Shamanism and Alchemy Unleashed: The Art of Deep Healing with Michelle Hawk

Michelle Hawk, an alchemist, shaman, master healer, and spiritual mentor, who began practicing shamanism in 2003 at the age of 15. A naturally gifted psychic and intuitive channel, Michelle's work with alchemy, shamanic energies, and multiple certifications as a master healer allow her to offer the deepest level of transformational work. She mentors and trains practitioners in alchemy, shamanism, and the healing arts, and helps people master their intuitive gifts and magical birthright.

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ON THIS EPISODE

[00:01:21] Michelle Hawk on her passion for guiding people to reconnect with Earth

[00:02:34] Michelle Hawk on childhood animism and connection to nature

[00:04:04] Michelle Hawk on defining shamanism and her own initiation into shamanic lineages

[00:06:31] Michelle Hawk on discovering shamanism in high school

[00:07:51] Michelle Hawk on studying shamanism alongside science

[00:10:19] Michelle Hawk on alchemy as an ancient tradition blending spirituality and science

[00:11:01] Michelle Hawk on alchemy and transformation

[00:13:53] Michelle Hawk on all transformations requiring letting go of something

[00:15:33] Michelle Hawk on how she typically works with clients through mentorships and. deep-dive courses

[00:18:55] Michelle Hawk on the stages of alchemy

[00:29:08] Michelle Hawk on her deep passion for alchemy

[00:30:14] Michelle Hawk on the her one-on-one sessions and her curriculum-based alchemy courses

[00:31:31] Michelle Hawk on her unexpected journey to becoming a teacher and entrepreneur

[00:36:08] Michelle Hawk on her work in animal communication and healing

[00:37:35] Michelle Hawk on the intuitive practices involved in connecting with animals

[00:38:54] Michelle Hawk on Client Success Stories

[00:41:52] Michelle Hawk on work with her

[00:43:41] Michelle Hawk on her dreams for herself and women

TRANSCRIPT

Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters Amy and Nancy Harrington, the founders of The Passionistas Project. We've created an inclusive sisterhood where passion driven women come to get support, find their purpose, and feel empowered to transform their lives and change the world. On every episode, we discuss the unique ways in which each woman is following her passions, talk about how she defines success, and explore her path to breaking down the barriers that women too often face.

Today, we're talking with Michelle Hawk, an alchemist, shaman, master healer, and spiritual mentor, who began practicing shamanism in 2003 at the age of 15. A naturally gifted psychic and intuitive channel, Michelle's work with alchemy, shamanic energies, and And multiple certifications as a master healer allow her to offer the deepest level of transformational work.

She mentors and trains practitioners in alchemy, shamanism, and the healing arts, and helps people master their intuitive gifts and magical birthright. So please welcome Michelle Hawk. We're so excited to have you here and talk more about this. Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm really happy to be here.

Passionistas: Sure. So of all those amazing things that we talked about in the bio and everything else, what are you most passionate about?

Michelle: I am most passionate about helping, I was gonna say people, but it's also not, not human people, like helping beings and, and, uh, and humanity connect with our own Gaian nature, um, and connect, connect with our own Really coming home to ourselves and to Earth and to this animistic consciousness that is part of shamanism and alchemy, some of my primary modalities.

But I see in, particularly in the modern Western world, there's so many people who are so unhappy and so miserable and feel so alone and afraid and isolated and I see this The remedy for that really is anchoring into the birthright that is our connection to all of life everywhere and coming home to the earth, putting our hands on the earth, feeling the aliveness in the plants and the animals and the rain and the sunlight and there is so much beauty and aliveness and peace in that.So that's what I'm excited about and I happen to do it through the lens of shamanism, alchemy, and energy medicine.

Passionistas: When you were a kid Were you in tune with nature and were those things important to you?

Michelle: Oh yeah, I was definitely a young magical kiddo animist, as I feel like most children are. You know, and so I'll define animism here in case anybody's not familiar with that term.

Animism is the belief in that all things are alive, so yes, plants and animals, but also the elements and the earth herself are alive, and that all things are connected through this unifying life force. So, animism is the foundation of many spiritual traditions, including shamanism and alchemy and many other wisdom traditions as well.

And I feel like this is a very common thing for children to, you know, say, oh, the rocks have feelings and personalities and, oh, the water is telling me this thing. And that is really the animistic perspective. from All Things Are Alive. So I was very much that way. I was much more comfortable around animals and, uh, and out in nature than I really was around people.

I still am, honestly, but, um, and I feel like a lot of people tuning into this can relate of like, oh yeah, being at home in nature. Thankfully, I have a very supportive family of origin who, instead of discouraging me and saying, animals don't talk, they, you know, my parents would say, okay, what else is the dog saying?

What else is, you know, is the personality of that rock like? And so I was very encouraged in cultivating my, my curiosity and my appreciation and connection to nature and to the world around me.

