6 Things I Do with Every Client

No matter what energetic skill level and capacity a client has when they come to work with me one on one, we end up working on these 6 fundamentals, and it universally makes a huge difference.

I have shared some form of this framework with almost every single private mentorship client for the last few years--people who are newer on the path and get overwhelmed going to the grocery store, people who have some energetic tools but maybe not everything they need, and even well-established practitioners who may have a blind spot about something fundamental to their practice.

The reason these 6 things are so beneficial and universally applicable is because these are the Foundations of Energetic Mastery.

These 6 things build the solid foundation of your energy practice.

These 6 things make all the "fancy" work possible. These are essential skills for things like channeling and mediumship, shamanic extractions and soul retrieval.

These 6 things will save your butt when you feel overwhelmed, depleted and stressed out.

These 6 things will bring you back to center when things in your life go sideways and you're too distracted to channel the angels for guidance.

These 6 things are deceptively simple, but simple is effective.

A lot of people who already have some training in energy work think they have the fundamentals mastered, but then I show them these 6 things and their eyes go wide. They say, "No one has ever explained it to me like that before. I didn't know I could do that. That makes so much sense. Will you please teach me how?"

Here are the 6 things:

The Foundations of Energetic Mastery

1. Awareness

This is the foundational skill that makes all the other pieces possible. Your awareness is your ability to sense and assess your body and etheric field, to discern what energy is yours and what is not, as well as to determine the presence, location and other relevant information regarding blockages or interferences in your body and energy field. Your awareness is your ability to direct and project your consciousness like a voluntary muscle. Your awareness is foundational to your energetic regulation and radiance.

2. Clearing

Clearing is your ability to release and send away any energy that is not yours, or things that are yours that you don't need anymore. Clearing releases hidden and trapped emotional residue, old karmic patterning and soul blueprints, trauma and traumatic imprints, energetic parasites and psychic implants, stagnation, other people's energy, and more.

3. Grounding

Grounding enables presence. Grounding helps you anchor your consciousness firmly into your bioform, the cells in your body, and to Gaia. Grounding is your ability to be stable and resourced in your presence, and to call upon the aliveness in your body and the Earth.

4. Centering

Centering brings you back home to yourself. This practice calls all parts of your Self, your energy and your attention back to wholeness with you. Centering is also where soul retrieval comes in to support healing from soul loss and fragmentation.

5. Cultivation

Cultivation brings in energy from Earth, the Heavens and Source to increase the amount of energy in your field, as well as your capacity to hold it. Cultivation practices give you radiant aliveness, raise your vibration, support thriving health and well-being and enable you to practice high-demand energy work like incorporation mediumship.

6. Protection

Finally, Protection acts as a semi-permeable membrane to help you conserve your energy and regulate yourself efficiently. A lot of people think it's important to start with Protection, but this is actually the final step.

In which of these 6 things are you most confident? Which one feels the most challenging to you?

Do you want help with this in your own practice?

I've got you covered!

Get Support:

Are you ready for support with the Foundations of Energetic Mastery?

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

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?

Energetic Regulation is Not Just for Empaths

...it's for anyone who wants to understand their own energy and cultivate an empowered personal practice. Do you know anyone who needs that?

We might think our personal practice supports us fully, but in my 15+ years of training and work, I've found that one key area is missing from most people's practice, and that essential component is Energetic Regulation. Being able to regulate our energies directly affects our health and well-being on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels, and is usually overlooked in most forms of personal practice.

What is Energetic Regulation?

Even if you have some idea of how energy works or have even studied healing work, Energetic Regulation may not be a part of your practice. Energetic Regulation is both the practice of long-term energetic maintenance, and identifying specific imbalances in your personal energy field and making appropriate adjustments using the 4 Keys of Energetic Regulation.

When your energy is regulated, your energy body is fully online and empowered.

What would be possible for you if your energy were fully Empowered? Do you know what that feels like?

We live in a world where, for the most part, our energies are out of balance and not fully empowered. We walk on concrete, drive around in cars, talk on phones, stare at screens and eat processed food. We may interface with people who are angry, frustrated, unhealthy and out of balance. The more unbalanced we are, the more support we need to regulate and empower our energies!

Needing to regulate your energy doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong. Regulating your energy is a necessary maintenance that supports your health and well-being on the physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual levels.

If you need to regulate your energy, you might:

• Feel depleted, tired, fatigued or drained

• Feel anxious, scattered, having trouble focusing or making decisions

• Be more likely to take on other people’s energy, feel angry or depressed

• Feel like you’re “stuck in your head,” disconnected from your body and your heart

• Have trouble connecting with others, not able to access your intuition

• Feel overwhelmed, insecure, or want to “check out”

• Have a strong personal practice and generally feel good, but like there's something "off" and you're not sure what

Your Energy Body, Empowered!

