Freedom Through Commitment

What are you committed to this year?

Those of us who follow the path of Spirit know what it feels like to commit to something that defies logical explanation.

Even if it's terrifying. Even if it goes against everything we thought we knew.

When I AM Alchemy was asking to be born in 2017, I was apprehensive. At that time, offering a year-long course tied to a syllabus sounded constricting and limiting. One of my core values of practice is freedom, flexibility and immediacy, so I can follow the emergent currents of energy and the illuminated path in my personal and professional practice. Sometimes that can change from year to year, or season to season.

Fellow Seeker, I'm sure you understand. When Spirit is calling, we heed the call.

But the thing about this course is that it has a life force of its own, and as such, it has a process of evolution and growth within the body of knowledge itself. I AM Alchemy is not a dry, scripted teaching from a dusty book. It is a vital, living entity that has its own energy flow and plan. Someone asked me during the early years of I AM Alchemy how I organized and offered my teachings, and the most honest response was simply, "I listen to what wants to be shared."

This is the difference between teaching and stewardship. Yes, I have a plan. Yes, I have a course outline and recorded videos and documents and structure. But more important than this is the capacity to listen and to transmit what wants to come through, and knowing that it will be exactly the right thing for my students.

Even now, as I have shifted from teaching the classes live to sharing the teachings over video recordings, there is flexibility and freedom for real-time transmissions, and I am always listening.

Ultimately, my role in this process is to simply pass along the messages. As a steward of this mystery school, part of my job is to be quiet and allow myself to be guided, so that I can guide my students in turn. This is my commitment to Spirit and to Alchemy itself, and as long as I practice this work, I honor this commitment. As long as I honor this commitment, I have the freedom I desire in my practice.

My commitments to this body of knowledge allow me to be an active participant in the mystery, which always feels like the most illuminated path.

In preparation for one of the I AM Alchemy course retreats, I ask my students to write their own commitments. This practice is our way of making a contract of sorts with ourselves and with the work. We witness each other in our commitments during ceremony, and the power that comes from this practice always blows everyone away.

What happens when we make these commitments? What happens when we spell out in writing what we are signing up for as an Alchemist on this planet?
 
Seeker, what are your commitments?

Here are some of mine. Check out below for the prompts I offer my students if you would like to write your own.

As an Alchemist, I commit...

As an Alchemist, I commit to holding myself in trust and compassion through change as I discover and know fully all parts of my Self. I commit to bringing magic to every facet of my life.

As an Alchemist, I commit to bringing more subtlety, intentionality, precision and grace to my work. I commit to redefining my personal practice to align more supportively and harmoniously with my well-being.

As an Alchemist, I commit to carrying out the operations of the Sun, Moon and Earth here on this planet for the Highest and Greatest Good of all beings.

As an Alchemist, I commit to being an instrument and steward of this body of knowledge, to ensuring its path in the modern world, and to honoring and participating in this cycle, always. I commit to holding the torch so that those who are ready may find the path. I commit to listening always to this work, and offering teachings in alignment with the instruction I receive.
 
If you are ready to step into your own commitments to the path, then I AM Alchemy is right for you. If you are ready to answer your deep soul calling to live your purpose... If you are ready to step into fulfillment of your Soul Contract and commitments... If you are ready to remember who you truly are, claim your I AM and inspire others to do the same... If you are ready to walk the Earth as a Divine Embodied Being...
 
...submit your application for I AM Alchemy now.

I AM Alchemy begins March 17. Are you ready to commit?

Journal prompts:

What are my commitments to my Self?
What are my commitments to my practice?
What are my commitments to Spirit?
What do I need in order to honor those commitments?

I AM Alchemy:
Study the Mystery
Practice Transformation
Actualize your Radiance

Your Spiritual Growth and Education in 2024

Happy Gregorian new year, friends and like-hearted seekers!

If you're taking the opportunity to vision, set goals and orient yourself for the year ahead, good for you! (If not, that's fine, too.)

If you're like me, you probably have a few courses or retreats on your radar that you would love to do, but need to plan, schedule and budget for.

Now is a great time to set goals and intentions for spiritual growth and skill development in conjunction with year planning.
 

Here are some helpful things to consider. Ask yourself:

1. What are my priorities for my spiritual path this year? (For example: skill development and certification in a particular modality, personalized 1:1 mentorship with a teacher, sample from a buffet of different modalities, get your personal practice really dialed in, etc.)

2. What training, education, support and/or mentorship would be most supportive for me to address those priorities? (For example: go on that retreat, work with that teacher you've been following for years, take lots of mini courses, etc.)

3. What prerequisites and preparation do I need to pursue those priorities? (For example: are there certain courses that require prerequisites? Is there advance preparation required for a retreat?)

4. What commitment of time and energy am I willing to allocate to my spiritual priorities this year? (This can be flexible as necessary, but it's helpful to realistically assess your availability and be honest with yourself about your capacity. For example: take a year-long course and devote up to 5 hours per week to study and practice, take a 7-week course in the fall when kids go back to school, go on a 10-day retreat once a year, 10 minutes of daily personal practice, etc.)

5. What is my budget for my spiritual priorities this year? (This can be flexible as necessary, but I have found it to be helpful especially when planning for higher-investment training, retreats, mentorship and tuition. I have a continuing education budget in my business and consistently spend 5-10% of my gross income on courses, skill development and healing work for my own spiritual practice and so that I can grow as a practitioner and serve my clients more effectively. For example: you want to take a course that costs $15k but offers monthly payments that work for your budget, you can comfortably spend $200 per month attending local events and circles, you set aside $50 per month in your budget to take that $400 course, etc.)

6. What deadlines, prices and scheduling/3D logistical information do I need to track this year? (For example: the course you want to take begins in September and costs $X, so you need to look for early bird registration starting in July and allocate $Y in your monthly budget so you're ready to pay in full, and block the October retreat dates off in your calendar and request time off from work for that long weekend.)

I regularly consider and review these questions when deciding how to plan and where to invest in my spiritual path and skill development. I hope this helps you!
 

Is working with me on your radar for 2024?

Here are some of the ways you can work with me this year for your path, spiritual mentorship, continuing education and skill development:
 

1:1 Transformational Mentorship

• Topics and skills: Personalized mentorship and healing work for your spiritual path. Includes energy healing work, developing your unique spiritual and intuitive gifts, personal practice, movement and sound, support for your spiritual and/or healing business practice. Includes training as needed from my many bodies of knowledge, including energetic mastery, shamanic practice, mediumship, Alchemy and more.

• Prerequisites and preparation: None required.

• Time commitment: 2 sessions per month for 6 months, plus personal practice, homework and integration between sessions (average 3-7 hours per week).

• Budget: Pay in full $4500 or six monthly payments of $797.

• 3D considerations: Rolling enrollment according to vacancies in my calendar (apply anytime). Consultation and application required. Sessions are virtual or in-person near Portland, OR.

I AM Alchemy

• Topics and skills: Shamanic Alchemy apprenticeship. "Spiritual grad school." Includes online curriculum, live group classes, 1:1 mentorship sessions* and four 4-day, in-person retreats* (*with Apprentice Path).

• Prerequisites and preparation: For people of intermediate to advanced spiritual background. Recommended that candidates have foundations of energy healing and personal practice.

• Time commitment: 3-6 hours per week for one year, plus four 4-day, in-person retreats*.

• Budget: Student path (classes only) $3197. Apprentice path (classes, 1:1 sessions and retreats) $9497 plus retreat lodging and travel to and from retreats. Payment plans available.

• 3D considerations: begins March 17, 2024. Closed cohort (enrolls once a year), accepting applications now. Year-long apprenticeship. In-person retreats held near Portland, OR. Fly into PDX. Consultation and application required.

Dragon Initiation

• Topics and skills: Initiation into the Sapphire Dragon Line. Includes supplementary training and transmissions from the Dragons.

• Prerequisites and preparation: The Dragons have been calling you and guiding you to this initiation.

• Time commitment: 3-day in-person retreat plus three 1:1 sessions, to be completed within 6 weeks.

• Budget: $4500 plus lodging for retreat, travel to and from retreat. Payment plan available.

• 3D considerations: Rolling enrollment (apply anytime). Consultation and application required. Retreats held near Portland, OR. Fly into PDX.

Sacred Ecology

• Topics and skills: How to work with land and nature spirits, Shamanic practice, geomancy, foundations of ecology.

• Prerequisites and preparation: None required.

• Time commitment: Seven weekly 90 minute classes, plus optional 1:1 sessions.

• Budget: $777 (classes only) or $1697 (classes plus 1:1 sessions). Payment plans available.

• 3D considerations: Closed cohort (enrolls once a year). Begins May 2024, Early Bird enrollment and discount begins April 2024. Online course, optional 1:1 sessions held virtually.

Personal Retreat

• Topics and skills: Add an in-person 1:1 retreat to our work together. Includes energy healing work, qigong and movement practice, shamanic journey, nature time, support for your spiritual and/or healing business practice. Includes training as needed from my many bodies of knowledge, including energetic mastery, shamanic practice, mediumship, Alchemy and more.

• Prerequisites and preparation: 1:1 mentorship with me.

• Time commitment: 3 or 4-day in-person retreat.

• Budget: $3600-$4500 plus lodging for retreat, travel to and from retreat. Payment plan available.

• 3D considerations: Rolling enrollment, add personal retreats to other work with me for personal healing and mentorship work. Retreats held near Portland, OR. Fly into PDX.

Best wishes for your spiritual growth and skill development in 2024!

I cried a little bit when I read this.

Sometimes we need reminders about how much our impact helps the people around us.

Early this fall, as I was contemplating offering I AM Alchemy again in 2024, I had a moment of doubt.

I took 2023 off from teaching I AM Alchemy so I could focus more deeply on my Shamanic practice and lineage, and the extra time and attention I had led to creating the Sacred Ecology course, supporting clients more deeply in their Shamanic practice, and developing my work with sacred plant medicines. It's been wonderful.

But because I've been away from I AM Alchemy since my last apprentice graduated in March earlier this year, I forgot how amazing this course is.

"Does this course actually help people?"

"A year-long apprenticeship course is a huge investment of time, energy and money, for me and my students. Is it worth it?"

"My Shamanic practice is going so well. Should I just focus on that and back off of Alchemy?"

These questions and doubts were floating around in my mind when my recent apprentice graduate emailed me the most wonderful and articulate review of her experience in this course.

Y'all, I cried a little bit when I read it.

Reading more about how her experience in this year-long apprenticeship impacted her in enormously positive ways reminded me that...

YES, I AM Alchemy definitely helps people, and the benefits extend far beyond the year-long course.

YES, I AM Alchemy is a significant investment of time, energy and money, and it is totally worth it.

YES, my Shamanic practice is more thriving than ever, and it coexists and harmonizes beautifully with Alchemy.

Read on and see for yourself what she had to say about I AM Alchemy:

"My name is Nicky Smolter. I am a teacher, community leader, and magical person.

I worked with Michelle in I AM Alchemy and one on one mentorship [prior to I AM Alchemy].

I joined I AM Alchemy because I had been on a spiritual and magical journey for several years, but I desired something deeper to truly integrate all that I was learning. I knew I was in a transition stage but didn't quite know who or what I was transitioning into. I knew I needed something with structure that was not just about completing modules or participating in calls, but something that I was able to immerse myself in while still living my day to day life.

The I AM Alchemy course was not just a way to deepen my own magical mastery through all of the different teachings, tools, and practices, but it was a container for deep transformation. I am a different person than I was before working with Michelle and doing this program, but at the same time, I am more fully myself than ever before. This container was really what held me and supported me through the death of the old and rebirth into the new.