Passionistas: Also, will you describe what shamanism and alchemy are for people who don't know that?

Michelle: Certainly, yeah. Shamanism is also a term that is, uh, pretty loaded here in the US and in North America. And, uh, and so the word shaman comes from, uh, it, it, it was kind of made up by white anthropologists as a, a synthesis of a term in the IC language. Um, but, or, or also it could have roots in the Sumerian. And I'm going to the, the priests and the, the devotees to the Sumerian sun god Shamash.

So it actually has like a couple different origins, people, um, use it pretty indiscriminately and not really knowing where it comes from, and then there's backlash for people using this word, um, but it really is used to des to describe these, um, Earth based spiritual practices that are ubiquitous to indigenous peoples all over the earth.

So again, because we live in the United States, I know you're both in the U. S., I'm in the U. S., um, we have associations with, oh, shamanism comes from Native Americans. And yes, and it also appears in, you know, there's Mongolian shamanism, Siberian shamanism, Celtic shamanism, Norse shamanism, Australian Aboriginal shamanism, and certainly from All over Africa as well and South America.

There are many, many different, uh, different facets and that are, uh, really unique and specific to each cultural and ecological context that those, that particular practice comes from. And yet there are commonalities between all shamanic traditions. Again, earth based spiritual practice and, and spiritist tradition of connecting with the spirit realm and the otherworldly realm.

So as a shaman, I have been initiated into a lineage that comes from what is now Hungary. My, uh, my primary lineages are from this Hungarian clan Baxia and then also Celtic shamanism, but I have. I studied with North American and South American Indigenous teachers as well in different shamanic lineages.

So that is where I come from as a shaman. I do not use that term lightly. I know it's a pretty loaded term. Um, and, yeah, I think, again, it's, I use it with a lot of care and respect for my very long term, over 20 years of training and practice now.

Passionistas: I really want to hear about alchemy but before we get into that I want to ask you because you started, like your, the first workshop you took in shamanism you were young, right?

You were, like, in high school?

Michelle: Yes, I was in high school and I was the only young person in that workshop. Everybody else was a proper grown up and so I, I, Kind of stumbled across that workshop and keep in mind that was the early 2000s. So now you can just google shaman near me or look for a workshop and they're all over the place for better or for worse.

But at that time it was, uh, it was not so common and it was a little harder to come across. So I, um, when I came into that workshop, it was a shamanic journey workshop to connect with spirit guides. And I felt like, Oh, I'm home. I felt this recognition. I felt like, oh, here's the vocabulary for everything that I already feel and think about the world.

And, uh, and again, the animistic consciousness that I had for my entire life as a child, it, I saw that in shamanic, uh, Practice and philosophy. So from there, I pursued everything I could. I got, you know, referrals from other teachers for different classes and workshops. And then I met my longtime shaman mentor in 2009. And she's the one who initiated me into that Hungarian lineage. And I've been working with her since then, really.

Passionistas: So tell us a little bit more about that next journey. You, you took that first workshop. What were some of the other workshops and things that you took and how did you study shamanism?

Michelle: During the early years, you know, those first several years, I was, uh, finishing up high school and then also attending university. And I was in the science department at, in my university. I got my degree in biology. So I was, uh, Simultaneously studying spirituality, shamanism, energy medicine, working on mediumship practice. So connecting with the spirit realm and also in the science department. And it was a really interesting place to be in of alongside my pre-med classmates who are very like Western medicine, analytical science.

And, and I love science. I, I did foraging behavior. So I really loved, um, I love data. I love, you know, I love asking questions. I love, um, you know, this intellectual investigation. And I also love spirit. I love intuitive investigation of truth. I love asking the philosophical questions. And I see, and I still see, both spirituality and science as two sides of investigating the same universal truth.

About what is life, what is death, and what is life. What are we? Who are we? Why are we here? And, and they're really just two different systems of investigating those same questions. I think they're both important and ideally, you know, of course, they both have their own dogmas, they have their own pitfalls, but they also have their own virtues and ways that they can inform and support each other.

And that's one of the reasons I love alchemy so much because alchemy is both a spiritual practice and a scientific practice. And, uh, can we shift gears to alchemy a little bit? Awesome. Okay, great. Cool. So alchemy, a lot of people throw that word around, particularly in the neo scientific world, And people tend to use it as a synonym for transformation, or to describe something that seems vaguely mysterious and expensive.

Have you seen that anywhere? Right? Yeah. And, and so it has this flavor of, like, something mystical, something kind of exclusive and, like, exotic. And, and then people also know of pop culture alchemy as, like, turning lead into gold. And while that is not technically inaccurate, it is a woefully inadequate understanding of what alchemy, alchemy actually is.

And alchemy is an ancient mystery school, like tens upon, you know, tens of thousands of years old, ancient mystery school wisdom tradition that is the process of transmuting any base material through this natural, very, very logical process, very scientific process into its most actualized elevated form.

No matter what that is. And so we have, again, the lead to gold trajectory. But the same applies in our health, our lives, our personal shadow, our personal trauma, our relationships, our career, and also the systems and structures in the world. So we have alchemy is the roadmap to transformation. Alchemy, that at its simplest core, that's what it is.

It's here's this very logical process for how to go from lead, from our own heavy, gunky, shadow system, Stuff through this very natural process into gold, into our most illuminated, whole, actualized, radiant, thriving selves, whatever that may be.

Passionistas: So how do you help people through alchemy?

Michelle: Well, I developed and I teach a 200 hour alchemy certification training course that is a year long deep dive into the mysteries and, and I already have years two and three of the curriculum in mind, it's just a matter of getting, getting that to go, um, but for now it's a year long deep dive and I'm halfway through my fifth cohort of that right now, and I, I gotta tell ya, this is, this is Some of the most fun I have in my work is supporting people through this alchemical crucible of transformation.

And I have people come into this course who are both practitioners, and I say this as kind of a broad umbrella term of care providers, whether they're coaches, healers, therapists, social workers. Physicians, assistants, body workers, acupuncturists, naturopaths, you know, some aspect of offering care, and then also people who may not be in a practitioner role, but they want those tools for themselves, for their own personal healing, and an evolution and transformation, and then also applying it in whatever their So I have people who are in academia, who are in the legal system, who are involved in politics, non profit organizations, real estate, and they're applying principles of alchemical transformation in their lives personally and professionally through these lenses.

And that's one of the things that is so wonderful about alchemy is that, um, you know, it is based in universal truth and universal law, so it is universally applicable. And I see, you know, there's so many people in our lives, raise your hand if you can relate, like you've been wanting to make a change and you're not sure how, right?

We've all been there, right? Everyone who's listening has been in that place at some point in their lives where it's like, gosh, I don't even know where to start. Or I'd really like, I know this, this. Insert blank, you know, blank insert whatever here. I know this job, I know this relationship, I know this home or this city I live in isn't right and I know I need to change and I am so afraid because I don't know what's on the other side of letting go of that.

And alchemy is I'm so excited to be the roadmap to how to move through that process, how to collaborate with the forces of change, how to call in these very powerful spiritual forces, and how to organize our own consciousness, our minds, our hearts, our energy, and our, our choices in such a way as to move through this, um, you know, this very, And until then, I'm Gold Comedy.

Very orderly process with as much collaboration as possible, rather than feeling like you're being dragged behind the car that somebody else is driving, because we've all been there too, right? And, and I like to tell my students, choose change before change chooses you. We know that feeling of the whisper, you know, this isn't right.

You need to change something. And then we ignore it and it gets louder. Hey, you know, this isn't right until it gets so loud. It becomes a slap in the face. We've all been there.

Passionistas: And does the change have to be the abandonment, abandonment of something or can the change be kind of a leveling up of something, you know what I mean, opening yourself up to transforming the experience into something greater than, than maybe you originally envisioned it to be?

Michelle: You know, any transformation actually involves both of those parts. Because even in the, the way that you're, you're describing as an up level or stepping into something new, something does have to die. Some part of ourselves of that old identity structure does actually have to be let go. So even in the, the shiny, you know, imagine like, let's pick a, a pretty common rite of passage initiation of like, you know, somebody's graduating from school or you, you, you, Purchase a home, I don't know about in this economy, less and less so, or you get married, or whatever one might see as a positive shift.

There's still some version of your old self that dies through these positive shifts. And it's not anything that is bad or wrong, it's simply a natural part of the transformation. And so, the process of alchemy teaches us, again, what those stages are. There are seven stages of alchemy, and there's a very Logical way that we move through them and how to embrace them and how to make sure that we work with them fully so that we don't have old stuck energy that we're still hanging onto from a past version of ourselves or an old identity that isn't serving us anymore. So then we can fully step into these new, more thriving versions of ourselves.

Passionistas: So what are the nuts and bolts of it? Like if someone works with you, what does a session look like?

Michelle: Well, I very rarely offer just one off sessions. Usually, it's, uh, it's in the form of longer term mentorship because these are deep dive mysteries. As I mentioned, the alchemy course that I developed is a 200 hour certification training, so it's a year long. And peop and I know that that's not for everybody, so I do have other options for how people can step in to work with me, whether it's a one on one mentorship, whether you're tuning into some of the smaller course series that I offer.

So, for all of you who are curious about this, please do check out my website. It's my name, michellehawk.com. That's Michelle with two L's, haw klike the bird .com. And I have a free guide to the stages of alchemy also on my website that you can download if you'd like to learn more and figure out where you might be stuck.

