The Twelfth House

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.com📚 Resources and Links:* Sign up for the North Node waitlist here* Inquire about 1:1 work with Michelle here* Mentioned in today’s episode: * Channeling a Manifesto Class — happening on 8/28! * Trance mediumship and channeling spirits (and the uncomfortable questions no one's asking) with medium Hannah Macintyre* can an AI tool “channel” messages?* Holisticism Resources 4 u:* Ruthless Clarity — an 8-week email course designed to help you achieve crystal-clear certainty about your goals, desires, and energy allocation* How to Begin: A Project Planning Class — a 90-m on-demand class that teaches you exactly how to sketch a effervescent project plan that'll fill you with glee and inspiration and instantly banish procrastination and overwhelm, so your brilliant ideas can finally come to life.* The Subconscious Audit — an 11-day diagnostic framework that helps you identify what's holding you back and making you *feel* blocked. Because you're never actually blocked* The New Age Playbook for Spellbinding, Can’t-Stop-Reading Copy — a 35-page downloadable workbook to take your writing from blah to bingeableI almost didn't record this episode because, honestly, I think we’re all a bit AI'd out. Or maybe it’s just me, IDK. But since we're deep in a series about channeling, creativity, and the importance of wielding your consciousness, I figured it was time to address the elephant in the Substack server room.Here's the thing: I'm not anti-AI, but I'm also not about to let a computer do my thinking for me. Like???? Have you guys even read a sci-fi novel before? That’s an obvious recipe for disaster-slash-technological apocalypse.I can have empathy for why someone might be tempted to outsource writing, thinking, creating, innovating, designing, etc. to a non-sentient algorithm. But I believe using your brain and wrestling with ideas and concepts and art and reality and consciousness and self-concept is like… a biological imperative. Is that not kind of the point of living? Anyway, I’m by no means the first person to point this out.After spending weeks talking about why the wrestling and way-finding process of creativity is so essential to our humanity, I've got some thoughts on how to use these tools without, you know, completely atrophying your gorgeous brain.My Personal AI Commandments* I don't use AI for anything I can't do myself * I don't use AI “just for funsies” — it’s a waste of resources, like leaving the water running or turning your AC on full blast at noon in the middle of August. Also AI is boring! Why would I talk to a chatbot when I can just talk to a smart person. Or even a dumb person, at least that would be entertaining. * I always ask: What am I going to do with the extra time? It better be thinking, reading, creating, playing with my kid, channeling spirits, or touching grass… otherwise I fear I have lost the plot. Actual brain rot — “use it or lose it”I grew up in the 90s and have an irrational fear of contracting something like Mad Cow disease and my brain turning into Swiss cheese. If you also fear brain rot, let me introduce you to a concept that will either help you sleep like a big brained baby or keep you up at night staring into the black hole of your ceiling — “use it or lose it.”Scientists studying dementia found that individuals who started to use a hearing aid as soon as they lost some of their hearing — vs. those who did not use hearing aids once they become audio impaired — had lower rates of dementia later in life. Why? Because the anti-hearing aid group stopped using the part of their brain that processes listening and language comprehension, resulting in neurological atrophy.Spooky. I think about the “use it or lose it” principle when it comes to my physical muscles, my creative muscles, my intuitive muscles, and I can’t help but feel it’s totally true.So here's my first rule: If I can use my own brain to do it without emotionally thrashing myself, I'm going to try. Basically, I don’t want to run to AI first if I’m feeling lazy. Feels like a slippery slope that ultimately robs me of my abilities, which leaves me totally reliant on AI.Before you automate anything, ask yourself: What are you going to do with that extra time?If your answer is "make more mediocre content faster," please stop. The world doesn't need more AI-generated blog posts. But if your answer is "think deeper thoughts, read more books, have actual conversations, or create something genuinely meaningful," then yes—let AI handle your grocery lists and email sorting.Think of it like the nutrition concept of "crowding out." Instead of just removing the bad stuff, you add so many good things that there's no room for the junk. Use AI to clear mental clutter so you can fill that space with the stuff that makes you more human, not less.What AI kind of sucks at as of right now* Good writing: There are tell-tale signs (the “It’s not *** — it’s ***” formula…) and honestly, the majority of the writing that LLMs are pulling from is mediocre at best.* Original ideas: Once again, LLMs use large data sets to predict the probable next word in a sentence, and then the probable next idea in a paragraph. This predictive nature means that even if you really work the platform to help you come up with new ideas, you’re still probably reheating someone’s nachos.* Working reliably: A few weeks ago I spent 30+ minutes trying to get ChatGPT to make a simple grocery list based on five recipes I’d uploaded to the chat. It kept forgetting ingredients, miscalculating numbers, hallucinating recipes. It would’ve taken me less time to just grab a pen and paper and write out what I needed.The Tools That Actually Make My Life Better

