Your Story Manifesto Transformational Tips: What is Your Voice Trying to Tell You

If you've been following my blog, then perhaps you've already gotten a feel for my journey of "straddling on two cultural seats."

My story is a big part of it.

Just the other day, I saw a picture of the almond blossums of the Upper Galilee and the Emek Hahula valley in Israel where our kibbutz is, and my heart sank. The caption read: "This is the most beautiful piece of countryside in Israel" and of course, I couldn't agree more. How I wanted to be there at that very moment and especially, at this time of year!

The concrete that we wake up to every morning here in Pittsburgh coupled with the early morning sirens spells another part to my story. Moving to the US in 2007 was on one hand, a great big boost for both myself and my husband's personal and professional developments. But it also entailed, a great self-sacrifice in the name of a home, family and friends. To help me along this journey, I have my meditating mentors to thanks - Dr. Deepak Chopra and DavidJi who sit somehwere in my computer and await for me every morning to find peace and stillness between my thoughts.

I've discovered from the four and a half years of cultural straddling that there is this great big voice that has emerged and truly wants to be heard as it finds its way "home."

When I take the time to listen, the BIG APE OL' Voice from the depths of my own story, tells me that I'm missing the point! It needs recognition, self-care, healing as part of recognizing that journey. And so now, when that voice speaks, I've learned to listen and tune in!

But let's face it..most people are reluctant to share that personal part of their story. But if you allow yourself to dig deep (and I mean getting past the mindset stuff and listen, really listen to that voice that emerges from people and places you've encountered) you will discover that what you have been holding unto can also set your free. And if you're in the process of branding yourself, that story is a major piece and can lead the way for connecting more effectively with your clients...

So, where do you think your life story could lead you – if you allowed it to lead the way? What do you think you could gain, both personally and professionally, if you came out fully with your life story?”

Need more help to put your story into vision?
If you've been called to energetically tap into the voice of your story as part of a larger professional or personal vision, sign-up to receive your weekly story manifestor transformational tips as part of your complimentary subscription "Your Story Manifesto: Change Your Vision to Change the World." To subscribe, send an email: sassondorit@gmail.com.

Being Silent Never Helps...Here's What Does

Silence cannot be contained in a box; it is vast endless as divine presence. ~TaoliAmbika

**
How could I NOT miss that blue pamphlet?

On a Pittsburgh city bus, a man standing next to me in a yellow parka started to speak while holding a blue pamphlet. For a moment, I felt I was on a NYC subway with some of those "Jews for Jesus" people...

"In September, we're going to have massive cuts in our public transportation system...Port Authority is facing a $64 million deficit in its operating budget. This means slashing service. This is a statewide problem. No corporate solution."

"There are going to be some major serious cuts and it's going to kill us. Kill us!" The man repeated emphatically.

"The airport flyer - eliminated."

"Many communities won't be served anymore... Take a look folks.. it's really bad."

I must admit. There was a deep part of me that didn't want to even look at that blue pamphlet for fear of the eliminating routes...

The airport flyer eliminated? What? Are they crazy? I thought. I felt the blood rush to my head.

"You guys have the power to make a difference... There's a hearing on February 29th downtown..."

"Yeah," a man bellowed from the back. "Word."

I turn to look at the man - he was listening with intent. He was nodding. He was smiling...I looked at all the people in that bus.. they were ALL listening with intent...


When my husband and I both got off at the corner bus stop in the snowy cold, we both took a quick look at the proposed fare schedules and changes.

"And what about the 64?" my husband asked.

That was the bus my husband took every day to work.

I quickly scanned the pamphlet..

Eliminated! Eliminated? Eliminated!!!

The man in the yellow parka was right. It looked bad... Really bad.

"Haim," I cried. "They're going to cut the 64!"

"They're not going to cut the 64! David Shapira (The CEO of Giant Eagle, where my husband works) won't let them...."

That was when my voice REALLY got stuck in my throat.

Flashback #1 - I am back in Israel marching with thousands of other teachers fighting for our right to get better working conditions. We march in front of the Knesset building in Jerusalem, the Israeli Parliament for two straight days...

