S. Kelley Harrell's Blog: Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism, page 108
October 28, 2013
Weekly Rune – Thurisaz
Thurisaz - thorn- Wow. How fitting that the last two (and only) times Thurisaz was drawn for The Weekly Rune, Mercury was retrograde, as it is now.
Given Mercury’s odd and often jarring synchronicity, the power of this Rune lies in a keen ability to flow with divine order. As it is connected to the realm of the giants, it represents Thor’s hammer–the implement which when employed brings sudden and drastic change.
As such, this Rune often indicates an abrupt modification of events, usually for the good. It’s easy to see Mercury retrograde as an aberration of flow as we’re used to it. Identifying its quirky, grating way of accomplishing uplifting ends is not always so clear.
A key note about Thurisaz is, while it indicates the time to strike, miss, and it’s over. The moment has passed. Of course, the only way to be assured of wanted outcome is to stay aligned with divine order. And the only way to truly flow with divine order is not to be attached to the outcome.
Ultimately, Thurisaz is about strength. With this Rune we prove to ourselves that we have the endurance and power to allow what is best for us, even if ‘best’ isn’t what we thought it was. In letting go of our idea of what’s best, we allow ourselves to change. In changing, we grow.
–Over the next week, the Runecast for Samhain will be released through the Runic Wheel of the Year Alliance. Don’t miss out on its insights for the Dark time!
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October 25, 2013
Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude
My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.
I’m grateful for a relatively quiet week.
I’m buzzing from the Samhain ritual shared with the Tribe of the Modern Mystic, at our Fire Gathering.
I appreciate my freedom.
I’m glad to finally feel better.
What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks?
This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude every Friday. Easiest blog hop ever!
Click here to hop on… the hop, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.
Photo credit: Shermeee / Foter.com / CC BY
The post Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.
October 22, 2013
October 21, 2013
Author S. Kelley Harrell on writing, life, and shamanism
A bit back I had the pleasure of being interviewed by David Garlow of the Examiner.com. Here’s a reprise if you missed it:
With all of the writing groups that writers take part in you are bound to see subjects of every type come across your screen. It is how we all connect, interact, and help be it through promoting, beta reading, and feedback on ideas or paragraphs, even a simple sentence. Within these I could not help but notice Kelley Harrell for her subject, personality, and approachability. Believe me, not all writers are that approachable; I compare it to a gamers group or even a music scene with competition, some prima donna egos, you know; like anything else.
Kelley has some rich and deep subjects that she tackles in a unique way and that more than anything is what made me look closer. I found someone with a vibrant personality, in touch with the universe around her, and whose work is truly impressive. From her own Bio:Kelley is best known for publishing shamanic memoir, spiritual nonfiction, and magickal realism. She also writes for The Huffington Post, and has maintained the blog Intentional Insights – Q&A From Within, since 2004. Her work has been published in Innerchange Magazine, Mystic Pop, SageWoman, The Beltane Papers, Women Writers, Women, Books, Savvy Authors, If… a Journal of Spiritual Exploration, OmPlace AltWire, Astro Abby.
Poetry collections featuring her work include Chiron Review, The Blotter, Bottom Line Writers, Charlotte Writer’s Circle. Her short stories have been featured in The Windhover, The Olive Leaf.
Take a few moments to get to know more about this wonderful woman and all that she does, it really is quite impressive.
Interview with author S. Kelley Harrell
So the first question is when did you fall in love with writing; what was the catalyst for you?
I don’t recall not being in love with writing. Before I learned the alphabet, my mother transcribed stories I dictated to her. Learning to write was my gateway drug to life. I loved it—the feel of the pen in my hand, the evidence of my brain on paper, how it all fit together to form a cohesive movement. I just loved it from the beginning, and I still do.
I know a lot of writers write for several outlets beyond books, what other outlets do you work?
I have kept a blog for 9 years, Intentional Insights – Q&A From Within, responding to inquiries readers have about paranormal events in their lives, dreams, modern shamanism and animism. I also write a modern spirituality column for the Huffington Post, and I publish fiction under another name.
What genre(s) do you normally work in and why?
I am best known for shamanic memoir, though I also write nonfiction spirituality books, New Adult Magickal Realism, and all sorts of fiction. I’m just in love with writing. It’s another sense to me, so I filter as much expression through it as I possibly can.
How did you get started and were there any frustrations? How did you get beyond those?
The first book I submitted for publication was Gift of the Dreamtime, almost 10 years ago. At that time, no one was writing about modern shamanism, certainly not from within the ecstatic trance perspective. Everything you read on shamanism then was academic anthropology, fiction, or nonfictional accounts of what shamanism was like. My book was the first to show how the shamanic narrative (healing story) works from inside, making the reader part of the soul travel, thus healing.
