“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.”
–Marcel Proust

What makes you “see with new eyes?”  In late June, I returned home from a week-long retreat just a short couple of hours’ drive from home.The retreat, in a beautiful, sacred space, was filled with radiant and divine people. It was a magical time out of time.

(And did you know that yesterday, July 25, was Day Out of Time Day, courtesy of the 13 moons, Mayan calendar?)

So from this June 2010 time out of time retreat, with people I’d never met, and yet who became like long-lost family to me, I hesitantly returned to my ordinary reality. But I returned with new eyes that saw the blessings in my life for what they were: true gifts of support in every way.

Somehow when I returned to our cozy house and expansive, lush garden, I saw what had been there all along in a totally fresh, and yes, radiant, way. Where we’ve lived, rooted, for more than two decades, shines with a renewed vigor and magic, visible through my newly polished eyes. I said, while on the retreat, that I lived in a Shangri La, although in the middle of urban Chicago. When I came home, that is indeed what I experienced.

In seeing with new eyes, I strive for maintaining consciousness, for appreciating the blessings, for stepping into each day as a gift. It is easy to appreciate. What is harder, at least for me, is to take the mindful action steps necessary to expand my presence within this holy, sacred space of my life.

Several weeks after my return from the retreat, we (husby, teenage son, et moi) ventured to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a preserved segment of Mother Earth tucked in between heavy smokestack industries on both sides. Lake Michigan was still cold, but the day was hot enough that the chill felt refreshing. I spied hawk flying over the beach twice, bent on some mission. The smell of pine tickled my nose as we walked along hot sands to the dune succession trail boardwalk through the preserved wild lands inland from the beach.

Counting my years along the shores of Lake Michigan, I realize it has held my heart for more than three decades, as I bask still in her flowing and liquid magic, a grateful acolyte to these central waters of Mother Earth.

I’d love to hear how you are seeing with new eyes. Take a look into your own life, your own backyard or treasure closet. What do you see when you look with new eyes? Where can you gain renewed energies from looking anew at what is familiar?

My friend and mentor Susan Castle is leading another magnificent, eye-opening retreat, this time within the sacred space of Sedona, Arizona. I’ll be there. I’d love to have you along! Retreat spaces are very limited. To learn about Susan and this opportunity for learning to “see with new eyes,” I invite you to step into her circle. Click here to learn more.

I wish you Abundant Blessings that are available when you are willing to see with new eyes.

Warmest regards to you,
from Bobbye Middendorf,
the Write Synergies Guru

Why do I ask? Well…..

My friends/ colleagues/ mentors Judith & Jim
(Judith Sherven, PhD and Jim Sniechowski, PhD)
spent years struggling to understand what a real business is
and what all is involved to build one on solid ground…

They realized that it MUST start with a clear Internal
Understanding of what it is you are doing –
first and foremost for your
own sake — and also for your customers.

Most people struggle with this issue big time, but
never talk about it. I know I have.
Most people just hide their desperation
and misery  –  but Judith & Jim are doing something
completely different.

They’ve realized that clear understanding needs
to start with a clear Internal Marketing Platform!

That’s why I am inviting you to attend their FREE
Virtual Workshop this Thursday –

Register by clicking here

So You Can Get Clear About YOUR Internal Marketing Platform

There always seemed to be something missing with all
the well-meaning marketing and promo advice.
It’s this internal focus that needs to come FIRST is what
I’ve realized is key.  My coaches and mentors are sharing –
for the first time in a live no-cost workshop  — a true
self-discovery experience (It’s much much more than
Judith & Jim just teaching or training, as great as that is!)

It’s really all about  YOU . . .