Explore the intriguing complexities of Kundalini Yoga and its controversial figures, including allegations of misconduct and the blurred lines of spirituality and cult dynamics. The discussion delves into personal healing journeys and the ethical dilemmas between power and vulnerability in spiritual guidance. With a focus on generational engagement and cultural appropriations, the speakers highlight the importance of skepticism in spiritual practices. A compelling examination of documentary integrity rounds out a cautionary tale about seeking authenticity in a world rife with deception.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.com📚 Resources and Links:* Sign up for the North Node waitlist here* Inquire about 1:1 work with Michelle here* Holisticism Resources 4 u:* Ruthless Clarity — an 8-week email course designed to help you achieve crystal-clear certainty about your goals, desires, and energy allocation* How to Begin: A Project Planning Class — a 90-m on-demand class that teaches you exactly how to sketch a effervescent project plan that'll fill you with glee and inspiration and instantly banish procrastination and overwhelm, so your brilliant ideas can finally come to life.* The Subconscious Audit — an 11-day diagnostic framework that helps you identify what's holding you back and making you *feel* blocked. Because you're never actually blocked* The New Age Playbook for Spellbinding, Can’t-Stop-Reading Copy — a 35-page downloadable workbook to take your writing from blah to bingeableWeek two of our "Divine Downloads" series and we're diving into the big question: what's actually happening when someone says they're "channeling" something?Today I'm talking to Hannah Macintyre, practicing medium and host of Mediumship Matters. While most people in the mediumship world just repeat the same old talking points, Hannah's out here asking the questions we all have — even the slightly (very) uncomfortable ones. I really love listening to Hannah’s show, and I’m delighted to chat with her on The Twelfth House today. In this episode we talk about...The "special gift" myth. Turns out most mediums don't have some dramatic spiritual awakening.