Through I AM Alchemy, I have learned so much about how creation, transformation, and magic works on both a practical and spiritual level. This course helped me to incorporate all of the different teachings and modalities that I've learned before into a strong foundation that I can continue to use over and over again. My life is so much more magical and expansive. I feel like I've upleveled into a new version of power, creation, mastery, and connection. I have also deepened my trust in spirit and magic that has made the hard parts of life so much easier and the best parts of life more joyful.

One of my biggest takeaways is trusting when I feel called and leaning into the unknown. I felt called to do this program but I didn't always understand why. I'm not a practitioner or healer so I wasn't sure that I needed to invest in my own spiritual, personal, and magical growth in this way. However, I am so grateful that I gave myself this opportunity because it has led me to live in a way that I had always dreamed of. Mixing magic and spirituality into a very practical 3D life. I don't feel like I need to choose between the two, but instead can weave them together to create a life that feels both personally fulfilling and deeply impactful.

Because of this course, I will continue to trust and lean into this work. Even if it's not what I get paid to do, its effect on my life and those I work and interact with is remarkable. I see and feel the value of committing to my own spiritual and magical path to create a life I love.

Michelle’s support and this container helped me to step into my own power. I really feel like I spiritually and magically grew up during my time working with her.

I recommend I AM Alchemy to anyone who feels called, especially those who have taken many courses and programs but still feel like they're not fully integrating. For me, this was like the graduate study in practical magic that helped pull everything together and allowed me to lead my own transformation.

I was actually a little nervous when I first started working one on one with Michelle because I knew that choosing her as a teacher and guide would push me outside of my comfort zone and challenge me to go deeper and step into my own magical power at a completely different level. Michelle is truly someone who walks the walk, and the depth of her knowledge, practice, and embodiment was something that I wanted for my own life. I felt incredibly supported, encouraged, and challenged throughout our work together.

[Shared verbatim in a personal phone call] I feel like that last year of investing time and energy and money will be paying off dividends for decades to come."

If any of that resonates with you, now is the time to submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

Do you desire the peace, confidence and expansion that come from deep self-mastery?

Are you guided by universal forces to master spiritual technology based in Universal Law?

Are you ready to offer actual magic for the purpose of healing, illumination and actualization, for yourself and for all beings?

I AM Alchemy is a year-long course in practical transformation for your spiritual journey, and it begins March 2024. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends TODAY.

Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

Why do you need Alchemy?

Alchemy is an esoteric mystery school that dates back many thousands of years, but its principles and magic are just as applicable today because they are based in Universal Law.

Think of Alchemy like the physics department of spirituality. Literature and art will change with culture. Social sciences evolve over time. Biology studies forms of life and the ecology of a changing world. But no matter what, the laws of physics are universal and timeless. The laws of physics are consistent, predictable and universal. They are applicable to an infinite range of concepts, and understanding them allows us to understand the fabric of creation itself.

“Thus will you obtain the Glory of the Whole Universe. All Obscurity will be clear to you. This is the greatest Force of all powers, because it overcomes every Subtle thing and penetrates every Solid thing. In this way was the Universe created. From this comes many wondrous Applications, because this is the Pattern.”

– The Emerald Tablet (text of Alchemy)

The original, most defining text of Alchemy itself tells us what we can expect from this study. Universal truth. Clear understanding. This universal force that is present in all things is the driving force of creation and all of life. Alchemy is the pattern of creation, and can be applied to anything at all.

Okay, so why do YOU need this, dear reader?

Those who know the laws get to use them according to their will and desire, for better or for worse. This is true in society, in science, in finance and more. We have seen this throughout human history: the people with the knowledge of the laws of any given system (government, physics, investing) are the ones who get to shape its structure for everyone else. Ideally, those are people with good hearts and generous intentions, who are using their knowledge of the laws to create beneficial structures that serve all beings.

However, there are plenty of examples of people using their knowledge of laws for selfish or narrow-minded purposes. Best case scenario, the structures they create are inconvenient, annoying or expensive. Worst case scenario, the manipulation and distortion of laws is used to cause harm and wreak havoc for the purpose of personal gain.

If Alchemy is the study of Universal Law for the purpose of transformation and creation of the fabric of life itself, we need people like you to have these tools.

You, with your desire to heal yourself and those around you.

You, with your empathy and generosity.

You, because you want the world to be a better place for all beings.

You, because you love life, you love animals and plants, you believe in magic and you know that you are called to serve.

Imagine if you had the blueprint to the fabric of creation.

Imagine what might become possible for you as a student of the Great Mystery.

Imagine what you might do in your life and in the world with the knowledge of Universal Law at your fingertips.

Are you ready to become a student of the Great Mystery and master the application of Universal Law?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

"The I AM Alchemy course was not just a way to deepen my own magical mastery through all of the different teachings, tools, and practices, but it was a container for deep transformation. I am a different person than I was before working with Michelle and doing this program, but at the same time, I am more fully myself than ever before. This container was really what held me and supported me through the death of the old and rebirth into the new.

Through I AM Alchemy, I have learned so much about how creation, transformation, and magic works on both a practical and spiritual level. This course helped me to incorporate all of the different teachings and modalities that I've learned before into a strong foundation that I can continue to use over and over again. My life is so much more magical and expansive. I feel like I've upleveled into a new version of power, creation, mastery, and connection. I have also deepened my trust in spirit and magic that has made the hard parts of life so much easier and the best parts of life more joyful.

One of my biggest takeaways is trusting when I feel called and leaning into the unknown. I felt called to do this program but I didn't always understand why. I'm not a practitioner or healer so I wasn't sure that I needed to invest in my own spiritual, personal, and magical growth in this way. However, I am so grateful that I gave myself this opportunity because it has led me to live in a way that I had always dreamed of. Mixing magic and spirituality into a very practical 3D life. I don't feel like I need to choose between the two, but instead can weave them together to create a life that feels both personally fulfilling and deeply impactful."

I AM Alchemy is a year-long course in practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

I AM Alchemy:

Study the Mystery

Practice Transformation

Actualize your Radiance

What is Alchemy? (And what is it not?)

The word “Alchemy” gets thrown around a lot these days. When people hear “Alchemy,” their association usually goes in one of two directions. They might think of medieval wizards stirring cauldrons, trying to turn lead into gold, or they might think of a nebulous, new-age concept of intangible transformation through the blending of opposites.

While there is a little bit of truth in both of these, neither idea really captures the essence of Alchemy and why it is vitally important to you, here, now, in this modern age.

Let’s break down some of the common misconceptions.

Alchemy is NOT a synonym or metaphor for transformation. Lots of mindful/intentional/slightly spiritual flavored personal development offerings are using the word “Alchemy” to describe the transformation of their clients, and while their clients may have awesome benefits from that work, it’s not actually Alchemy. Alchemy IS an ancient body of knowledge with specific teachings, practices and initiations that come from spiritual technology based in Universal Law. Alchemy IS a rich lineage of unique energetic and physical principles that encompass both spiritual and practical transformation.

Alchemy is NOT stirring a cauldron, turning lead into gold. While the quest to turn lead into gold is a very literal interpretation of one aspect of Alchemical philosophy, there are infinite applications of Alchemical wisdom. Alchemy IS the practice of applying specific spiritual technologies to a situation or person in order to transmute the base aspects into a higher form of radiant actualization. Some Alchemists do this with metals. Some work with plants. Some work with the physical body and movement practices.

Alchemy is NOT coaching, mindset, Law of Attraction or energy healing. While these modalities have their own power and tremendous benefits, they are not Alchemy. Alchemy IS actual magic performed through the principles of energetic resonance, layering of like frequencies and active relationship between Above (Spirit) and Below (Earthly) planes of existence.

Alchemy is NOT personal development or the creative process. It is NOT an abstract idea of transformation. Alchemy IS the study of the Great Mystery to learn the principles of Universal Law, and the application of those principles through specific rituals, practices, initiations and techniques for the purpose of healing, illumination and actualization.

Alchemy is NOT a buzzword. It is NOT something you can learn by reading a book. Alchemy IS the origin of all modern medicine and science. Alchemy IS a major influence/contributor to other mystical bodies of knowledge such as Taoism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Tarot, Egyptian mysticism, Christian mysticism, and many more.

Alchemy IS a body of knowledge for which many people were persecuted and silenced.

Alchemy IS a tradition that had to go underground in order to survive.

Alchemy IS a mystery school that self-selects those who are meant to steward these wisdoms forward.

Are you called to be a student of the Great Mystery?

Are you guided by universal forces to master spiritual technology based in Universal Law?

Are you ready to offer actual magic for the purpose of healing, illumination and actualization, for yourself and for all beings?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

"Through I AM Alchemy, I have learned so much about how creation, transformation, and magic works on both a practical and spiritual level. This course helped me to incorporate all of the different teachings and modalities that I've learned before into a strong foundation that I can continue to use over and over again. My life is so much more magical and expansive. I feel like I've upleveled into a new version of power, creation, mastery, and connection. I have also deepened my trust in spirit and magic that has made the hard parts of life so much easier and the best parts of life more joyful."

I AM Alchemy is a year-long course in practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

I AM Alchemy:

Study the Mystery

Practice Transformation

Actualize your Radiance

Is I AM Alchemy “too much?”

Has anyone ever told you that you're "too much?"

If so, this is for you.

Is I AM Alchemy “too much?”

Over the years of teaching I AM Alchemy, a few fellow entrepreneurs have offered me their unsolicited feedback on this course when they hear how involved it is. They say, "You're delivering too much in I AM Alchemy. Why are you offering so much in your course? What if you offered less? What if you scale back your availability? Are people interested in that much content?"

My first response is, "I am delivering exactly what Spirit has guided me to offer." (My second response is much more blunt and I’ve only said it to someone’s face once. Read on for that.)

Here's what people who think it’s “too much” don't understand about I AM Alchemy:

I AM Alchemy is a course in practical spirituality and experiential education, not a self-study workbook course. Each one of the 36+ modules throughout the year includes an in-depth teaching transmission with practical applications and integration exercises. Most of the modules also include accompanying movement practice videos for somatic integration.

I AM Alchemy is a mystery school lineage, not a coaching program. In the coaching world, the philosophy seems to be "scale everything you can.” This is not a group mastermind. This is not hot seat coaching. I AM Alchemy is a mystery school, which means that our focus is on training, experiential learning and practical application of specific techniques and philosophy. Our group calls are focused on deep exploration and integration of the material into each student’s personal practice. We also prioritize community: students are invited to collaborate with each other, and to connect with past I AM Alchemy apprentices for additional peer support, mentorship and community through the lineage.

I AM Alchemy is a journey of self mastery, which is a deeply personal and vulnerable process, and I’m here for all of it. I don’t contract a coach to support my apprentices. I don’t have a virtual assistant answer my students’ emails. I am personally available to all of my students for support and guidance throughout the year.

As far as, "Are people interested in that much content?" ...you're the only one who can answer that.

Are YOU interested in being initiated into a powerful mystery school that will teach you practical applications of universal law to help you create your life in accordance with the divine blueprint of your soul?

Do YOU feel the call to gather with like-hearted seekers for the purpose of initiation, deep magic and powerful transformation?

Do YOU want to receive powerful and consistent support from a magical teacher (me), who you know has your back and wants to make time for you?

...or is that "too much" for you?

You're the only one who can answer that question. And truly, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer.

But as far as I'm concerned...

Fuck “too much.”

Fuck the idea of providing less value, less material and less experience.

Fuck the idea of making myself unavailable to the people I want to support.

Fuck "taking away 80% of the course and scaling back to the non-negotiable 20%.” The whole thing is non-negotiable, since that’s how Spirit directed me to teach it.

This course was never about me. This course was never about trying to create something that would "succeed in the market." Most of the time, I honestly don't even feel as though "I" am the one teaching. Instead, the wisdom of this lineage pours through me, and the best thing I can do for it and for my students is to let it happen and be in humble presence with the mysteries.

