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.

Eagle Creek and the Waters of Renewal

Eagle Creek was one of my favorite hikes before the Gorge fire in 2017.

I know other people loved it, too. Of all the beautiful hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, Eagle Creek was one of the most popular, with good reason. Not only was it a comfortable hike through gorgeous forest, but it took you along the creek to a spectacular waterfall and swimming hole. I traversed that trail many times and have enjoyed several epic picnics at the waterfall.

When the Gorge burned for months in 2017, I was devastated. Everyone was devastated.

In an interesting twist of timing, I had hiked that very trail not long before the fire, and had collected some water for ceremony from the creek. I had no idea that would be the last time I visited that sacred place for years to come (the trail is still closed), and that this rejuvenating spring of life and flow would soon be engulfed in flames and choked with ash.

When the fire began, I used some of my collection right away as part of a water blessing ceremony. But after that, the jar of Eagle Creek water stayed closed for over a year. It felt as though the water itself was in shock, and needed to rest and be still.

Sometime last year, the Eagle Creek water started calling to me. It was ready to work again, slowly and gently. I started using it on my altar, and noticed the energy it brought to the container held a profound mastery of Death and Rebirth. The Eagle Creek water held the burning fires of transformation.

At the end of last year, as I was going through my own major Death process, the Eagle Creek water made its presence known even more powerfully, and brought to my healing work a deep sense of surrender, trust and allowing. The Eagle Creek water held the wisdom of letting go, of releasing the unnecessary, of purification.

This morning as I redid my altar and was replacing the water, Eagle Creek water shouted at me with its strength and power. I felt it bursting with life, renewal and creative potential. Eagle Creek is alive and thriving. The burn scars are still there, but aliveness is exploding forth from the purified Earth. This morning, the Eagle Creek water showed me that it held the sacred rage and grief of all those who loved this place. It held the death and sacred destruction of the fires. It held the burning, the release, the purification. But the Eagle Creek water also holds life, renewal, vitality, and resurrection. It holds the aliveness of growing things, of new form, of building new structures. Eagle Creek water offered to support me in cultivating these energies, in my life and in the world.

This was the last of the water that I collected 2 1/2 years ago at one of my favorite places on Earth. As I meditated this morning with my revitalized altar, the powerful energies of Eagle Creek and its rebirth were undeniable.

I am so grateful to this sacred place and to the elements of this place for holding space not only for my own healing and transformation, but for so many people. This place was beloved by many. So many people walked the trail, swam in the pool, enjoyed its magic. So many people grieved as Eagle Creek burned.

I can only hope that as many people are receiving the powerful aliveness and renewal that is emanating from Eagle Creek now. As I embody the wild, untamed, pure life-ness of Eagle Creek and let this rejuvenating force express through me, may it benefit all beings.

If you've been to Eagle Creek, I invite you to tune in to your embodied, wild awareness of that sacred space. What energy do you notice there?

If you've never been to Eagle Creek, I still invite you to tune in to this sacred space. What do you notice in your embodied awareness of this powerful place?

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,

Eagle Creek before the fire (image from Oregon Wild)

Advanced Empathy: Moving Energy for the Collective

Originally published on Eagle Song October 27, 2015.

I began writing this article exactly two months ago. I set it aside for awhile, but since then, new insight has come forward to lend itself to greater understanding. Here is the original portion of the article from August 27th:

I had one of those Universal “Oh, duh!” moments today about an idea that feels so important I can’t believe it hadn’t consciously occurred to me before. Or rather, it probably has, but never in such an obvious way that highlighted its perfect truth.

My day today was full of experiences which contributed toward a feeling of hypersensitivity–I had a fantastic long run this morning in which I felt strong and present in my entire body, I enjoyed a very expansive meeting with a client, and I drank a lot of tea (a somewhat psychedelic pu’er) while talking for hours with a friend about communication, connection, Spirituality, interpersonal dynamics, etc. All in all, by the time I got home this evening, I was in a heightened state of awareness and receptivity.

So when I discovered that an acquaintance of mine had taken her life a few days ago and witnessed the outpouring of grief from those close to her, I felt myself immediately get swept into an intensely emotional space. I recognized my natural empathic response and started the process of identifying “What is mine? What is not mine?” in regards to the cascade of feelings. Like always, as soon as I put a name to “I am channeling the collective consciousness of grief on behalf of all of these people,” I felt better. I have spent many years practicing emotional and energetic boundaries so I don’t take on other people’s stuff.