📚 Resources and Links:* Sign up for the North Node waitlist here* Inquire about 1:1 work with Michelle here* Holisticism Resources 4 u:* Ruthless Clarity — an 8-week email course designed to help you achieve crystal-clear certainty about your goals, desires, and energy allocation* How to Begin: A Project Planning Class — a 90-m on-demand class that teaches you exactly how to sketch a effervescent project plan that'll fill you with glee and inspiration and instantly banish procrastination and overwhelm, so your brilliant ideas can finally come to life.* The Subconscious Audit — an 11-day diagnostic framework that helps you identify what's holding you back and making you *feel* blocked. Because you're never actually blocked* The New Age Playbook for Spellbinding, Can’t-Stop-Reading Copy — a 35-page downloadable workbook to take your writing from blah to bingeableWe’re officially in week two of our “Divine Downloads” series — and buckle up, y’all, because we’re talking about spiritual possession, but in a cool way? Today novelist, poet, astrologer, and the cohost of COSMIC VALLEY GIRL (season two starts in Sept!) Emmalea Russo joins me to explore the murky, magical territory between creative flow and spiritual channeling.In this episode we talk about… The weaponized use of "channeling." We get into why the word can make our hackles rise — is it a cop-out from creative responsibility, or are we all just vessels for something larger than ourselves? Spoiler: it's complicated.Characters as atmospheric spirits. Emmalea describes how her novel characters literally inhabit her while writing, shifting her mood and language almost automatically. Haters will say she’s possessed! The alchemical writing process. From chaos to gold, we explore how the vessel (aka you, the writer/creator/maker) is the most important part of the creative work. Plus why strategic silence beats oversharing your works-in-progress every time.Editing is channeling, too. Through repetition and that delicious friction of working with a human editor who challenges you, something transcendent emerges.We somehow manage to connect medieval mystics to modern publishing, discuss why your natal chart isn't for public consumption, and explore what it really means to be a "pure channel" (hint: we're all too human for that). Plus, Emmalea spills on her Book Sherpa accelerator program that, in my opinion and the opinions of many of her students, is more valuable than getting an MFA. If you’re ready to finally write the book that’s been haunting you for years, Em hooked us up with a special discount code for the sherpa-curious — use EARLYBOOK for $330 off! Fair warning: we end on some cancellable opinions so… forge ahead to the end at your own discretion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.comFound ObjectsWelcome to Found Objects, where we give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we’re thinking about, haunted by, reading, making, and what's generally floating around the spiderweb of our etheric minds. These are the building blocks — some directly, some indirectly — that contribute to what we’re focusing on for the next six weeks in our series, The Divine Download: What is Called Channeling?This is the second post in the series. If you want access to the full curriculum for this series, subscribe to The Twelfth House.Private PortalsThe beginning of the summer felt like being shot out of a cannon — two weeks on X-Games mode (studying / parenting / entrepreneuring) in Ann Arbor, during a particularly busy season at Holisticism (doors opened to the North Node and we welcomed so! many! amazing new members; Ruthless Clarity hit hard and fast for eight full weeks and whooooweeee did it pack a punch) followed by family time on the east coast for a few weeks.In between all that, the quotidian details: doctors appointments and test results and exercising and being present and hugging friends and making bad art and annotating books and watching movies and finally (finally!!!) getting eight hours of childcare a week. My brain felt deliciously rung out by mid-July.As I write this, it feels like the dust has momentarily settled in my personal life. I love backstroking through the long, thick days of high summer — no need to rush. The pools of my mind have time to replenish themselves. It’s nice to feel ideas gently bubbling to the surface but free of the urgency to pursue them immediately (rare for me, I’ve gotta enjoy it while I can).Over the past few months my deepest conversations have circled back around to the genocide and man-made famine in Palestine, the presence of ICE terrorizing our neighborhood and kidnapping our community members, and the general existential helplessness one feels watching fascism consume our government — what do we do? What can we do, when it seems like nothing we try makes a difference?Well, here’s how I think of it:If I do nothing, it won’t make a difference to the cause.If I do something, it won’t make a difference to the cause — but at least I’ll sort of feel better. So why not do something, even if it’s small?In my mind Chef José Andrés is a Roma Downey “Touched by An Angel”-level earth angel and deserving of the goddamn Nobel Peace Prize for his work at World Central Kitchen. WCK is on the ground in Gaza baking loaves of bread and handing them out daily. They’re a great organization you can donate to here.8 Ideas Floating In My Psychic Field