But for the next five years, nothing changes...same salaries, just bigger classes and more hours...

Here, in the US, I have to stop hiding in my voice, my jacket and under the "disguise" of silence...because if I don't, my voice will continue to stay stuck in my throat...

The power of the people..

In Israel, everybody makes a lot of noise all of the time and you have no choice but to join forces, whether you like it or not.


And as one who solely relies on public transportation here in Pittsburgh to get around, I knew I didn't have a choice, but to speak up...at the public hearing...

In the snowy cold, I looked at the pamphlet again - The bus I would take to teach at the two universities would have service reductions as would the 65 Squirrel Hill neighborhood bus I would take in the early morning.

I looked at some of the other routes like the Manchester 18 line that used to take me from downtown Pittsburgh to the CCAC - Allegheny campus. What would happen to all those community college students who relied, like me, on the bus to take them to school?

There was no logic in any of this - just pain, and a lot of frustration.

(In some ways, even though we returned to a superpower nation, I feel in many ways, as if we returned to a third world country in terms of its thinking...)

And then, there was the airport flyer, the 28X which listed service reductions...

What does it meant to be voiceless...

Being Voiceless is when you CHOOSE to not speak.

Being Voiceless is when you consciously DECIDE that you have nothing to SAY, and nobody will listen to you, so why speak anyway?

Being Voiceless is when you relinquish your POWER to the higher authorities and other forces that be because you are too scared, too lazy, too tired, or too whatever to speak your own truth.

Growing up in NYC, I never thought I had the significant power to make a difference by changing things. I had stayed quiet all throughout school because it seemed to the "right" thing to do. After all, there were "other voices" that were better than me...

But... what if you could be ALL that you wanted to BE....just from SPEAKING YOUR TRUTH?

As I watched my husband's coat tails viciously flapping in the wind, I thought...How could I possibly know if some corporate person was truly going to fight for my husband's need to get to work on a bus??

I had already decided - I was going to speak at that hearing! No Matter what! As a matter of fact, I just made a note in my planner to call first thing Monday morning to "book" a 3 minute appointment. I have...

3 minutes to speak my truth.
3 minutes to speak my pain.
3 minutes to speak also for the voices of others.

3 minutes is all I have...


I had started to write this post and then got distracted with Facebook (but of course) but this distraction was totally different. I was specifically looking for a specific "energetic vibration" that would bring people together...

I took a quick look at the Compassionate Listening Project (where I got the quote on "silence"). Fate would bring me to the Facebook page of The Compassionate Listening Project knowing that I wanted the universe to support me during my 3 minute opportunity to be heard (a journey that reflected all journeys) during a public hearing...


Voicing our truth starts in our own homes, cities, coutries and towns...and begins when somebody says or does something that strikes a chord in our hearts, minds and souls just like the man in the yellow parka, whose emphatic talk prompted me to take emphatic action ...

Man, sometimes.... I wish life wasn't so hard...

But now I am prepared to drop my ripple everywhere I go whether I am on a bus or not...

Are You Letting Go of Outcomes?

I just finished a wonderful morning meditation with DavidJi, the lead educator of the Chopra Center. I swear every time that man speaks, I feel as if I'm closer to G-d.

The Bhagavad Gita verse 2.47 says: "We have total control over our own actions and no control over the fruit of our own actions"

and yet...

we spend so much time in the fruit....

And so today's post is all about letting go of outcomes and pushing through limiting beliefs. As DavidJi gently guided me to breathe, the lighter I felt.

And with each pushing off, he asked, "What can't you have? What can't you achieve?"

I felt mysef getting lighter as a feather, feeling the wind carrying me - slowly my house went out of focus and all I could see was the foggy dense clouds from underneath. With each breath, I went higher and higher...

The entire experience was magical and by the time I returned to my physical body, I was so reassured that even in uncertain times, I had the power to make my dreams come true...if only I allowed myself to push through limiting beliefs...

