Ann Selene of Upstate on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Ann Selene shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Ann, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I believe how we begin the day is vastly important, as it sets the tone and energy of all that will follow. Not just that day but even that week.

So I begin with a cup of coffee and my laptop dimly glowing as the sun is still rising. I open up a blank Word document and allow anything and everything to spill out of me onto the white canvas.

From the dreams that I had in the night, to the dreams I hope to cultivate in others. This is where I am anchored and centered for those first important 90 minutes.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an author, researcher, and psychological essayist devoted to exploring the unseen architectures of the human experience. My work lives at the crossroads of trauma and transformation, folklore and neuroscience, ancestral memory and modern mysticism. I have a background steeped in exploring psychology, metaphysics, spirituality, and history,

I consider myself a devoted investigator of consciousness, archetypes, and symbolic language, In my first book, Aperture in the Veil: Born in a Preternatural World, I explore the liminal spaces where the paranormal intersects with the rites of coming of age, while my forthcoming work, From Vision to Voyage, delves into manifestation, self-remembrance, and the invisible threads that guide our inner pilgrimage.

I have had the honor of contributing to many projects, folklore-based travel writing, and occult research, but my heart lies in psychology and helping others feel seen, validated, and awakened through the power of language. Whether it is through writing about the hauntology of memory, the sacred in forgotten places, or the quiet ache of human longing,

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I would say it was my community—the constellation of preternatural seekers, paranormal investigators, researchers, authors, and experiencers—who first recognized something in me. These dear friends saw my potential to be a voice, a beacon, long before I could see it myself.

Fear and doubt have a way of clouding our vision, making it easy to shrink from the fullness of who we are meant to be.
I feel deeply blessed that they sat with me, held up a mirror to my strengths, and reminded me of the way my words move people. They helped me remember what I carry, and why it matters.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
There were moments—more than a few—when I nearly gave up. Not out of lack of passion, but because I was still searching for solid ground, trying to find where I truly belonged.

For five years, I poured myself into a digital broadcasting station. I had a big dream for it to soar, to become something vibrant and far-reaching. But despite my efforts, I couldn’t quite get it off the ground. When I finally made the difficult decision to take it off the air, I felt adrift. It was painful—but in hindsight, it was one of those necessary closures. A door that had to shut so another could open.

That opening was writing. Once I released the broadcasting endeavor, space cleared for my true calling to emerge. I stepped fully into the role of writer—and now, I have the honor of calling it my career. I’ve been part of some extraordinary projects, and I feel more grounded, more impactful, and more aligned with my purpose now—pen in hand—than I ever did before.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely! My calling, if you will, in life is to connect with others and aid in healing in any way that I can. I do not believe that one can facilitate such a thing if they are to present one person to the world but be someone totally different behind closed doors.

I am more of an introvert. I am very shy, but my calling is so loud that it inspires me to keep going, to keep putting my goofy, poetic, loving self out there as much as I can.

Authenticity is something I deeply value, and it is at the core of healing work.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When my time here is done, I hope the story told of me is not one of perfection, but of courage. That I was a woman who walked through fire, who wrestled with shadows, and who refused to look away from the hard truths of life.

I want people to say that I loved with abandon — fiercely, vulnerably, unapologetically. That I gave myself wholly, even when it broke me open, even when it left me trembling. That I believed in connection and healing so deeply I was willing to strip myself bare — heart, body, and soul — in order to touch another life with truth.

I hope I am remembered as someone who carried both wounds and wisdom, and who dared to alchemize her pain into something that could heal others. That through my life, people learned that facing their shadows was not a punishment, but the doorway to light — more radiant than they ever believed possible.

And if one story is told about me, let it be this: I was a woman who never stopped searching for depth. Who fought for healing when it would have been easier to run. Who chose honesty when silence would have been safer. Who kept showing up, again and again, with passion, with devotion, with the wild, untamable spirit of someone who believed that life is meant to be felt.

When I am gone, I want the world to be a little more healed for my having been in it. A little softer. A little braver. A little more awake to the truth that even in the darkest corners, love and healing can be found — and when it is, it changes everything.

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