So, uh, so again, I, I have this deep dive course that is really, um, you know, I, again, I have practitioners take that, I have people who are not practitioners take that, and, It is so powerful. Like, through this course, I have watched people go through massive transformation in their lives. And sometimes it's the, uh, uh, you know, I'll be totally honest here.

Sometimes it's the transformation that people were actually signing up for. Sometimes it's not. Because here's the thing, is when we invite in and when we step into these very powerful crucibles, we You might get confronted with things that perhaps we've been holding on to and we knew weren't right and then when we invite in transformation, it might feel a little bit challenging.

But ultimately, we do trust, and I've been through those initiations myself. I, alchemical initiation, and I'm able to kind of laugh about it now, but at the time, it was savage. It was really, really hard. Uh, but I learned so much from that, and working with alchemy really helped me to move through that process in a, Good way and then to learn those lessons very well, so hopefully I never do that again.

This is how transformation works. That's all it is. And when I look at the world and I look at, right now we're recording this the week after the election and there are, and like there's always shit going on in the world, right? But like we, um, people are always upset about something, but we're in this This process where a lot of people are in pain and afraid and a lot of people are saying, okay, how can I personally devote myself to changing the world?

How can I support people? How can I support the environment? How can I work through my own ancestral karmic healing? How can I work with my lineages? How can I live in my soul aligned service in the world? A lot of people are asking those questions and Alchemy is, is really, again, it's that process of how do we move from this base material to this elevated form?

Personally, collectively, planetarily. And, uh, so this is the tool that I want everybody to have. It was like, if the, if I could have one thing that I would give everyone, it would be, here's how this works. So I'm going to give you some very fancy esoteric words, and you don't have to remember them because I have that guide on my website.

So you can write them down if you want to, or if you're like, how do you spell that? Then just go download the guide from my website. And that guide also goes into a little bit more detail about, again, how to figure out where you are in this cycle. Identifying blockages in places where people commonly get stuck and then giving you practices to do for each stage.

So if you're listening to this and you identify, oh, I'm in this stage, then go download the guide and it'll say, okay, now here's the practices to do for that stage. So here's, here's your overview into the stages of alchemy and how this will help us change the world for the better. Uh, so alchemy is divided into three phases.

Death, Purification, and Rebirth. And yes, it starts with death. So, Amy, you asked that question about, um, okay, well, is, is transformation just about letting something go, or can it be about growing into something new? And it's always going to be both, because we have to let go of something first. We let go of, um, either the old version of ourselves, or some shadow Bang.

We move through this process of purification and then there is this rebirth process. So it's always going to include both of those pieces. And yes, it starts with death. So a lot of people, when I ask them, How do you think transformation works? Or how, if you want to transform your life, how would you start?

They usually say something about, oh, I think about where I want to go and maybe I'll make a, you know, a list of my habits or my structures or, and what I want, and I'll make a vision board. And that has a place in alchemy, but it's not first. That comes like about halfway through. So where we begin is in the stage called calcination.

Now, this means to take down to the bone, like you look at the root of the word calcination, it's like calcium or calcify. So this means, this is the loss and death of physical structures. This is stuff burning down. This is going through a breakup, losing a loved one, losing your job, quitting your job, moving to a new place, selling your house.

Going through a health crisis. Even cleaning out your closet is a calcination type activity because you're getting rid of stuff that doesn't, either doesn't fit your body or doesn't fit your identity or your style anymore. So you're getting rid of things. Yeah, again, the loss of physical structures. And, um, this is, again, people can be nervous to enter into this because we are naturally wired to be afraid or resistant to losing things or losing people.

But you know what? We gotta embrace loss. We gotta embrace death because that's how we make room for the new things to come in. And I know that it's easy to grasp that logically. People are like, yes, Michelle, like I know that that's kind of how that works. And it takes a lot of courage. I want to just, you know, if you're listening to this right now and you're in this position of wanting to make a change in your life and you're just really afraid to step into that, I have so much compassion and respect for that.

It takes courage. It takes, you know, It takes a lot of conviction, it takes a lot of trust, and this is the promise of alchemy. This is why I want everyone to have this, because for everyone out there who's afraid to step into it, know that rebirth is always on the other side. Just like here in the Northern Hemisphere, we're shifting into winter, the leaves are dropping, the days are getting shorter, we know spring is going to come again.

So I promise that if you let something go, it will make room for something else to come in. So we begin with loss. And then stage two is called Dissolution. Now this is the loss or death of energetic and emotional structures. This is where we do identity, grieving, and forgiveness practice. So, in stage one, we're letting go of the stuff, or the physical part.

And then in stage two, we're going through the emotional process. We're letting go of who we were as that version of ourselves. Or maybe you're grieving a relationship. That you let go or you quit your job that you kind of hated, but there were some parts of you that you're like, you know, I, I really, I loved that I, you know, I had that connection with that coworker and I'm sad I won't have that anymore, or I loved that I, I got to, you know, work in that office, or you hated everything about it, but there's still some grief process of, you know, maybe you have fear about being unemployed.