At that time, publishers wanted anything shamanic to be shaped into a self-help book, following the recipe of personal story, universal conclusions drawn from that experience, followed by end-of-chapter exercises for the reader to journey along. To do that would have entirely changed the format and writing of my book, let alone that fantastic vantage point within trance. It took me a while to find a publisher who got what I was doing, and my life hasn’t been the same since!
What are your works thus far and where can people find them?
Gift of the Dreamtime – Awakening to the Divinity of Trauma
Real Wyrd – A Modern Shaman’s Roots in the Middle World
Gift of the Dreamtime Reader’s Companion
What is forthcoming and can you give a brief description?
I have a few nonfiction projects in the works. One is a collection of healing stories by female survivors of assault. I’m in the final stages of writing a memoir of shamanic techniques in working with chronic health conditions, and am mid-way through a comprehensive book on modern shamanism. I’ve also completed and am seeking a home for my first novel, The Last Snow Moon.
I have learned that the literary world can be quite cutthroat; what advice would you give to a person trying to find a way to publish their work?
Do what’s right for you, period. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to, but you know you need to. Things you don’t want to do aren’t the same as what doesn’t support your truth. Knowing that difference can take you a long way. Go with what’s right for you. It’s always the best path in the end.
The post Author S. Kelley Harrell on writing, life, and shamanism appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.
Weekly Rune – Raidho
Raidho - travel - Seldom has Raidho come up in the Weekly Rune column. Anytime it appears in a cast, I pause, because it draws on all the things most vital to me: words, travel, and the interconnection of All Things. In short, Raidho indicates how we tell our story.
Many people read Raidho in a very literal context, meaning, a journey between two points, emphasizing the mode of transportation involved, movement across space and time, and everything that occurs between origin and destination. Indeed, the stuff of our most compelling stories.
Sometimes to best understand a Rune, examining those framing it gives it deeper context. The journey of the Runes in the first aett is about inspiration becoming form for the first time; thus, it emphasizes the realization of self-empowerment through connection with All Things. Just before Raidho is Ansuz, which is often interpreted as “mouth,” or “breath.” With Ansuz we begin ascribing words to concepts. We begin the murky examination of the thing versus the name we give it. Likewise, we become aware that as we build the language of our formed experience, someone is listening.
Following Raidho is Kenaz, torch, presenting the complex experience of sudden awareness, the spark that ignites, the Aha! moment. It is the moment that meaning has been derived from our experience. With that fuller understanding in mind, let’s revisit Raidho.
Inspiration + Storytelling = Meaning
Ansuz + Raidho = Kenaz
Oversimplified, but it conveys well. Raidho clarifies the importance of holding focus over duration, associating a starting point and result with every choice, decision, thought, and deed committed along the way.
Are we acting in support of our intention? Are we really making the choices that align us with what we say we want, where we say we want to go? Are we fixed on a precise destination with blinders to the journey, or are we easily taken off course, dazzled by every glittering crossroad?
This week consider inspiration and how it’s expressed. Observe how the process of expressing it shapes you, creates you. Above all, choose your words with care, and weave them together well.
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October 18, 2013
Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude
My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.
I’m grateful for great weekend adventures with my family, and for time with loved ones.
I appreciate the ability to educate myself, and the responsibility to be accountable for that fact.
I’m glad for improved health.
What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks?
This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude every Friday. Easiest blog hop ever!
Click here to hop on… the hop, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.
Photo credit: Shermeee / Foter.com / CC BY
The post Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.
October 17, 2013
Thursday Betwixt – The Guidance Within
In discussing the challenges sustaining relationships with guides can pose, I bring up a topic often overlooked in many esoteric arts circles, not just in modern shamanism: personal truth, or as it is more commonly called Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG).
Most of us come from religious paths that strictly forbade us to act as our own spiritual conduit with the Divine. Part of what leads us to a more direct path is realizing the lack in such spiritual tropes. Yet, I see this same trap wrapped in different words and habits in esoteric arts all the time. I’ve known people who won’t order food from a menu without asking their guide’s input, first. I’ve known others who firmly believe that a ritual to Air won’t evoke the favor of the element if it isn’t done precisely so, every time. I’ve known intuitives who were called upon to assist in emergencies but declined because they didn’t have their portable altar with them to create sacred space. I’ve known people who never once uttered an insight of their own, replying “Well, my guides say ____,” or “I can’t comment until I ask my totems.”
How we roll with our Spiritual Council is exactly that–our relationship with our personal spirit allies. Part of the shaman-guide relationship is knowing its boundaries, with regard to spiritual discipline and possibly even health. I’ve got my own sacred eccentricities. I’ve had plenty of times that I became static in my process. Above all else on my path, I’m an advocate of results and growth, and I find that when I inhibit my instinctive responses, I stop getting meaningful results from my actions.
