The Leader Within: Articles on Community Building, Leadership, and Personal Growth

by Shauna Aura Knight

How do we build healthy community? Pagan and alternative spirituality groups find themselves in crisis. Burnout, drama, power struggles, gossip, betrayal, abuse, conflict, toxic personalities…or groups just fade away, unable to rally enough volunteers to get the work done. Groups gather together for spiritual work and find themselves unable to get past the challenges of group dynamics. This book is a collection of articles and essays written over the past eight years articulating thoughts and techniques for leadership, community building, and the deep personal and spiritual work we need to transform into leaders who build sustainable, vibrant communities. The articles constructively look at common problems in Pagan communities and explore leadership challenges in an understandable way while working toward solutions. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or a brand new member of a group, this book will offer some tools and techniques to build healthier communities for our future.

Genres: Self Help

444 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2014

About the author

Shauna Aura Knight
An artist, writer, leader, teacher, event organizer, environmental activist, and ecstatic spiritual seeker, Shauna travels nationally offering intensive education in the transformative arts of ritual, community leadership, and spiritual growth.

She is the author of the paranormal romance Werewolves in the Kitchen and the ritual facilitation book Spiritual Scents, as well as a columnist on ritual techniques for Circle Magazine. Shauna’s writing will also appear in several forthcoming anthologies Calling to our Ancestors (Asphodel Press), Stepping in to Ourselves: An Anthology of Writings on Priestessing (Goddess Ink), and Mantle of Stars (Biblioteca Alexandrina). Her artwork is used for Pagan magazines and book covers, and decorates many Pagan shrines and altars. Artwork is a deep part of her spiritual practice and explores myth, transformation, story, and archetype.

Shauna finds herself on a Grail Quest, seeking the mystical cup that brings transformation and healing to make our world a better place. She is passionate about creating rituals, experiences, spaces, and artwork to awaken mythic imagination and inspire creativity. She is inspired by Joseph Campbell’s mythology, Carl Jung’s archetypes, psychology, sacred geometry, the design of temples, archaeoastronomy, communication and community building techniques, and shamanic techniques of ecstatic ritual and transformation.

Reviews

[Helen Griffus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Technically, I DNFd this book, but I really wanted to give it a rating. I truly believe that the intent for this book came from a good place, but the execution was not done well.
The contents of the book are actually blog posts, that by themselves are probably better able to be digested, but when every time you turn a page you are bombarded by the authors opinion that all pagan leaders have a mental illness, well, it's difficult to find anything of use.
I feel that some editing could have happened to get past that. Instead, it looks like the articles were simply bound together. I hung in for as long as I could, but I eventually had to pull the plug on this one. I really wanted it to be helpful for me in my own leadership role.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot to offer a person who finds themselves in a position of leadership in a pagan community, or even an active member of a pagan group. There are ideas about conflict resolution, organizing, boundaries, and other topics that are interesting.
I will say that the book could have benefited from an editor to catch some typos and formatting issues, but those are minor distractions. Also, the book is five years old now, so some of the references to online resources are not as current or relevant as they once were.
Still, I would recommend this book to all the happy pagans out there.

[Tommy /|\ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shauna makes an excellent point early on in the book: there is not any real training for Pagan leadership. Particularly in how to handle situations and individuals when working in groups. While not a perfect guidebook or how-to manual, even as admitted by Shauna, this book does serve to showcase some ways of dealing with difficult situations and/or difficult people. And while the premise is certainly aimed towards Pagan leadership, I would add that a lot of what Shauna sets forth is excellent material for dealing with everyday situations in your own life. A few of the techniques in this book have already served me in working with committees and discussion panels within my own workplace. By far, this is a book that sets the stage for an area of Pagan leadership that is sorely lacking. Many Pagan in leadership positions are shown how to handle rituals in large groups and public settings. Very few are the books or training methodologies that assist the up-and-coming Pagan leader on dealing with group dynamics and conflict management. I HIGHLY recommend this as reading for anyone looking to take on a position of leadership and/or authority.