*** How to discover, in yourself, what you need
in order to build and stand firmly on your own
successful Internal Soft Sell Marketing Platform ***

http://budurl.com/JJInternalPlatfm

They’re calling it

“Discovering Your Internal Marketing Platform”
It’s The Foundation of Your External Marketing Success

It’s FREE  –  So give yourself this gift — and
get registered now:

http://budurl.com/JJInternalPlatfm

It’s Thursday, July 8th, at 5:30 pm Pacific/8:30 pm ET

Judith & Jim will start by clarifying what a Marketing
Platform IS,  what it is NOT, and why it’s SO important to you –

And then you’ll experience a Marketing Workshop that’s
truly different from what you’ve ever experienced before.

Because Judith & Jim will guide you, taking you deep
inside yourself to help you discover and integrate
the important values and other qualities that will
serve as the basis for your out-in-the-world
marketing platform.

Remember, if your marketing platform does not begin
within, you can only stumble and fall, losing faith
and energy as you continually jump around trying to
make things work.

So make sure you are registered for this
FREE, life-changing event -

http://budurl.com/JJInternalPlatfm

AND you can certainly invite your friends and colleagues
to get registered too! That way you can share your
discoveries and support each other in moving forward
into greater success through your Internal marketing platforms!

“See” you on the call. I’m certainly going to be there.
As I like to say, “the inner journey IS the journey.”
Hope you will join me and my mentors in Soft Sell Marketing.

Happy Independence Day to my US friends. (and to my Canadian friends, celebrating independence on Canada Day, July 1). The roots of what was initiated here in the US more than 234 years ago started with great possibilities. Some of that purity of intent has gotten corrupted over time. But there remain bright lights and good hearts dotted across the continent. From these embers, we must ignite the new hope.

Eleven years ago, right about this time of the summer, I too had reason to celebrate a personal independence when I stepped out of the corporate publishing world to create my own venture.  My journey over these 11 years has had ups and downs, but right now I am creating something new to lift the ceiling, so that greater possibilities open up like flowers before me and inside me and for all who choose to play in my circle. I’m raising my set point on good new stuff for myself and for the Write Synergies Circle that I am creating.

I completed 25 of the blog posts during the 30 day blog challenge convened by Jeanette Cates. Not bad considering I was unplugged at a retreat for 8 of those days. I received the “Mini 7″ award, which is completing 7 daily posts. I liked to joke that several of us completed multiple “mini 7s.” It was great fun shared with a cool circle of people. I truly appreciate everyone’s energies as we journeyed together. I look forward to the mutual support from this special circle of people as we move forward.

In Lake Geneva, as I reported here earlier, I fell into a circle of heart-full new friends. In Hawaiian, it’s called an “O’Hana,” or family. And that’s just how it felt. Energized from this gathering, and using it as a springboard, my process and creations are being magnified at an amazing rate.

Over the past year, I have been shapeshifting the copywriting I do. It’s not going away, but it is morphing as all living things do.  For those who can benefit from coaching, even if they don’t need the copywriting, I am adding Full Presence Coaching as a sacred listening space to support people on their creative and business journeys.   I realize that some people can benefit from entering into a sacred space as part of these Full Presence mirror conversations — a perfect way to metabolize the learnings that they are going through. Send me an email if you want to discuss the coaching option.

I continue to work deeply with Susan Castle, Paul Bauer, Jan Stringer, Alan Hickman, as well as my coaches Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski. It’s interesting to observe how the mentors most important in my life right now are committed couples. Just noticing, that’s all.

AND YET:  “Just Noticing” is absolutely crucial. Think about this. Act on this. Aim, for a week, to build “just noticing,” into your everyday life.  As I write this at the kitchen table in my personal Shangri-La, the crows visit. Crow has become one of my totems since I began noticing crow’s presence in my daily life at crucial moments over the past year. Crow, like the yin and yang bracelet I wear, symbolizes the unity of the polarities.

“Just noticing.”

See what you notice, then report back. What are you able to notice when you pay attention to what is around you? What about when you pay attention to the story behind the story? I look forward to your shared insights and stories.

Here’s to independence and noticing!
Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru