Blogging Shamanic Shifting 2

Celebrating as many winter holidays and festivities as possible while dreaming deeply

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:43 GMT

Again, I didn't blog on or about the December solstice or any specific Winter 2011-2012 holiday: Continuing a new practice, I shamanic journeyed on the solstice to a standstill in non-ordinary reality and waited at that crossroads for a spirit-power boost into new directions.

On every winter holiday I know of I have and will shamanic journey for power and knowledge, basking in the vibes of many traditions and appreciating diverse customary observances without copying.

These darkest, darkening, then lightening days have become for me a season set apart for deepest dreaming and intensest recharging, when I seek and receive longer-range guidance and "longer-haul" renewal.

In the original, non-traditional shamanic ways I practice, each journey provides revelation and activation -- prophesy as direct connecting with spirit in singular here-now ("hear now") moments (for me, then and there, as an individual, subject to and requiring ongoing shamanic shifting course correcting). Prophets (or spiritual leaders by any other capital-lettered titles) in most religions pronounce on behalf of community-, nation-, or world-wide organizations, communions, denominations or other large groups, but to avoid confusion and delusion Companions Circle teaches only incremental, shamanic shifting revelations and empowerments around specific prayer intentions by individuals and circles (when two or three or several more agree).

Many unfortunate, even devastating consequences arise from institutionalized revelation and from specific revelations by set-up or self-proclaimed religious authorities, whether the pronouncements predict the end of the world or give otherwise practical instructions about how to live. This article in Elle details one point of view from experience.

The misuse of human imagination -- the re-creative launchpad and landing zone for many shamanic adventurers -- also incarnates terrible mischief throughout this world. This Vanity Fair story tells the exploits of one gifted, talented mis-creative fellow (who now claims, according to CNN, he has learned his lessons and turned his life around).

Institutionalization and dishonesty and numerous other pitfalls every day halt intuitive ingenuity and sidetrack shamanic shifting. But crows on this winter's bare, snowy branches are watching over, and showing me in my dreams new escapes from such too-long-standing, destructive patterns.

Living 'neon signs' energized my wondering...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:14 GMT

Reading that humans devised and designed living 'neon signs' conglomerated from millions of programmed glowing bacteria activated my childlike wonder and shamanic wondering. Is the programming of one kind and scale of being by another somehow simply another natural feature of ordinary reality -- so no big deal?

Who or what programs humankind's reality -- and at how invisibly grand or subtle (or intrinsically tiny or macroscopic) a scale might it be happening?

Though it does not appear to be the case that our world is merely a bit of experimental culture growing in a giant giant's lab or even a giant giant's gigantic child's pond-water-drop viewed through a Brobdingnagian microscope (of any sort, toy to high-tech), I hear folks speculate often enough that we might be programmed.

Any mentions or examples I come upon of beings being programmed in physical, classical reality (the most obvious situations, those most likely to grab my attention) stir my childish wonder again, so I find myself asking, "How might this be happening in the universe as I know it?"

And of course there could be many improbable, un-provable and tricky ways programming could be happening to some and/or all of us. Most (if not all) the possibilities have been thought up already, then permutated, then extended to their absurdest extremes and otherwise discussed soberly or argued heatedly, formally and for entertainment purposes, ad hoc and ad nauseam.

The bacteria glowing in the researchers' sign might be doing fine, just living their spiral dances of universal FUN, no matter what. But the engineering project was undertaken for serious, practical purposes, such as developing low cost biosensors to detect pollutants wherever and whenever needed.

Image: Frostnova/Flickr.com

Secret rock garden in India inspires and encourages

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:21 GMT

This here LA Times story about a hidden rock garden that "rocks" has inspired and encouraged my humble rock gardening efforts!

The picture shows only the barest beginning stages of one of the new rock gardens I started this autumn in Dane County, Wisconsin. This layout is next to a home, but others are secret.

Much more work and play with these projects will happen after the spring thaws. Until this territory freezes over I continue adding and shifting in gradual, unpredictable increments.

Someday I would like to shamanic-shift a vacant-lot-sized public rock garden I have envisioned in shamanic dreaming into ordinary reality.

Rock garden shifting and miscellaneous musing

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:04 GMT

The picture shows a new rock garden's (soon-to-be) surroundings in early October.

My and the church's mailing address has not changed, though I have begun an "in residence" job near Madison -- installing a rock garden and assorted odd-jobs. I return to Milwaukee once a week or so, where I keep a severely downsized official residence.

Most of the branches here are barren now, in mid-November. Crows thrive on.

Miscellaneous musings:

1. I understand shamanic experience differs from psychosis -- but non-ordinary experience and psychosis might arise in some of the same brain cells and regions, and might overlap. A story like this one might be an example. But the archetypal shamanic-craziness overlap happens, plays out and materializes in many different ways everyday in ordinary and extraordinary brains, I have long supposed. Meaning, purpose and benefits (to self and others) make most of the difference, I am certain.

2. Shamanic experience is altogether different from scientific discovery, though imagination plays a role in both. When theoretical physicists discuss quantum weirdness; dark matter and dark energy; parallel universes, extra dimensions and the multiverse; vibrating strings, or superstrings (and membranes); singularities, black holes and more -- I comprehend all of these proposed marvels as matter-energy and space-time. All of that is still ordinary reality (baryonic and non-baryonic matter-energy realms that scientists can or could order or measure somehow).

But nowadays I read and hear more inelegant mix-ups of the ordinary (all of the aforementioned wonders of theoretical physics) and the non-ordinary (the routes shamans adventure), that seem to me to confound shamanic (or sacramental) dreaming, bridging and journeying, which I call mysterious, spiritual or imaginary acts of Faith, Hope and Love (the Graces).

3. Shamanic shifting begins and ends within without being of this world, and happens through mustard-seed-sized (un-measurable, more-than-infinitely TINY yet colossal) miracle-facilitating loopholes that will never be found through scientific investigations. Weirdly, I contend, believe or pretend: all worldly (individual or universal or multiversal) brains, bodies, bits and vibrations of ordinary reality (from the greatest to the least of every space-time/matter-energy kind, realm, season, direction and dimension) grace-fully contain wondrous arrays of these impossible yet dependable mustard-seed-wide doorways that are ever-ready for knocking and entering, that allow spirit-soul-imagination to reach on purpose into the non-ordinary and return with blessings.

I have yet to express what I mean by these musings, and this was only the latest rambling circumlocution, far from any final say-so.

ShamanicShift's Contact Portal

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:11 GMT

This site is a contact portal for ShamanicShift, a.k.a. ECP.

To send Elizabeth a message related to shamanic or ministerial services click here or use the CONTACT tab above.

This site's links lead to further news and information about the ministerial and shamanic programs at Companions Circle's “mother-ship” project Shamanic Shift Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Visit the shamanic blogspot to read more.

Freelancing: To hire Elizabeth as a freelance writer, researcher or editor, open an email conversation through this other contact form.

Or, TWEET @ShamanicShift on any topic of interest!

Because this site is for contacting, this first blog post will be its last, updated occasionally.

Filed under: Hello Tagged: Milwaukee Wisconsin, Shamanic Shift Center

Next adventures of the Blue Plastic Goat

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:52 GMT

Weird: I dreamed fleetingly of the Blue Plastic Goat I blogged about weeks ago, waking up suddenly, visioning the tiny battered toy lying near a dumpster in the church's parking lot, just around the corner from the courtyard garden (the last known location).

Evidently, one of the new gardeners had indeed decided the goat was trash, or simply scooped broadly and unintentionally. Yet since then repeated garbage collections failed to capture the plain, incongruous figurine for land-fill.