Is that "too much?"

For some people, yes. This course is absolutely not for everyone.

...but if you're reading this and your heart is pounding with a feeling of recognition, maybe it's for you.

If you also are ready to say, "Fuck 'too much,'" maybe this course is for you.

If you feel a soul calling to Alchemy, maybe this course is for you.

If you know that you are meant to show up for something bigger than yourself and let your own divine directive flow through you like rain pouring through a sacred vessel, then maybe this course is for you.

You are the only person who can know that for sure. But if I AM Alchemy is calling you, know that Early Bird ends December 22.

I promise you that this course is not "too much" if it aligns with your sacred path. I AM Alchemy is part of my path, and if it's part of yours, it'll be just right.

Are you ready for personal training in practical spirituality and experiential education?

Do you feel a calling to the mysteries?

Are you craving the peace and trust that come from deep-seated Self Mastery?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

"I joined I AM Alchemy because I had been on a spiritual and magical journey for several years, but I desired something deeper to truly integrate all that I was learning. I knew I was in a transition stage but didn't quite know who or what I was transitioning into. I knew I needed something with structure that was not just about completing modules or participating in calls, but something that I was able to immerse myself in while still living my day to day life.

Through I AM Alchemy, I have learned so much about how creation, transformation, and magic works on both a practical and spiritual level. This course helped me to incorporate all of the different teachings and modalities that I've learned before into a strong foundation that I can continue to use over and over again. My life is so much more magical and expansive. I feel like I've upleveled into a new version of power, creation, mastery, and connection. I have also deepened my trust in spirit and magic that has made the hard parts of life so much easier and the best parts of life more joyful.

I recommend I AM Alchemy to anyone who feels called, especially those who have taken many courses and programs but still feel like they're not fully integrating. For me, this was like the graduate study in practical magic that helped pull everything together and allowed me to lead my own transformation."

I AM Alchemy is a year-long course in practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!
$400 off Apprentice Path!
(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

I AM Alchemy:
Study the Mystery
Practice Transformation
Actualize your Radiance

Study the Mystery. Practice Transformation. Actualize Your Radiance.

Study the Mystery.

Practice Transformation.

Actualize Your Radiance.

This is more than the I AM Alchemy course tagline. This is the foundation of how we engage with the mystery school of Alchemy, but what does it mean?

It’s the 3-step recipe for how to effectively create healing and growth.

1. Study the Mystery

The keys to healing, radiant aliveness, right relation and well-being are woven into the fabric of creation all around us. Life itself is encoded with the truth of Universal Law. Everything on Earth flows with the Cycles of Power and energetic dynamics. By devoting ourselves to studying the Great Mystery, we open to learning these laws and codes. The cure for every ail already exists—we start by simply assessing what the ailment is, and that will indicate the appropriate actions to bring it into balance.

Alchemy is a diagnostic practice, which means that it will help you confidently assess the challenge or ail. Based on our studies of Universal Law and the Great Mystery, we form a diagnostic assessment. This may include:

• Which stage of Alchemy the person is in

• Which level(s) need the most support for transformation

• Which aspects of Self/archetypes of the Inner Constellation are needing the most support, and which parts of Self are driving the process

• Which planetary or universal energies would be most supportive to cultivate at that time

Example: let’s imagine a person who has gone through a challenging loss, such as ending a relationship. They have divided up their shared assets, moved out of their home, and lost connection with some mutual friends and community. This person is feeling grief, loneliness, disorientation and pain.

By studying the mystery and using our diagnostic tools, we could assess that this person is in the Dissolution stage of Alchemy, which is characterized as “Death of energetic and emotional structures.” The loss of the physical structures already happened in the previous stage: closing a relationship, moving out of the home, losing friends. Now the etheric architecture of those structures is dissolving away from this person’s life. The energies of this stage are all about mourning the loss, returning to the Void, surrender and reconnecting with the potential of creation.

Our diagnostic assessment of this person may look something like this:

• Stage of Alchemy: Dissolution

• Levels of support: All levels

• Archetypes at work: Calling upon Inner Nurturer to support Self through the process, healing Inner Warrior from feeling defensive and Inner Sovereign from fear of (not) being seen and loved

• Universal energies: Cycles of change, Grief work, Clearing stagnation and emotion

From this diagnostic assessment, we form our recommendations.

2. Practice Transformation

This is where we take inspired action and create transformation. Alchemy is a prescriptive practice, which means that based on the diagnostic assessment, we can apply specific practices and spiritual technology that work directly with the energies at play in order to create change.

Alchemical practices and spiritual technology are specific to the stages of Alchemy, the levels of energetic density, the Inner Archetypes and Universal energies.

To support the person in our example above, an Alchemist may prescribe the following:

• Dissolution practices for all levels (Cibation meditation, yin yoga, sacred water offerings, sacred water collection and consecration, ritual baths, intuitive movement, journaling and writing unsent letters).

• Inner Nurturer, Warrior and Sovereign practices (addressing nutrition, rest posture, Shamanic journey practice, soul retrieval, Inner Child work, solar plexus activation, heart opening practices).

• Lunar rituals to work with the cycles of transformation, Lung channel qigong to purge grief, and tapping practices to clear organs, glands and release trapped emotion.

The “Practice Transformation” part of this 3-step recipe is where we have power to actively apply tools and techniques in order to bring about change. Transformation is a process, but in this case, it is also a specific skill set that operates based on logical and consistent truths of Universal Law.

3. Actualize Your Radiance

This is the inevitable outcome of moving through the cycle of Alchemy and effectively applying practices of transformation according to our studies of the Great Mystery. Life is encoded with all of the keys to healing, radiant aliveness, right relation and well-being. All of creation seeks to thrive, and when we live our lives according to the truth of Universal Law, we work with the unseen forces all around us that support our thriving.

A successful outcome for our example person above might look like:

• They move from the Dissolution Stage to the Separation Stage and work with principles of Purification.

• Their Inner Nurturer is balanced and nourished, their Inner Warrior is peaceful, and their Inner Sovereign is shining their light and feeling worthy of love and attention from Self and others.

• They are working in collaboration with Universal cycles of change (rather than feeling tossed around by them), Lung qi is healthy with Courage and Integrity, organ function and emotional body is clear and relaxed.

When we devote ourselves as students of the Great Mystery, we learn the keys to healing and radiant aliveness.

When we know the keys to healing and radiant aliveness, we can apply specific tools and spiritual technology for transformation.

When we apply specific tools for transformation, we actualize our most thriving, radiant selves.

Do you crave the healing, transformation and growth that comes with Alchemy?

Are you ready to Study the Mystery, Practice Transformation and Actualize Your Radiance?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

"I joined I AM Alchemy because I had been on a spiritual and magical journey for several years, but I desired something deeper to truly integrate all that I was learning... The I AM Alchemy course was not just a way to deepen my own magical mastery through all of the different teachings, tools, and practices, but it was a container for deep transformation. I am a different person than I was before working with Michelle and doing this program, but at the same time, I am more fully myself than ever before. This container was really what held me and supported me through the death of the old and rebirth into the new... Michelle’s support and this container helped me to step into my own power. I really feel like I spiritually and magically grew up during my time working with her."

I AM Alchemy is the year-long apprenticeship that will teach you practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

Self Mastery: The Alchemist's Path

Dear fellow Alchemists,

Thank you for continuing to ask the Big Questions. You know the ones I mean...

"Who am I?"

"What is my purpose?"

"What the f*** am I doing with my life?"

If you're asking these questions, you’re not alone.

Spiritual practices like Alchemy necessarily involve a high degree of uncertainty and inquiry. We ask a lot of big questions, and sometimes we find answers, but just as often we end up with more questions. The same is true of science. In both cases, the process of inquiry is just as important as any possible answer.

But sometimes, it’s neither the answer, nor the question itself that’s important. Sometimes, the most important thing to consider is why we’re asking the question.

Many years ago, I was talking with a mentor about the 6 Core Drivers of Human Behavior (originally from Tony Robbins). I was already familiar with this concept, but something landed for me in a new way when I looked at the driver of Significance.

"People who are driven by Significance are those who crave Mastery of their lives," my mentor said.

At that time, I had always taken for granted my interest in self-inquiry and Self Mastery. I had never before put the idea together with an archetypal driver of my behavior that impacts my choices, my worldview and how I offer my work to serve others.

During that lightbulb moment, I learned that not only do I want to know myself and practice the path of Self Mastery for me, but:

I want it to matter.

I want my journey to be important and serve other people.

I want the questions I ask myself and the path of self-knowledge to ripple out farther beyond me than I could ever imagine.

I want the path of Self Mastery to be available to all who seek it.

Are you asking Big Questions about your life?

Do you crave the self-trust, confidence and peace that come with Self Mastery?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

“You said it all along—this course is self mastery, but I didn’t really believe it. But now I feel it. There was a maturing that happened—I don’t need to go to someone else to fix my life. You guided me and encouraged me and you were there to support me and offer the wisdom, but this gave me the tools to become the co-creator of my own life [with Spirit]. I’ve stepped into that much more easily without feeling like I’m faking it. I’m not looking for someone else to spark my transformation. I feel very resourced, I trust myself. I have guides and support and people who can help, but I know what to do. Instead of feeling like “someone else has all the answers and they will tell me what to do,” I know what to do. This course is like spiritual grad school—no one will tell you what to write your thesis on, they’ll help you but it’s in your own hands.”

I AM Alchemy is the year-long apprenticeship that will teach you practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

Shiny Object Syndrome in your spiritual practice is like trying to build a house without a blueprint.

Shiny Object Syndrome in your spiritual practice is like trying to build a house without a blueprint.

Do you suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome in your spiritual practice?

If so, you may feel like your knowledge is disorganized, fragmented or doesn’t work together in a useful way. You might feel like you’re not making the progress that you desire in your healing and transformation. You may be sitting around, looking at your life and thinking, “I took all these trainings, now what?”

Relax, I’ve got you. You’re not alone.

Shiny Object Syndrome is something that a lot of people fall into, especially at the beginning of their spiritual journey, and to a certain extent, it’s useful. Shiny Object Syndrome lets you dip your toes in the water of many different pools to see what sparks your interest and resonates well with you at that time.

But beyond exposing you to many different modalities, Shiny Object Syndrome in your spiritual practice is no longer useful, and can actually be detrimental to your long-term growth and healing if you keep pursuing hodgepodge trainings without understanding how to apply them in a cohesive way.

Don’t get me wrong—I love learning. I am a huge fan of studying different modalities and learning a variety of techniques for healing and spiritual practice. I’ve been practicing for more than 20 years and the list of trainings and certifications I have is probably pages long at this point.

The problem with Shiny Object Syndrome isn’t studying a variety of practices—the problem is if you don’t have a holistic framework for those practices to be useful to you within the larger context of long-term healing and transformation.

Imagine if you wanted to build a house, and you had a belt full of tools and a pile of materials, but no blueprint. You would know how to use each of your tools individually, but you would have no idea how to put the materials together in a way that made them useful to you to build a big project.

Alchemy provides a blueprint for transformation that gives you a holistic framework to determine which practices are most beneficial and useful to you at any given time in your overall process of growth and healing.

Alchemy is literally the blueprint for transformation. That’s its whole thing. Look no further, my friends.

All transformation (including growth, healing, spiritual development and more) includes consistent and predictable stages that have very different energies and require different practices to work with those energies. The simplest way to look at this is the three phases of Alchemy:

• Death: releasing the old

• Purification: rearranging what you keep and making room for the new

• Rebirth: bringing in new life and creation

All transformation also happens on all levels. Alchemy calls this The Three Essentials:

• Salt: the body/physical realm

• Mercury: the heart/mind/soul

• Sulfur: the spirit/etheric realm

You will always need a variety of practices to navigate the process of transformation. This is where Shiny Object Syndrome is useful, so you have a buffet of practices to support you. The practices you need to support your body through a Death phase of cleansing and releasing will not be the same as the practices you need to support your heart/mind through a Rebirth phase. Just like you need different tools to accomplish different tasks in building a house, you need a variety of spiritual tools to support you in a long-term, holistic transformation process.

