-Solstice

Brilliant
SunSparkles on snow
mingling my tracks with squirrels’
Fluffed robins drunk on fermented berries
Crows sing raucous verses
The passing V of Canada geese honking refrain
And the gibbous moon
rising midday spectral ghostly blur
waxing toward Solstice full
in blue firmament
Magic is airborne
riding currents of
short days with mid-afternoon dusks
punctuated by window candles
Holiday lights like multi-hued
stars of an earthbound universe

Energies of Divine Feminine
a Shakti blossoming
within perfect
circle of protection
Embracings within yin and yang
the balance unspoken
yet profound
Festivities foretold unfold
celebrating rebirth
of love alive
illuminating
the innermost sacred
center of the heart
Divine Love ignites
whisperings soul to soul
Missives of grace

17 December 2010
Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru

Shangri-La in Autumn

Chicago’s extended autumn, with mild-ish weather for much of November, has allowed extra time for being in our garden (aka Shangri-La). I wrote in late June, in my Missive from Shangri-La experience, all about a retreat that literally opened my eyes to, as they say, “the diamonds in my own back yard.” That is, Shangri-La is present just outside my door. This outdoor space is where and how I’ve been rooted on many a day of inner journeys — whether writing, dreaming, dining, or conversing.

In this month for gratitude, with so much to be grateful for, I wanted to share some of the special gifts in my life. Our Shangri-La garden is one that I’m looking at with grateful (and grace-full) eyes. I’ve been out there most days barefoot and doing a simple Qi Gong practice, soaking up the beauty and energies from the earth, the trees, the sky, and crow flying over.

It looks different in autumn. The trees shed their leaves. The Tree of Heaven, also known as the ailanthus, loses its leaves first. The copper beach will be the last, hanging onto golden crisp leaves through the winter, only to release them once the new growth starts. Without the leaves, even with the sun arcing low in the Southern sky, the garden glows in the light. At least on the days when clouds don’t get in between us and the sun.

A climbing hydrangea, its leaves brilliant yellow, stands like a small sun against the fence. Virginia creeper on the fence and side of the house always fades to a delicious pale pinky yellow with bright red stems. Crunchy leaves under foot mark one of passages of the autumn symphony.

Past mid-November in Chicago, the autumnal symphony is in its final movement. With deep gratitude and appreciation, I say Mahalo to all that has unfolded so that this particular humble little garden Shangri-La is now passing its grace through my life.

Review: The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte

Ignite Your Most Remarkable Self

Earlier this year, Danielle LaPorte published her multimedia masterpiece, The Fire Starter Sessions. I discovered this gem of  (and from) White Hot Truth (yes, this is the name of LaPorte’s web site) through the brilliant Ronna Detrick’s Renegade Conversations site and ezine. So that’s the meandering path I took to get to this entrepreneur’s treasure trove and believing mirror, allowing us to reflect back for ourselves our greatest power, insights, and opportunities.

The Fire Starter Sessions encompass an inspiring journey, with its clean design, vivid stories, video lessons/messages, and 43 pages of worksheets and questions that get you delving into your own flaming core essence, so you can bring those gifts from the core out into the world. It’s called a “digital experience.” LaPorte says, “This is about you defining your vocation, your work, your livelihood, your career, on your own terms.”  Lessons from her own entrepreneurial high-flying, interviews with thought leaders, and lists of resources round out the message.

Especially these past couple of years, so many people have been “trying” to play it safe life-wise, vocation-wise. There is no safe harbor anymore, if there ever was. And so, more timely than ever, comes this fiery voice of Danielle LaPorte, spilling out her White Hot Truth. I can’t say that our energies are a match. In fact, it seems an unlikely pairing, me and Danielle LaPorte in the same breath. And yet there is something so compelling in her message, something that makes me want to take out my eyeliner and put on high heels.

There’s deep truth-telling here, like in her discussion of “quality-easy” or what about this game-changer? “True strength is not necessarily about skill or adeptness. It‘s about vitality.” How many of us entrepreneurs choose to do what we’re decent at, even when there isn’t a spark of passion to be found any more? If you are suffering from such a lackluster approach, this is the antidote.

With its tagline, “Spark Your Genius. Ignite Your Business. Make it Matter,” this “digital experience for entrepreneurs” covers dreams and feelings, content, courage, and design in four modules:

  • module 1: strength + desire: define yourself on your own terms
  • module 2: identity + branding: you are not a box of cereal
  • module 3: content + services + promotion
  • module 4: reverie + courage

Most crucially, Danielle LaPorte shares the lesson of “How do you want to feel in the work you do?” This is absolutely at the heart of it all, and allows dreamers to pull on the dream that is their own — the one that fits just right. I also adore the thought that when something really fits, there’s an ease and grace in the doing.

