Naomi Rose

Alum 2007

Using the Writing from the Deeper Self process to help people write books was simply a natural extension. And I had worked on books all that time as an editor and consultant. I responded to the long-term nature of a book, how it let you go deep if you wanted to. And I liked the longer-term nature of the relationship with clients. As I came to know them better, their books and journeys lived in me, and I felt blessed to encounter the book at this early a stage — calling it out of the invisible realm and helping the author bring it into physical reality. In the earlier part of my career, a book was viewed largely as a product, a commodity. Now, it was a sacred journey, and at its end was the resonant, breathing book, which people could read and use to find their way home.

So, applying Writing from the Deeper Self to writing books, I called myself a “Book Developer,” based on my memory of photos developing in a darkroom, where you got to see a faint trace the final print emerge gradually. I did not want to dictate an assignment; I wanted to be more of a gardener, a midwife, and give the natural creative process the chance to show itself. I also wanted to bring books that truly healed into the world — not only having a healing subject, but also a healing presence — so that readers could take in the medicine of the book just by reading it.

And that’s what I’m doing now. I get to bring the best of my journey and artistry to the wonderful people I get to work with. I get to return to my love of the creative process — the “something” from “nothing” that is our own particular emulation of the Divine creative impulse — and help bring that forth in people who value the inner life and want to bring its treasures into the world.