I am here because you speak to me in shapes

you speak to me in shapes

I wrote why am i here? already when my peace sign spoke. It was hiding then. Now as the leaves have dropped, it's louder. But now you can see it, even in a photo.

I am here still, just covered in a blanket instead. Still,

I look out my window where I type to capture my next thought. I don’t see prompts—as answers—from the outside world, nor news from little birds or squirrels. There’s a shape I see made of camphor trees, only seen from the vantage of me. The shape of an oblong peace sign.

...A message just for me each time. I listen. It is me I hear next. My words. I know what to type next.

When darkly lit and shadowed, it's been a message just for me—in the seat of me. Less covered, its voice cold (as am I), I listen. Instead now it is watching me. For a response.

© 2013 R.E.L. Copywriting

Turning ordinary into vibrant: How?

my heart is alive, is yours?How do you go through your days with vibrance, where each moment matters... It's an art form and one that requires a dedicated eye to presence.

Presence in the current moment, where the eye to what matters opens up. Wide.

moments matter

Vibrance is a way of living with energy and enthusiasm. Taken out of context, it is quivering and pulsating, bright and striking. But that is a great metaphor to describe a vibrant life.

your vibrant life

When you think of apathetic, you think of not caring and dullness. This—staying on topic—is what draws people away from you. From your web site, from your emails, but in general, from you...

Stay vibrant. Be alive.

© 2013 R.E.L. Copywriting

Are you always too busy: Do you care about your freedom?

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/namastedharmacafe?directed_target_id=0It seems to be the new cool to say you're busy, swamped or otherwise not available for free time. Why is that?

It's cool to control your freedom

Isn't the true meaning of living the ability to control your own schedule, which also means living a good life and having the freedom to chose how you spend your precious time?

I fall into this sometimes too. Recently my friend Joslyn Hamilton asked me how I was doing in an electronic conversation. I left the message unanswered for weeks because I did not want to come back with my honest "I'm busy, swamped." So, I waited. Until today. 

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Early morning yoga keeps me more present in life

Yoga Tree Corte Madera (by r.e.l.)It's difficult not to write after this morning's 6:00 a.m. class at Yoga Tree Corte Madera.

Early morning yoga in Marin

During these darker winter mornings, the lighting in the yoga room is amazing—soothing for the waking body and mind. The new colorful clouds really make the space, together with the redwood tree mural, lighting and fixtures.

I felt this morning like I was in my living room rather than an eye-opening, wake-up call early morning yoga class. Whether challenging or simplistic, it made my yoga practice deeper since I was soothed on a deep level.  

More present in class at 6:00 a.m.

The early morning 6am class—if you've not tried the early morning thing—is quite life-changing. I myself recently broke out of the night owl mode and moved into the early morning yoga scene. For me, it has seemed a miraculous accomplishment. Now that I am into it (after doing yoga for 17 years), I am trying out the studios in Marin which offer early morning yoga. I need to be led at this hour, so sorry, no Mysore for me.

Image Source: Yoga Tree Corte Madera

Surprisingly, I have found that I am more present during these early classes. My chatter brain has yet to activate into its normal self and I "wake" from savasana with the most profound connections, measages and intentions which carry through my day. I find I am more patient and focused now in my business and family life, thanks to early morning yoga.

Chatter brain turns to peace

Yoga Tree Corte Madera has the earliest led-yoga classes in southern Marin. If you need to go to work right afterward, showers will welcome you. Check it out :)

Behind the eyes of a writer™: A series, part sixteen

Behind the eyes of a writer™: A series, part sixteen

be you, creative

Continuing on from are you a memory?, part fifteen in Behind the eyes of a writer™ series, a driving force building words of sentences of stories of dreams. 

...between the letters

In between the letters is a place. To imagine what occurs—as a word is formed, as a choice is made—is to be a step closer to being in that space.

Sentences are made of more than words. Ideas, described. Pauses, illuminated.

…

While the choice is being made, while the thought is formed (as a bubble in the mind, speaking eloquently or as a cartoon), there is a decision. The decision makes its mind up itself.

Words are not taught, nor is creativity. The space to find the words needs to be opened, calmly with confidence.

They ask,

Do you know how? To be you? Then why don't you do it?

Be you, creative.

[Next in Behind the eyes of a writer™ series]

© 2013 R.E.L. Copywriting

What is SEO and why does it matter for your web site?

SEO is a buzz word in digital marketing, for sure. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the qualifying characteristic responsible for the rank given to your web site on the internet by Google, Bing, Yahoo, et al. 

why should you care about SEO?

What is entailed in making your web site SEO-friendly? What do SEO companies actually do?

Companies specializing in SEO, such as Search Optimizers (an SEO partner to over 300 companies and in business for 17 years now) research your industry, and in particular your competitors, to find the top keywords that should be present in your web site in order to attract the biggest audience. They modify the web site code behind the scenes and, because your competitors are always changing, so must your SEO parameters for your web site so that you can keep up. Search Optimizers practices "white hat SEO" (in other words, ethical) procedures which gain organic rankings.

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Let your mind wander to your creative insights

creativity has a mind of its ownAn article I read today on the role of attention for creativity by Daniel Goleman caught my eye. It resonated with me because he was able to put it out there... on how the creative mind works.

wander, space out, focus, it's ok

I have always asserted that it cannot be confined to a box, to a timeframe or to a large conference room filled with eager brainstormers. Creative insight does not just come to most people spontaneously—except for maybe standup comedians. It requires what I call a certain zone, which can be created by immersing myself into all areas of the challenge at hand since I never know which moment or detail will spark my creativity.

Goleman goes on to say,

this wide immersion requires an open awareness, a form of attention that lets the mind wander freely. Mind wandering, which has a bad reputation, is actually a crucial stage in creativity. It lets us come up with those precious new combinations of different elements, the one that will pay off in a creative insight.

I often mention that my creative brain needs a special warm venue, a fireplace, a candle, trees, birds and clouds moving by. In other words, it cannot be confined to an office with flourescent lighting and a conference table with all eyes looking at me. I've called my needs introversion. Although it's a form of that, it's also the act of allowing my mind to wander that leads to its creative gems.

© 2013 R.E.L. Copywriting

Words, phrases or gestures that have multiple meanings

you twirl your hair?

Does twirling your hair really mean you are nervous? Does [...] really mean something obvious? What about the source behind being late, or a silent response to a question?

Each unique, each powerful in its own way. Not to be assumed.

Although a masculine business model will postulate that twirling hair equates to inequality with the rest of them, to me the gesture means deep thought, creatively-driven moments, uncaptured any other way except through the spinning touch of fingers against hair. A sort of brain massage releases the free-floating idea submersed in chaos to come alive. Calm and clear.

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