S. Kelley Harrell's Blog: Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism, page 79

A Year in “Teen Shamanism”

A year ago my book Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism was released by John Hunt  Books imprint Soul Rocks Books. This was my fourth book (technically my ninth if you count those written under my pen name, plus multiple anthology inclusions. I never actually counted all of those together, before. I just had a moment). In many ways, this was a book I never expected to write, yet oddly was the easiest one to deliver. Simply put, it’s the summary of my experience with modern shamanism, both as a young person stumbling through intuitive life, as a young adult bringing form to those experiences, and as an adult facilitating soul healing and teaching others.

I have never spoken candidly about what it’s really like to write professionally. I never saw the need to, because so many other authors blog about such prolifically and realistically.  However, my perspective on publishing changed with the publication of Teen Shamanism, and I’d like to talk about what those were, and perhaps instruct those who aren’t as familiar with publishing with how it works, and what the outcome really looks like.

In the beginning of a publishing career, so many authors are just happy to be in print. That first book is like no other, and I’ve been fortunate that my first book, Gift of the Dreamtime, continues to stay on hearts and lips. It has since it was first published by Spilled Candy Enterprises, in 2004. That initial release saw it become a bestseller on Powells for ten years.  That was a thrill, no doubt. So, when Teen Shamanism came out last year, and landed on several Amazon bestselling lists the day it was released, I was over the moon. A year later, it’s stayed in the Top 100 of one of those lists consistently, and bounces in and out of the others, still.

I’ll take that.

The thing that struck me is other people started to notice the success of the book, as well, and began making assumptions about how that should reflect in my life. It’s that kind of irony in the art world that I don’t think happens quite that way in other industries. Artists of all media talk about how they become #1, bestseller, award-winning, and still struggle to pay their bills. How does that happen? I’ll tell you.

$27. To date, that is the amount I’ve pocketed from the sales of this book. How many did I sell to earn that? Frankly, it depends on what day you ask. Books look like they’re sold, only to be returned from trade sales. Amazon and Neilsen say this, the publisher database says that. Nonetheless, according to my publisher, between May and December of last year, Teen Shamanism sold 212 print and ebook copies.  By the time all percentages were calculated and everyone else was paid, I made $27.

The reality of a book’s life is that unless something dramatic happens with subsequent publications, the subject matter becomes en vogue, or the author stumbles into some other spotlight that shines on published books in retro, the first six weeks of a book see its highest numbers of sales. From that point on, sales only diminish. Regarding rankings, the first 48 hours determine the lifelong placement of a book in Amazon’s algorithm. In other words, pre-sales matter, which are what put Teen Shamanism on the map, and have kept it there.

So that, friends, is what being a bestseller looks like from a numbers standpoint. Last month I read the report, The Business of Being an Author, which stated, “The top 10% of professional authors (those earning £60,000 or more) earn 58% of all the money earned by professional authors;and the top 5% of professional authors (those earning £100,100 or more) earn 42.3% of that money.” That means the authors at the top of the industry earn the majority of the industry’s income.

I’ve spent the last year reflecting on the reality of publishing as my profession (which, it’s not for those of you who were curious. I have a day job as a writer, in addition to my shamanic practice, other writings, and art). Part of that reflection has entailed grieving the life I didn’t have. I have wanted to be a career author since I was four-years-old. It’s all I ever wanted to do, as my job. It still is, really. This was another hard reality born of last year’s exploration.

Well, I am a career author. But I do a bunch of other things that actually pay the bills.

I’d be lying if I said my experience with Teen Shamanism hasn’t taken a toll on my momentum to keep publishing. It most definitely has impacted my steam. At the end of the day, I love to write. I will never not write (

Writing for publication is a tough gig that requires equally tough chops. People fret the submission process, though actually getting a book written and under contract is just the beginning of the work ahead.  Most of the work is making peace with the whole process. A couple of weeks ago my agent and I agreed that to write for publication, you have to be a little crazy, because it’s a challenging pursuit on many levels.

It is indeed an effort of love.

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For the month of June, the Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism ebook and its sibling in the Teen Spirit series (which was released the same day), Teen Spirit Wicca by David Sailsbury, will both be available for $0.99.

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m thankful for progress on my runes manuscript, and getting the proposal to my agent.

I’m thankful for a a fun game day (boardgames).

I’m grateful for air conditioning.

I’m thrilled to have sold my second piece of art!! Woo hoo!

I’m happy for compassionate allopathic care.

I’m happy to celebrate the one-year birthday of Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism on 30 May.