Both horns have diminished to stubs, I noticed. It appears the goat didn't get very far after it attracted attention!

But that is only one discouraging thought -- possibilities stir my imagination.

I shall attempt repairs and listen for stories of the blue plastic goat's multi-dimensional inter-dumpster travels.

This blog is moving...but WHERE? Wherever, updating would help...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:31 GMT

This blog, for writing about personal and freelancing experiences, is shifting locations, and this post will be updated to link to its latest new location.

This is a new plan, and I am considering options still. I might blog a while on Digital Journal, but I haven't decided upon it.

Also, the location might shift more than once while I experiment. Of course, actually blogging regularly and frequently (wherever) would help!

Since almost no revenue is generated here on LiveJournal, anyway, because LJ forbids most monetization possibilities, I was considering blogging freelancing and personal stuff at Digital Journal, where I have been writing news, and where I was feeling almost at home

But last week DJ instituted gamification, and I feel embarrassed to be associated with such silliness. Maybe this is because I burned out participating in Squidoo's monster games, which were quite a bit more involved and complicated.

On the plus side of the new system, I would generate merit points for every post and original photo. However, the resulting un-professionalization of the service has already begun irking, embarrassing and distracting me, and I may decide to quit contributing there altogether instead.

The two to three bucks per article makes my work there, in my view, volunteering (with benefits). I learned at Squidoo that the bells and whistles of points, ranks and badges are -- above all -- a ploy to generate more volunteering, and do not equate to better article performance and more revenue..

Do real journalists in worldwide news organizations work for luridly colorful prizes, meritorious participation points and ranks with privileges?

Shamanic flight: shifting out of sight

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:09 GMT

Soon my "shamanic shift center" and the Tortoise Cat's territories will be traveling westward a ways: This move won't be as far west as the place that goes with this picture, of the first home I remember from my toddler-hood in Davis, California (where I pilgrimaged recently). I will be busing distance from Milwaukee -- still close enough to keep occasional, mobile office hours.

Companions Circle and Shamanic Shift Center will shift among the current official and known members' homes and rented spaces, while keeping its current mailing address. Anyone and everyone who wants to, or who is called to, can still join in, each their own ways, by declaring, being and doing "shamanic shift" in all of their unique heres and and nows.

But the location at the corner of N. Astor and E. Knapp Streets on Milwaukee's lower east side, held since November 1997, will be vacated by October 31. Amid this upheaval, Companions board is meeting periodically, as usual, to watch over the operation and continue to shift our mission re-creatively.

Lately, the mission-shift centers around this concept: A widespread shapeshifting circle, stretching though ordinary, cyber and non-ordinary realities that provides a dancing center for anyone adventuring shamanic ways without religion, tradition or belief-systems.

The board is discussing whether and how to officially record and certify members, ministers and local circles without stirring up institutionalization -- and discerning if official recognition, through electronic media or paper, is even possible for this sort of church that aims to be churchless, and operate though emerging new thought(s), spoken and sung word(s) and danced or jested deed(s). The Universal Life Church's model seems to have worked well over the years (but that church does not even specify any type of "ways" to live, and that may be why), so all I can report now is that this topic is still under prayerful study.

My shamanizing will henceforth (until the plan changes again,if it does) be unadvertised, ad hoc, impromptu and improvised -- mostly private, but not secret. I am un-affiliating myself from all shamanic and related organizations, foundations and groups, and unsubscribing from most lists, because my ways and understandings have diverged enough to be unrecognizable to most who call themselves "shamanic practitioners" or shamans or shamanic ministers these days, and this has proved more and more confusing to people who contact me with an interest in "shamanism," or anything related (mistakenly or correctly) to that problematic (but widely used and apparently unavoidable) term -- though I have nothing against what anyone is doing, teaching and learning.

The name ShamanicShift (or Shamanic-Shift) still expresses (to my satisfaction) my aspirations, methods and purposes, so I will keep going by it, so long as it does.

But I will not claim exclusive dibs, and dream and hope (daily) there are many shamanic shifts, shamanic shifters, and shamanic shift centers.

This blog (as well as FB and Twitter) will update as often as I find it is possible.

More regular blogging here and FB posting remain long-range goals. However, now I am focusing on writing that earns money -- and none of those mostly anonymous assignments have anything to do with shamans or their ways. Under my byline, for lesser, but still countable amounts, I write for Digital Journal (news about science, environment, health, technology and business -- occasionally other topics, even food) and Examiner.com (about Milwaukee airports and airlines).

(If you happen to want to become an Examiner, please join with my link, and give me a $Boost$, eventually, if/when you are accepted and begin publishing -- THANKS!)

Long-term project: Assignments for unquestionably worth-it Web content

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:10 GMT

I write articles on keywords for money and I write them well -- but how many of these are enhancing someone's life? Seeking new perspectives, I gazed out an airliner window at everyday clouds and terrain while I contemplated what I could do to upgrade my ongoing freelancing flight.

For a while I have been on a flight to anywhere away from working for a company in a world where many of the jobs people stress over and toil at appear to be cancelling one another out anyway.

The abrupt, mysterious departure of the Blue Plastic Goat

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:46 GMT

The Blue Plastic Goat, a long-term resident of the corner nearest the faucet in the courtyard garden of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church at the end of our block, journeyed on suddenly and mysteriously yesterday -- or not so mysteriously, perhaps:

Two new gardeners came to water the place, and after they left I noticed the blue plastic goat had left the garden also.

Did those young ladies and the blue plastic goat spontanteouly strike up a traveling camaraderie, then set off upon a challenging, new, adventurous itinerary? Or did they mistake the symbolic figure, which I discovered while freelance gardening there a few seasons ago and purposely did not disturb, for a pagan spell cast over those sacred, Christian grounds?

Or did they simply mistake this outward, visible sign -- of something amazingly wonderful, I had supposed -- for an incongruous bit of banal junk, to be tossed in the trash bag (for Universal Recycling)?

Maybe one of the gals collects animal figures, or found the blue plastic goat a perfect finishing touch for a whimsical collage, or has a kid who would love the toy. Well, anyway, the blue plastic goat has journeyed on, somehow, some where.

Oh, farewell and godspeed, you marvelous old Blue Plastic Goat!

Feline Shamanic Experience - Trespassing 'Raccowlly Dog'

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:11 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

My colleague the Tortoise Cat experienced an unlikely combination visit last night, both horrible, weird and natural, just as extraordinary as non-ordinary:

Like a synergy of Raccoon, Owl and Dog, I dreamed she explained.

It peed all over the back steps, much to her distress. Well, I can't smell anything now, but she still can.

Was it Totoro? No. OK, was it Tanuki or another type of Japanese Raccoon Dog (like the pic above)? No...NO...!

But there was someone there at the screen door, emitting a musky odor, we dreamed: both beaked and toothy; owl-headed and winged; a silent soarer arriving stealthily; then swooping, trilling, clawing, and scratching; while wagging a long doggy-tail vigorously.

I was awakened by bump in the night, but that was the Tortoise Cat knocking over a broom propped in the back entryway, as she fled from this mini-monster of a mystery-beast -- also fleeing, as I caught a mere shadow of an foggy glimpse.

Writing is fun; shaman-stuff, not so much

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:41 GMT

Image via Wikipedia
This weird, dead tree reminds me of a wildly dancing shaman!

Given a choice between making a living as a shamanic minister-consultant and a freelance writer of any kind of content, from the deeply meaningful to the frankly banal, if success were assured either way, I would pick writing. I get lost in writing, and would willingly write free, if earning a living weren&os;t so key to my well-being..

So, I need to leave "would" out of the sentence, and let all shamanisms go, except my own daily -- imaginary and artistic -- shamanic foolishness.

The only calling I still hear within my soul "from the spirits" is for daily shamanzing behind the scenes though outsider artistic expressions, and through re-creative "acting out" now and then -- and through fostering FUN and questioning, while I navigate this strange, wondrous planet..

The church of shamanic ways I founded to encircle my, and anyone&os;s, right to explore shamanry as a way to weave life meaningfully, no matter what -- on the short list of essentials for a happy, healthy life:

_has spread out;

_connects through cyberspace and non-ordinary reality;

_and its declared, known members practice as artists, entertainers and hermits.

Providing staff support for it is hardly any work at all -- and it also doesn&os;t pay at all. Making spirituality pay just isn&os;t one of my comfortable niches. Our doctrine and method is: Everyone, be a shamanic shift center, wherever you are, as you go along, each in your own ways. So simple. Already I have stopped booking shamanic sessions and religious ceremonies, so I can concentrate on earning my living writing.

I admit, the cyber-reams of writing being outsourced these days shocks and amazes me with every login to claim assignments. It has factored into my disillusionment with shamanic ways as New Age, alternative and complementary WOO, too. (I hope anyone who practices shamanic ways that aren&os;t like that won&os;t be insulted; I didn&os;t mean you.)

Companies are even outsourcing outsourcing, on every conceivable topic:

_get OK, legible, relevant content onto many ad-revenue pages, all with proper keyword density;

_link back with a tree full of so-so (i.e. cheaper) content.

_buy some slightly better-quality press releases, too, for an additional halfpenny per word.

Once a week, or so, I notice another personal development or prosperity "how-to" blog start up, with a clever, individualistic-sounding title. But, from my work, I know its words of wisdom are being pounded out by 100 freelancers sitting at keyboards, give or take five or ten, for a penny or two per word.

But I enjoy those writing assignments, anyway. I admit it. I just do.

I consider it research practice, writers&os; block busting and education about new topics, little known facts, and web writing itself.

Above all, writing about diverse lucrative keywords has opened my eyes to the wide-ranging variety of shams being sold -- and bought, evidently, though it is hard for me to believe so many folks are so gullible -- as alternative or natural treatments for ailments, eco-friendly solutions for energy production, and financial success products. But all I need to succeed at this relatively hassle-free (except for copy-editors), work-at-home venture of selling my time, talent and energy for money, is more web content pounding-out speed.

Doable.

Unlike this guy, a real deal blogger who pretty much solves all the problems folks consult gurus about, without the hoop-jumping mystification, I have yet to find my blogging niche, the gig I will find will so fun it pushes all banal content writing for pennies aside.

Relieved I woke up from dreaming I was a Squid

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:46 GMT

The pic on the right is a screenshot of my Squidoo profile, just before I resigned as a Giant 100 Club member and retired as a SquidAngel a few weeks ago. Oddly, the original Giant badge remains, though my message stated I was resigning from Giant Squidhood altogether. What a relief it is, to let all the monster games go.

Rule changes are OK by me, and should be expected on any site. For the record, none of my lenses ran into any problems.

But Squidoo&os;s changes, in response to Panda, were clumsily and confusingly implemented, in my view. Still, I backed off mainly because my ROI was low there, compared to other places I write. I realize participating brings great returns for many others, and I have nothing against it. Continuously updating lenses became a chore, then a drudgery for me, however.

As I have mentioned before, I have noticed many of the the topics I was writing about do not do well on Squidoo. Plus, I began lensing for fun, and later experimented with profiting, then grew enthused for a while, but then lost interest (after complications there developed complications).

The last straw was realizing that using the bookmarklet to add a link to a lens caused an annoying figure on the dashboard to request I update the category settings for that lens (that using the widget had undone, by some glitch -- that I reported, to no avail).

For now, I plan to keep the lenses I opened, not open any more, and update occasionally.

Shamanic circle loose enough to shift infinitely

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:55 GMT

More musings about this mission and its shifts that I decided to publish without editing:

I. We cannot even accurately call Companions Circle an un-church or a churchless church, because those terms are taken already to point to other missions, though there are resonances.

The concept of a "church of shamanic ways" that provides just enough structure to keep shifting out of and away from (an occasional circle, usually loosely held over cyberspace and/or within imaginations), and a body (a non-profit corporation, to be exact) that in some honest (though atypical) fashion meets the state's definition of church, was and is the intention here -- not linking to or initiating any lineage. In fact, such linkages and initiations are permitted, but not encouraged, in our circle.

II. Another motto came from my reconsideration of the etymology of the word church: "Circle, not cirice!"

That O.E. word cirice that became church came from the Greek for a ruler's house -- where the establishment, the enforcer of the status-quo lives. But the PIE base of church, and of the Greek word kyriake(oikia), is *keue-, or "to swell" and be powerful, the entry reads. So, besides usurped, dominating, enforced, worldly power, the oldest concept behind the word that evolved into church included "a center or circle of authentic, original power."

III. The self-declared members of this foolish church circle live their journeying adventures around the country nowadays, and two or three (or more) dwell in other countries.

This project was never (at all) about being and doing anything mystical, magical, pagan, new age, esoteric, occultist, spiritualist, traditionalist, reconstructionist, "complementary and alternative" -- or organic, natural, or indigenous. Any or all of these might be part of any given member's practices, according to free will and choice.

But joining mystery, spirit and reality anew every moment, without stopping to define the process, is ALL this folly that a few of us began on October 31, 1990 is about.

Companions Circle is what it is. And it definitely is, both incorporated and unincorporated versions (as one, the corporation being a subsidiary of the original), even while the circle shapeshifts infinitely. Probably this project would have been better left unorganized and unofficial.

IV. A shaman adventures through, shatters, re-heals, and goes beyond all known patterns. I call myself (merely) a shamanizer, when that is what I am doing on purpose in the moment, when I bother to use an s-word -- besides the all-purpose shamanicshift -- at all. But I do aim to leave all 20th-21st contemporary shamanisms, and all traditional shamanisms, and all related traditions and practices, from all histories and pre-histories, behind.

The techniques shamans use, and the discoveries they return to share before journeying again, usually, eventually become coded and canonized into beliefs and belief systems. The practitioners (whatever their titles) become priests, who may or may not continue to use shamanic methods, within the limits of their various traditions or religions.

V. This church-with-a-tiny-c is especially for lone, belief-lacking shamanizers.

Any two or three or more who circle around one or more intentions in agreement, within and as spirit, are this church. But the two or three may span dimensions, or even be the body, heart and mind of one journeyer.

VI. I continue to shamanicshift behind the scenes, for intentions brought to my attention, but I am doing my best to phase out scheduling appointments. The reasons: I cannot afford to; I am diverting to other projects that thrill me to ecstasy; and shamanic sessions stopped being fun for me at all, years ago.

VII. I shall be shifting this blog's purpose, too. Describing shamanic experiences was the emphasis when I began. But I am keeping more secrets about my shamanic ways these days -- because I have begun wondering if the non-ordinary life is best left unwritten.

Next, I might blog about ordinary reality science, technology and trailblazing endeavors in any field that are fulfilling shamanic dreams and themes, as is, without anyone's further interacting in non-ordinary realms.

Shamanic ends of the world

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:53 GMT

Image by Shamanic Shift via Flickr

A rough draft I no longer intend to polish:

Considering recent news, I mused: An unusually fanatic fundamentalist, extra-prone to taking religious notions, concepts and doctrines only literally, concretely and personally, might still get caught up in compelling non-ordinary experiences, because most (if not all) humans have the ability, though few exercise it past childhood. But such a individual would then, most likely, be convinced that this wondrous (but dogma-tainted, personality-filtered) dream or vision applied to everyone and everywhere -- an enthused delusion, attractive to like minds who then eagerly join, until an unruly crowd forms.

However...

A shamanizer (who aims to stay sane) enters non-ordinary reality on purpose and seeks knowledge and power anew for each momentary intention.

So, speaking metaphorically, with many maybes attached...

Every Planck time unit, a Planck length unit of the world ends, a loophole opens, the world begins anew.

The building blocks / carrier waves of the universe are, each and all, ends and beginnings of this world.

The Content Authority &amp; Digital Journal Win - For Now

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:33 GMT

Does my opinion hold water? I&os;ve changed my freelancing energy-flow so often, I give a blurry picture. I&os;m experimenting cutting back - writing at places I feel most at home that have the fewest hassles. Also, if I can write for a site I like to visit for a read, so much the better.

Demand Media Studios is great for some writers, and I was trying to be one of them. While I do not consider the content on the company&os;s properties to be of the lowest quality, as many claim, I have yet to find any I relish reading -- or have found useful.

Plus, with DMS...The computer-generated titles are often bogus or tricky - for example, an overview of "Idaho Stink Bugs" (when Idaho is one place this pest is NOT outbreaking); research and referencing take longer because content sites are blacklisted, and (rightly) DMS prefers .edu and .gov to .com (but the rules get complicated and change frequently); the photo gallery (that must be used exclusively) often has no pic directly related to the subject (and while photos are optional, searching the gallery before giving up, or getting creative and hoping the CE accepts it, uses up more valuable time); and...well, what I am getting at (in this parenthetical ramble) is how much this extra time I spend at DMS -- that adds up quickly writing $15 500-word blurbs -- is costing me (too much). I keep badgering myself to claim titles and work my way gradually to eligibility for better assignments. But...

But I find myself tossing the titles back and heading over to The Content Authority. I earn less per order there, but writing those blurbs is a simple, hassle-free business, usually. There are no reference and resource links or illustrations to fuss over. When the rare problem arises, the forum is often helpful and e-mailing the administration always brings friendly assistance within a day.

As I wrote before, the similar company Textbroker my be just as great (from what I hear), but I have not jumped in there, though I signed up. From a quick look just now, I notice most of the orders are for writers at the four- and five-star levels, that site&os;s highest ratings (their lowest rating is two-stars). Unlike TCA&os;s eight-hour writing window - which is provides a comfortable structure for me - I saw various deadlines, from one to four days. I just claimed my first assignment, so now I know that this is a one-at-a-time deal like TCA&os;s system (and that is fine with me).

What about my aspiring journalist self? Examiner.com and Digital Journal are still on my list.

Examiner.com is going through its major overhaul, but changes to the payment system are being pushed back, month by month, so it is too soon to tell if E is a keeper. So far, I am muddling along, publishing one or two articles a week. But I do not go there to read.

In contrast, Digital Journal would be among my favorite news sources even if I had not resumed contributing there.

Shamanic heresies, just in case

Sun, 22 May 2011 00:06 GMT

I founded a church to be an open haven for spiritual experimentation -- a role original shamans reveled in, I maintain, among many (many!) diverse activities.

Most folks I meet take spiritual and religious concepts, notions and doctrines literally, concretely and personally, and believe (accepting without questioning; holding dear without reasoning; and other like processes).

But doing so defeats the purpose and power of myth -- with or without supernatural extras -- to shift self-conscious psyches beneficially (and, inevitably change the outer lives too, through short- and long-term natural courses of tiny to tremendous events).

Believers, as recent news stories have demonstrated (but this happens frequently), seem to be open only to complete, sealed-up packaged-deal answers and instructions for life's puzzles, challenges and mysteries. The goofier, spookier, and scarier the claims, the quicker these believers grab on and the tighter they hang on.

The consequences run from relatively harmless to unfortunately expensive to absolutely deadly.

Shamans do their bests to avoid believing -- except temporarily, intentionally, to accomplish a definite purpose (then move on). But the human personality might be genetically predisposed towards believing: Perhaps it's a no longer helpful side-effect of the previously survival-promoting checks and balances authorities -- and bowing to them -- mixed into human nature millions of year ago. (OK, after I thought this notion up, I read it had been theorized by experts already.)

I see widespread reacting against science as the enemy of spirituality is one of the patterns continuing to wreck havoc with education. Maybe this is because I meet few scientifically literate folks anymore.

Every day, I hear what I laughingly -- or not -- describe as: Scientific Literacy trying to talk to Religious Literalism. But always, rapidly, these weird, double-monologues degenerate into what I can only call: Confusion gibbering with Misconception.

I had thought an open "churchless church" of shamanic ways would help foster sacred play among flexible souls who prefer paradox, seek serendipity and take non-ordinary experiences lightly and darkly at once. But the venture is always on the verge of bogging down with serious believers, or being abandoned -- dismissed or condemned -- as a disrespectful (or worse) apostate project, rife with heresies.

The word heresy, traces back to the Greek verb "choose" -- and believers, who usually count themselves chosen by god or gods or spirits, don't like hanging out with folks who insist on staying free to choose.

Two mottos of Companions Circle are "Don't believe, be LIVE!" and "Question...Quest on!" Be freely choosy, too, I say.

For now the church ministry is at the bottom of my to-do list, except for my daily prayers and behind the scenes shamanizing that remain at the top, just because the practices, on behalf of myself and others (done in the spirit of sacred fun), still enhance my life.

There is, as I have remarked often, another sort of believer out there who confounds me: the apparent half-believer who still follows directions from religious leaders or jumps on a familiar religious bandwagon, despite skepticism, who performs religious rites, anyway, while uttering the bizarre phrase "just in case...." Or, are these words a NAME?

WOW...This Justin Case (What, another upstart JC?) must be a powerful deity or other kind of universal force -- indeed -- for I am stunned to hear these (sacred?) syllables spoken so often, during a wondrously wide-ranging assortment of religious activities!

Shamanic entertainment purposes

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:47 GMT

When I consider my life as shamanic journey, it seems an odyssey of turning points, detours and lost ways.

Today I find myself often revisiting the days I emerged from a personal dreamtime re-creation crisis and began to study the contemporary shamanism(s) being advertised on flyers, imparted through workshops and linked to diverse complementary and alternative medicines and all manner of so-called new religious movements. The whole mixed bag was starting to trend back then, normalizing much of my childhood weirdnesses.

Because I suddenly found myself well, and what had kicked in and pulled me through bore a plausible resemblance to the "core" ways of shamans, I leaped in, fully enchanted.

But, for me, this has always been for fun, play and pretend.

On Halloween 1990, avoiding definitions, I and a few pals co-founded Companions Church Circle simply as a "church of shamanic ways" so any shamanizer (atheist, skeptic, agnostic or believer in whatever) could join this "churchless church" for meaningful, purposeful adventure and experimentation, on their own terms, under their own terminologies, with their own beliefs or lack thereof, beyond ordinary boundaries or barriers -- except that folks preferring to hold to traditions, systems, doctrines and laws would also be welcome as long as they agreed to foolishness and openness. But the temptation to take the church seriously still torments, as the unsteady stream of deadly serious inquiries trickling into my inbox or ringing my phone.

I shamanize over all of it, however...

As far as I'm concerned, no matter what anyone asks me, I will hasten to insist this is for entertainment purposes, first and last.

Because, I say: Shows, stories, songs, dances and art heal, transform and even prophesy better than any of the deadly serious, or just plain deadly, full-on quackery now shamming and shaming shamanic teachers and disciples alike (however they are billing themselves) in this gullible day and age.