So it's, it's working with that. And then stage three, this is where we get to do the vision boards, people. Okay, so stage three is called separation, and this is where we go into analysis. This is about perspective and discernment, where we make our pros and cons lists, we sort out, okay, here's what I'm getting rid of, here's what I'm keeping.

I'm doing this, you know, sort things into piles, make your vision board, and think about where you're going moving forward. Okay. People like to hang out in stage three. This is a place where people pretty commonly get stuck and not moving on to actually taking action and putting it into a new form. And that's stage four.

It's called conjunction. And this is the initial form. So this is where, again, people do not mistake this for the final version. Just like if you write the first draft of your book, you do not mistake that for the, it's not done. You got to edit it. Okay. So in our lives, if we've been through that loss of losing a job.

Ending a relationship, moving to a new home, right? So the stage four would be you make a dating profile and you start going on dates. You, maybe you put your resume together and you start applying for jobs and going to interviews. Or you write the first draft of your book. Or you just landed in a new house but nothing's unpacked yet.

Okay, so that's stage four. And then stage five. Now we're entering into the rebirth phase. So stage five is reanimation and spiritization. This is where that thing comes to life. This is that point where Frankenstein's monster goes from being just a bunch of body parts sewn together on the table to actually that You know, taking a breath and sitting up.

Sorry, my dog looks at me when I, when I do that. Everything's okay. Um, and so that thing coming to life, it's receiving that animating force. So we all know that feeling of you go from just dating somebody and then all of a sudden, oh, now we're in a relationship because that, That enlivening force of love comes in to bring that dating into life.

Or you go from that, oh, you write the first draft of your book and you go through this editing process and then all of a sudden it takes on a life of its own, right? We know what that's like. It's exciting. It's very, very exciting. And then stage six is called distillation. And in chemical distillation, this is probably most, most infamously known, famously known for making alcohol, where we're Evaporating and condensing a substance over and over and over and over again in order to create a very pure, very concentrated, very refined essence.

And now this is where you, um, in our relational example, you meet the family, you meet the friends, and you go through some trials as a couple, and then you, you come really strongly into your identity of who you are as, as a, in partnership with that person. Or you've. Ben at the new job and you've been through some trials in the new job and you figure out, you're like, okay, now I'm really solid.

And this is my role. This is what I'm here to do. Or as an entrepreneur, you're really clear on these are my clients who I serve. This is how I support them. This is my message. This is my program. Right? So it's this, this clarification, this distillation of what is the pure essence of who you are and what you're doing in this place.

And then we have the final stage coagulation. This is the actualization where we've, we've come into the gold of who we are. We've become the philosopher's stone, which is an alchemical principle that is said to be able, if the philosopher's stone is the product of alchemy, said to be able to transform any metal into gold and to create the elixir of life.

And I look at this as, we do not transform in a vacuum. We do not transform alone. The alchemist, by going through this process of transformation and actualization, inherently must transform the world around them, their families, their lives, their communities. And so when we say the philosopher's stone transforms any metal into gold, it's saying, okay, here as the radiant expression of who I am, I can inspire transformation in others.

I can offer the benefits of this healing and, and these mysteries and these initiations that I've been through to support other people and support the world in coming into its most radiant expression and creating that elixir of immortality. We know that the cycle of alchemy keeps going, so we get to move through this cycle of death and rebirth over and over and over again throughout our lives, just like the seasons move through this pretty continuous cycle so far in the millennia of Earth of winter, spring, summer, fall, over and over and over again.

And that is the nature of immortality, of surrendering to this process of death and rebirth over and over and over again to come evermore into that radiant expression, the gold of ourselves. Now, I know I just described the process of alchemy as a very linear, logical progression, and it certainly is, it's very logical and sensical, but it is actually possible to be present in more than one stage of alchemy at the same time.

For example, in one area of your life, say your career is going really well and you're like, I'm rock solid, I know who I am, I know what I'm doing, you're in your fully actualized radiance in your career, but maybe your, your home life or your relationship is going through some challenges so you're in dissolution in your partnership.

And knowing that and knowing the stages of alchemy helps you to allocate your attention and your energy in the best way in those areas where it's It's most needed. And it's also possible, again, I talked about it as this linear trajectory, and this is also how I presented it to my students in that 200 hour course.

We move through the stages in a very linear way. We spend about seven weeks in each stage, but that's not actually how we'll experience alchemy in our lives. We can be in a stage of alchemy for a short time or for a very long time, depending, or we can, it's also possible to kind of loop through a few stages and then move on and then go back to the beginning.

Uh, and the reason I bring my students through this in that, But I think the most logical way is so that they can spend time in each stage to get to know the energies and to really master the practices that one would use in each stage of the process. But for those of you tuning in, if you're hearing this and saying, gosh, my, my transformation doesn't go in such a nice, neat order.