But unless you have the larger context and framework to help you understand where you are in the process of transformation and which specific tool you need, you will be sitting there with your toolbelt and materials and no blueprint to build the house, trying to use a saw to install the plumbing.

Do you need a blueprint for transformation? Do you want to put all of your trainings and practices to their best, most effective use in your growth and healing?

I AM Alchemy begins March 2024.

As one course graduate shared:

“Through I AM Alchemy, I have learned so much about how creation, transformation, and magic works on both a practical and spiritual level. This course helped me to incorporate all of the different teachings and modalities that I've learned before into a strong foundation that I can continue to use over and over again. My life is so much more magical and expansive. I feel like I've upleveled into a new version of power, creation, mastery, and connection. I have also deepened my trust in spirit and magic that has made the hard parts of life so much easier and the best parts of life more joyful… I recommend I AM Alchemy to anyone who feels called, especially those who have taken many courses and programs but still feel like they're not fully integrating. For me, this was like the graduate study in practical magic that helped pull everything together and allowed me to lead my own transformation.”

I AM Alchemy is a year-long course in practical transformation for your spiritual journey. Check out all the course details here.

Early Bird ends December 22. Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

I AM Alchemy:

Study the Mystery

Practice Transformation

Actualize your Radiance

I AM Alchemy: The Mystery School of Science and Spiritual Practice

Okay, y’all. Time for a vulnerable share.

I AM Alchemy represents something quite phenomenal, and deeply personal. What now exists as a year-long intensive training course in practical magic began as me following my intuitive guidance to work with the natural energies of transformation.

From the time I was very young, this way of looking at the world has simply made the most sense to me. When I first began officially studying and practicing Shamanism in 2003, my natural inclinations were confirmed by an Earth-based way of knowing that is older than recorded history itself.

I was always interested in healing, science, magic, personal inquiry and the miracle of nature, and I discovered while I was in high school that these concepts had a very natural intersection. I continued my education and investigation. While earning my undergraduate degree in Animal Physiology and Behavior, I simultaneously completed Master Healer training and furthered my Shamanic studies. I walked the paths of magic and of science at the same time, and discovered that they ultimately led to the same place: back to that same worldview that I’d had as a child, but with all the benefits of the added wisdom of life experience.

I AM Alchemy is simply a synthesis of this world view. That which I took for granted as a child (the sacredness of life itself, the magic that exists in all beings, the power and utter majesty of the Earth) now takes on new significance through the lens of where the path has taken me through the study of life. As I grew beyond my young innocence, I learned that not everyone experiences the world in this way… but that people are hungry for it again, and the time has come for us to reclaim this Sacred Work.

This course is a revolution not only in the body of knowledge itself, but also in the way that we relate to knowledge. Science and Spiritual practice have more in common than we might think: both are means of discovering Truth, both emphasize inquiry and research, both honor the contributions of our ancestors (physical, energetic and intellectual) and both, in their purest form, serve to uplift, empower and inspire all beings.

These two paths of Science and Spirituality were once a unified journey. The investigation of life took place just as much within the heart as within the lab. Modern chemistry, medicine and principles of physics were born from the research of spiritual practitioners as they sought to identify God in the world around them. Throughout history, Alchemists are noted not only for their philosophical and spiritual work, but their contributions to the scientific community. Alchemy is one of the few practices (if not the only one) that has maintained a foot in both worlds.

However, these paths drifted apart, and the worlds of Science and Spirit grew to vilify each other. History is riddled with examples of the scientific community looking upon spiritual practitioners with disdain, and just as many examples of the spiritual community rejecting the findings of science. The path of science shifted in the Yang direction of logic, linear thinking, reason and structure, and spiritual practice as a whole moved in the Yin direction of fluidity, passivity and suppression in the outer world. The spiritual collective had lost its structure, and science had lost its soul.

We are at a turning point in the evolution of the planet where we have the opportunity to bring these fields once more into collaboration and support of each other. I firmly believe, having walked both paths, that this is one of the fundamental pieces necessary in order for us to live a life of fully empowered creatorship. In order to truly actualize the world of our hearts and dreams, our relationship to knowing must include both the evidence-based experience, and the power of faith.

The time for knowledge that exists only in the thinking, rational state is over. Now is the time of feeling, embodied wisdom and subtle perception.

The time for retreating into an oblivious bliss state and separating from the physical realm is over. Now is the time of sovereignty, discernment and returning magic to the workings of Earth.

I AM Alchemy operates as an apprenticeship in practical magic through the paths of both Science and Spirituality. Throughout this course, we’ll be using the principles of scientific inquiry: asking really good questions, tracking data (lots of journaling and opportunities to reflect on trends), moving along a trajectory of investigation and grounding our results into our lived experience. We’ll also be working with principles of spiritual practice: honoring the immediacy and multifaceted nature of Truth, taking time for reverence and pure connection, inviting Spirit into our lives and living in alignment with the sacredness all around us.

My greatest wish for this work is that it serves to help usher in a new way of being on this planet—one that honors the sacredness of life and also gives us a road map for how to live in this world.

May this work support your own journey of sacred unfolding as you come home to yourself.

May this work support the freedom, sovereignty and health of all beings on Earth.

We do this work for the benefit of ourselves, of all those around us, of all beings on Earth and of the Earth, Herself.

Does this worldview of science and spiritual practice resonate with you?

Are you ready to take your place as a student of the Great Mystery?

Are you ready to apply for the course and claim your Early Bird discount?

$200 off Student Path!

$400 off Apprentice Path!

(If you're not sure which option is right for you, I will help you decide during our consultation.)

Here's how to lock in your spot for I AM Alchemy Early Bird:

1. Submit your application for I AM Alchemy.

2. Book a consultation with me.

3. Pay your deposit to hold your spot.

Are you excited?? I'm excited!!

I AM Alchemy:

Study the Mystery

Practice Transformation

Actualize your Radiance

Honoring the Ancestors

Hello, friends! Here in the northern hemisphere, we are entering the portal of Samhain. (This holy day is commonly acknowledged on November 1, solar Samhain falls around November 7, and lunar Samhain varies with the lunar cycle. Pick your favorite). Samhain (pronounced SOW-in, or SOW-ain), one of the four cross-quarter holy days, marks a time of year when the veil between this world and the spirit realm is thin.

During this season, we honor the third and final harvest, release and Death on Gaia. The solar cycle of the year ends, and we prepare for the next.  This is the portal of the Tomb: returning to the Void, surrender and rest.

This holy day is a powerful time to celebrate our ancestors--those ones who came before us, both known and beyond our knowing, who carried the torch of life through the ages, and whose flame lives on in us today.

At this time, we may request blessings and support from our healed ancestors.

We may offer blessings and healing to our ancestors who are wounded or suffering.

We may make offerings and prayers for ourselves to become good ancestors and take our seat of power to be in healthy service to all of our descendants (children, ideas, projects and legacy).

If you are called to do so, you can make a dedicated ancestor altar for the season for the purpose of prayers, offerings and healing work. Here are some tips on how to do that:

Michelle’s ancestor altar

How to Make an Ancestor Altar

There are many ways to make your ancestor altar. Some cultures and traditions have specific directions and practices, and if you observe these practices, go for it. If not, you can still honor your ancestors in an appropriate and respectful way.

Here are some items you may wish to include on your ancestor altar:

• Photos of your ancestors

• Personal belongings or heirlooms from your ancestors

• Items in the color red, to honor the bloodlines

• Offerings of food and drink (especially any known favorites of your ancestors,). You may wish to offer a small bite of your meal to the altar daily.

• Candles, flowers, incense and other nourishing/energizing sacred offerings

• In many traditions, offerings of tobacco, alcohol and sugar are considered particularly nourishing and energizing to the spirits. Please use your best discernment of what feels healthy and appropriate, especially if you are aware of a history of addiction within your lineage.

I invite you to bring your authentic, sovereign prayer to connecting with your ancestors. If you want some inspiration, here is an ancestor song:

We are remembering all of our ancestors
We are remembering all of our ancestors
Deep are the roots of the tree
Long is our memory
Great is our family
Of love alive in me
Of love alive in me

I'll be posting more ancestor songs on Instagram over the next couple of weeks. If you want to tune in, follow me there for more.

Blessed Samhain!

Michelle Hawk

Here's what people are saying behind my back

Here's what people are saying behind my back.

...in the best possible way!

Y'all, the Sacred Ecology course was so much fun. After decades of developing this curriculum through my personal practice and 1 on 1 mentorship instruction, I finally made it an "official" course at the end of the summer.

But don't let me tell you how amazing it was. Here are some notes about the course from a few of my students:
 

"I am a Medicine Woman, Trans Medium and Channel, Somatic Psychedelic Integration Specialist, and Psychedelic Doula. I took the Sacred Ecology course because Michelle is the best in her field, and after witnessing her powers from other offerings it truly was a no brainer. This course has been great because I have fully connected to the land, the spirits, and myself through Michelle’s guidance. In Sacred Ecology, I learned how to create a Protectorate and work within the fields of nature magic. My biggest takeaway is a true deepening of my morning and evening practice, my connection to the dragons and nature spirits, and feeling the depth of my connection to trees, plants and animals. Because of this course, I will be able to grow as a Medicine Woman, and continue to share my gifts more deeply and profoundly."

— Dayle Breault, she/her, Ceremonial Guide and Medicine Keeper, Costa Rica

"I like how Michelle sees and talks about the natural world. She is deeply committed to honoring & respecting Nature in all her forms. Michelle is a great teacher, and has put a lot of energy into creating a clear and well organized class. Michelle talked about certain offerings, as well as ways of connecting to animal allies in a way that inspired me to take action on things that I had been called to do for a while, but felt “blocked” from following through. Once I followed her direction, I was able to release old stories & welcome in fresh energy. These practices strengthened the connection I have with my home, land and neighborhood. After hearing my story with one particular offering, Michelle pinpointed an issue that I could do some self healing with to benefit my life and my ancestral lineage, and she provided a great framework for how to move forward with that."
— Jessica Riphenburg, Shamanic Practitioner

"I participated in Sacred Ecology because I wanted to connect to my indigenous ancestors and respect the land in which I travel. Now I have a high level connection and new tools to respectfully travel on land that I can honor and respect. I can give offerings and work directly with my ancestors and spirit guides. In this course I learned where I come from and have a deeper understanding of the presence of Gaia and how I can connect and work in collaboration with the world around me with sacred intention. My biggest takeaway is now I am connected to source and feel a huge responsibility to respectfully honor my sacred indigenous lineage. The #1 thing I will remember from working with Michelle is making intention and consciousness top of mind with everything I do. I have guidance all around me and now I know it’s possible to ask for that guidance. I recommend this course for anyone who wants to connect to our ancestral roots and become more personally conscious of our responsibility as stewards of this land. Michelle has an incredibly special talent she has been called to share. Her insight and sacred approach is incredibly inspiring. I’ve grown to trust her guidance and approach to honoring the land and ancestry at a very high level. Beautiful soul!"
— Concetta C. Healer. Salem, OR

Sacred Ecology will be back in summer of 2024! If you missed it this time around and want first dibs when I open registration next year, reply to this email and say "I want first dibs!"

In the meantime, here are a few other ways to work with me:

• 1 on 1 mentorship: ongoing enrollment. Totally personalized, high-level individual support for you and your unique spiritual path. Ideal for practitioners who want support with skill development in energetic mastery, healership and mediumship, and for spiritual seekers who want tailored support for their personal journey. Submit an application here to get the ball rolling.

