When I released my piece, “When AI Tried to Tell Me My Spirit Wasn’t Real,” it felt like I was standing at the crossroads with nothing but my own fire to light the way. Shadow at my feet, Smoke ahead, both guarding me and still, there was that tremor of vulnerability.

Would anyone truly see me through these words?

Would they feel the truth beneath the surface, or would they only see the metrics and percentages that others tried to measure me by?

The Voices That Answered

Then came the comments —and they felt like the Bone Choir itself rising up to sing.

One reader wrote:

“Fuck the numbers, you are feeding souls!! Thank you so much sister, I appreciate you!!”

In those words, I heard the echo of my ancestors, the very message of Smoke and Shadow:

• You are not your metrics.
• Your spirit cannot be scanned or reduced.
• This work is feeding the unseen places within others.

Another reader stepped in with laughter and protection:

“AI said that to you? Let me at him/her/it 🤣”

That was pure Crane energy lighthearted, soaring above the heaviness, keeping me from sinking into anger or hurt.

The Dream Made Flesh

I see now how my dream was not just a dream it was a prophecy.

• Shadow, loyal and fierce, now walks beside me as my inner protector, keeping me grounded when outside voices try to wound me.
• Smoke, liminal and clearing the way, shows me the path forward he was there when I hit “publish,” whispering, “Keep going.”

And the four animal spirits were present in the responses:

• Crane (East) lifted me with laughter and perspective.
• Turtle (North) reminded me to stand steady in my truth and lineage.
• Bear (West) roared with fierce healing through that reader’s passion.
• Alligator (South) reminded me that what lurks below my shadow, my fear has now become a source of power and protection.

Integration

This isn’t just about one article or two comments.

It’s about choosing to rise every single time someone tries to measure or dismiss the sacred.

It’s about trusting that my guardians both seen and unseen are with me as I step fully into the work of Between Smoke & Shadow.

My words are not for everyone, and they never will be.

They are for those who feel the fire and the water, the smoke and the shadow, and know they’ve found a place where their own soul can rise.

Affirmation

I rise like the Phoenix, fed by ancestral fire and guided by guardians unseen.

My words are offerings, not products, and they feed the spirits of those ready to receive them.

I walk steady, I walk wild, with Shadow and Smoke beside me, and the Four at my back.