Chelan Harkin has been channeling ecstatic poetry for years and has now published two books in the past seven months, Susceptible to Light and Let Us Dance!: The Stumble and Whirl With The Beloved. Her publishing journey has been mystical and transformational and filled with "prayer experiments" gone right. Chelan has regularly been compared to the great mystic poets, Rumi, Hafiz, and Rilke. She lives in a geographically spectacular region of Washington State, The Columbia Gorge, with her husband and two small children. In her poetry and in her life, Chelan continually invites the fumbling, suffering parts of our nature and our divinity to meet for tea in the heart, to have a great laugh, and share a big hug.
Website: chelanharkin.com
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Summary and Transcript of this interview.
Interview recorded July 3, 2021
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:59 - Connecting with Hafez: Inspiring Poetry and Publishing Success
00:09:55 - The Spontaneous Poem
00:14:14 - The Feeling of a Coming Poem
00:17:55 - Unleashing Our Inner Genius
00:21:48 - The Birth of Creativity
00:26:12 - Healing through Hypnotherapy
00:30:33 - Reframing and Reclaiming "I'm Too Much"
00:35:15 - Inspiration from Night Walks
00:39:32 - The Humility of Relationships
00:43:15 - The Worst Thing We Ever Did
00:47:36 - Opening Up to Vulnerability
00:52:09 - The Strength in Sensitivity
00:56:56 - The Essence of Infinity and Connection
01:01:11 - A Serendipitous Connection with Daniel
01:05:35 - Summoning Poetry with Hafez
01:09:32 - Chelan's Spiritual Upbringing
01:13:31 - A Sacred Experience in Bahala's Prison Cell
01:17:04 - Chelan's Aneurysm Journey
01:20:33 - The Impact of Diet and Social Media on Channeling Abilities
01:24:39 - The Thirst for Intellectual Knowledge
01:28:52 - The Potency of Embodied Spirituality
01:33:28 - The Power of Prayer
01:37:34 - Finding Joy in Work
01:41:18 - The God Who Made the Octopus
01:45:28 - The Cosmic Wallop and Cosmic Timing
01:49:19 - Discovering the Poet Within
01:52:33 - The Power of Language
01:56:21 - Living an Authentic Truth
01:59:41 - Openness to Opportunities
02:03:11 - Farewell and Good Wishes