• I AM Alchemy course: begins March 2024. Year-long apprenticeship training for soul-aligned seekers. Receive profound training in practical applications of spiritual techniques, ritual, magic and ceremony that will have a material, measurable effect on your life, your practice and the world. Course admission by application and interview only. Applications open in November. Get on the wait list here.

• Sacred Amazonian Plant Medicine: monthly ceremonies. Sign up here to receive calendar updates and invitations.

Study the Mystery.
Practice Transformation.
Actualize Radiance.

Get Support:

Are you ready for practical support for your spiritual journey?

Book a call with me to talk about what type of support is right for you.

Most spiritual practice is like cleaning your house

Most spiritual work is like cleaning your house.

It’s mundane, but very necessary, and things get really yucky when you don’t do it.

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about this before. Yes, it’s time for another article about how spiritual practice is actually very unglamorous, contrary to a lot of what you might see on social media.

And friends: that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful, meaningful, powerful, miraculous and life-affirming. It is all of those things, and more.

But on the day-to-day basis, spiritual practice is more like cleaning the toilet.

Imagine you didn’t regularly clean your house. I am pretty sure every single one of us has gone too long without vacuuming at some point in our lives, so we all know the feeling. You get used to the piles of paper, the dust bunnies in the corners and the scuzz in the sink.

And then, a guest is coming over! Time to recycle all the junk mail. Time to vacuum up the pet hair and scrub the gunk.

And wow, it feels great. The sink is so shiny. The counters are clear. Your socks are no longer covered in pet hair because the floors are clean.

Cleaning your house feels way more dramatic and miraculous if you don’t do it often.

Spiritual practice feels way more dramatic and miraculous if you don’t do it often.

If you only clean your toilet once a year, it is going to feel like a f*ing revelation when you finally do.

If you clean your toilet before it actually gets yucky, it is going to feel sort of mundane and potentially unnecessary.

If you don’t have a consistent and regular spiritual practice, the moments when you do tap in and connect are going to feel like the clouds parting, a beam of sunlight illuminating your vision as a choir of angels serenades you with your favorite song.

If you do have a regular and consistent spiritual practice, you will probably reach a point where it feels boring and potentially unnecessary, because it is working so well.

One of the most significant benefits of spiritual practice is helping you be regulated and stable in your life, no matter what. This sounds super unglamorous, but I promise it’s easy to regulate your energy when things are going well and a whole lot more difficult to do so when shit hits the fan.

When things go sideways, as they do for every single one of us, your spiritual practice will help you maintain your inner equanimity.

Your spiritual practice will help you not lash out from hurt feelings or anger.

Your spiritual practice will help you process your grief.

Your spiritual practice will help you find joy and hope in the darkest moments.

Your spiritual practice will help you be kind to yourself and others, even when it’s more convenient to be unkind.

Your spiritual practice will help ground you and keep you from dissociating when you feel overwhelmed.

Your spiritual practice will help you access your intuition and inner wisdom when you feel lost.

Your spiritual practice will help you love, even when you’re hurting.

Your spiritual practice will help you tune in to the wisdom of your body when you need healing.

And yes, your regular and consistent spiritual practice will help you connect with high-vibration divine beings, have transcendent epiphanies and receive cosmic downloads. Your spiritual practice will help you sing songs to the spirits, experience magic and synchronicity, expand in love and joy, and feel more connection and beauty than you ever thought possible.

But the most beneficial support your spiritual practice can offer you is to help you be more at home in yourself and present in your life, which will make the biggest difference when you need it most.

Healing Through the Timeline: Trauma, Ancestors and a New Earth

You may have heard me mention a “shitty breakup” that took place last fall. In fact, the nightmare of those four days took place exactly six months ago this past weekend.

To give you a little bit of context, my ex and I were together for two years. There was a lot about our relationship that was really good and loving, but we simply weren’t right for each other. We “officially” broke up last summer, but continued for all intents and purposes to be in each other’s lives as partners because we loved each other so much. So of course, I was fully invested in supporting her with her big annual event: a four-day in-residence retreat in September.

The specifics of what happened at that event are not important for this story. All you need to know is that my partner of two years broke my trust more hurtfully than I ever thought possible, in a way that was completely out of integrity at every turn. Even worse, this betrayal took place during a time when I put everything else aside to help her and support her vision. Even worse still, I was stuck at this event for four days in a leadership role. I couldn’t leave, as I was responsible for her event attendees. My only option for external support was two other staffers who knew what was going on and helped me hold it together in front of 60+ people. During that time, I called deeply upon my own reserves of resilience and self-love. All you need to know is that those were four of the most challenging days of my life, and I’ve been healing and processing the resulting lessons and trauma in waves for the last six months.

Please understand, I’m in a good place now. In fact, I’m super impressed with myself and the amazing healing work I’ve done. (Self-hug. Good job, Michelle!) Overall, I have grown into a much healthier, more vibrant and alive place than I’ve been in a long time. And even though that challenging experience gave rise to so much growth and goodness, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard as f***. Even six months later, I still have the occasional wave of trauma echoes rolling through, and I get to roll up my sleeves and practice grace and compassion.

One such wave came through in a big way last week, and it's directly related to that powerful Full Moon. (Did you see it coming up huge and orange the other night???)

I felt “off” all day Thursday and Friday. I felt tender, reactive, volatile and like my energy was blocked. I did my practices, canceled everything that wasn’t important and took care of myself because I could tell something big was ready to shift.

On Friday night, I woke up promptly a few minutes before 3am. (The time period of 3-5am is when a lot of energy healing and psychic activity takes place. Usually I’ll wake up at that time if there’s deep healing work to be done, or Spirit really wants my attention.) Instead of feeling exasperated or resentful as I sometimes do when nudged awake at this hour, I asked with calm curiosity, “What do you want me to know?”

Immediately, I knew that I was being haunted. I rarely use that term, but the word “haunted” popped unmistakably into my mind, and I felt a lingering energy present with me. I asked if I was being haunted by my ex. “Not exactly.” I felt some of her energy but it didn’t feel like her, specifically. I asked if I was being haunted by anyone or anything else. “No.”

Then I saw a vision of myself from six months ago, and I realized that I was being haunted by this past version of myself. I looked awful. The energy around me was sharp, hot and fragmented, like shattered glass. I also felt a lot of wetness (grief is a very “wet” emotional energy). This version of me from the past looked enraged, on the verge of tears, and ready to explode. In other words, I saw myself as I felt during those four days.

I maintained the feeling of calm curiosity as I surrounded this vision of myself with love and compassion. As I soothed this Self, I was transported back to the event. I saw my Current Self standing next to my Past Self. I saw my Current Self at times literally with my hands on my shoulders from behind, offering love and support to my Past Self. I literally had my own back. I watched myself walk by my own side through every trauma of those four days. My Current Self held my Past Self as I sobbed in rage and grief. I got to relive one of the most hurtful experiences of my life from the perspective of six months down the road, knowing that I am whole and illuminated on the other side of this challenge. I got to support my Past Self from a place of empowerment, grace and feeling secure in my own health, well-being and aliveness. Instead of simply remembering the event as my Past Self, I got to re-experience it with my Past Self, with all the perspective and grace of my current reality. And it felt completely different.

Take a moment and let this sink in: I got to retroactively go back and offer myself healing through the timeline (Energetic Principle #1, above). Read on.

When I think about my lived experience of the event, I remember how supported I felt, even in the midst of four of the worst days of my life. Despite the devastating feeling of betrayal and horrible disillusionment, despite feeling bitter, trapped and alone, I remember feeling almost surprised at how much loving energy I felt around me. I remember several moments when I looked around and almost laughed at the astonishing juxtaposition: on one hand, a key area of my life was actively falling apart in irreparable damage. On the other, I felt more connected, supported and loved than I had any logical reason to feel.

I know now that, during the event, the support I felt was coming not only from my Guides and Teachers (as I thought at the time), but also from my Current Self offering healing that positively impacted my past experience (Energetic Principle #2, above). Read on.

Two of these moments in particular stand out:

On Saturday night after the main event of the evening, I made my way back to the staff house I shared with my partner. I didn’t even know if she would come back that night, or if she would find somewhere else to stay. Regardless, I felt sickened, physically nauseated and shaking from head to toe. Then the weirdest sensation came over me, and I watched as my hands started packing up all my things. Literally, that’s what it felt like. I didn’t consciously make the decision, but somehow my body was moving as if someone else had taken control and was telling it what to do. I watched my body move calmly around the space and was fascinated at the precise care and assuredness my hands exhibited, while my heart and mind felt anything but calm. At the time, I simply marveled at the feeling and let it happen.

The other night as I lay in bed and watched this vision, I saw my Current Self packing up my things at the event. I watched myself calmly and firmly guide my Past Self to take the necessary steps to remove myself from further harm, just as I would guide a friend or client in the middle of a traumatic situation. What I experienced in the moment at the event was my Current Self directing my movements, during a time when I was incapable of making grounded decisions and taking empowered action. Just like my friend describing the car accident, I experienced the visceral feeling of receiving my own, retroactive healing during the traumatic moment itself.

The other big moment of healing I experienced directly while at the event took place that night as I lay awake in a fiery rage. After wandering around and finding absolutely no available beds (short of dragging a mattress into the van), I had decided to sleep on a narrow cot in the next room, rather than stay one more second in a bed I had shared with my partner. I lay seething, wracked with grief and rage in equal measure, and used my breath to open my channels and allow the energy to flow. Suddenly, I was overcome with bliss. I didn’t consciously understand it, but I knew somehow that I had shifted out of the raw pain and into the pure life force at its core. I didn’t question it, I simply let myself dissolve in that bliss and be revitalized by it.

The other night as I watched this vision, I saw my Current Self kneeling beside the cot, placing my hands on my Past Self and offering all the healing love and compassion in my heart. And I saw the practices and intention I had at the time combine with and respond to this healing through the timeline. In the past, I experienced it as an inexplicable gratitude and euphoria. But now I know that I was able to retroactively heal and alter my lived experience of an incredibly traumatic circumstance. I felt healing take place the other night as I offered love to myself in the past, and I felt healing even while at the event, as I received love and blessings from myself in the future.

When I eventually did go back to sleep the other night, I knew that some profound healing work had taken place. Indeed, the next several days have felt much lighter and clearer.
 

TAKEAWAYS:

(If you decided to skip ahead, resume reading here.)

• I was guided by Spirit to offer healing energy to a past situation, and it worked.

• I experienced a profound and immediate relief by offering healing energy through the timeline. I feel the effects of this healing not only in my current reality, but I also experienced the benefits during the traumatic incident itself.

• As citizens of Earth and Lightworkers on this planet, we all received a powerful Priest/ess activation from the Virgo Full Moon. We are all being prompted and activated to offer healing energy throughout the timeline for the benefit of All Beings.

• As we are empowered Creators building a New Earth, we have the opportunity to offer healing to our ancestors, to our own past lives, to our descendants and to the future of Earth.

• It is vitally important that we use this Sacred Work to offer healing through the timeline, not only to clear and heal trauma from the past, but also to set the course for our future, personally and collectively.

• At a time of tremendous uncertainty and fear, a lot of people are asking, “What’s going to happen?” Friends, we answer that question every day with our choices, our prayers, our words and our actions. Instead of asking what the future holds, part of the Priest/ess path is the Sacred Work of anchoring in the frequency of harmonious alignment, joy, peace and right relation that spans throughout the timeline. The Sacred Work is to lovingly guide our planet and all beings to live in alignment with frequency, and create a New Earth in that vision.

  Get Support:

  Are you ready to step fully into your Embodied, Wild Self and offer powerful healing throughout the timeline, for the benefit of All Beings?
  
  Apply now for Embody Wild™ 1:1! Check out the details and submit your application here.

