Vessels, the Muse, and Writing is bloody hard work!

Catherynne Valente wrote this amazing essay/rant today about the fact that writing is not about some muse using the author as a vessel:http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/505990.htmlI, of course, do occasionally do work as a shaman where writing is involved. I also am an author, writing under their own wisdom, sweat and tears. Thus, I ended up writing a slightly rambly reply:So, here's where cranky shaman-head pops up.First, have to say- yes yes yes, love 97% of what you have to say.Except that being a vessel is easy.I know we are not exactly on the same woo woo page- but a fascinating fallacy is that opening up to spirit is easy work. Um, no. Also known as "Horsing" or "Being ridden" in Voudon and Northern Shamanism, or "Drawing down," "Aspecting" and other clever names in Wicca, serving as God's Mouth in some forms of gnosticism... you get the drift- that shit is hard.There is a *reason* that vessels/horses in the pagan world are treated well. They make themselves ready. they have a crew of folks to help them leave their body, be filled with whatever, do their job, and come back. Oftentimes, if the deity voice is unclear (as is often the case with channeling for example), it is their job to put that voice into english (or whatever tongue) and act as partial translator from the universal force. They have to explain what "grunt grunt, grunt grunt" means to the people before them anxiously asking how to heal little timmy.I heard it discussed once in a fascinating way at a Shamanic gathering that the more life you have lived and the more you know, a better vessel you make. This is because when a God pops into your head, it can only use the vocabulary that YOU have. Sure, it can try to use other stuff, but it often comes out jumbled.This idea of sharing idea through language available is illustrated well by the study that was done of the chimp who wanted watermelon. He was using a pointerboard (big board, covered in pictures) and kept pointing at "glass of water" and "candy". There was no picture for watermelon on the board. But there was glass of water and candy. The chimp only had those words, it used what it had.Writing is hard work. But for those of us who do happen to actively choose to work as vessels (as authors or as spirit workers), I am deeply saddened by the idea that being a vessel is easy.There's a reason most actual vessels die young, suffer severe physical ailment, or are plagued by ordeals. Being ridden, for most people, is a drain on resources.I personally think that there are some people who are writer-vessels being ridden by some unseen muse. And those people, unless they have a ground crew, living life between, breathing deep and keeping a good practice beyond that- are likely to burn out and/or die young.