Good news! If you’re feeling any of those things above, that’s totally normal because of the world we live in. Even better news: there’s a simple solution, and that’s what this training is all about! Using regulation practices to maintain a healthy energy body is a life-long practice that requires awareness and commitment. Just like any other skill, the more you practice, the easier and more effortless it becomes. When you clear, ground, cultivate and protect your energies, you might:

• Feel energized, rested, resourced and comfortable

• Feel more confident, secure, focused and stable

• Feel more physical health and vitality

• Experience better sleep and relaxation

• Have healthy boundaries, feel happier and connect more easily with others

• Have a healthy connection with your body and your emotions

• Develop a healthy connection with your intuition

• Feel capable, alert and engaged in your life

• Have greater capacity to support your clients and people in your life

How would it feel if you had the tools and resources to build an Empowered foundation for your personal energy and your practice? What difference would it make for you if you understood how to regulate your energy field? How would it help you feel more empowered in your life, and enable you to show up more fully?

What would be possible for you if your energy were fully Empowered?

Whether you are an existing or aspiring practitioner, healer or coach, or whether you want to spend 12 months walking the Alchemist path as part of your personal journey of Self Mastery... if you want to bring practical application of real-time magic and alignment with Universal forces of creation to your life, I AM Alchemy is for you.

Are you ready to go from being "just another healer" to a Fully Empowered Master of Transformation?

Apply now for I AM Alchemy 2020!

7 Keys for Mastering Your Craft

What does it mean to Master Your Craft?

How do you know when you have?

Whether or not you're currently a practitioner (healer, bodyworker, yoga teacher, coach, naturopath, etc), we all have a craft. And I know, since you're here, that you have a vision for what is possible by mastering your craft.

One of the biggest fallacies I have seen over and over in my practice (and one that I have been guilty of, myself) is one that continues to plague the Spiritual and self-development community. And it drives me effing bonkers.

Maybe you know someone like this. Maybe you've been in this position, too! Either way, I share this with you because I believe it's one of the most fundamental components for any practitioner. The fallacy is this: many people try to master their craft without the internal process of mastering themselves.

I've shared articles with you before about the path of Self Mastery and its implications on our personal and professional lives. In fact, I designed a year-long intensive training course that helps empowered practitioners master their Craft by mastering themSelves. If you want to trust yourself as a practitioner, feel confident in your intuitive gifts and your service, build a thriving practice that supports your life and create the biggest possible impact for your clients and for the world...

Turn your energies inward.

Come home to yourself.

Master your craft by mastering your Self.
 

How do we do this, exactly? What do Masterful Practitioners have in common?

Funny you should ask! I wrote a guide for you that answers that very question:
7 Keys for Mastering Your Craft. (Don't let the name fool you--it's all about Self-Mastery.) This guide offers 7 things that all Masterful Practitioners incorporate into their practice, as well as journal and meditation prompts for you so you can incorporate them into your own practice!

Scroll down for the guide. Happy integration!

Many blessings,

7 Keys for Mastering Your Craft

Strong and Consistent Personal Practice

In order for them to be effective and powerful in their work, masterful practitioners know that they must cultivate health and vitality in all areas of their life: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Personal practice serves as a microcosm for the rest of our lives, and masterful practitioners prioritize their personal practice so they can successfully support their own energies as well as their clients.

Journal/meditation prompt: What do I do every day that supports my health and vitality? What specifically does this practice do for my body, my mind, my heart and my spirit? What fills me up the most?
 

Radical Self Awareness and Continual Inquiry

Masterful practitioners know themselves from the inside out, and they know that there is no “arrival.” We are never “done” our process of actualization and development—the best way to support our clients and be effective changemakers in the world is to remain in close contact with our own process so we can ensure that we’re showing up authentically, fully and clearly.

Journal/meditation prompt: Tune in with the subtleties of your body and your energy field. What do you notice? Are there any hidden, trapped emotions or beliefs that show up? How can you create space to get to “know yourself” and who you are becoming every day?
 

Self-Trust

This is different from blind faith or confidence: masterful practitioners trust themselves because they know themselves well (see previous point) and have lived experience of their own capability, capacity and resourcefulness. Even if the circumstance is new, masterful practitioners trust themselves to call upon their reservoirs of self-awareness and life experience to effectively navigate the situation.

Journal/meditation prompt: State the affirmation, “I trust myself completely.” As you do so, notice what sensations or emotions arise for you. Ask yourself, in what ways do I trust myself? In what ways do I not trust myself? How do I relate to self-trust? How do I want to embody self-trust?
 

Congruence

The way we do something is the way we do everything. Masterful practitioners embody congruence, meaning that all areas of their life and practice exhibit consistent traits and principles. A non-congruent practitioner might teach nutrition and self-care, but go home every night to binge on sugar and television. A congruent practitioner fully embodies and aligns with their practice in all areas.

Journal/meditation prompt: How am I embodying and aligning with my practice every day? In what areas am I congruent? In what areas am I incongruent? What action steps do I need to take in order to come into congruent alignment?
 