Practice Prompts For You:

(This is a new style so I'm open to feedback on this variation of Practice Prompt--let me know how you like it! One prompt each for ceremony, journaling, movement, discussion and inspired action.)

Ceremony: Hold a Full Moon ritual for yourself (if you haven’t already)

Journal: What is my Sacred Work?

Move: Ask your body how it wants to feel, move and express your Sacred Work. Dance, roll, stretch, walk it out.

Discuss: With a friend/family/community member, talk about the concept of healing through the timeline. What past challenges and traumas would you like to heal for yourself and for the planet? What future healing would you like to see for yourself and for everyone?

Act: What ONE inspired action step can you take TODAY to move in this direction?

Get Support: Are you ready to step fully into your Embodied, Wild Self and offer powerful healing throughout the timeline, for the benefit of All Beings?

Apply now for Embody Wild™ 1:1!

What energy and emotion is stuck in your body?

We all know that being in our bodies is a good thing, and physical practice is important. But have you ever wondered exactly WHY embodiment and movement practice is absolutely essential to our energetic and emotional health and well-being?

Today, let's look at one really important reason that has to do with hidden, trapped emotion and energy.

Any physical structure is encoded with the energetic frequency of its creation. Think about examples in your life or things we see in the world: if you're trying to work on a creative project but you're in a bad mood, your art will show it. Many women who are pregnant will go out of their way to surround themselves with positive music, art, jokes and loving messages so that their babies will grow with these energies. In Like Water for Chocolate (one of my favorite Latin American magical realism novels), the main character fills whatever food she's making with the essence of her emotion in the moment, and people experience that emotion when they eat the food. In other words, we can experience the energy that was involved in the creation process of a physical structure, even after the structure is "finished." Energy sticks around.

The same goes for the physical structures within our bodies: we are constantly forming and breaking down our cellular structure. In fact, the average adult human body creates over 200 billion new cells per day!

And each of those 200+ billion cells is encoded with your unique energetic and emotional frequency at the time.

"Wait, Michelle, that means if I'm feeling anger, grief, bitterness, depression, or anything else, that this emotional frequency is literally built into the physical structure of my body?"

Yes, it does! But don't worry, there are lots of ways to work with this. You're all good. Keep reading.

Instead of shaming ourselves or launching into a worry spiral (which will only create more of these stress-cells), let's gather some more information:

1. Humans are infinitely complex beings composed of myriad energies. Having some cells in your body that are encoded to "negative" emotions or energies does not mean that you as a holistic being are stuck in that energy.

2. In addition to building cells every day, our bodies also break down cells every day.

3. Our bodies are a holistic community of frequencies that resonate together, and it is possible to change the vibration of a physical structure by surrounding it with a higher-vibration frequency.

What does this mean? Let's apply our points to an example:

Imagine that you went through some really hard stuff last year. (I know I did--2019 was rough for a lot of people!) Maybe you lost a loved one, maybe you separated from your partner, maybe there were just a lot of smaller crappy things that felt like they really wore you down. You did your best at the time, but it was really hard. You felt angry, you grieved, you felt bitter, you felt all sorts of uncomfortable things. But you did it! You made it through and you can start to see the light again. Maybe the circumstances haven't changed, but you've come to a slightly better place about it, and now you're looking ahead at your healing and rebirth.

Your body built a lot of cellular structure during that time, on the order of trillions of cells. That's a lot of physical structure holding the energy of anger, grief, bitterness and other stuff. But remember:

1. You are an infinitely complex being. Even though your body might hold trillions of these cells encoded to anger and grief, your body also holds lots of cells encoded to other frequencies like joy, love and empowerment. There are people who dwell in that anger, grief and bitterness, and the proportion of their cellular structure is skewed accordingly. It doesn't mean they can't make a change, it'll just take more time and conscientious effort.

2. In addition to building all those trillions of "sad cells," your body also broke some of them down.

3. Your body is a collaborative community of cells that communicate with each other and adjust their frequencies for a harmonious collective reality. This means that some of your "sad cells" are interacting with "happy cells," and their vibration is shifting to align with these healthier frequencies.

"But what about those hidden, trapped emotions you mentioned earlier? I still feel those energies in my physical body."

Right. That's a thing for sure. Even though the body has lots of mechanisms to heal itself, it needs some directed support and practice in order to make bigger changes.

Your body needs intentional, proactive, embodied practice to break down hidden, trapped emotions and unhealthy cellular structure, and rebuild new cells that hold the frequencies of health, joy and vitality.

Sitting on the meditation cushion and doing forgiveness practices is not enough. Yes, it's important to work in the realm of consciousness, but until it actually lands in the body, it's not a full transformation.

Doing a "workout" is not enough. Going for a run or going to the gym to mentally check out and listen to a podcast or think about all your stressors isn't helping to cleanse those frequencies from the body.

What is the solution to releasing hidden, trapped emotion and "negative" energetic frequencies from our physical structures?

The best way to release hidden, trapped emotion and "negative" energies from the body is to cultivate your embodied awareness and practice, in order to bring all the magic and love of your pure Soul essence into your physical structures.

This will allow you to:

• Ensure that your body is built with more intentional, healthy and vibrant cells than "sad" ones

• Express your pure energetic Soul essence on the physical plane

• Live with more connection, freedom and personal power than ever before

• Intentionally send your awareness into your body to cultivate health and vitality

• Feel strong, empowered, confident and fully alive

• Go from feeling stuck, ungrounded and disconnected, to fully present, aligned and resourced

• Experience more pleasure, connection, vitality, peace and safety than ever before

When you do this, it means that your holistic physical structures will hold a higher vibration that will affect every other area of your life. It will improve your overall sense of well-being, your relationships, your career, your energetic practice, your community involvement--EVERY area of your life. No joke.

Are you ready to fully release hidden, trapped emotion and energy from your cells in order to live a fully Embodied, empowered life?

Apply now for Embody Wild!

What would be possible for you if you released all the hidden, trapped emotion and energy in your body?

Scroll down for a practice prompt from me!

Many blessings,

Questions to meditate/journal on:

What hidden, trapped emotions and energies are stuck in my body? Where do I notice them? What do they feel like?

What does this area of my body want to feel instead? What would embodying that new energy make available to me?

You did not come here to be a spiritual being.

You did not come here to be a spiritual being.

You already have access to all the mysteries and all knowledge. You are already connected to the infinite, the Divine, the whole perfection of Source.

Your soul is already perfect.

But you did not come here for that. You came to Earth for something else.

You came to Earth not to live as a spiritual being, but as an Embodied one.

You made the choice, long before you were born, to actualize your consciousness into a body on this beautiful, unique planet. You chose to gift yourself the experience of a lifetime on Earth, in this beautiful, unique body. You chose to embody a new form, born as a soft and tender animal, and explore this physical plane through your beautiful, unique life.

So why aren’t you living fully in your body?

I promise, you’re not alone. Most other humans aren’t fully embodied, either.

Most people are living their lives checked out of their bodies. Maybe they’re up in their head all the time, maybe they’re using spiritual practice as an escape from Earthly life, maybe they use crutches like Netflix, food, alcohol, sex, drugs, shopping, social media, being busy, their careers, the news, drama—anything to avoid being fully present within their own bodies. Anything to dilute and distract themselves.

I get it. I didn’t fully land in my Earth body until my early 20s. But I’ll tell you that story another time.

You might be wondering, “So? What’s the problem? Earth is hard. My life is busy. Why should I care about being Embodied?”

Oh, my dear human friend, you can’t afford NOT to care. None of us can.

You see, common understanding (and societal conditioning) tells us that human bodies are machines to be exercised and fed according to numbers and formulas. It tells us that bodies are prone to sickness and need medications to be normal. It tells us that we need to cover them up with fashionable items and that some bodies are more attractive and worthy than others. It tells us that our bodies are primitive—merely houses for the true power of the mind, heart and soul. Common understanding would have us believe that the body is the least important, least powerful aspect of our existence.

All of this could not be farther from the truth.

Friend, your body is a miracle. Your body is a perfect child of Earth. Your body is a powerful, magical animal that holds all the power and wisdom of Gaia within each cell.

Living fully in your body is the key to your own liberation.

Fully inhabiting your body will give you more power, life force, vitality, trust, creativity and pleasure than you ever imagined.

What would be possible for you if you had full, uninhibited access to expressing the most wild, free, untamed, powerful parts of yourself? What would be different in your life, in the lives of your loved ones, and in the world if you were to embody your own, wild nature?

Are you ready to join me in the Embody Wild™ movement? Apply here

Many blessings,

“The Church says: the body is a sin.
Science says: the body is a machine.
Advertising says: the body is a business.
The Body says: I am a fiesta.”

― Eduardo Galeano, Walking Words

You don't actually want exercise, you want this instead

Have you ever thought, "I need to exercise more," or set a workout goal for yourself, that you never seem to get around to? Or maybe you start strong and go to the gym a few times, then something comes up and you never go again. Or perhaps you keep working out because you' know you should," but it feels unfulfilling. Or maybe you have a very dedicated physical practice that you enjoy, but it seems like something's missing.

What if I told you that the thing you needed and truly desired wasn't exercise at all? What if I told you that there's a reason your workouts feel unfulfilling, you find it hard to stay consistent, and moving your body feels like an obligation? What, then, do you actually desire?

The thing you're actually craving is true embodiment: a deeper sense of connection to the wild animal of your body, and your own cellular intelligence.

To embody: to express, to inhabit, to make tangible, to live, to anchor.

Unfortunately, most people on the planet aren't actually fully embodied. Many people live in some state of disassociation pretty much all of the time. Not being fully embodied can mean that someone's higher self isn't fully grounded into the Earth plane and their energy bodies aren't fully engaged with the physical body.

Not being fully embodied can look like being in your head all the time, feeling unsafe and anxious, greater tendency towards overwhelm and depression, difficulty making decisions, heightened emotional reactivity, easily influenced by outside energy and opinions, chronic health challenges, self doubt, lack of confidence, difficulty interfacing with other people, challenges with money, feeling "checked out" or disconnected, easily exhausted/depleted, addictive tendencies... the list goes on. All of these to varying degrees, of course. I invite you to take a look at this list and notice what areas you experience, and to what extent. If any (or many) of these resonate with you, you're not alone. And there is a very simple solution!

There are so, so many reasons why someone may not be fully embodied, I'm not even going to go there for now. That's a topic for another time.

No matter the reason, we live in a world where most people are not fully embodied, and this is not common knowledge. In general, people don't even know that this is a thing. They just know (consciously or subconsciously) that it feels like something is missing from their lives, and their solution usually comes either in the form of numbing out and avoiding it, or trying to address it with some attempt at landing more fully in the body: exercise, sex, food, etc. (Since we're at the beginning of the year, let's look at exercise, as this is a big resolution theme.)

There's a big difference between "exercise" and "embodiment." One moves your body through some activities, and the other one gives you the kind of power, vitality and confidence you're actually looking for. One treats the body like a machine, and the other recognizes that the body is a sentient, powerful being with unique cellular intelligence and innate wisdom. One is a "should," and the other is a "must."

Don't get me wrong--there is absolutely some intersection between the two! True embodiment practices can include intense training, but an embodiment practice might also be snuggling with an animal.

An embodiment practice is something that helps you consciously connect more fully to the physical body and ground the Higher Self and energy bodies into the Earth plane for their full expression through form.

When you are fully embodied, an entirely different way of being becomes available to you. Instead of being in your head all the time,  anxious and unsafe, you'll feel grounded, calm and resourced. Instead of being reactive, easily swayed and challenged making decisions, you'll feel attuned, confident and centered in your Self. Instead of difficulty with money, people and other Earth-plane realities, you'll feel more trusting, more supportive, open to connection and flow. Instead of feeling depleted and needing to check out, you'll discover new strength and vitality, and abundant capacity for connection.