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks? Who is grateful for you? I am!

This post is part of Lexa Cain’s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things, along with her  co-hostesses L.G. Keltner and Katie. 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, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

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The Weekly Rune – Ansuz Reversed

For the week of 24 May 2015

Focus on what we’re saying becomes important this week. As well, half-month stave Ingwaz shifts to Othala, with more emphasis on lineage.

Read right to left is Ingwaz with Othala below, then Ansuz Reversed. Ingwaz remains the half-month rune through Friday 29 May.

Following is a summary of The Weekly Rune. Read the full cast to learn more about the half-month rune’s influence, and how to receive it before everyone else. Find my runic artwork on Etsy.

The last few weeks have put a great deal of emphasis on the past. As last week’s intuitive stave, Othala honed in on all things ancestral, and finding new support within the family line. This week Othala stays in the focus, though as the half-month rune, later in the week. The position shift gives a subtle hint at what’s to come. We’re still being guided to look back in order to move forward.

Ansuz’s general message is about how we tell our story–literally, the words we give power about our life experience, through the vehicle of speech.

Reversed, the emphasis also includes what’s being said about us, what has been said about us. This week we are called to explore what of our lineage still holds true. That may take a bit of research, particularly if we don’t know what our lineage is, what collective role our clan played in the greater society. We don’t have to know our family history in order to stop re-playing old tapes. We don’t have to understand collective purpose in order to act in a way that best supports the clan that is now.

This week we are asked to pause. Take a breath and consider these influences on our thinking and behaviour. Where are we the culmination of all that has come before–relevant or rubbish–and where do we need to part from old ways?

 

 

 

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m thankful for my childrens’ love of performing arts.

I’m grateful for being able to give them the chance to explore their artistic abilities.

I’m thankful for a great weekend with friends and family.

I’m thankful for my mother and step father.

I’m grateful for a great talk with my agent!

I’m thrilled to have sold my first piece of art!!

I’m thankful for Reiki in my life, despite that it’s not a primary tool in my work.

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks? Who is grateful for you? I am!

This post is part of Lexa Cain’s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things, along with her  co-hostesses L.G. Keltner and Katie. 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, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

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Q&A – Creating Sacred Space at the Day Job

Dear Kelley,  Thank you so much for your compassionate guidance over the years.  I chose the academic [career] route years ago out of love of ideas, intellectual engagement, and writing. Increasingly, I find it deeply unsettling,  to the point where I cry almost every day when going to work.

Moreover, the work environment itself has become hostile due to interpersonal conflict. I’m anxious about the future and am wondering if you would offer any soul guidance in this regard. [Birthday info omitted]. Many thanks from afar, Liz.

Thanks for your note, Liz, and for being a long-time reader! What I’m shown right away is that the environment you work in is very draining. It’s based upon giving, as in you giving, constantly. There’s little reciprocity, and the imbalance this has created has taken a toll on all levels of your wellbeing.

Several suggestions are given for coping with this. The first is to make a more conscious effort to engage your work space in supporting you. Bring fetishes and items of personal and spiritual power into your work space, office, etc. In a shamanic tradition, these are usually items that carry some sort of ability to help you carry yourself. They can be representations of Nature Allies (pictures, statues, sounds), plants, fabric, colors, gems, etc. Whatever presents itself as empowering to you at a deep spiritual level, should not only be incorporated into your work space, but arranged and organized in a way such that it can function at an optimal level to support you.

This process could be considered feng shui, though for me it’s an integral part of creating and sustaining sacred space–anywhere I work. I suggest specifically asking for spirit allies that can help you stay grounded in the work space to show themselves to you in some way, then find representations of them to put in your space. Ask what they need from you, as well.  They serve not only as reminders to empower you, but help you hold that space as a supportive, grounding, and nurturing atmosphere. They form an intentional relationship to your work space.

We have this idea that creating sacred space is only for rituals or ceremony. Does that mean the rest of our life isn’t sacred? That we shouldn’t bring a wider awareness to how we interact with those other spaces? Of course not. “Sacred” doesn’t mean better or different. It means “intentional.” When we create sacred space we intend our life force to be part of that space, to remain aware that we are engaging with the area around us. The practical application of observing intentional space in the places that we spend most of our time is one of the most supportive things we can do for ourselves, and to create reciprocity with our surroundings.

The other thing that comes right away is there is a particular kind of metal or jewelry that you like to wear, though you don’t often. There’s a reason you’re attracted to it, which is that is helps you hold your life force, much the same purpose as fetishes help you create sacred space around you. The emphasis here is more about helping to keep your life force flowing well. Don the jewelry that makes you feel good. Wear fabrics and colors you like. Wear colors you normally wouldn’t to see what feelings they inspire.