Practice is Fully Grounded and Integrated

Masterful practitioners have a seemingly effortless relationship with their practice. Their work seems to flow through and from them, as an extension of their very being. This “effortlessness” actually comes from having processed and integrated their work so deeply that every cell, every facet of consciousness and every action aligns with their practice. This energy and wisdom live fully in their body, and they draw upon it without having to think about it.

Journal/meditation prompt: How have I integrated and grounded my work? To what extent is my practice fully embodied? What remains to be integrated? What steps do I need to take to ground in my work?
 

Less Is More

Have you ever been around a practitioner who simply seems to help you feel brighter by their mere presence? The energies are subtle, words are few and precise, but incredibly effective. Masterful practitioners know that less is more: they do less and have more impact. By filling a session with doing, there is less room for being. Masterful practitioners know that true healing and growth
happens in the spaces between doing, and create plenty of room for being.

Journal/meditation prompt: What is my relationship to doing? What is my relationship to being? How can I do less in order to be more effective and have more impact?
 

Healthy Relationship with Shadow

All Lightworkers must have a healthy, grounded relationship with Shadow as a sacred ally. Masterful practitioners know that “negative” emotions and energies are neither good nor bad, but merely represent one polarity of the spectrum. Instead of demonizing the Shadow, masterful practitioners welcome it as a valued teacher. They have an active working partnership with Death and the Sacred Destroyer, and know that Shadow may also work in service to love.

Journal/meditation prompt: What is my relationship to Shadow? What does this say about me? How do I want to relate to Shadow? How is Shadow an ally in my life and practice?

Are you ready to go from being "just another healer" to a fully empowered Master of Transformation?
>>>Apply now for I AM Alchemy 2020!

Walking the Path

"Go big, or go home!"

"No pain, no gain!"

We're all familiar with these statements, and others that also glorify intensity, drama and suffering. I definitely used to be a member of the Harder/Better/Faster/Stronger camp. I think it was a combination of my desire for efficiency, my highly competitive nature and the need to receive instant gratification in knowing that my efforts had achieved some immediately measurable result.

It took me an embarrassingly long time (until around 2015 or so), but I finally learned that healing doesn't work that way. (Facepalm.) In many ways, I almost felt exempt from the Universal Laws of subtle energy movements—see aforementioned competitive nature. "If anyone can heal overnight, it's me! I'll just do this one big ritual and I'll be good!" Then Spirit would kick my butt in some form or another and I would be forced to slow down, work on the subtleties and not try to rush anything or create some grand Hail Mary healing gesture.

There were times when I was moving through deep healing crisis, and the only thing I could do to work on myself was some mini personal practice, but I committed to doing it every day. One of the most gratifying examples of this took place in 2015 as I experienced the trials of the Portland housing market and had no idea where I was going to live. During that time, I received a healing session, and the practitioner told me that my Root Chakra was almost entirely shut down. I remember thinking, "That can't be right. I'm very grounded." But as I considered this information, I realized that I hadn't adjusted my personal practices to accommodate the destabilization I felt from losing my home. I silently promised myself in that moment to work on my Root Chakra and my sense of safety every day, even if only for five minutes.

When I saw this healer again a month later, she noted that my Root Chakra was not only fully back online, but huge! Also, all of my other Chakras were more balanced and aligned because of the work I had been doing on my Root Chakra alone. Aside from the measurable difference in my energy field, I felt emotionally safer and I was more secure and confident, despite the upheaval in my living situation. I had worked every day for a few minutes on internalizing my sense of safety, rather than having my safety be dependent on external circumstances, and it had profound effects on my energy body and personal well-being.

I realized, after grasping the enormous value of subtlety and consistency (especially in personal practice), that I was not the only person who believed that healing needed to be a dramatic, grand-gesture experience. In a later conversation with a friend of mine, we got around to talking about energy clearing. I perceived that his field was a bit "dusty" and asked him what he did for a clearing practice. "You mean like a sweat lodge?" He asked. I answered that a sweat lodge was a good way to do some bigger clearing, but asked again what he did every day for himself. "Oh. Nothing," he answered. At this point Spirit started poking me with a very direct message, so I asked him, "Do you believe that subtle daily practices actually work?" He looked a bit taken aback as he thought for a moment, then, almost sheepishly, answered, "I guess not."

We all like magic fixes. We like thinking that there's one golden gem of a ritual or practice that we can bring in to clean up our energies and erase all the wounds. That's why there are so many "Intensives" out there in the healing and coaching world. There are plenty of retreats, ceremonies and other ways to experience a supercharged dose of healing. There is absolutely incredible value in dropping into your process and doing nothing else for one day, three days, five days, a week, or longer, but unless your awareness of the subtleties and your established personal practice is there to back it up, it is not sustainable and the energies won't stick around. While much less sexy, the subtle consistency of your daily personal practice is going to be the thing that saves your butt and creates the solid foundation for all other healing work to take place.