And then...I could hear, feel and see the life history of the development of my voice and how, I had dreamed BIG and over the years, HOW my voice of my dreams and desires, shrunk -- becoming smaller and smaller until i had forgotten my passions and who I really was until I had "died out" completely.

Pretty sad, when you think about it.

but this is what happens with many many people all around us... carrying their empty dreams in their shopping bags, their purses and handbags on their way to burn-out... I see it every day...

By the time I came "back to earth," I first realized how important quietening the mind can help me voice more of what I want and less of what I don't.

And then, the bigger picture of what I had just experienced came into view...

My limiting beliefs was also big part of my own personal story of who I am and who I've come to be...

And so now, the magic continues...

If you really want to learn what really goes on when you are able to voice beyond your limiting beliefs, take a look secrets revealed in these short bite-sized inspirational "7 Plus Writing Tips to Connect with Your Voice" tips you can easily put into practice.

Your first "bite-sized" tip will be delivered in your inbox for the next seven days.

To get started, simply send an email to: sassondorit (AT) gmail (DOT) com

The Magic of a Ripple

"I need to sit THERE," a woman pronounced quite loudly.

My seven year old and I had just sat in the front of the bus. It was a Friday night and the bus was lively - full of students talking on their iphones.

We quickly moved to the adjoining seats.

She was loaded with shopping bags containing packaged food; some were tied to her black suitcase and - she tried to hold whatever she could - a few of the plastic handles slipped from her wrist.

We were heading to a potluck at a nearby synagogue in Pittsburgh for families of young kids. I was extra "spiritually pumped." All week long, I was looking forward to spending a Friday night at a synagogue - my only real physical and spiritual connection to Israel - my past, my legacy, my story. I was so ready to welcome the Shabbat. But on the other hand, I was feeling weak, lonely, exhausted, tired....

This woman had started to talk about herself - at first she was inaudible. But I listened closely. I was surprised to find my son listening with intent.

"I'm really in pain..." she said.

{more talk}

"It's a good thing you are not wheelchair bound," I said.

"Yeah."

"And it's good that you can still walk."

"Yeah, I want to. I won't give up on walking..."

She started to talk more about her partner who abandoned her when he found out she had gotten sick...

"He gave up on me..." I could hear the pain in her voice even though she squeaked.

"That's not unconditional love," I said. "That's a condition..."

"Yeah," she said. "A condition."

The sun had just then wilted away as I made a quick mental note to greet the Shabbat from my bus seat. Pink and white shadows shifted as we rounded a curve. As we descended, the student neighborhood of Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, came into view.

"Yeah," she said looking thoughtfully. "And then he got mixed up with some voodoo people..." Her voice drifted off as we hit the first traffic light.

Fate would bring me to this woman, who was even lonelier and isolated than I could probably imagine and needed somebody to hear her truth - hear her story...

As I looked deeply into her eyes, I saw and felt a very strange pain that almost paralyzed her. She struggled with every word, every breath.

It was such a compassionate, calming and truth-revealing moment. I was not afraid to talk to strangers. She could easily be my neighbor...I felt instantly connected.

I admit though... I was a bit relieved when our bus had come to our stop. But I was grateful to have given her the chance to step into her truth. If I had stayed on that bus, who knows?


With the people you meet, you have the opportunity to drop your ripple at ANY given moment. Listen to their stories. Hear their pain. Listen to their hearts. Listen to yours. Every story will bring you closer to your own truth, vulnerability and pain. Find your own gift that will ripple over... beginning with one person at a time.

Opening Yourself in Your Personal Writing WILL Transform Your Relationships and lead to Greatness

My Story

One of the biggest challenges I experienced while living in Israel for 20 years before returning to the States in 2007, was to say what I wanted to say in Hebrew. Since the Israeli culture is voiceferous and direct and most usually will tell what is on their minds right in your face at any given moment, I had to be prepared for this. In New York City where I grew up for example, I was used to "silence" and very easily could be as "anonymous" as I wanted to be, but this just wasn't possible in Israel.