Being child-like can open heavens on earth, within and all around -- but such openings are momentary and tricky, often found along fine lines or through narrow gates, though orders upon orders of infinities of these spiraling loopholes await activation. Wonder and imagine one now -- a turn-key solution!

I express caution to anyone eager for challenging initiatory ordeals: At all costs, avoid, as hazardous to health and progressively sickening then fatal, any scheme involving being reduced to infantile dependency while following leading experts or authorities. Say NO, then enjoy what's already within you for free, or spend your money on funner games of life.

Miscellaneous freelance musings

Mon, 16 May 2011 12:27 GMT

FREELANCE WRITING UPDATES

LiveJournal: Why am I here? LJ must be one of the worst hosts for a freelancing writing and odd-jobbing weblog! I might discontinue and abandon this one, because the only reason I can think of why it&os;s here is: This is a lifetime paid account, something I did before I knew better.

Here it is forbidden / impossible to run ads for carefully chosen affiliates to match reviews. All I can manage besides the in-house Adsense set-up is linking to Amazon from the sidebar. Content and sales go together on the best freelance writing websites I find (and list on this sidebar).

Squidoo again: A serious drawback at Squidoo, for me, is having to update / republish lenses once a month or more for them rank in the paying tiers. I surmise Squidoo works best for content producers who create only there and open new lenses often.

But Squidoo HQ tweaks and re-tweaks the platform and rules, forcing loads of extra work on its best Squids regularly.

Demand Media Studios: I&os;m still at the beginning stages of troubleshooting the editorial process and developing proficiency with the eHow format (a fill-in-the-blanks template). If I ever get comfortable there I could earn oodles.

Occasional reading on eHow convinces me DMS intends to publish useful, quality content there and on all its sites, beyond content farming for ad-revenue harvesting. Google appears to be recognizing the slightly better quality articles DMS stamps out (it seems more like a factory than a farm to me) because the algorithm updated named Panda failed to bite the site.

DMS has already started hiring their freelancers who stick it out a while (and produce hundreds of ordinary assignments successfully) to write much better paying features.

The Content Authority: TCA is a favorite I&os;m counting on. It pays less than DMS -- with far less hassle and much better support. Writing rapidly about key words anonymously is the program here. (TextBroker may be similarly great, but I haven&os;t gotten around to writing there yet.)

Examiner: There will soon be a tiered pay-scale, according to the site&os;s news, with performance pay scaled to it, with the minimum payout dropped to only $1 (and no more local incentive dollars).

After last and this years updates, the front page still is dismal to look at, IMO -- sparse-looking, like it failed to load properly. Every visit I find myself asking same question, "Where&os;s the news?" This site has only scratched the surface of its potential and possibilities and I keep hanging in there, gradually picking up my pace..

Digital Journal: I resumed writing for DJ after a feature for claiming assignments and getting extra pay for completing them launched early in May. It wasn&os;t the extra pay that drew me back, but the ability to claim stories with definite deadlines.

DJ is a great news site - usually stuffed with engaging reads and a special section for original, exclusive reporting.

Performance pay only counts for the latest 2 months of articles, with the "money-pot" getting divided among digital journalists by rank. So the pay-scheme is unique, weird and mysterious. A running earnings guesstimate shows at the top of the page when I login, rising or falling every two hours, as numbers of articles and their performances shift.

HubPages: I still cannot get excited about this site, though it looks better to me than Squidoo lately.

AROUND THE BLOCK

This location, in an office building on a busy city corner, has presented more security and safety challenges. The property management making an effort, but a few of the business-owners renting here seem to be lapsing into carelessness more often.

I am considering many options for a move when this lease ends on October 31.

The church garden a block west is unkempt because this year the gardener is working at a factory full-time, because he was promoted. Imagining the perennials and weeds competing for fun, I watch the situation run rampant without intervening.

The Tortoise Cat sniffs the flowers and gnashes the grasses and does not grok the concept "weeds" -- or care.

When it comes shifting territories in October, I expect she will disapprove -- vehemently.

Rocky shamanic road: regions of crystal clarity and cracked cloudiness

Tue, 03 May 2011 05:47 GMT

What is clear for me:

Spiritual, psychological and somatic healings and transformations happened for me through living some of the ways shamans merge ordinary and non-ordinary experiences. Irrationally, I sense and respond to an inner calling -- perhaps because of genetic predispositions in my nature -- to keep shamanizing, daily. I am happy to do so, because it brings me delight, wonder and awe (and occasional encouraging feedback).

Yet, my continuing lifelong studying and experimenting leads me further every day into an ecstatic, inconsistent agnosticism -- and a playful, persistent dis-belief in all interpretations centered around supernatural beings, places, powers or the like.

The extensive shamanic and related instructions I have partaken of taught me lots, often aside from those teachers' intentions. All too often, the classes and workshops also demonstrated how deeply the most successful presenters baffle themselves and their students, especially during intense large group awareness productions, thereby becoming famous spiritual leaders with faithful followers who hope to become famous leaders too, eventually, through ardent imitation.

Shamanic ways can liberate the spiritual experiencing of reality -- or discovering meaning and purpose and "tying things together" -- from soul-stunting subjugation to external authorities, hierarchies and dogmas. But just the opposite seems to happen much more often.

So new ancient traditions and idiosyncratic, eclectic fundamentalisms keep springing up in the marketplace, for better and worse.

I have noticed over the years, combining shamanic methods with "new age" doctrines and "complementary and alternative medicines" (under CAM or other terms) can enhance or confound the practices. During many days I hear mostly confusion within this wild proliferation.

Leaving room for continuing questioning and questing, these days I opine shamanic methods combine imagination and expressive arts within light trance states practitioners enter on purpose while maintaining self-awareness, and work though (possibly permanent, potentially profound) psychosomatic shifts. But any self-shift changes the universe by at least a mustard-seed-amount, so this is mightily powerful anyhow (in my view).

My calling to shamanize involves me daily behind the scenes, as prayer over topics variously brought to my attention. I simply encounter and relate to those situations and events as I find and connect with them over again, within myself.

But I support myself through freelancing (writing and odd-jobbing). Beyond this, when I give up work hours and earned-funding to be available for consultations -- teaching what shamanic shifting works improvements in my life or facilitating (through some type of ministerial counseling) someone's finding meaning and purpose amid challenges or troubles -- I understand it is perfectly natural and OK to request money donations to cover overhead expenses.

It is also OK by me if prosperity-gospel or LOA (-type) shamans (mergers of the ordinary and non-ordinary, by whatever name) earn a humongous profit from charging hefty fees free folks pay willingly, so long as their help to harm ratios are overwhelmingly favorable. But my calling does not cover such actions.

Besides, from experience, I know people can learn to shamanic shift their own lives effectively, relatively inexpensively.

What is cloudy, still:

Why I suppose to this day I need to write a book, when I tend toward agreement with this blogger about famous spiritual teachers.

Really, I cloud over around too many questions to blog about here now.

Such as: Is it possible to balance beautifully along the straight, narrow line between prophetic, entertaining trickery and corrupt, scamming treachery in shamanic performing?

Embracing clouds and peering into cracks:

My favorite crystals show irregular, shadowy, fantastical landscapes, built of clouds and cracks that seem to connect weird, little clear spots and murky, vast expanses into artistically wrought mini-multiverses, miniature bigger pictures I can grasp for questioning whiles, as if they were wondrous, imaginary, dream-roads onwards.

Content farms? Maybe some are factories -- or gardens!

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:40 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

Why call an enterprise one means to disparage a farm rather than a factory? Farms and factories produce necessities, so neither word carries pejorative connotations for me. A mill grinds grist, so even that sounds potentially helpful.