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.com📚 Resources and Links:* 📩 Connect with host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michelle Pellizzon-Lipsitz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠team Holisticism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* Sign up for the North Node waitlist here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* Inquire about 1:1 work with Michelle here* Holisticism Resources 4 u:* Ruthless Clarity — an 8-week email course designed to help you achieve crystal-clear certainty about your goals, desires, and energy allocation* How to Begin: A Project Planning Class — a 90-m on-demand class that teaches you exactly how to sketch a effervescent project plan that'll fill you with glee and inspiration and instantly banish procrastination and overwhelm, so your brilliant ideas can finally come to life.* The Subconscious Audit — an 11-day diagnostic framework that helps you identify what's holding you back and making you *feel* blocked. Because you're never actually blocked* The New Age Playbook for Spellbinding, Can’t-Stop-Reading Copy — a 35-page downloadable workbook to take your writing from blah to bingeableA practical guide to reclaiming your time and mental energy without compromising your professional integritySomething interesting is afoot.I’ve had no fewer than six conversations over the past two weeks about a very particular problem: what to do about having an unproblematic day job.“What kind of problem is that,” you’re thinking.It’s kind of a golden handcuffs demi-fine handcuffs situation — you’ve got a gig that pays well, provides health insurance, and isn't soul-sucking. It’s probably time-consuming, but in an average 9-to-5 way. You might even kind of enjoy it! You have fun slacking weird memes to your coworkers, and whomst amongst us could say “no” to the free snacks that litter the team kitchen? You probably appreciate knowing you’re good at what you do, and being a valuable member of the team makes you feel good.But here's the thing: it's not your passion.It's not how you want to spend your one wild and precious life. You have a gnawing desire to get something else brewing — a creative project, a business idea, a calling that feels more aligned with who you really are.While you’re not pulling 80-hour weeks, you’ve found that you don’t have enough space (mental, temporal, emotional) to really work on your other project. You’re not interested in pulling bleary-eyed all-nighters to work on your side project. But you can’t seem to get enough momentum while working in sporadic, clandestine spurts of free time.Honestly, it’s not about trying harder or having more discipline or drinking more energy drinks so you don’t need as many honk-shoos a night. If that worked, you wouldn’t have this problem.You’re stuck between two paths: stay in the realm of financial stability and accept that your side thing will remain a side thing, or quit to make space for what truly matters to you?

In a captivating discussion, Jonathan Koe, an expert in energy work and astrology, shares insights on how our relationship with money reflects deeper psychological patterns. He explores money as a spiritual practice, the quest for 'enough,' and reframing debt as a tool for growth rather than fear. Koe highlights the transformative potential of financial freedom, emphasizing resilience and optimism in decision-making. Tune in for a thought-provoking look at how financial beliefs intersect with personal growth and self-worth.

Discover transformative ideas that can shift your luck and mindset! Explore how personal growth springs from adversity and the importance of embracing life's cringe moments. Dive into the joy of action and the freedom of possibility without overthinking every decision. Learn 11 key phrases that reshape your views on luck and encourage you to embrace uncertainty, all while fostering a sense of community and aligned creativity. Get ready to open your mind and heart to a vibrant journey!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.comThe doors are open to The North Node until July 6th.Welcome to my gorgeous group of secret Jason Bournes minus the murder (probably!)No, it’s not because you look like Matt Damon (that’s a compliment).It’s because you’re walking around using your valuable knowledge and skills in casual conversations, solving problems for people, giving advice that others would pay consultants thousands for... but you’ve completely forgotten that these abilities are extraordinary (and monetizable, but we’ll get there later)Quick poll: How many of you have ever said 'Oh that? That's just common sense' while someone frantically took notes? Or maybe, “Oh, that’s easy, I’m happy to do that for you. I could do that in my sleep, I can’t charge you!”If yes, you’re in the right spot.And, you’re probably someone who has a LOT of confusion about what to spend your one wild and precious life doing … because you enjoy a LOT of things.Maybe you’re secretly hoping that one day your alarm clock will go off, and you’ll rise out of bed knowing exactly what it is you want to do when you grow up.Or that some mysterious billionaire will message you on LinkedIn with a job offer that allows you to work from home 3-days a week doing [insert something you love doing here] for a cool $500k salary a year.I mean, me too. But while we’re waiting for that golden LinkedIn notification, we might as well save ourselves and start getting paid to do the things we enjoy and are good at.Here’s my perspective:Your career isn't a destination — it's a living, breathing, ever-changing organism. We're not looking for THE answer, but understanding the dynamic assemblage of experiences, skills, and gifts that make up your unique expertise.My goal for this sessionYou'll leave knowing you have expertise. Slay.You’ll have a good high-level map to start figuring out your packaging / pricing / format to bring your offer or business or project into the world.… and while I’m confident you can figure that all out on your own through study and experimentation, The North Node helps you get there faster with less wasted resources.

Discover the excitement of diving into creative projects while grappling with the tension between perfectionism and spontaneity. Learn how to align your personal values with your artistic ventures for greater fulfillment. Explore practical tools for setting clear goals and optimizing your decision-making. Emphasize the importance of audience feedback and iteration in the creative process. Join a supportive community dedicated to helping you turn your genius ideas into reality, one rewarding step at a time.