Silence on the Kibbutz

While I realize that our kibbutz, a communal way of living, had undergone privitization, that process didn't stop people from entering our torn down structure and examining it at all times. And if that weren't enough, they would talk about what they saw and asked us questions, made comments - some unwanted! I felt our privacy had been violated many times over. Truly, this was the Israeli way - we just happened to be on a kibbutz. Surely, this wouldn't happen to the extent that it did in Pittsburgh! Our house was the subject of talk at our kibbutz for months and months to come. When we hired a kitchen designer for example, it seemed as if everyone was copying the same designer - nobody said "wow! What a great kitchen you have.." Of course, that again, was the Israeli way!

Silence as a Teacher

Another form of silence that I talk about in my story, "Getting Out of My Way," for the Pebbles in the Pond anthology (to be released in May 2012) is the teacher silence which still painfully resonates with me until today. At the beginning of my High School teaching career, I looked to my Israeli colleagues for help, advice, to tell me what I was doing wrong and right about my teaching. But my mentor at that time had said, "It's very hard to elicit feedback from people, especially positive feedback and especially from Israelis who are very self-centered and concerned about themselves.

Concerned about themselves? Self-centered? Huh - did I miss something?

NOW I understand why I was never taken seriously at teacher-meetings and why I always felt the need to be quiet even if my ideas were super-important.

Listen to the Voice that Allows You to FEEL

There are times when silence can be a very good thing - quiet and stillness to create and ponder thoughts and meditate. But maintaining a silent voice in a new culture can be life-changing and not always for the better.

If you can write about these events from an emotional perspective, you will also come across as very transparent or as I call it, "sincere" to your reader.

What it boils down to is... how you listen to the voice of that experience as your "take-away" point and how it allows you to FEEL. Capturing these feelings is what helps your readers resonate with you, your story AND your emotional perspective.


The Power of Transforming Relationships

In retrospect, none of these events were random and they all served a purpose even if I couldn't understand "why." Perhaps, as a "silent New Yorker," I needed to experience silence from a deeper cultural perspective, in order to come full-circle.

Now that I am in the Diaspora, rereading my mentor's words put a "time stamp" on what I was feeling at that moment in Israel. All I really genuinely wanted was to feel a sense of belonging and connection. Why did it take so long for me to finally understand the pain of my own silence?

I have come to realize that by "not stepping into your truth" - aka "staying silent" and ignoring the voice of your life story, you are actually doing your readers a disservice.

When I visit blogs for example, one of the first things I’ll always do is visit your about page. You see, it’s really all about investing in relationships, right? You want to know if I’m the type worthy of investing your time and energy (relationship). I want to know the same about you.

Let me tell you about a relationship I have with my Pebbles in the Pond friends, Doreen Fulton and Ann White. I love them both. Doreen always has something positive to say as her way of giving voice to voiceless in the type of work that she does. Ann White is this amazing giving healer that you just can't help to fall in love with. Because they are both so wonderful with their comments on the Pebbles Facebook page, I made it a point to find out more about the them. When I went to their sites, I discovered that we both had something in common and I loved their websites, but I also knew that with the "miles" they travelled emotionally and spiritually, there was much more that also needed to be expressed. Then they shared their chapter stories here and here ...whoa! I resonated with their "silence" and "pain stories" on so many different levels. You hear their stories, the "emotional perspective," which I'm referring to when you write your about pages.


Through this process of communication, we have a relationship. I’ll work to help them any way I can and I know they’ll do the same for me.

In my opinion, this is where sharing our life stories can help in the way of building strong relationships with others. And through the process, we don't need to feel we are alone and be silenced. We fulfill our purpose of using our special and unique life experiences to also help and heal and serve others.

Ignite Your Heart's Desire for Writing Your Life Story: The Key is Clarity!

Hey writers and creative people!

I'm responding to a response to a survey question I shared on my FB page, "Giving a Voice to the Voiceless"

One respondent posted, "Getting clear about it," to my question, "How will writing your own life story ("pain story") and/or personal storytelling help you connect to the power of your own emotion and find your own voice?"