I guarantee you that the subtle work that you do every single day will be one of your greatest tools. This is what will allow you to become intimately acquainted with your energies, your process, your intuition and help you cultivate a strong energetic foundation. It is this foundation that will provide a clear container for whatever intensive healing, magic, coaching or ceremonial work you do, and give you a place to channel that infusion of new energy. One of the things I tell my clients (have you and I had this conversation?) is, "Doing a subtle practice two minutes every day for 30 days is more powerful than doing one hour of practice once a month."

How can you harness your own power of subtlety? Check this out:
 

A Personal Practice Primer
for Lightworkers

Congratulations! You're ready to develop or enhance your subtle personal practice. Here are some things to consider:

• Support: it's a good idea to receive some support in the form of healing work or mentorship to help you determine the best direction for your personal practice. (Want support? Let's talk!)

• Time: how much time can you commit every day to this practice? I tell my clients to choose something in the range of 2 minutes to 1 hour. Choose the amount of time that you confidently feel you can commit to every single day. If there are some days where you do more than that, that's great! But at very least, you are setting aside that minimum amount of time.

• Intention: what is the goal of your practice? What would you like your practice to help you do? If your goal is to use your practice to establish strong boundaries, you will likely need a different practice than if you wanted to cultivate your intuition.

• The practice itself: what are you actually doing during that timeframe? In addition to your intention, part of what dictates your practice is the amount of time you allot. For example, if you give yourself an hour, that's enough time for some journaling, breathing meditation, embodiment practices and affirmations. If you give yourself 10 minutes, maybe a brief visualization and affirmation practice would be more appropriate. If you give yourself two minutes, you can create a brief, but rich practice of silence, gratitude and simply being present in your body.

Here are some suggestions of a few things that you might want to consider weaving into your personal practice:

• Self-healing work (energy healing, Reiki, chakra balance)

• Breathwork

• Meditation (visualization, mindfulness, Shamanic journey)

• Gratitude

• Affirmations

• Journaling

• Embodiment practice (exercise, walking, gentle movement, stretching, yoga)

• Silence

• Gardening

• Artwork or creative process

It's also important to change up your personal practice every now and then so it doesn't become stagnant. But for now, just pick something and stick with it!

Applications for I AM Alchemy are now open. Calling all Lightworkers! Whether you are an existing or aspiring practitioner, healer or coach, or whether you want to spend 12 months walking the Alchemist path as part of your personal journey of Self Mastery... if you want to bring practical application of real-time magic and alignment with Universal forces of creation to your life, I AM Alchemy is for you.

Journal/Meditation Prompts:
 

What is my Personal Practice? How do I feel about it? What does it do for me? What do I want my Personal Practice to do for me? What changes can I make to achieve this?

Cycles of Power: Winter

Cycles of Power

Many people view time and energy as a linear trajectory: we experience a series of sequential events and threads that make up our lives. In reality, time and energy function much less like a line and more like a spiral. Energy naturally fluctuates, and as the saying goes, what goes up must come down (and go up again, and so on), following the Universal Law of expansion and contraction.

By bringing awareness to the cyclical nature of energetic movement and our own cycles of power, we learn to align our own personal energies in the most effective and efficient way with cycles of power that exist outside of us. Think about it like a current: it is much easier to swim with the current than against it. Swimming against the current is inefficient, tiring and you have little to show for your exertion. Working with Cycles of Power is like learning to swim with the current at all times—less work for you, greater results and you get to enjoy the ride.

In this case, we’re working with the Cycles of Power that we witness in the change of seasons. Shamanic tradition teaches us that each season has its own suite of associated energies. These seasonal signatures offer us clues as to how we can align our own energies to effectively “swim with the current.” Let's take a look at what Winter energy holds:
 

Seasonal Signatures of Winter

• Energy: Yin

• Direction: North

• Signatures: Silence, stillness, rest, hibernation, integration

• Guides: Animals of “structure” (such as Bear and Elk) and strong Tribe (such as Wolf)

Autumn asked us to harvest the seeds we planted and begin the journey inward, and Winter asks us to fully arrive home within ourselves to rest and replenish our energies. Consider the fields in Winter: the crops have been harvested, the soil turned under and left to rest until Spring. This is the season to offer that to ourselves so that we can fully integrate the energies of the year and be ready for the next Spring. Here are some ways you can orient yourself to Winter magic:

Aligning to the Cycle of Power of Winter

• Sleep more than you would any other time of year--how much does your body actually want to sleep? How can you include more rest in your day?

• If you default to listening to music in the background, try turning it off and tuning in to the silence.

• Even if you have an active personal practice (exercise, moving meditation, etc) add in a few moments of stillness. Maybe include an extended Shavasana in your yoga practice, or shift your movement practice in a more Yin direction. Restorative yoga, Yin forms of Qi Gong, stretching and rolling out your body are great for this season.

• Take a moment to review your year. Winter is the time of integration--what needs to be processed from 2018? (Stay tuned for a special Solstice article from me for more tools on this!)

• The guides of Winter orient our energies to hibernation, structure and Tribe. Consider hosting or attending intimate gatherings to share stories and build connection.

I invite you to take some time before the Solstice on Saturday to sit with your intentions for Winter. See below for some helpful journal prompts!