Don't worry. It doesn't for anybody, but when we know how it works, we can align most effectively to move ourselves through that process in the most easeful way.

Passionistas: Wow. First of all, thank you. You're welcome. That was amazing. And so, Beautifully clear. Um, and I just want to say I love talking to people who are as passionate as you are about what they do and how they can help people. And it just exudes from you as you're, you just like glow when you're talking.

Michelle: I love it. I love it so much. Honestly, it's so exciting to me. And, um, you know, the, the. You're right, this is a passion of mine, and this is something that I would be doing, and studying, and participating in, even if I weren't sharing it with other people.

But I want everyone to have this. I want, you know, so if you're listening to this, like, I'm sharing this with you because I want you to know how this works, so you can apply this in your life. Because it's that important. It's that helpful. It is the single most valuable tool that I have ever come across in my own life.

20 plus year of, years of practice and journey and study and work in the mysteries and healing and transformation. Like alchemy is the thing.

Passionistas: Wow. So you were saying people listening, figure out kind of where they, they connect to where they are in that journey. So in your practice of working, like I'm assuming one on one with people, Can, can somebody in any stage of that process come and, and work with you?

Michelle: Yes. Yeah. So my one on one work is completely independent of the alchemy course. So if, if someone wants to come study and work in, in this course that I've created, you need to come into the cohort and that's a, you know, it's moving through curriculum and it includes retreats and, and also one on one with me, but it's, you know, curriculum based because you're going through this course.

Um, but if somebody is like, Yeah, Michelle, I need help now. Like, yeah, come talk to me. Book a session. Well, and yes, no matter where you are in this journey of transformation, if it's the right fit for me to help you, I got you covered. And that my one on one work is drawing not only from my tools and practices of alchemy, but also my shamanic training as well, and my many different certifications.

My list of certifications is like pages long. It's super long. And so I have, I'm a multi lineage practitioner and I'm bringing all the best tools of everything I've ever studied to support my people.

Passionistas: It's one thing to Practice something yourself and it's another thing to start a, start a, a practice that welcomes other people and instructs other people. So what was it in you that made you decide that you wanted to share this talent you have with other people and help them through their transformations?

Michelle: You know, I never wanted to be a teacher. So I've been through many different iterations in my practice and my business. I started my business in, I actually never wanted to be an entrepreneur.

It's not like I sat around thinking like, gosh, how can I share this in the world? How can I make money doing this? How can I help people? I mean, I was asking how can I help people? But, um, I started my business in 2009 because I was already practicing shamanism, energy healing, mediumship, and people kept asking me to do sessions for them.

So my mom said, you know, Michelle, you can set up an LLC and you can set up a, um, and my mom's an entrepreneur. So she was already in this world. She was like, you can, um, you know, have an official way to take people's money for doing this thing that you're doing anyway, because people are asking you to do this and you like doing it.

So I was like, Okay, sure, maybe I'll do that. And I, so I was like, alright, I'll do this, but I don't really ever want to be in, you know, in a position of like doing more of this. But people kept asking me, hey, Michelle, can you, um, can you do this for me? Can you do a session for my friend? Can you do a session for my dog?

Can you teach me how to do what you're doing? And I was like, ah, gosh, I really don't want to teach people, um, Okay, fine. I had people kept asking me, okay, fine. But I, and, you know, but it was always a like, okay, fine, I'll do that. But I don't want to do this next thing. But then people would ask me to do that next thing.

And, uh, and so then I just ended up continuing to follow where people were asking me to go. And, uh, yeah, So as a result, my practice grew and I got referrals and I had people showing up my classes. I, I made classes by request and then people came and then eventually I realized like, wow, okay, this is a thing that, um, that people want and it's a thing that I really enjoy and I can just get over myself about my resistances about it and step into, um, my own, like, my own growth edges.

You know, now also I've been an entrepreneur for, I've been doing this for 15 years now and now here we are talking on camera. I've got, you know, my whole setup situation and I used to be so uncomfortable speaking in front of people. I used to be so like, shake, literally shaking to either be on camera or be in front of a group of people and ask people to go through an exercise and it was insane.

It was very challenging for me to step into that. But I did because I recognized, here are these passions that I have. It was all rooted in my own passion. It was rooted in my love and my care for what I was doing. My love for these practices. My love for shamanic work. My love for the mysteries. And I recognized, oh, people are hungry for that.

People are really deeply hungry to feel connected to something bigger than themselves. People are hungry to connect with the earth. People are hungry for transformation that feels aligned and healthy. People are hungry and desperate for the kind of presence that comes from devoting oneself to these practices.

So yes, I want them to have that. I want them to have these tools. So it was really just getting out of my own way and my own discomfort of being in that teacher role to be able to surrender and share this with the people who really want it. And now I, you know, I'm much more comfortable being on camera, I'm much more, I'm very comfortable now being in front of groups of people, but this isn't really ever where I, I wanted to be.