The Fire Starter Sessions is a multimedia experience definitely worth checking out. Yes, I am an affiliate, and I recommend and believe in the value of this package. You can click on the links in this post, or click the orange box on the sidebar to learn more.

Bridging Heart and Marketing 4

My friends, colleagues, coaches, and mentors, Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, are convening amazing learning sessions in the fourth of their Bridging Heart and Marketing events. Two have been live events; this one is the second as a virtual event. (Very cost effective.) Judith and Jim have assembled a roster of great teachers aligned with the heart-based, soft sell marketing tribe that they lead.

Things are changing so fast online that it’s not always easy to keep  up. In particular, conscious business owners and heart-based healers, caregivers, and service providers find that the speed of change in the online world coupled with the frantic urgency of many of the (especially hard-sell) offers just makes them decide to bow out. Ignore it and hope it goes away.

It won’t be going away any time soon. As Judith and Jim point out, the internet has become the new virtual shopping mall… For finding a do-able and high-integrity path through the online marketing jungle, Judith and Jim are guides that I’ve found to be both trustworthy and transparent in sharing their knowledge.

They came to online marketing after many years as therapists.  Their profound knowledge and gifts for healing relationships informs this crucial aspect of online business. After all, what is business but a varied array of relationships?  They came into online marketing only a few years ago — when both were in their 60s. To hear their story alone offers huge lessons and insights you can’t get anywhere else.

I’ve participated in the last two Bridging Heart and Marketing events, connecting with partners, mentors, friends, and thought leaders I wouldn’t  have met any other way.

Bridging Heart and Marketing Number 4 starts tomorrow, so don’t miss it.
Click here for more details and to register.

The Message Beyond the Message

Why are you writing what you intend to write? What is its deepest purpose or essence? Why you? Why this piece? Why now?

It’s important to look beyond the surface. (I’m doing a marketing campaign, a blog post, a flash-enabled web site.) You may have reasons, but go deeper. Explore your project from the perspective of the heart. And by staying in the aware heart energy, you can access a deeper guidance and a deeper why. This is a process of deeper engagement to see what is there and also what is not yet visible. To read on the lines and between the lines. To hear the notes and the silence and space between the notes.

Sometimes, like my client Barb, a whole book comes as a download as a result of some dramatic trauma. Her book on grief spilled out over a weekend as she continued to heal from the loss of her life partner and sweetheart. For years after she wrote it, she reported, “I’d still cry when I reread it.”  The unacknowledged grief, the hidden and ungrieved grieving, creates a heavy load. We all encounter many losses in our lives. Learning to take the time to acknowledge and embrace every one of them is the dark path towards the light of healing. This is her message for her readers.

No matter how the message of your  brainchild/heartchild comes through — whether through a download all at once or a steady progress of creation — the book that encapsulates the lessons and insights makes up the heart of your message.

But for many, once that’s settled, it seems like that should be all it takes. You’ve gotten your message onto the page after all.

That’s not all. Questions like, “Now what? What’s next?” can be the biggest stumbling blocks. Because it seems like you should be done, but you are in fact just starting. What is your message without people to hear it and connect with it and you?

Your book’s message in itself is designed to  be of service to your perfect people, the ones you are here to help. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be here reading this. Service and contribution are things you think about. So the main message, your service and love is done.

In truth, the writing you do next is just as important as the writing of the main message in your book. This is the writing you do in service to the message you are here to share. These are the words that connect you to your people, the ones who have maybe heard similar messages before, but they will “get it” in a brand-new and deeper way from you.

You’re probably not going to want to hear that the writing you do in service now to your message probably wears the clothing of “marketing” and “sales.”  Too many messengers shy away from that part of the process. Keep in mind that you are still in service to your main message. This is the process of bringing it into a more public conversation.  At the same time, the marketing messages need to remain true to the heart of your  greater work. For most of us, it seems like a different kind of a thing — this marketing and sales writing.

In the spirit of the great duality on this planet, I say, “It isn’t different. And yet it is.” Both/And. There are commonalities between your message, mission, and book AND the writing (and talking) you do to share your message in the marketplace of ideas. They need to be of a piece.

But in some ways, the marketing message, which is what opens the public conversation, is even more important. It has to catch the hearts of those who can hear it from you.

Here’s one way to approach the marketing message of your message.

Think about it as a way you are opening the conversation. Creating the space for dialogue, back-and-forth, feedback, response. Marketing messages take a different kind of crafting, and you can do it — writing to sell without selling your soul or selling out your message. Once again, bring the heart energies to the task of shaping your marketing messages that will be in service to your book, your main message.

Use that awareness and care you have for the people who can only hear it from you in sharing the gifts and greatness you are here to give.

#blogboost