Applications for I AM Alchemy are now open. Calling all Lightworkers! Whether you are an existing or aspiring practitioner, healer or coach, or whether you want to spend 12 months walking the Alchemist path as part of your personal journey of Self Mastery... if you want to bring practical application of real-time magic and alignment with Universal forces of creation to your life, I AM Alchemy is for you.

Many blessings,

Journal Prompts:

• What do I notice as I turn my energy fully inward? How does it feel to fully "arrive" in myself?

• What is my relationship to stillness? Where is my life asking for more stillness? What does that look like?

• What in my life needs rest? What needs to be restored or repaired?

• How am I engaging with my Tribe? How would I like to engage with my Tribe?

I invite you to journal for 3-5 minutes on each prompt, and allow yourself to slow down and tune in. Take some space on Friday to honor this process and allow yourself to fully arrive in your own Winter!

Access Your Inner Master Creator

Creatorship: active participation in the natural cycles of Universal energy, from a place of fully empowered BE-ing.

Creation is the natural order of energy. Cycles of creation and destruction hold a healthy, harmonious balance of flow in the world. We see this phenomenon in the cycles of the seasons, in nutrient cycling in nature, in the phases of the moon… you get the idea.

Natural Cycles

Often, when we think about the process of creation, we call to mind the idea of “making something out of nothing.” However, as we know from the first law of thermodynamics (also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy), energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but rather, energy can only be transferred or transformed. Thus, creation originates not from nothing, but from recycling, reorganizing and reforming energy that was already in existence into a different vibration.

Your Active Participation

Universal energy is an infinite source with a will and life force of its own. Since we ourselves are made from this energy, we already have the right and full access to work with life force energy. However, one may ask, “If Universal energy has a will and life force of its own, why is my active participation required?” This is where I’ll insert a tiny rant about Bliss Ninnies. There are people (I’m sure you know someone like this, or know of people like this) who have taken the passive approach to life. They have determined that the Universe has a will of its own and that all things move in accordance with this will, and they have stopped there. Some things these people commonly say include, “Everything is perfect,” “I’m just going with the flow,” and “The Universe will provide, man.”

You may also notice that these people are remarkably ineffective at creating change in their own lives, usually hold a lot of stagnant energy and tend to have poor boundaries.

And yet, they’re not totally wrong, they’ve just taken the passive approach. Let’s examine these statements from the active perspective:

“Everything is perfect, because everything is Source, and I am a perfect embodiment of that same Source.”

“I am consciously moving and aligning with the flow of Divine will.”

“I am clear and empowered in my intentions and desires and the Universe is answering my prayers and providing for me, always.”

What is the difference between these two approaches? Mostly, it’s as simple as paying attention. Your active participation in the cycles of creation is a gift and an invitation. You are always at choice. However, keep in mind that your choice not to participate as an active co-creator of your life and of the world is also a clear intention that will be answered in its own way. Better to show up and take an active role.

Fully Empowered BE-ing

The good news is, taking an active role in the creation of our lives and of the world is usually simpler than we think. Put very plainly:

There is nothing that you have to do, other than be who you are.

But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. Assuming your place as Master Creator of your existence requires you to claim your fully actualized, empowered state as a Divine Embodied Being. It requires that you remember fully your own Divine origins, remember that you have the right and the privilege to come to Earth to play and learn, and that you have chosen to be here in this body, for this reason.

In other words, mastering the cycles of creation isn’t really about doing anything at all. Rather, it’s about remembering who you are and letting that knowledge spread through every cell of your body and every facet of your consciousness, until your mastery of Creatorship is inevitable.

If you are ready to access your inner Master Creator, then I AM Alchemy is right for you. If you are ready to align with the natural cycles of Universal energy... If you are ready to show up in active participation to collaborate with Spirit in more magic than you ever thought possible... If you are ready to remember who you are and come into the full expression of your Self as a Divine Embodied Being...

Apply now for I AM Alchemy 2020

Meditation prompt:

What would I like to create in my own life and in the world? How can I participate actively in aligning with this frequency through my BE-ing?

Wu-wei: the Art of "Not Doing"

This week, I am taking space for... "not doing."

One of the recent practices I've been playing with is the Taoist philosophy of wu-wei, which translates to "not doing," "not forcing," or "not striving."

This idea reminds me of something I heard from my Reiki master during a class many years ago: she said that Western society tells us, "Don't just sit there, do something!" Meanwhile, Reiki philosophy tells us, "Don't just do something, sit there!" We are taught to value action--even action undirected, merely for the sake of doing something--over taking a moment to sit and be present, without trying to exert or enforce ourselves on a situation.

The concept of wu-wei is not about being passive or sitting around. In fact, it is a very active principle. However, rather than channeling energy in the direction of what "should" or "shouldn't" be happening, the person practicing the art of wu-wei is simply noticing what is happening in present time, without trying to assert or impose their will upon the situation. Instead, this radical presence creates space to notice where energy is naturally flowing. If we accept that all things naturally move toward harmony and we ourselves are aligned with the vibration of harmony, following the natural current of energy in a situation will eventually lead to a harmonious outcome. Wu-wei demands that we release any attachment to the outcome of a situation while simultaneously being present in a state of heart-centered allowing.