I, I never wanted to be in, you know, on a platform in the spotlight. I, I only ever wanted to be out in the forest with my dog. And, and I, I still do that, but, but now In sharing this and in, you know, developing this curriculum and developing, um, you know, all these, these healing modalities and sharing this work as widely as I am, it is, it's because I, I love life and I want to support life.

I want to support people who, who want to love their lives. I want to support the, the world and the earth because I love the earth. And I, I feel that Art centeredness and that, that higher service beckoning people all over the world and I, I love that and I want to support that. That's why I'm here and that's why I stepped into my practice.

Passionistas: You've mentioned something in the middle of all that that I want to go back to, which is this isn't just about humans. You also work with animals. So tell us about your work doing readings for animals, because I think that's fascinating.

Michelle: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, that's how I began my practice actually is in animal communication and healing work. So I, I, again, as a magical kiddo who loves nature, I never had any interest in working with humans at all. No. Um, and so I, I started my business again primarily for animals. So I, I still do that by request only. I don't, uh, or actually, I mean, I do have a separate website for that and I don't really advertise it.

It's really just by referral. So, I mean, but people, if you're tuning into this and listening in, like, sure you can contact me and I'll send you to my animal website, but, um, but the majority of the work I do now is with people. But with animals, uh, you know, we have these Beautiful, beautiful animals that live in our homes and that we love so much.

And, uh, and I, they are, they have their own life path and purpose. They have their own healing journey. They have their own thoughts and feelings and desires and their own soul evolution. And I have so much respect for the non human experience of being in this earth, and I am very committed to supporting my non human relations, and supporting my human relations who love them. So that is, that's the animal part of what I do.

Passionistas: Can I ask how that works? Because I too am fascinated by that.

Michelle: Sure. I mean, it works just the same as any other intuitive practice. You know, all intuitive practices, mediumship practices, and psychic work is related and it's tuning into the same kind of thing.

Um, generally people have a little stronger Um, stronger connection to one area than another. So, for example, like I'm really great at working with animals. Um, there's some mediums who specialize in working with our loved ones who have passed on so working with deceased humans. Um, I can. That's not my area of primary specialty.

Animals are my go to. Uh, and so it's really the same as tuning into again, those bonds of love that transcend all species. Waste and time and tuning into the higher self and the energy body and the, the higher consciousness of the animals. And then being able to translate that into, you know, through the filter of, okay, here's what I'm seeing, here's the words I'm hearing, here's the sensations I'm feeling in my body.

And so then actually just last night I offered a, a session too. Some friends of mine who just had a baby two weeks ago and their cat has been trying to figure out what's going on with having the baby, so I gifted them a session for Household Harmony of helping the cat come into a more easeful place of having this new human infant in the house and helping everybody get along well.

Passionistas: Do you have like one or two success stories from people that you've worked with that you could share with us?

Michelle: I've got more than that. Um, yeah. And, uh, yeah. And I, let me think for a moment about what would be, what would be helpful to share. Yeah. Okay. So I, I have a student of mine who has worked with me for a long time, and this person has.

It came to me at, like, a pretty powerful, like, reckoning moment in their life. Uh, they had lost their last remaining parent, and they were Um, you know, letting go. They had also just recently moved across the country and they were, um, entering into a new career path and feeling the call. They had been feeling the call to healership for a long time and were in the and and also grappling with, like, a chronic illness.

So they came to me in this, like, everything that they could possibly be going through, they were going through. And they had also ended a partnership like a few years prior, but it was still, you know, the, the ripple effects of that. So honestly, it was every level of, of transmutation. And they came to me initially for one on one work, but then also later stepped into the Alchemy course.

And I am so, like, humbly happy for and proud of this person because of their commitment and their tremendous progress that they have made in terms of regulating their nervous system and coming into more peace and comfort and just being in their own body and translating that into healthy habits and dysregulation and it may sound like a very simple thing, but people who are in a very high state of dysregulation just cannot be effective in their lives.

It's really hard for people who are, um, dissociative or it's, or stuck in functional freeze response to do things like go grocery shopping and apply for jobs and, like, make rational decisions. It's just very difficult. And so, um, so people, and this person in particular, made ridiculous decisions. Progress and changes in terms of being able to be present in their life, move through this career transition in a really powerful way, graduate from a different training that they were doing.

When, when they initially came to me and then stepped into alchemy, um, and then translate that into effectively launching this new career moving forward, all while processing ancestral trauma and the loss of their parent. And, and finalizing cleaning up this chronic health condition. Like, I, honestly, I'm just so impressed with this person and the work that they've done. So that's a really good one that comes to mind.

Passionistas: Thank God they found you. Yeah. Yeah. So remind everybody once again how they can contact you and work with you.