Because I earn my living producing written content as a freelancer, I choose to chalk it all up as freelance writing. Landing a job as a print media journalist is an old goal I rarely revisit, even during reflective moments.

Still, I feel discouraged when: I come across a string of articles lumping together and dismissing under the label "content farm" many of the websites that pay me steadily.

Also I feel bummed-out when so-so, sloppy or lousy writing gets published on those pages alongside my work, because I do my best to follow editorial guidelines and often add an original spin. Perusing Examiner.com, the citizen journalist site aiming to become everyone&os;s favorite source for hyper-local news, reviews and information, I still cringe at the frequent quality lapses.

But, I must quit wasting precious moments and energy mulling and moping over discouraging words and trends!

The earning potential at Examiner.com is growing steadily. Furthermore, I understand and enthuse over this company&os;s mission, model and methods, blogged recently in detail.

As for Demand Media Studios (DMS), the place most often and vehemently dismissed under the content farm label: DMS offers chances at "real gigs" (as well as lucrative contests and generous grants) to anyone who can produce a steady supply (or crop) of eHow blurbs up to their exacting standards -- or insane ones, depending upon the copy editor assigned randomly -- for $7.50 to $15 each for several months running. With DMS templates and instructions, this is a fill-in-the-blanks task.

Citing acceptable references is the trickiest step, where I trip up (or give up) most often. Keeping up with weekly changes in procedures and policies is the second biggest challenge for me at DMS. When I visit the forum to read the latest, I find myself drawn into the rants, complaints and horror stories also.

Nevertheless, I am amid switching almost all my Squidoo-ing energy over to Examiner and DMS.

Afterthoughts:

Last year I freelance gardened. I prefer smaller-scale images of me pacing myself and relaxing while working...planning, planting, and nurturing...then weeding and pruning...and appreciating...and cleaning up. Earning slightly less gardening than I did on some much harder odd-jobs seemed like getting paid to have fun.

Earning smaller amounts from carefully chosen content sites isn&os;t so fun yet, but does seem like getting paid to avoiding cold calling, selling, advertising, conferences, travel, unlimited revising, billing and collecting.

Other spins:

Demand Media is still thriving (by Freakonomics.com)...Content farms are not competing with or hurting journalism (by BusinessInsider.com)...Post-Panda SEO creates lucky losers (by SearchEnginePeople.com).

My shamanic calling wasn't crystal-clear

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:56 GMT

Personal notes:

Growing up, I mislabeled my shamanic experiences as mental and emotional sicknesses and sought medical assistance to get over the "crazyness" -- even while I learned more from spirit and spirits and practiced the ways in secret. The weird special effects were troubling, yet compelling.

Gifts or aberrations? Both applied, often at once. What was self-absorbed dis-functioning was sick, and the rest was direct experience of spirit and spirits, misunderstood more often than grokked.

Finally, during young adulthood, I began favoring the pathological interpretations and this "made it so" -- the choice led me into grave illnesses and abuse (years of exhausting dis-ease and depressing disorder). After enough was enough, in a real way, I died -- physically, psychically and spiritually (though not permanently). I suffered a long, drawn-out near-death journey.

But then I began dreaming myself well for real, in and as spirit and spirits.

I would find myself dreaming adventures, while I slept or slumped around in a daze. One day, I realized I was growing well, ever so gradually, so I kept going. Then I came to a juncture -- get well or recycle, insisted spirit and spirits. (But either choice was absolutely, perfectly OK at this one, wondrous crystal-clear point; there was no shame or guilt at all in this encounter; it was simply, purely true-love).

Those are my only real "shamanic credentials," though my shamanic practicing has been vetted by an official shamanic church (besides the one I co-founded).

After I returned from the dead, so to speak, I noticed with astonishment that what I had run from, yet found myself entering into fully with growing understanding, was being called "the way of the shaman" -- just one stream of a popular spiritual revival. To get "up to speed" in ordinary reality with what had transformed me faster than light-speed in non-ordinary reality, I attended months of days of experiential study with various teachers of shamanic and many related ways at great expense.

Before my flailing, failing fall into the deeps, during the better moments on my good days, I studied the mystics, mages and alchemists of the western Judeo-Christian tradition intently and intensely, occasionally under priestly guidance, more often alone. Before and after that period, I lived my individualistic gnostic heresies, oscillating wildly in and out of agnosticism.

In my tweens, I had studied psychoanalysis and hypnosis. But I missed my calling all along, life twist after roundabout turn, approaching what would fulfill, then always veering away by a few inches to many miles (literally). In the long run, it all became learning (by hard ways up rough roads).

Now, what I live and teach bypasses most of the hardship and traces back to my earliest childhood shamanic experiences, not called any such thing by me in those days, though all is influenced by every instruction I have received since -- all sorts in many fields of life.

I claim no authorizing tradition or lineage -- only my life, lifelong studying and ongoing direct experiences of spirit and spirits, while by while, as shamanizing intentions arise. The way grows murky, off and on.

This is only one of the reasons I usually refer to myself as only a shamanizer, and that only when some shamanic activity is what I happen to be doing in the moment, with and in spirit and spirits, which I choose NOT to define. (Whether I call this play and pretend or imagination and art, or temporarily adopt other descriptions, or appeal to one Holy Spirit or Life Spirit, the methods work fine for me -- whatever that means).

Maybe I keep shamanizing though my skepticism because of genetic predispositions. Maybe I keep on because the practices delight me, while shifts for the better keep happening in my life.

Anyway, when I shamanize over a concern, for myself or someone else, I work within myself, to heal or transform my version of whatever pattern needs help, acting as if it will help, acting as if other folks' versions of whatever challenge or trouble I'm dealing with, known and unknown to me (near or far from me), might change in resonance also, according to free will and choice. I receive encouraging feedback, often enough, though it's always a happy (yet disconcerting) surprise that makes me wonder, and question all over again, then quest on.

Oops: In online directories I did begin listing my shamanic practice(s) some years ago under what seemed like the closest incorrect category (because shamanic ways defy categorizing). I have stopped doing this, but there are lots of listings out there haunting me, too many to go find and delete. No more listing or advertising for me.

Still, situations like this make me wonder sorrowfully, and contemplate withdrawing even further. Before any shamanizing, may I never forget to beg of spirit and spirits, "First and last, allow NO HARM to result from my foolishness!"

The (nowadays called) Law of Attraction is not the only cosmic law in effect in this multi-verse!

Rocks fund raising -- fun and amazing!

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:21 GMT

A couple weeks ago, many of the rocks and crystals here dreamed an ad into me, offering themselves for sale to raise money for this place and its mission, because they wanted to roll along anyway.

So I posted the ad on Craig's List. But I left it in the "materials" section, without any photos.

Then, no one called. No one called for over a week and I mused: I need to reclassify it and add pics! But I didn't.

No, I'll go back and delete it, I decided. But then, back on another task, I didn't do that either. This cycle repeated, five or so go rounds.

Then on Wednesday, a healer and jewelry crafter just starting out in business called! She brought a pal along this afternoon to "shop" and many minerals decided to roll along a town or two westward for their next earth adventures.

I hope and dream this was another meeting among new "old friends" and we can journey together a while and a ways. Those mineral companions who moved will always be here, vividly enough, in non-ordinary ways and the shift is renewing.

No matter what else, this encounter brought a few hours of delightful fun for me.

HourTyme fundraising for GreenTyme's circadian confusion shifting project

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:56 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

Friendly news:

As standard time switched to daylight savings, GreenTyme's inventor Yale Landsberg emailed an alert about his organization's new fundraising campaign. As I blogged before, I like the Circa-Med clock and link to the project on the sidebar under Net Friends -- the only one, so far -- so Yale considers me a sponsor.