Are you still with me?

I did a lot of "doing," "pushing" and "striving" this summer. On one hand, I got a lot done and learned massive lessons about sustainability, allocation of energy and how I want my life and my business to run. On the other hand, I worked myself into a state of depletion and overwhelm. Admittedly, elements of this were out of my hands. However, I ultimately had the biggest part to play in taking on more than was strictly healthy for my schedule and energy capacity.

Enter wu-wei.

In assessing where I can make improvements to ensure that I don't make the same mistake again, one of my solutions involved blocking off at least one week out of every month through January of next year where I do not take clients. These allocated weeks in my schedule will be a combination of deep rest (actual days off in addition to my normal days off, time to rest and recharge), deep work (dedicated days of working in my business as opposed to on my business) and deep listening. This last one is the most important.

During these times of deep listening, I am committed to quieting the outside noise, turning off my phone and being radically present in noticing the natural currents of energy in my body, my heart and my life. Knowing that I am aligned with harmony and that all energies naturally move in that direction, when I create space for noticing, I may follow my natural flow into harmony.

When I am "not doing," I may practice radical attention. When I am "not forcing," I may be in deep allowing. When I am "not striving," I may dance and flow with the natural currents of health, vitality and joy.

This is one of those weeks! I am delighted to see what will come out of these days of deep rest, deep work and deep listening. I promise to keep you posted on this little experiment of mine, and of course, you are invited to join me if you like!

Also this teaching comes from I AM Alchemy, and how to work with allowing energies to flow through you rather than "making" it happen.

Want to know more? Apply now for I AM Alchemy 2020

Many blessings,

Journal prompt:

Where in my life am I taking action simply for the sake of acting? Where am I "doing," "forcing" and "striving?" How is that serving me? How is it not serving me?

Where in my life can I practice wu-wei?
How can that serve me?

The Medicine of Space

When we create spaciousness for ourselves, we can relax into BEing and presence. We can expand to fully embody all parts of ourselves. We can be as big as we actually are. We can welcome in new energies and remain balanced through dynamic shifts.

I’ve been keeping relatively quiet for the past couple of months as I sit with some very significant changes that are coming up in my life and my work. I won’t go into too much detail now as it is still crystalizing, but suffice it to say that everything (one-on-one work, teaching, programs, etc) is getting an overhaul. The way that I am moving through it with a greater degree of ease and grace than I could otherwise is... spaciousness.

Even so, the overhaul has brought on some anxiety. The inner voices share their doubts:

“Am I committing entrepreneurial suicide by switching up my offerings all the time?”
“What the heck do I think I’m doing?”
“Am I kidding myself?”
“What if this is way too far out for people? What if nobody is ready for this? What if nobody gets it?”
“How can I make all these massive changes without shooting myself in the foot?”

Those are some of the highlights, but you get the idea.

I just returned from a week-long trip to Sedona, AZ, where I experienced a great deal of new energy and catalysts, set some changes in motion and received some profound medicine. One of the highlights was a visit to the Grand Canyon.

I had never been to this particular sacred site before, and as I approached the canyon rim, I felt myself start to tear up. I could feel the energy swelling up out of the exposed layers—ancient and constant in its power. Moved beyond words, I wandered off by myself to stand on a cliff edge and feel the potent waves course through my body. The Grand Canyon is a giant portal, and the amount of raw power and potential held within each grain of sand is palpable.

“This is the kind of healer I want to be. I want to be this spacious, this ancient, this solid, yet mutable.”

As these realizations formed in my mind, I felt myself expand enough to accommodate the Grand Canyon within my energy field.

“I AM this spacious. I AM this ancient. I AM this solid, this mutable.”

No matter the direction my work takes from here, the kind of space I hold for myself and for others is that deep. The kind of container I set for transformation is that wide.

I sat down to write in my journal, tears continuing to blur my vision. I had no idea what I was writing, and only discovered after I read it later that night that I had written a declaration—a prayer to the Grand Canyon herself:

I AM big enough to hold you.

I AM strong enough to serve you.

I AM patient enough to learn from you—the lessons in each stone and grain of sand.

I AM ancient enough to remember you as flat, scorched Earth that gave off the sharp tang scent of new metal, fresh from the fire.

I AM small enough to curl myself into each pore in your cavernous walls… tiny wombs where crystals and magic are born.

I AM quiet enough to hear the stories that have been buried in your layers for aeons rise up as they are freed by matter dissolving into air.

I AM raw enough to feel the currents of wind stirred by Raven’s wing.

I AM humble enough to kneel here, to know that I have died here and to surrender my bones to you to compost into soil.

I AM embodied enough to feel that you are big enough to hold me.

I AM wild enough to want to scream and chant and howl and sing and fill your canyons with my prayers, but subtle enough to know that a whisper will suffice.