Michelle: Absolutely. And please do if you're tuning into this and you're like, gosh, that sounds cool. Yes. Drop me a line. My, my name is Michelle Hawk, like the bird, and you can find me through my website, michellehawk.com. That's Michelle with two L's and hawklikethebird. com. And again, on my website, you can download that free guide to the stages of alchemy that I talked about. So it goes even more in depth than I gave. and when you sign up for, or when you put your email in to download the guide, you will get signed up for my email list.

So, if you want to hear what I have to say, I send out a lot of very cool articles related to energy healing, shamanism, alchemy, and also just my own personal experiences of being in the world as a mystical person. Human. So there's a lot of good stuff in there. Um, I also have my own podcast called Shaman Sister Sessions.

So that's very deep dive into the mysteries and working with energy healing, mediumship, um, different spiritual technologies. So if that calls to you, you can go check that out. It's on YouTube and all the podcast platforms. And again, if you are interested or called to that 200 hour alchemy certification training, I'm currently taking applications for next year's cohort that begins in March.

So please do reach out to me. And if you're like, wow, that sounds cool. And I, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, book a call with me and we'll either just, you know, decide if that's the right fit for you or help you get prepared if, if you need some help to get ready for that course. Um, or if, again, if you're like, no, I, you know, not alchemy, but I still want your help, then yeah, reach out to me and I got you covered.

Passionistas: And I'll add to that. Michelle's podcast is in the Passionistas Podcast Network in the past. Yeah,

Michelle: that's right. Yeah. Thank you.

Passionistas: Awesome. Yeah. So, one last two part question for you. Um, what's your dream for yourself and what's your dream for women?

Michelle: I am well on my way to living my dream for myself right now, so I'm very happy about that.

I, I currently, um, I live in the forest. so much for joining me today. I'm here in the Pacific Northwest with my partner and my dog on five acres in the Pacific Northwest. And I'm very, very happy to be here. And I support clients and host retreats at my house, which, you know, that that has been a longtime dream of mine.

Um, I, I do, I think, additionally, I dream that, you know, Um, I, I would like to have at least one biological child. I think that that seems like a very, um, interesting initiation and rite of passage that is calling to me, and again, in, in the state of the world, that's feeling a little more challenging these days, but we'll see.

And let's see, I think I, I would like to get more fluent in Portuguese than I already am and to expand my musicianship practices. Those are, those are my dreams. I'm, again, I'm already living really, like, A lot of my dream life and so it's more like refinement from here, which is I'm so lucky to say that.

Um, and my dream for women is letting ourselves consistently or like every single day be as powerful and expansive as we are. And my dream for all women is that they come home to their own power in their bodies, their hearts, their minds, their spirits, the the like fierce Peace Compassion of, of being women and coming home to earth, coming home to our Our generative power that we get to live in and connecting in with that and then coming together in our generative power and supporting each other from that place of, it's almost like, this like, fierce compassion.

That is my, how I feel toward my fellow women and my wish and my dream for women is this, this fierce compassion and this like, unfuckwithability that comes from deep love.

Passionistas: I love that. Love, love, love that. Well, we cannot thank you enough for being with us today. This has been fascinating and we're sure the sisterhood will eat it up.

So thank you so much.

Michelle: Thank you so much for inviting me to be here. This was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed our conversation. And yes, I hope that you all who are tuning in find this valuable. Please do reach out to me. I'd love to know what you think of this episode and Amy and Nancy, thank you. This was such a joy to be here and share my passion with you all.

Passionistas: Thanks for listening to The Passionistas Project. Since we're not only business partners, but best friends and real life sisters, we know how unique and truly special our situation is. We know so many solopreneurs, activists, women seeking their purpose and more, who are out there doing it all on their own.

They often tell us they wish they had what we have. So we've created a space for them and you to join our sisterhood. Where trust, acceptance, and support are the cornerstones of our community. By joining, you become part of our family. We'll give you all of our CIS tips on building meaningful relationships through the power of sisterhood, and all the tools you need to thrive in three key areas.

Business growth, personal development, and social impact.

You'll learn from our panel of Power Passionistas, who are experts on topics like transformational leadership, letting go of perfectionism, the power of community, and so much more. You can connect with like minded women and gender non conforming, non binary people, and learn from them who share your values and goals in chat spaces, at online Passionistas pajama parties, and virtual and in person meetups. And you can register for our exclusive series of online courses designed to help you tap into your intuition, find your purpose, bring your mission to fruition, and integrate diversity, equity, inclusion in every aspect of your plan.

Be sure to visit ThePassionistasProject.com to sign up for our free membership to join our worldwide sisterhood of passion driven women who come to get support, find their purpose, and feel empowered to transform their lives and change the world. We'll be back next week with another Passionista who's defining success on her own terms and breaking down the barriers for herself and women everywhere.

Until then, stay passionate!