Getting clear about your story has a lot more to do with your inner motivation, drive. From a creative perspective, both your own creative message (the way you choose to honor the way your story emerges) share your message)

I'm quite inspired right now after reading Sonia Choquett's Your Heart's Desire: Instructions for Creating the Life You Really Want, and principle number one in her book focuses on bringing your dream into focus. Yes - bringing your dream into focus. She gives lots of practical bite-sized chunks for taking steps closer to the dream you want.


I thought about my own empowerment of personal [pain] story writing for the writers, storytellers and other creative/free thinking people who connect to their truths and who they want to be.

This is a transforming exercise, so be prepared for lots of surprises in clarity!

Macro level of clarity:

Why is it important for you to write your story? What will you accomplish by writing it? What message will you share with the rest of the world? How will the world benefit from your message?

As you clarify your desire for writing your life story, you'll also deepen your desire to connect to the voice of your story.


Creating the space for understanding your real heart's desires gives also clarity for your soul. When you get clear about what you want, it is also easier to manifest it.

"Desire directs focus. If your desires are vague, your focus will be blurred. If your desires are heartfelt, however, your focus will be sharp and clear. That's why vague desires will never materialize, but clearly focused Heart's Desires will. Clear focus is the mind's magic wand." (Choquette, Your Heart's Desire)

BOOM-BOOM CLARITY OF WISDOM

A BOOM-BOOM CLARITY OF WISDOM
Do you know the key to becoming a more powerful YOU?
I just finished watching this powerful video – thanks, Kimberly Barclay, you rock!


Presented by the fab Mel Robbins, a "tell-it'like-it-is" life coach, cements the understanding in twnety minutes, of how we can easily get caught up with our thoughts and how simple it is to break the pattern we've endured forever, but not easy to implement.

And it inspired me to share with you just how
You can dig deep to spread a message like it is, as it is happening to you
So powerful it can actually change
your own course of action, thinking, words, thoughts and deeds.
But first, you need to be aware of all that is happening in the moment.
For the last two weeks now for the Get Your Book Done program under the guiding intuitive hand of Christine Kloser, I’ve been writing about helping people understand the meaning of their lives through stories.
Just getting the information out there on paper gave me
The momentum I needed
Every day, I step out of my comfort zone by writing about my vision and making Going to the grocery store and picking up my son from school – I didn’t feel like the same person anymore.
I didn’t spend moping about what other people would think about me – which has been one of my problems all along.

THIS IS WHAT ALGINING CHOICES FROM YOUR DIVINE SELF TO THE UNIVERSE IS ALL ABOUT!
But let me get to the good part….
And this helped me get past ALL the voices of limiting beliefs, understanding and expectations of “THIS IS HOW IT IS MEANT TO BE AND DON’T FORGET IT”
“NO, IT’S NOT!” I said.

And then, all of a sudden,
I asked myself:
“DORIT - What is the Message YOU want to SHARE with the REST of the World?
I saw how all the dots of my past experiences connected.
I’ve watched – but this one was culturally unique in that the social and cultural landscapes are different than what I experience.
At a first time basketball game yesterday at the university where I teach, my husband said, “Yeah, the stadium like the size of the hall of Emek Hahula, the school and the kibbutz where I taught for seven years.
Well, it put the size of it into perspective, but what about MY world perspective?? Didn't that count for something?

Perspective – Diversity – Israel- New York – Pittsburgh… Hmmmm
All the dots of my past experiences – ALL connected.
YES!
For me, my work is ...


all about rising above your limiting world views and feelings of an outsider no matter your diverse landscape and finding your own emotional freedom despite how your "landscape" has changed from the outside.


That’s my message I want to share with the world and I am the perfect person to share this because of my own life experience.
Well, I’m sharing with you this
“BOOM- BOOM CLARITY OF WISDOM” (Hey, it rhymes!)
because
At an imperfect moment, you can make the most impact... a thought triggers some kind of visualization and deep feeling from the soul and gut causing you to then take some kind of imperfect action.
So my point is, you have everything you need to succeed. Never in a more needed period of time, does humanity needs your voice.
So what are you waiting for?
Try it!