I know that there is space for you in my bones, in my cells. I feel my body drinking in your familiar magic. Make me ancient. Help me remember. Support me in crumbling away all the surface layers to reveal the parts of me that were present for the birth of this and other worlds. Instruct me in how I may better serve. Teach me the ways of timeless presence. I fill myself with you. I AM reverence. There is no room here for anything but the Truth. I see my blood on your walls. Let me lie here and dissolve.

This is the kind of spacious timelessness that constitutes the Void. In this reality, no healing work is needed because nothing needs to be “healed.” There is no need to fix, to change, to alter or adjust. There is only BEing and presence.

Within that spaciousness, all things are possible. When I hold the medicine of the Grand Canyon in my body, the doubting voices immediately become silent.

I invite you to examine where you can breathe more spaciousness into your life. In what ways can you allow more BEing and presence?

Many blessings!

The Power of Subtlety

"Go big, or go home!"

"No pain, no gain!"

We're all familiar with these statements, and others that also glorify intensity, drama and suffering. I definitely used to be a member of the Harder/Better/Faster/Stronger camp. I think it was a combination of my desire for efficiency, my highly competitive nature and the need to receive instant gratification in knowing that my efforts had achieved some immediately measurable result.

It took me an embarrassingly long time, but I finally learned that healing doesn't work that way. In many ways, I almost felt exempt from the Universal Laws of subtle energy movements. See aforementioned competitive nature. "If anyone can heal overnight, it's me! I'll just do this one big ritual and I'll be good!" Then Spirit would kick my ass in some form or another and I would be forced to slow down, work on the subtleties and not try to rush anything or create some grand Hail Mary healing gesture.

There were times when I was moving through deep healing crisis, and the only thing I could do to work on myself was some mini personal practice, but I committed to doing it every day. One of the most gratifying examples of this took place a couple of years ago as I experienced the trials of the Portland housing market and had no idea where I was going to live. During a healing session, the practitioner told me that my root chakra was almost entirely shut down. I remember thinking, "That can't be right. I'm very grounded." But as I considered this information, I realized that I hadn't adjusted my personal practices to accommodate the destabilization I felt from losing my home. I silently promised myself in that moment to work on my root chakra and my sense of safety every day, even if only for five minutes.

When I saw this healer again a couple of months later, she noted that my root chakra was not only fully back online, but huge! Also, all of my other chakras were more balanced and aligned because of the work I had been doing on my root chakra alone. Aside from the measurable difference in my energy field, I emotionally felt safer, more secure and confident, despite the upheaval in my living situation. I had worked every day for a few minutes on internalizing my sense of safety, rather than having my safety be dependent on external circumstances.

I share this story about subtle personal practice right now because this exact phenomenon is coming up for many of my clients and people in my immediate surroundings. I have had more discussions about subtle personal practices in the last couple of weeks than I have ever had in my life.

In a conversation with a friend of mine last week, we got around to talking about energy clearing. I perceived that his field was a bit "dusty" and asked him what he did for a clearing practice. "You mean like a sweat lodge?" He asked. I answered that a sweat lodge was a good way to do some bigger clearing, but asked again what he did every day for himself. "Oh. Nothing," he answered. At this point Spirit started poking me with a very direct message, so I asked him, "Do you believe that subtle daily practices actually work?" He looked a bit taken aback as he thought for a moment, then, almost sheepishly, answered, "I guess not."

We all like magic fixes. We like thinking that there's one golden gem of a ritual or practice that we can bring in to clean up our energies and erase all the wounds. That's why there are so many "Intensives" out there in the healing and coaching world. There are plenty of retreats, ceremonies and other ways to experience a supercharged dose of healing. There is absolutely incredible value in dropping into your process and doing nothing else for one day, three days, five days, a week, but unless your awareness of the subtleties and your established personal practice is there to back it up, it is not sustainable and the energies won't stick around. While much less sexy, the subtle consistency of your daily personal practice is going to be the thing that saves your ass and creates the solid foundation for all other healing work to take place.

I guarantee you that the subtle work that you do every single day will be one of your greatest tools. This is what will allow you to become intimately acquainted with your energies, your process, your intuition and help you cultivate a strong energetic foundation. It is this foundation that will provide a clear container for whatever intensive healing/coaching/ceremonial work you do, and give you a place to channel that infusion of new energy.

I tell people, "Doing a subtle practice two minutes every day for 30 days is more powerful than doing one hour of practice once a month."

How can you harness your own power of subtlety? Check this out:

A Personal Practice Primer

Congratulations! You're ready to begin your subtle personal practice. Here are some things to consider:

Support

It's a good idea to receive some support in the form of healing work or coaching to help you determine the best direction for your personal practice. What energies would you like to develop?

Time

How much time can you commit EVERY DAY to this practice? I tell my clients to choose something in the range of 30 seconds to 1 hour. Choose the amount of time that you confidently feel you can commit to every single day. If there are some days where you do more than that, that's great! But at very least, you are setting aside that minimum amount of time.