Also, If you haven’t done chakra balancing or some similar work in a while, this is a good time to do that. Going into an atmosphere that sucks you dry constantly has affected your energy level. This can be addressed through some energy healing, and that healing can be sustained by adorning the body much the same way as suggested for your space.

Space clearing of your work area would be helpful. It is a competitive atmosphere. Other peoples’ stuff gets lodged in your space. Clearing it out on a regular basis will help you bring the feeling of ‘home’ and personal power into it. It would probably be best to have someone who does this clearing regularly to do it, though you can affect it, as well. Assuming you can’t use a smudge to clear the space, smoky quartz, or bay laurel (bay leaf) can be used in much the same way.  Whatever item you settle on for clearing, ask the spirit of that item for permission to use it in your work space. Sit with that a bit, and see what comes of it. Ask your guides, as well as the guardian of that work space to come in. Set your intention for clearing the space–to release any restless energies, and to welcome supportive energies–and go through each corner, cubby, you name it, waving the clearing item. When you’re finished, thank all allies involved, and see how it feels.

Such clearings need to be performed at interval. Just as funky things build up in other areas of life that we aren’t 100% attentive to, they build up in etheric ones, as well. Repeat as needed.

As far as whether this is the right work space for you to remain in, my sense is that coming into relationship with the guardian spirit of the workspace has info around that. The overall work feels like a good fit, though determining whether you can continue to do it there has more to do with connecting with the spiritual allies of that place of work, and the land it sits on. We often forget that spaces have consciousness, not just the land, trees, animals, etc. Right now, connecting with the consciousness of your work space will help you to know if the issues there can be resolved longterm, or if you need to move on elsewhere.

If you want to do further energy healing or clearing work together, just let me know.

Dream well, Liz.

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Submit Q&A to Kelley.

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The Weekly Rune – Othala

For the week of 17 May 2015

A visit with the ancestors is in order, so says Othala. As well, half-month stave Ingwaz continues to brew new awareness to some profound end.

Read right to left is Ingwaz, followed by Othala. Ingwaz remains the half-month rune through 29 May. Read right to left is Ingwaz, followed by Othala. Ingwaz remains the half-month rune through 29 May.

Following is a summary of The Weekly Rune. Read the full cast to learn more about the half-month rune’s influence, and how to receive it before everyone else. Find my runic artwork on Etsy.

Last week Nauthiz brought our attention to matters of the past, with caution that we not recreate them. This week, Othala looks also to our past, though in a way that ushers in new support. Or is it?

Othala is related to all things ancestral, from the passage of inheritance, to coming into deeper relationship with ancestors, to realizing self as elder. Whatever is on the plate with regard to where  we’re going, the focus is assuredly making a pit stop by everything and everyone that led us here.

The story that Othala and Ingwaz tell is that we are the result of someone else’s sacrifice. We are the result of dire survival. More than that, we are the culmination of wisdom, experience, grief, shame, hunger, and ecstasy of many ancestors who came before us. The questions they ask , “What are we doing with it?” “How are we carrying that wisdom forward?” “How do we become an ancestor to ourselves?”

This week is about reflection of a far-reaching depth. It’s also about coming into the awareness of how we situate into that legacy. Examine the current state of your family. Who is the acting elder? What is your role in bearing the wisdom of your people? What are the strengths and challenges of your people?

How do you save them?

 

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m thankful for a a nice Mother’s Day weekend.

I’m grateful for my children.

I’m thankful for a great wrap up of the soccer season for our daughter.

I’m thankful for an busy upcoming weekend with friends and family.

I’m grateful for gentle reminders. The big ones often flatten me.

I’m thankful for progress on Decoding the Body Awake. It should be galley-ready, soon!

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks? Who is grateful for you? I am!

This post is part of Lexa Cain’s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things, along with her  co-hostesses L.G. Keltner and Katie. 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, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

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The Ayahuasca Thing

I don’t talk much about entheogens in my work, largely because I don’t use them. I don’t think they’re bad or any such, I just have never needed to use them to get where I want or need to be, in terms of the ecstatic. Nonetheless, when I teach Intro to Modern Shamanism (which will soon be offered as self-paced study!), I mention the use of substances to enhance ecstatic journeying. They are a curiosity for many seekers, and for others are a vital component of connecting with Nature and all things soul.