I began experimenting informally with the "meditation optimizer" version, shamanic journeying through it when prayer-requests relate to past or future experiences troubling the present. Weirdly, I seem to have been born immune to ill effects from circadian rhythm interruptions, so I can't recount any personal anecdotes about biological clock tweaking or harmonizing through watching (and listening to) this delightful, pretty, dynamic glyph.

For me, it is oddly cheer-inducing -- a frankly subjective assessment!

Certainly, more and more links between circadian rhythm disruption and many ailments now challenging growing numbers of folks are being discovered by scientists.

Yale's singing clock is not (yet) scientifically proven to reboot natural human biological clocks or synchronize our inborn circadian cycles with modern, artificial (but industrially useful and nowadays necessary) time-frames. The GreenTyme folks want to keep researching that hypothesis while donating 3-D versions of their unusual "suntyme-moontyme" (and now "hourtyme") clocks to hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

If you donate as little as $2 to this cause, you get a customized copy of the Circadian Meditation Mode version of theSunTyme&MoonTyme HourTyme clock. Here I am, spreading the word.

HubPages vs. Squidoo, facing the Panda &quot;attack&quot;

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:49 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

HubPages is getting new looks from me, while Squidoo&os;s "monstrous" response to Google&os;s latest algorithm update is (kind of) scaring me.

Because I made two hubs about two years ago, with plans to return to HubPages someday, I receive the weekly newsletter from the site. The March 9, 2011 enews outlined their changes in response to the Google algorithm update known as Panda, aimed to weed content farmers from top search results (so also informally dubbed the "farmer" update).

HubPages&os; plan of action is the most simple and straight forward strategy I&os;ve seen, so far:

So it&os;s easy to understand quickly: No duplicate content is allowed anymore on HubPages. For every featured product there must be at least 50 words of content. Amazon, eBay, RSS and Link capsules cannot be the first full-width item. Warnings appear with already published hubs in violation of site policy and after a time allowed for corrections reminder emails will go out giving another grace period. New hubs that don&os;t fit in simply won&os;t publish -- with definite corrections to make so a hubber knows what to change right away.

Squidoo&os;s response to Panda seems a confusion to me: Auto-filtering and auto-locking without human double-checking or indicating "how to fix" (I gather from Squidu. com forum posts); Guidelines (the filter operates by) I cannot find organized plainly anywhere on one page or tree of pages (spread over various, HQ-produced lenses or emailings and company blog or forum posts, some outdated, some not, some new, but now, along with the editors blogging that the new rules are really the old rules anyway, there&os;s a new, open-ended FAQ -- still incomplete and hodge-podge, last I looked); Frank, unapologetic inconsistency (expressed glibly in statements along the lines of "We might do this or we might do that, because we can!"); And, apparently, relying on volunteer topic SquidAngels (instead of editors) to boost up or "ding" down content.

To compare, I just checked Suite101&os;s plan and found it much better stated than Squidoo&os;s, but still vague around many topics, with several internal changes outlined, including stricter recruitment going forward, nightly deletion of old and substandard articles and editorial review for every new article before it goes live, instead of only the first, though "trusted writers" may be exempted eventually. I stopped publishing there after only three articles, because I noticed, perusing the forum, the many topic editors inconsistently enforce separate sets of rules that sometimes contradict the site&os;s general submission guidelines. Although I encountered no frustrations, I saw huge hassle potential in Suite&os;s system, and found myself writing blandly to avoid flagging -- for ad-revenue-share pennies. In truth, I hardly ever enjoy reading Suite101 articles and usually avoid clicking on any that appear in search results.

Another comparison: Demand Media Studios (that Panda barely scratched), where I have only written a handful of Lists, Fact Sheets and How-tos to give the site a whirl, is very picky about hiring, spells out and catalogs all rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures clearly and tidily, and posts change notifications promptly and prominently. But whenever I visit the forum there (just to see what&os;s what) I&os;m surprised to read how often their system fails to function as planned and generates extra hassles instead. Maybe it&os;s not so often, though, considered percentage-wise, given the huge number of writers working there, many earning a full-time living through DMS.

Human wrought Squidoo lenses and HubPage hubs engage and entertain me most, and more often than not. But suddenly, Squidoo has changed for me, from fun to frightening -- monsters, trophies and all.

Yesterday, I updated over ten lenses -- my favorite among those is Crystals and Rocks.

Shamanic carnival, mardi gras and ash wednesday within

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:44 GMT

To experience this transitional season without ingrained religion, putting aside all authorities' permissions or forbiddings: I shamanic journeyed from the northeast corner of the sanctuary, lying among the rock circle, labyrinth-life-tree and all-mothers-all-children shrines into a dream that reached before and beyond all traditions I grew up with or studied since.

But I woke up tumbling within a carnival-mardi-gras kaleidoscope. I experienced a kaleido-scape that tumbled me from element through rainbow to archetype and back and around, until I fell into ashes!

I had taken a big bag of prayer-requests along for the ride.

I entered shamanic consciousness through swaying back and forth and humming, then spinning and singing in place to the background sounds of ocean waves and city noises -- until I found myself dropping to my knees then falling forward. After that I reclined and covered my eyes with the back of my hand for the journey.

The non-ordinary kaleido-vehicle spun me through Tues-night on an inexplicable itinerary. It paused again and again, each while within a new, unique destination wrought of a dazzling array of colors, numbers, letters, geometries, glyphs, terrains and more, each arising solely for transforming one of the prayer purposes in my pouch for the better and dissolving as we feasted then farewelled and traveled again, onward, in a spiraling, coiling, clattering flurry.

One for one and one for all and all to ashes at last, the voyage refreshed by Wednesday's dawn.

Squid-do or don&apos;t?

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:57 GMT

Am I frustrated enough to rear up my drooping tentacles and delete my silly Squid-self despite my progress over more than three years?

Less drastically, I keep feeling tempted to hang-up my neighborhood SquidAngel-wings and disengage from the site until the fuss about cleaning up spammy lenses (ignited over Google&os;s "farmer" algorithm tweak) blows over.

Squidoo&os;s HQ has so far seemed to ignore my humble, SquidAngelic efforts to help out; TOS-violating junk lenses I dinged and/or reported are still holding strong weeks later.

But great lenses by "trusted" giant squids have been locked erroneously for days, I was dismayed to read on the Squidu.com forum, because those lensmasters didn&os;t realize their original content had been scraped and republished, triggering Squidoo&os;s newly tweaked clean-up filter.

I opine, no matter how much there is to do, amid scrambling to overcome surprise bonus obstacles, failing to double-check giants&os; lenses before disabling is inexcusable, because most of these squids have done lots of extra work for Squidoo for free in the process of achieving giant or giant 100 status, giving generously to the Squidoo cause of being the go-to website for Unique, Useful, Updated Human (UUUH!) content. Shutting down power-users&os; content first, instead of white-listing and pausing a couple moments to review for false positives generated by inhuman software, costs the site&os;s best participants even more time, energy and -- in many cases -- countable money.

This is unforgivable, I maintain.

I don&os;t know what to do about Squidoo. Probably, I&os;ll withdraw a ways and wait and see what, if anything, happens that affects me directly. Now I get around two cents to two bits to a few bucks per lens every month, so I hate to give up.

Anyway...Here I am shifting attention to what I can do to care for myself better and tweak how I spend my own earthly, universal energy and matter.

Now, forcing myself to switch topics:

A self-employed freelancing pal suggested this book and loaned me a copy, so I have added it to the top of my reading list. First I must finish two shamanic books I promised to review on the blogspot, long overdue for an update.