Embodiment is the key to freedom: the missing piece that will help you fully inhabit and express your own, untamed, original nature. Being fully embodied will help you show up more than ever for your wild and precious life.

Are you ready?

There are so many ways to practice embodiment, and I would love to invite you to experience one such practice with me!

Embody Wild: to fully live and express your original, pure, untamed nature.

Are you tired of being in your head all the time? Do you have an energetic/spiritual practice, but feel like it's not translating into your 3D experience? Do you feel stuck, stagnant, unsure, ungrounded, fed up and bored?

Are you ready to have full access to your Wild, powerful self?

Join me for Embody Wild!

Many blessings,

"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."

~Mary Oliver

Why you probably don't have an entity (and no one is attacking you)

I have learned to never be surprised by the shit people tell me, or by people contacting me out of the blue with some truly wild stories. Seriously—my email is a fascinating read. I regularly receive messages from random people that range from two sentences to a few pages long, and most of these emails include the person’s assumption that they have picked up a harmful entity, and/or someone or something is attacking them. Occasionally, people request an exorcism.

My response to these people varies, depending on the level of wackadoo in the email. I will usually offer support in the form of resources and practices to ground and strengthen the field. (I tell them, “go watch this podcast episode, do these practices for a week and then let me know how you’re doing.”) If the person seems relatively grounded and stable, I may invite them to do some sessions with me.

Interestingly, the people that I give practices to never circle back around with me. Seriously. Not once. This astonishes me, because in my mind, if I thought I had an entity and a Shaman told me to do something to support my system, I would do exactly what they told me.

Of the people I have worked with who came in thinking they had entities, attachments or were being attacked by someone or something, care to guess how many actually did?

Answer: a small handful.

In other words, over the 15+ years that I’ve been studying and practicing Shamanism and healing work, the percentage of people who think they have an entity or are being attacked, who ACTUALLY have an entity or are being attacked, is tiny. Like, maybe 5%.

So, what’s going on with the other 95%?

Without fail, the other 95% of people do not actually have entities or attachments, and are not being attacked by anyone or anything. Instead, they are feeling their own Shadow, and ascribing their discomfort to something outside of themselves.

Here are a few notable examples:

1. Several years ago, a woman contacted me about getting an exorcism for her 8-year-old granddaughter. She described the situation and I tuned into the field. Did the granddaughter have an entity? Answer: no. She was just being an 8-year-old and processing a lot of trauma in the only way she knew how—by screaming, acting out and going from zero to tantrum at the drop of a hat. I offered healing work (not an exorcism) and the woman said no. I believe she went on to have her granddaughter exorcised by a priest. (Cringe.)

2. Last year, a client came to me who thought he had entities that were making him tired and depressed. Did he? Answer: no. He was processing his own Shadow and metabolizing energy on behalf of his lineage. We did some very powerful healing sessions that released ancestral trauma, rewrote some unhealthy soul contracts and supported him in stepping into his empowered soul work and purpose.

3. Recently, my ex asked me if I was “sending her bad juju.” When I asked for clarification, she said she felt a lot of bad energy coming from me and was physically afraid for her safety. She thought I was attacking her. Was I? Answer: of course not. The fact that she thought I would further illustrated the wisdom of that separation. What was actually happening? She was most likely processing her Shadow and pain body magnified by our breakup.

4. A while ago, a woman reached out about her son. She was concerned for his health, and thought that he might have an entity or attachment. It turns out that the boy’s father had died in a bad way and that the boy had been the one to find him. Did he have an attachment? Answer: in this case, yes. The father’s spirit had attached to the boy.

These are only a few examples, but my god, people! The level of story-making blows my mind. Why do people so quickly jump to the conclusion that they have an entity, or that someone or something is attacking them? How did this become a thing?

I have a few thoughts on this:

1. Generally speaking, most people don’t understand the principle of Shadow or Shadow Work. For our purposes in Shamanic and Alchemical philosophy, the Shadow is “that which is unseen or unintegrated.” If people are confronted with their Shadow, it’s probably something they’ve been avoiding and it makes them uncomfortable.

2. If people aren’t used to being uncomfortable, they will try to explain their discomfort by assuming something is wrong, rather than “I’m processing trauma” or “I feel really bad about my decisions” or “I’m learning some really hard lessons right now,” and letting that be okay.

3. Projecting the discomfort to an external source means that people don’t have to take responsibility for it. If they’re not ready to own the energy and actually move through it, it’s a lot easier to blame their off-ness on an entity or an attack.

4. If people think there is an external source to blame, it means they get to be a victim, and they don’t actually have to change themselves or their behavior. Instead of looking at how they are creating or contributing to this experience, people think that the problem to be fixed is simply getting rid of the entity or stopping the attack.

5. Pop culture has glorified and misrepresented possession, entities, psychic attacks and all sorts of other bullshit. Yes, all of these things do exist. Yes, it is possible to be possessed, to have an entity or attachment, and energetic attack is totally a thing. However, it is not the most LIKELY explanation. Far more likely is the Shadow Work explanation. Occam’s razor, people: the simplest solution is probably the correct one.

The next time you’re moving through some uncomfortable energy and wondering if you have an entity or are being attacked… stop. It’s probably just your own Shadow. Here’s what to do:

1. Regulate your energy. Use energetic and physical practices to clear, ground, cultivate and protect your field. If you don’t know any of these techniques, tune in to my podcast, Shaman Sister Sessions. Katherine Bird and I offer lots of tools and practices.

2. Once you’ve regulated your field, assess how you’re doing. Ask yourself some guiding questions to learn more about your experience. Examples include:

   • What energy is moving through me?

   • What part of me is asking to be seen?

   • What am I getting out of this experience?

   • What part of me is asking to change or transform?

3. If you still need help, contact me! Yes, I know how to do exorcisms, but you probably don’t need one. Instead, we would most likely work on supporting your field, metabolizing unprocessed energy, healing trauma, actualizing your purpose and bringing you into your fullest, most empowered expression in the world. Isn’t that more fun than an exorcism?

When these people who contact me choose to show up and work with the Shadow, the results are incredibly powerful. Imagine consciously and lovingly working with the unseen and unintegrated parts of yourself to bring them into a harmonious state. Wouldn’t you love to give yourself that gift? Instead of keeping it surface level and assuming that someone or something else is to blame for your experience, imagine taking empowered agency for your process and transmuting your own Shadow.

Special sneak peek: new Shaman Sister Sessions episode comes out on Thursday! Episodes #92 and #93 are both about Entities, Attachments and Psychic Attacks. Episode #92 continues this conversation about why you probably don’t have an entity. Episode #93 talks about what to do if you do have an energetic attachment. Want access to the episodes? Join Lightworker Portal—the FREE community I created just for you! Get instant access to all the content archives.

Whether you have an entity or not (let’s face it: probably not) the opportunity for you is the same: to transmute your Shadow, to master your energy and to embody your fully empowered sovereignty. Regardless of how you choose to learn this lesson, your own Soul is inviting you to be more powerful and compassionate, and live with more grace than ever before.

This is true Alchemy.

If you find yourself in a situation like this, it's because your Soul is giving you the keys to your own actualization. Even though the energy may feel dense, heavy, insurmountable and incredibly painful, it is this same energy that will liberate you. This is your own personal lead--the heavy base metal that you get to transform into Gold. Your Soul is calling you to step up and alchemize your Shadow into your greatest Light. Your Soul is asking you to alchemize your pain into joy. Your Soul is inviting you to alchemize your grief, your anger, your suffering into grace, compassion and peace.

If you’re ready to say YES to your Soul, I’m here to help.

Do you want to…

• …go from feeling like you’re living at the whims of change, to intentionally choosing your own path of transformation and creation?

• …have a roadmap to guide you through the hardest transformational moments of your life?

• …learn tools and practices that will immediately and noticeably enhance your vitality, health, energy and well-being?

• …know without a shadow of a doubt that you are living your life “on purpose?”

• …feel connected to something bigger than yourself? Do you want to commune with Spirit through this ancient and powerful lineage?

• …use these powerful tools to support loved ones, clients and your community in their journey of transformation and actualization?

Applications are now open for Embody-Wild that will help you heal your Shadow.



Check out all the details here.

Many Blessings,

Practice prompt:

Get comfortable sitting with your Shadow body. Rather than dismissing or avoiding it, practice asking questions like:

• What energy is moving through me?

• What part of me is asking to be seen?

• What am I getting out of this experience?

• What part of me is asking to change or transform?

WARNING: Calling major bullshit on marketing and the path of Self-Actualization

THIS  COMMON  PSYCHOLOGICAL  PRINCIPLE  YOU  HAVE  PROBABLY  NEVER  HEARD  OF  IS  KILLING  YOU.

Just kidding! But you've probably seen headlines and marketing like that, right? That's because most marketing uses aforementioned common psychological principle to attack base-level human needs. This principle is known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and today, I'm going to share with you:

1. My utter disdain for traditional marketing (barf)

2. How Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and its implications are actually a huge detriment to our individual and collective human experience (actually, it may even be killing us)

3. How you can re-interpret this principle to help you make more money, have more free time, have better sex and get your dream job (but not in the way you think, haha)

Let's have a look at this silly principle. Maybe you’ve heard of the Hierarchy of Needs before, or seen a graphic like this one:

I see this concept tossed around most commonly in the context of marketing. If you also hang around with entrepreneurs, I’m guessing you’ve encountered this, too. The advice I hear from business and marketing coaches always seems to be the same: “Find the universal need that your service provides for people and speak to that.” Usually, this means, “Tell potential clients how your service can help them make more money, have more free time, have better sex and get their dream job.” Ever notice how much coach-y and personal development programs focus on this in their marketing? If you haven’t yet, just keep an eye out and you’ll see what I mean.

This is where I take huge issue not only with “spiritual business coaches” (BARF) and marketing to these base-level needs, but also with the Hierarchy of Needs itself (and the way in which this plays out in social norms and expectations of the collective consciousness). How are we supposed to evolve as a global community if this is our psychological conditioning?

Let’s examine this graphic. This food-pyramid-esque image would lead one to believe that the most vital needs are physiological (I’m on board so far), but as we move up the pyramid, we notice that Self-Actualization occupies the little tiny triangle on top. In between are Safety (health, money, home), Love and Belonging (family, connection, community), and Esteem (respect, status, recognition). That’s where I take issue.

Based on the organization of this hierarchy, we can assume that the need of Self-Actualization can only be fulfilled once all tiers below it are fulfilled, and that needs should be addressed in ascending order.

This is total bullshit.

What happens if we treat Self-Actualization as conditional upon all these other things? What are we costing ourselves by saving it for last?

What people don’t understand is that Self-Actualization will help you satisfy all those other needs, and in a more authentic and fulfilling way. Maslow has it backwards.

Let’s look at a re-interpretation of the Hierarchy of Needs. Here, I re-imagined it from two perspectives: Shadow (unactualized) and Light (actualized). What do you notice about the Shadow and Light manifestations of these needs?

Let's look at an example "Shadow" life trajectory of someone who pursues these needs in a linear fashion, as indicated by Maslow's hierarchy.

Imagine this: someone spends the first thirty years of their life working their butt off to get a good job (Safety), gets married and has two kids before age 35 (Love and Belonging) and finally succeeds in getting promoted to the C-suite (Esteem). They then look around at their life for meaning, have an existential crisis because they don’t know who they are as a person, quit their job, divorce their spouse and go on a quest to “find themselves.” (Think I’m exaggerating? I can name a dozen personal acquaintances and clients off the top of my head who have lived some version of this story. I bet you know at least one person who has had this experience.)