We’re creatures of habit, and the one thing that focused, dedicated journeying will teach in a hurry is dynamic self-reliance. Yes, the core component of a shaman’s effectiveness is committed relationship to spirit allies, though that doesn’t mean to the effacement of self. The idea that we sacrifice our innate wisdom at the feet of our guides is really no different from the rigid doctrines that talked us out of our spiritual knowing.
Soul allies don’t want to be a crutch or habit. They don’t want to be a convenient escape, or to keep circling the same healing wagons with us. In fact, projecting that wisdom can only come from guides eventually strains our relationship with them. When we stop forcing their counsel out of habit, the emphasis on belief that we need to ceases, and a willingness to enable direct experience with personal truth emerges.
Our guides want and need us not to just explore and implement UPG, but to stand in it. Not once, but over and over. That’s the thing about truth. Even if core truths we knew of ourselves at the age of four are still true, the ability to hold ourselves open to the possibility that they can change creates the evolving atmosphere for them to remain true.
Years ago, a dear friend summed it best: “We find truth, we know it, then we set it down, and back gently away.”
We must make peace with the demand to become active participants in our own Spiritual Council. However uncomfortable we find the idea of being ‘wise,’ or ‘aware,’ part of our job in self-healing is defusing the ego charge of these concepts. That charge runs the gamut of not believing that we can be wise, to believing we don’t have the right to be, and fear of being misled by our truth. We forget that the body has its own wisdom. Soul components of ourselves can make meaningful contributions to our spiritual path and practice.
Given that, how do we discern UPG from the insight of our guides? Do we even have to? How much does ascribing the source of insight matter, as long as it rings true? These are individual considerations with which we all must find balance. I don’t always know precisely where an insight came from. I do hear my guides’ different voices, along with that of higher aspects of myself, my body, an individual organ, the grass. For me, what it comes down to is having developed a keen ability to pin-point my truth, and actually listening to it, acting on it when I hear it. In the end, I don’t care where it came from. I’m just glad I could receive it.
When we can accept our personal truths, our life view shifts from the divisions of Here and There, to the moment, to no veil, to All Things. The power of spirit teachers doesn’t weaken when we initiate ourselves as allies. If anything, it strengthens.
See for yourself. They can take it.
–
Read other posts in the Thursday Betwixt series.
The post Thursday Betwixt – The Guidance Within appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.
October 15, 2013
October 14, 2013
Samhain Sentiments – Compassionate Work with the Dead
For several years I’ve made effort to talk openly paranormal experiences from the perspective of someone who views them not as Nature’s side shows or intrusive investigation into the spirit world, rather as an honest look into times that the unseen pokes back in startling ways. Ultimately, creepy experiences are still about spiritual imbalance and restoring balance where possible, and where wanted.
It’s that last bit that gets many psychics and intuitives who work with the dead, discarnate souls, and general bump-in-the-nightness into personal trouble. Many contemporary empaths bring to their work a good/evil dichotomy that implies where imbalance is observed, balance/healing must be done. My experience has been more along the lines of open dialogue, which implies listening to the distressed being’s story, as well as compassionate companionship in facilitating them to what they need. That may be total release, to move on to their next destiny. It may be a kind gesture that affirms them in some way. It may be realization that the dynamic is note mine to affect at the time.
Ultimately, my experience has been that healing can’t be forced on beings in the unseen, any more than it can be forced on those of us in the formed realm. That bit of insight, along with a few others came a a few years ago, in a blog post called, Six Things the Dead Want Us to Know About Life.
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Weekly Rune – Sowilo
Sowilo - Sun - How telling that we draw the Rune of light as the North embarks upon the Dark Time, and the South emerges back into light. Apart from initial dips of seasonal change, we’re also nearing the next Mercury retrograde, which astrologer, Gary Caton, refers to as our opportunity to make the unconscious conscious. It is perhaps this nuance of Sowilo that most benefits us, now.
Traditionally, this Rune reminds us, not just of the sun, but the power beyond it. As we marvel at the sun’s abilities to inspire life on Earth, we draw light from it so that we can shine on others. Such is the connection of All Things, as well as our collective purpose.
Light is, of course, not without shadow. In mere blinding rays, how well do we really see? What depth, subtlety, or even meaning is available to us under intense glare?
The same can be said of awareness. Often what we most seek to know is least knowable. For now, what we most need to realize about ourselves won’t be in the details, the lists, the planning, and perhaps not even in intuition. Rather, it comes from a spark of insight, a fleeting flash that hints a need to go deeper not where our hallows are well lit, but into our unique darkness.
At this time, it is counter-intuition that best informs. Looking directly into the sun blinds us to what most needs to be seen. Indeed, enjoy the light. Celebrate its ability to dazzle the shadows of our lives, then carry the power of the light into the darkness. What we find there leads to our real power.
Check the places where you have allowed your intuition become rote. Truth rarely informs from what we think we know, but from what we’d never imagined.
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Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism
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