The Practice Itself

So, what are you actually doing during that timeframe? Part of what dictates your practice is the amount of time you allot. For example, if you give yourself an hour, that's enough time for some journaling, breathing meditation, embodiment practices and affirmations. If you give yourself 10 minutes, maybe a brief visualization and affirmation practice would be more appropriate. If you give yourself two minutes, you can create a brief, but rich practice of silence, gratitude and simply being present in your body.

Here are some suggestions of a few things that you might want to weave into your personal practice:

• Self-healing work (Reiki, chakra balance)
• Breathwork
• Meditation
• Gratitude
• Affirmations
• Journaling
• Embodiment practice (gentle movement, stretching, yoga, exercise)
• Silence
• Gardening

It's important also to change up your personal practice every now and then so it doesn't become stagnant. But for now, just get started!

Renewing the Practice of Self-Care

Sweaty, sporting a new gaping blister and beginning to feel the stiff prickle of lactic acid in my legs, I arrived home from my intense morning workout to read a text from my man friend that said he had just been offered a ticket to Burning Man. Immediately, I felt a rigidity to rival that of my weary thighs spread across my chest, up through my neck and into my face, forcing my lips into a frown and my brow into a forbidding crease.

Noticing the turmoil of mixed emotions that tore through me upon reading this simple message, I registered with some surprise that, while I was excited for my man friend and happy that this opportunity had fallen into his lap, the hungry feeling that made my chest crawl uncomfortably was none other than envy. Forcing myself to focus on the happiness I felt on his behalf, I texted back a congratulatory message and went about my morning, preparing to see a client. I brushed aside the rising emotional bubble, told myself that I had too much to think about and needed to focus on my work, and what was I envious for, anyway? I hadn’t planned on going to Burning Man this year and I have other projects that take priority.

My man friend and I spoke on the phone a few hours later while I made my way through slow-moving traffic. As I drove past the exit to my old neighborhood and saw the trail where I used to run along the water stretching out into the distance, sharp pangs of longing and loss punctuated the envy that bubbled up like a sour taste from where it slouched, heavy, in my gut. I swallowed it as long as I could and tried to stay fully present with him in his excitement, but when it felt as though I would choke or have to scream and cry, I finally admitted my feelings.

As this confession poured out of the part of me that feels like an ugly, demanding child—the part that I’m reluctant to reveal to anyone, let alone to a new relationship—I heard myself say that I wanted to receive a gift like that, something that would allow me to go on vacation and have someone take care of me and not have to the person who does the caretaking. I heard myself acknowledge that living a life of service is something I love, and that offering healing and holding a container for the well-being of my community is inherent to my role as a Shaman. And yet, in that moment, I wanted nothing more than for someone to acknowledge all of my hard work and struggles and reward my enormous efforts with a trip to Burning Man.

I indulged in a moment of piteous self-assessment as I sat on the highway surrounded by semi-trucks. My eyes burned from staying up too late writing the night before, my legs were stiffening into hard masses and my fresh blister stung with the drop of sweat that rolled down my ankle. I had just completed an energetically draining session with a very challenging client and had several more hours of work to accomplish when I arrived back at my temporary home. I felt my shoulders roll forward in response to the tightness that flashed across my chest and throat and sent sharp tears to prick the corners of my eyes.

Reflecting on this conversation hours later, I know that I will always live a life of service and will continue to offer myself and my work for the well-being of my community. The fact that I had such a strong reaction to my man friend receiving a wonderful gift tells me that I have been severely neglecting my own daily self-care lately. I felt these realizations creep across my brain like gentle friends coming to soothe my grumpy, demanding inner child. I have been pouring so much energy into my work and single-minded focus on my business that I have not nurtured the part of me that loves to have adventures, meet new people and play. Rather than wishing that someone would come rescue me with a vacation to the desert so I can take a break and receive from others, I must offer myself the care I deserve so I can live sustainably from a place of balance and empowered fulfillment of my own needs. I felt my breath slow and deepen, my shoulders softening as I articulated the thought, “I must fill my own energetic cup with nourishing care and joyful experiences in order for me to truly offer myself in service to others.”

Ultimately, I am the source of my own joy. I am my own best resource for happiness. When I find myself wishing that someone would swoop in and offer me those things, I ask myself these questions: What steps do I take to ensure that my energetic cup is full? How can I actively nurture the health of my body, mind, emotions and Spirit? If I feel as though I need validation for my work, how can I acknowledge my own efforts and recognize my amazing achievements?

I commit to renewing my healthy habits of simple, daily self-care to nourish myself on every level: physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual. I commit to honoring the needs of my inner child to ensure her continued health and happiness. I commit to filling my own cup so that I may offer myself to the world from a place of overflowing joy and fulfillment.

Many blessings,

Michelle

Michelle Hawk offers 4 easy ways to practice your daily self-care on every level: physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual. Cultivate your own health and well-being and feel more centered. You are the source of your own joy.