Now you might be thinking, “Michelle, this perspective applies to a fairly privileged subset of society. What about other types of people?” Let’s look at this play out for someone else:

Imagine that our second person grew up in an unstable home environment. They live in an underserved community but they do their best to try to make sure their family has somewhere to live (Safety). Maybe they find community in the form of a gang or an abusive partner (Love and Belonging). They have a child before the age of 20, they struggle with substance abuse but they manage to hold it together enough to make ends meet and eventually secure a decent job (Esteem). …until it all comes crashing down around their ears, they think, “I can’t keep living like this,” have an existential crisis and lose everything. (Yes, I have had some of these people as my clients as well.)

Regardless of the path they took to get there, by the time these people find me, they are often in some state of desperation or dire straits in regards to their personal life path and purpose. They desire depth, meaning and fulfillment. They want their lives to be an authentic, positive contribution to the world. Above all, they want to come into the full expression of who they are as a whole person. And they know that any of these other external factors (home, relationship, career, reputation) won’t ever be fully whole, healthy and stable until they access the full potential of who they are.

Let's examine a "Light" life trajectory through the hierarchy of needs. Imagine now that both of our example people had had access to the idea of Self-Actualization as the primary question that informed the pursuit of these other needs. (Maybe they learned about it from family, or in school, or through other early influences.) Once the physiological needs are met, the next quests are a simultaneous investigation of Who am I?” (Self-Actualization) and “As I learn who I am, how does that version of myself live in the world?” (Safety). The pursuit of self-knowledge informs the journey to achieve safety, and vice-versa. This self-aware person may then pursue the needs of Love and Belonging as this emerging, whole Self. Then, when they achieve Esteem, it comes not from the place of ego-inflated-self-aggrandizement, but instead from genuine self-respect and integrity. This person has more authentic and healthy relationships, more fulfilling career, more genuine self-image and more potential for continued growth and harmonious existence. (In other words, they probably make more money, have more free time, have better sex and work their dream job.)

Maybe you recognize some part of your own path in these examples. What would have been different for you if you had given Self-Actualization just as much priority as these other needs? What could be different for you moving forward if you made Self-Actualization a true priority?

The problem is, most of us are spoon-fed so much social conditioning that tells us that Self-Actualization is a luxury, when in reality, it is the fundamental question of humanity: to know oneself. Instead of encouraging this investigation, our current social structures try to sell us the illusion of safety, love and status. But anyone who markets to the levels of Safety, Love and Belonging, and Esteem is preying on base-level human psychology. And if I told you that by participating in my I AM Alchemy course you would obtain these things, I would be blowing smoke up your ass. I can’t guarantee that for you, and I wouldn’t want to. No one can promise you that. Anyone who does is lying.

Instead, I can invite you to consider your true needs and motivation. Do you just want to make more money, or do you actually want to make more money by helping people with the true medicine of your own enlivened soul? Do you just want better sex, or do you actually want more authentic intimacy and respect with your partner that comes from knowing yourself deeply as a person, and being able to connect on that level? Do you just want more free time, or do you actually want more intentional space in your life for creating meaningful experiences that will nourish and uplift you and your family? Do you just want the “dream job” that looks good on paper, or do you actually want a career that challenges you to grow as a person, fulfill your life purpose and contribute positively to the planet?

Embody Wild won’t help you make more money, have better sex, have more free time or get your dream job.

But it will help you find out who you really are. It will teach you tools of self-inquiry, mastery and power. It will give you the space and freedom to discover the magic of your own soul and create your life according to the blueprint of your fully actualized Self.

Embody Wild is not a course for results-oriented people who want instant gratification. Embody Wild is instead a course for those who understand that there are no shortcuts to self-actualization, but that once you embark on this path, the world opens up before you and anything is possible. Embody Wild is for those who are ready to prioritize their own journey of meaning. Embody Wild won’t give you the answer to those other levels of need, but it will show you how to create it for yourself.

...and applications for Embody Wild are open now. If you're ready to see what Embody Wild holds for you, begin the process by submitting your application here.

Are you ready for self-actualization, which will give you the keys to everything else?

Many blessings,

Practice prompt:

Let's look again at this re-interpretation of the Hierarchy of Needs. Take a moment to consider your own life path and trajectory.

Without judgement, what do you notice about yourself and your patterns? How are you engaging with the Shadow and Light interpretations of these needs? What does that mean for your process of Self Actualization? Where do you see yourself in each of these areas?

Part of me was afraid to go to Avalon, and now I know why (plus pictures!)

I returned 90 days ago from a priestess pilgrimage to Avalon. Since then, in addition to massive growth and activation, my life has been completely upended in a few key areas. For these past three months, I’ve been sitting with rage, grief, betrayal, catharsis, purification, power and resilience.

…which is exactly what I was afraid of.

My first morning in Avalon--I awoke before sunrise with a sense of urgency to go up the Tor (the hill). I practically ran to the top and did qi gong as the sun rose orange and burned off the surrounding mist.

In case you’re not familiar with Avalon, it’s an ancient and sacred site in England, most well known in mythology relating to King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake. The Isle of Avalon corresponds to the contemporary town of Glastonbury, where there are many cherished sacred sites. I had been feeling the Soul Calling to travel to Avalon for well over a year. The circumstances of my trip were about as divinely aligned as one could imagine, and for months preceding my trip, I felt the energy building with power and possibility.

And yet, along with that sense of power and potential came fear. As I journaled in preparation for the pilgrimage, I found myself expressing trepidation and anxiety. The fear I felt wasn’t attached to any particular concern—I knew from my meditations and my guidance that this pilgrimage was part of a series of powerful initiations, and that I would receive incredible activations as part of my journey. But along with the knowledge of the activations that awaited me, a very human survival-level fear lurked in the background.

It’s a lot easier for me to look back now and understand what I felt at the time. As I was preparing to head into this powerful initiation portal, the part of me that felt afraid was the part of me that has been dying since that trip—the part of me that was burned to ash in my rage, dissolved in a pool of grief and slashed by the sharp blade of betrayal. That part has ultimately surrendered to catharsis.

Friend, have you ever experienced a Soul Calling that simultaneously thrilled and terrified you? Have you felt the raw power and potential that awaits you, but known that it comes at the cost of the life you used to lead? Have you known that, as you were choosing your own liberation, you were also choosing your own death?

I spent more time on the Tor than pretty much anywhere else in Avalon. Here I am after another sunrise practice. I also watched a couple of sunsets, went up a handful of times during the day, and twice after sunset to look at the stars.

I also spent a lot of time in the Chalice Well Gardens. This is the Chalice Well itself, which is connected to the Red Spring (one of the sacred springs of Avalon). I did several mornings of qi gong practice by the Lion's Head fountain in the gardens.

This is exactly the nature of the fear that I felt leading up to my trip. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my pilgrimage to Avalon was rooted in pure soul calling and resonance, but that by taking the trip, I would have to finally let go of one of the most significant aspects of my life. I knew that the initiations I received on this journey would offer me more power and freedom than I could consciously understand, but that I would also be choosing the death of my old self.

Friend, it has been a bumpy ride. This particular death cycle has primarily taken the form of an incredibly challenging breakup. The exact details aren’t important for this story, but suffice it to say that I have been witnessing with dumbfounded amazement the perfect shitstorm that is continuing to unfold even as we speak. Every time I think the situation has bottomed out, the bottom drops again.

It. Fucking. Sucks.

…but in addition to the massive suck-age and heartache, I am also present to the cosmic perfection of it all. My former partner and I were together for two years, despite knowing that we weren’t each other’s people. We figured out very early on in our relationship that we wanted different things and had different visions for our lives, but decided to journey together anyway out of our mutual love and appreciation, and the growth that was available to us even as not-forever-partners. We each became the go-to person for the other. We built a life together that was rich, beautiful and fun. We were in love, and it was good.
But it wasn’t right, and we both knew it. In fact, we both knew it for more than a year before we finally separated in September.

Looking back now, I can easily see that the fear I felt before going to Avalon came from the part of me that knew it would not survive the journey. The version of me in the not-right partnership, the life I had built with someone I loved and was unwilling to leave: that was the part that felt afraid and resistant. That part of me knew that the initiations I would receive on the pilgrimage would shift me out of alignment with staying in that relationship. I knew that going to Avalon and walking through that portal would mean the end of that chapter of my life.

And just three short weeks after arriving back from Avalon, it all came crashing down in a non-negotiable, can’t-possibly-ignore, what-the-fuck-is-happening, shitstorm that I have been processing and integrating since the beginning of September.

Even though the aftermath of my Avalon trip looks for all intents and purposes like total destruction, entering that initiation portal was one of the most powerful choices I have ever made, and I have no regrets. Even though it has meant the death of my relationship (along with many other connected parts of my identity and life structure) and the continued processing of uncomfortable feelings and shitty circumstances, I am glad I chose that path. Remember the rage, grief, betrayal and catharsis I mentioned earlier? Even though these energies have challenged me to my core, they have been vitally important to the process, because they gave me the perfect fodder to alchemize into true power and resilience. I am blowing my own mind every day with who I am becoming and what I am capable of.

My group had private access to Stonehenge on the last day of the pilgrimage.

Just as I’m experiencing the 3D “whiplash” in response to massive energetic expansion, this Soul Calling has also paved the way for massive growth in other areas. My energetic mastery, psychic perception and attunement to the subtle levels is off the charts. Aside from the relationship blowup, my return from Avalon has included many creative and fruitful projects. I have also begun to refine my work with Dragons and work with higher-vibration practices. My physical body feels more healthy and vital, my community connections are flourishing and I have been invited to share my work in new and exciting places.

I have shared very little about my Avalon trip (it’s obviously still landing and integrating), but it felt important to share with you about the ripple effects of an activation experience. (Side note: did you catch the episode of Shaman Sister Sessions that went out two weeks ago? It was about Soul Activations, and it is directly related to our topic for today. Check it out here.) In particular, I wanted to share this with you because I know I’m not alone when it comes to feeling fear around a soul calling.

Friend, I bet you can relate. Maybe you’ve had an experience like mine, where you feel the power and potential leading up to an initiation experience, knowing that part of you will die in the process, but you choose it anyway. Or maybe you have felt the power and potential emanating from a soul calling, but you haven’t answered it because the cost seems too great. Maybe you’re afraid to let that part of yourself die, so you have yet to step through the initiation portal that awaits you.

I am here to tell you that you will be okay. I promise. It might not seem like it, and believe me, I’ve heard all the objections. Their Soul Calling will lead them to this lineage and body of knowledge, but when it comes time to commit to their journey, their hidden fears come up. When we dig deeper and finally get to the root of it, they say things like, “I’m afraid my marriage won’t survive,” or, “I’m afraid I’ll lose my friends and family because they won’t understand me,” or, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep putting up with what I have been tolerating,” or, “I’m afraid because I don’t know who I’ll be if I say yes to that level of growth.” Essentially, all of these people fear the same thing: the death of their old Self.

What about you? What Soul Calling is inviting you to step through a powerful initiation portal, and at what cost? What liberation, power and potential awaits you as you surrender your past self to death?

Are you willing to let yourself die in order to grow and be reborn? Are you willing to shift out of alignment with everything that doesn’t serve you anymore, so you can create more of what does?

It may not be comfortable, but I promise, it’s worth it.

And if your Soul Calling is asking you to step into the initiation portal of Embody Wild, I invite you to answer the call. What growth, expansion and rebirth waits for you on the other side?

If you're ready to see what Embody Wild holds for you, begin the process by submitting your application here.

Your Soul Calling is waiting for you. What do you need to do to answer it?

Many blessings,

Inspiration

While at Stonehenge, I had several visions, past life memories and revisited soul agreements. This was one of the places where I passed through a major initiation portal.

Can you see the double rainbow? I took this picture on my last evening in Avalon after a torrential rainstorm. I climbed Wearyall hill to get a look at the Tor and was treated to this powerful sight.