That said, I want to comment on the many damnations and romanticizations I see of late, regarding ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi), peyote (Lophophora williamsii ), and various other natural substances as wings for soul flight. Notice that when you read about the use of entheogens, there’s little middle ground. People either sing their praises from the hilltops, or fluffy kittens died as a result of their use. There’s really no between. Why might that be?

It’s pretty simple, really. People either know what they’re doing with entheogens, or they don’t. Most people in the west fall into the latter category, and as a result, don’t take the necessary steps required to make solid use of plants as a vehicle for spirit travel. The key thing that is demonstrated over and over in writings and experiences detailing successful use of working with plants for journey is relationship to the plant spirit.

People who use entheogens as part of their lexicon for journey know what they’re doing. They have spent time coming into connection with the plant spirit, which means the plant has given them permission to bond in this way, and it has shared insight into how to do that. Likewise, people who connect that intensely with a plant in this way study it. Either from a mentor who is on the same path (most common and perhaps the best resource) or from intense botanical studies of their own, these folks understand the plant from a horticultural standpoint.

There is an assumption that people who run into trouble with them were using them recreationally, or weren’t grounded into a spiritual path prior to their use. Not true. I have known people, solid shamanic types, who decided to try entheogens, and it went badly wrong. With everyone one of them, there was no interaction with the plant spirit prior to ingesting it, and no sense of reciprocity for what the plant spirit wanted. In short, they didn’t ask permission of the plant. They didn’t approach it with respect.

And yes, I know people have been taken advantage of. Some having died under the poor watch of a trusted trip sentinel. Mind-altering substances are nothing to be trifled with. They aren’t something you just decide you want to incorporate into your ecstatic practice. Consider the following:

Work with someone only after deep research into his/her experience. Ask for references. Open dialogue about what to expect, and credentials. If the person doesn’t supply convincing knowledge about his/her spiritual and grounded experience with the plant and its use, rethink plans.
Work with someone who knows how to administer the plant.
Work with someone who knows life-saving protocols.
Work with someone who has a relationship with the plant spirit of choice, and can instruct on how to enter into that relationship.
Engage the plant spirit, yourself.
Learn from it what your relationship is to be, and honor that.

In short, seek the whole package, not just the high. Find a mentor. Study the plant. Take the necessary time to come into relationship with the plant spirit before leaping into ingesting it. Forming relationship with the plant prior to use isn’t done just to set self up for a positive experience, but to give back to the plant, and to create the foundation to root the info learned into something useful when back from the trip.

I stand to be corrected, though I’m confident in saying, I’ve never known a person who was harmed by entheogens who took the above steps. When entheogens are approached with thorough attention to the spiritual and practical considerations, they enrich.

So I’m told.

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The Weekly Rune – Nauthiz

For the week of 10 May 2015

Natively situated between Hagalaz (harsh external change) and Isa (processing outcomes) in the Elder Futhark, Nauthiz forces us to confront our limitations and what we’re getting out of them.

“Water at the bottom of the Ocean,” featuring Laguz

This week we see the transition from Laguz to Ingwaz–from envisioning what we want to the opportunity to create it.  This rather significant shift comes after weeks of restricted stillness, then gentle movement into flow.

Laguz remains the half-month rune through 14 May, at which point Ingwaz moves to the fore. To learn more about the half-month rune’s influence and to pledge support for The Weekly Rune, visit Patreon. Find my runic artwork on Etsy.

The last couple of weeks, Laguz has had us clarify impeccably what we want. This realization comes after a winter of stripping away chaff and forcing us to be brutally honest with ourselves about internal matters. It’s been a pretty rough time, and the ability to float in the slipstream of its potential has been enlivening, if not invigorating.

Factor in Nauthiz, and new motivations and fears come to light. These interjections aren’t to be taken as dangling carrots that lead astray, or as etheric wounds thwarting our success. Rather, they are old stones turned belly up for us to examine whether they still apply, or can be removed from the garden. Remember their purpose, because Nauthiz speaks from the deepest voice of our insecurities, which is old authority.

It’s up to us to determine if those old stories still apply. If they don’t, recognize them for what they are and cast them back to the Multiverse. If they do still apply, Nauthiz provides the support to go into them and unearth them at their deepest foundation, to hold them up to the light and learn exactly what influence they have and should have over the present. They are signposts for how to achieve the next step in manifestation. They are needs begging to be filled.

Nauthiz is an omen, of sorts, in that it that warns us to deal with the past now, before it becomes our future.

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Wordless Wednesday

Niagara Owls

Photo by Kelley Harrell

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