And yet, it occurred to me that maybe having solid emotional and energetic boundaries is only part of what it means to use empathy in a healthy and constructive way. As soon as I delved into this thought spiral, I felt a deep resonance with the idea that someone who has practiced grounded and self-aware empathy will be able to use their gift to move and transmute massive amounts of energy on behalf of others.

This is where the “Oh, duh!” moment occurred. In fact, now that I think about it, a few examples immediately come to mind where I have done mass-consciousness-level healing in the last year by channeling the wounds of the collective through empathy.

Let’s look at the layers of understanding around empathy (and here I use “sadness” as an example, but it could be anything):

1. Unconsciousness: I have feelings! Sometimes I feel sad and I’m not sure why.
2. Awareness: Other people have feelings! I feel sad when other people feel sad.
3. Identification: That feeling of sadness does not belong to me.
4. Separation: I am holding my emotional and energetic boundary so I can witness your sadness in compassion, but not feel it myself.
5. ***HEALING*** (this is the new idea): I recognize the sadness and wounding of this individual or collective group of beings and, knowing and trusting in my capacity to let it flow through me, I give permission for it to do so in order to transmute this energy on behalf of these people and for the benefit of all beings.

When I tuned in to Spirit for any guidance on the subject, I received confirmation in a big way. Yes, this is part of the purpose of empathy.

That is where I left the article at the time. Fast forward to this morning (October 27th), when a close friend of mine tells me about a profound healing experience she had over the weekend. This healing allowed her to release the energy of shame around sexuality that she had been holding onto since her childhood. She told me about what it felt like to process this shame for herself and to let it go, and then went on to describe how she felt the sexual shame of all women flowing through her to be transmuted and released in the same way.

I told her the ideas I had about “Advanced Empathy” and how someone practiced in holding their personal boundaries could move a step beyond the separation and allow the energy to flow through them to offer healing for the benefit of all. She was intrigued by the idea and agreed wholeheartedly, I remembered this forgotten article, and here we are.

Let me note that I call this idea “Advanced Empathy” for a reason. Both my friend and I are extremely practiced healers who have spent years cultivating healthy boundaries and learning how to safely move powerful energies. Most empathic people, when they discover that their capacity for empathy makes them susceptible to the feelings of others around them, take steps to learn how to protect themselves from being overwhelmed (Separation: #4 on the list above). This is both a totally reasonable and completely necessary tool for forming constructive boundaries. I remember learning in my late teens and early twenties that having solid energetic boundaries was the only way for me to comfortably live in the world.

But what is the true purpose of empathy? Humans evolved as a cooperative species in which the survival of the group depended on each individual feeling connected to the community, cared for and invested in the well-being of others in the tribe. We’ve moved beyond some of the nitty-gritty aspects of survival, but still, feeling other peoples’ emotions is essential to the human experience. It is when a person doesn’t have empathy for other beings that they are capable of unkindness, inflicting pain, cruelty, murder or genocide. The purpose of empathy, then, has to do with not only sensing the feelings of other people, but with using it as a means of connection and healing, rather than as a cause for separation.

And it is only through “Advanced Empathy” that we can go about healing some of the massive wounds that exist in the collective consciousness. When I learned about my acquaintance who ended her life, I used empathy to offer healing not only to her, but to all those who grieved for her passing. And really, to all those who needed help moving the energy of grief. When my friend experienced her healing and release of sexual shame, then felt the energy of the sexual shame of all women moving through her, she was using empathy to heal the feminine collective consciousness. When I channeled Joan of Arc a few months ago and felt the energy ripping through me, I was offering healing by holding empathy and transmuting the wounds of all those who had suffered, who had lived in fear or who had been killed for revealing who they really were. That’s another story in itself, but there’s the short version for now.

Where do we go from here? Learning healthy and constructive boundaries is always a good thing. People who can hold a safe energetic container and who have practiced a high degree of self-awareness will be in a great position to take empathy to the next level. There are so many wounds that exist in the collective consciousness, and the more that we can transmute this energy into healing, the better. The times I have worked with channeling empathy for healing of the collective, it was pulled out of me unconsciously. My personal goal is to move into a place of conscious empowerment around empathy, when I can use my healthy, grounded boundaries and say, “I recognize the wounding of the collective consciousness and, knowing and trusting in my capacity to let it flow through me, I give permission for it to do so in order to transmute this energy on behalf of these people and for the benefit of all beings.”

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