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowerman certainly looks promising and upbeat. Maybe I&os;ll re-prioritize.

OK -- great! I can recommend books through Amazon here on this blog using static html by uploading the picture for the link, an easy extra step.

I have been visualizing feeding myself better physically and spiritually. Professional sufficiency joins body and soul and keeps them living happily together.

My colleague the Tortoise Cat is well-fed and fit!

But, she is growing restless, increasingly impatient for snow-free outdoor strolls amid her favorite old cat-grass patches. Here is a picture of a resting Tortoise Cat.

Pagan Spirit Gathering, June 19-26, near Chicago IL

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:10 GMT

Greetings Wisconsin Pagans, I'm really excited that PSG (Pagan Spirit Gathering) will be just an hour and a half west of Chicago. It's the closest PSG has been

Squid-doubts or self-doubts?

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:08 GMT

Image by neurmadic aesthetic via Flickr

While I remain involved as a volunteer "SquidAngel" for the Transportation subtopic, I was planning to write my shamanic ebook on Squidoo lenses. But I am now reconsidering.

Re-reconsidering.

Though I make lenses for fun still, I have been shifting into earning mode gradually over the past several months. A high percentage of my lenses were opened as multi-media reference points to collect, all on one "cheat sheet" webpage: links and Wikipedia intros; updating news and blogs; the latest Amazon, eBay and CafePress products; and pics and vids, all around each of my favorite specific study topics and some broader categories.

In contrast, visits to SquidU remind me how seriously Squidoo can be taken.

Yesterday I read Squidoo-HQ phone conferenced with a group of invited top "...lensmasters responsible for the 500 lenses getting the most traffic on the site...about 250 people..." apparently meaning to emphasize that lenses should be UUU, that is "Unique, Useful, Updated" and show human curating.

All mine fit these guidelines. I was visualizing ambitious 2011 goals.

But, according to some who listened in and posted about it, the call also hinted at sudden lens shutdowns soon to come, perhaps as soon as two weeks from now, for other reasons I can&os;t make sense of (yet), such as selling using Amazon modules (which I thought was being encouraged since Squidoo is an affiliate and offers six different Amazon modules) or for CSS lens-tweaking, which I only do a little of, and that grudgingly, because so many highly ranked lenses have been embellished (and count the number of high-ranking, highly-liked, even purple-starred or LOTD-featured, how-to lenses about spicing up presentations using CSS style="tags" within html there are, so I&os;m confused).

I thought I grokked the gist of Squidoo&os;s do&os;s and don&os;ts and I was feeling confident I follow the rules.

Still, with only 159 lenses so far, I would find getting some or all shut down because of rapid rule changes a heavy blow.

Now, doubts are arising about the wisdom of spending so many hours Squidoo-ing, as much as I enjoy it (when I forget about visiting SquidU). I&os;m starting to wonder if continuing to use the Squidoo platform to organize increasing amounts of content is foolhardy, after all, though I like it lots and seem to be getting better at earning money there, slowly but steadily.

From visiting the forum more often I&os;ve learned how much the top Squids do to promote their lenses and what SEO they use, occasionally picking up useful, instructive links. Yet I find this helpful stuff after scanning post after post about how much one or another Squid dislikes certain types of lenses and opines this or that type of lens must be making Squidoo look bad.

After I can&os;t stand to read more on that note, I click away, imagining one or a few new neighborhood SquidAngels might have "dinged" lenses of mine lately (the opposite of blessing). Since the new SquidAngels program launched in February, I rarely see a blessing on my activity page.

On a more pleasant note: I was ecstatic to discover two of my nominations for Squidoo Lens-of-the-Day were picked recently -- one yesterday, one last week.

Besides updating more than half of my lenses, I opened Air-Travel-Tips and Travel-Tips-FAQ this week.

I have given up all hope that any of my lenses ever will be picked for LOTD or purple star honors, and it&os;s a relief.

Milwaukee Ostara Festival, March 27 2011

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:04 GMT

Hi all, I wanted to forward along this invite to the Milwaukee Ostara festival coming up March 27th. This is a great opportunity to connect to local Pagans,

Squidoo&apos;s levels, points and trophies - worth playing for, or not?

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:24 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

Squidoo-Plus is fun for me, that&os;s for sure, but what does this have to do with profitability?

When Squidoo transformed into a game last September, my participation zoomed, I interacted with other lensmasters logarithmically more, but my earnings improved only a bit. The slight increases appear to be caused indirectly by the new system, because I started opening more lenses faster and receiving "Thank-you!" traffic from other members amid interacting on quests and, later on, blessing lenses as a SquidAngel.

But the amusements have distracted me from off-site traffic-generating promotion -- still the key to earning significant amounts.

The tag-tweaking I started doing as I re-publish the oldest lenses every day has helped. But getting found within Squidoo seems to require short, general tags, while Net-wide, a few to several carefully researched keyword phrases work best.

Since 40 tags are allowed, I am doing what I can to fix my pages gradually, using between 20 and 35 oft lensed single words like "motivation" or "plant" (relevant to the content) for Squidoo-search, allowing the remaining several to be "orphans" (not associated with other lenses), such as "webcam photography" and "visualizing goals" to attract Net-wide search.

For backlinking on purpose, I am re-considering HubPages.

When it comes to link-building, I still drag and procrastinate.

My biggest mistakes in freelance writing, overall: Many topics I write about are unpopular search-wise, and I don&os;t write enough (as me). This year I began focusing on turning around these tendencies.

ShamanicAlchemy@yahoogroups.com

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:39 GMT

ShamanicAlchemy@yahoogroups.com I was enlighten to a way a life I never knew existed I can now take my children where ever they so desire click here to find

Blogging Shamanic Shifting 2

Celebrating as many winter holidays and festivities as possible while dreaming deeply

Living 'neon signs' energized my wondering...

Secret rock garden in India inspires and encourages

Rock garden shifting and miscellaneous musing

ShamanicShift's Contact Portal

Next adventures of the Blue Plastic Goat

This blog is moving...but WHERE? Wherever, updating would help...

Shamanic flight: shifting out of sight

Long-term project: Assignments for unquestionably worth-it Web content

The abrupt, mysterious departure of the Blue Plastic Goat

Feline Shamanic Experience - Trespassing 'Raccowlly Dog'

Writing is fun; shaman-stuff, not so much

Relieved I woke up from dreaming I was a Squid

Shamanic circle loose enough to shift infinitely

Shamanic ends of the world

The Content Authority &amp;amp; Digital Journal Win - For Now

Shamanic heresies, just in case

Shamanic entertainment purposes

Miscellaneous freelance musings

Rocky shamanic road: regions of crystal clarity and cracked cloudiness

Content farms? Maybe some are factories -- or gardens!

My shamanic calling wasn't crystal-clear

Rocks fund raising -- fun and amazing!

HourTyme fundraising for GreenTyme's circadian confusion shifting project

HubPages vs. Squidoo, facing the Panda &amp;quot;attack&amp;quot;

Shamanic carnival, mardi gras and ash wednesday within

Squid-do or don&amp;apos;t?

Pagan Spirit Gathering, June 19-26, near Chicago IL

Squid-doubts or self-doubts?

Milwaukee Ostara Festival, March 27 2011

Squidoo&amp;apos;s levels, points and trophies - worth playing for, or not?

ShamanicAlchemy@yahoogroups.com

The Content Authority & Digital Journal Win - For Now

HubPages vs. Squidoo, facing the Panda "attack"

Squid-do or don't?

Squidoo's levels, points and trophies - worth playing for, or not?