A Sense of Community, by Mermiad Kelby

The Siren symbolizes both. She is seductress, enchantress, goddess. And warning, alarm, attention-grabbing wail. It is up to us to accept, free and integrate the golden shimmer with the dark shadow.

Sensuality is a gift. It is wholesome. And key to living in the present moment. The change it creates is reason sirens are feared. Answering her call takes us on a never-ending journey of mini deaths and re-births.

Life becomes vivid. We relax, frolic and radiate.

My Life as a Mermaid: The Tale of a Rockstar's Daughter

"What do you get when you take the daughter of a ‘70s rockstar … add a dash of supernatural mysticism … an innate knack for marketing + branding … a lifetime of drumming + music … and a fascination with mythology + depth psychology? You get something pretty wild, that’s for sure. You get Kris Oster, PhD."

You are involved in so many fun and interconnected projects. What's next for you? And how does it all work together?

Finishing my memoir and offering a Sirens Secrets workshop.

I started my blog as a way to build an audience for my memoir, How Pole Dancing Changed My Life. Writing about dance increases the insights I discover. It helps me integrate them into my life. I blossom. Experience more bliss.

To help women take similar journeys, I began compiling stories for an anthology about the Transformational Power of Dance. And have developed a series of Sirens Secrets workshops. And launched a free monthly Sirens Secrets newsletter (Click here to subscribe)

My mission is to inspire other women to feel sexy, free, vibrant and full of joy. This can be challenging in our culture, which over-values reason, competition, efficiency and productivity. To fulfill this and have a place for all my projects, I founded the Siren Institute, a center that honors and celebrates the feminine. Particularly what sirens symbolize: Emotion. Sensuality. Play. Intuition. Cooperation. Nature. Beingness.

We need to elevate and free the siren in each of us. She is calling us to come home to our authentic primal selves.

Here is a mermaid featured in Lisa's blog

It's 'a mystical memoir + mermaid fantasy quest — with a dash of rockstar-dust'

Community—that is the thing I am learning about in this world of liquid love that I find most endearing—a sense of inclusion and belonging, especially among those who heretofore have felt like outsiders. It turns out that fins are doing much to help young women find their feet. And the mer culture is helping females of all ages, shapes and sizes feel as beautiful as they truly are.

When I sent out a call for a testimonial on the MerNetwork.... yes, there really is such a thing and it is a bustling online destination, incredibly well run, easy to navigate and a real boon to mer enthusiasts.... Anyway, when I posted a request for a testimonial I heard back from a lovely community college student and merin-training who goes by the moniker, Mermaid Kelby.

Kelby, how did you first become interested in mermaiding?

Well, like many other girls, I wanted to be a mermaid when I was little! The first mermaid I met was Mermaid Jaimie. I work at the Renaissance Faire in the kid's area (Kid's Kingdom) and in 2012, she came to join our faire family! I didn't think much of it when she said she was a mermaid, but once I saw her in her tail, I was awed and inspired. I thought she was super cool and couldn't really talk to her because I was too nervous to talk to someone cool! Haha! But eventually I was able to ask her over the internet how to make a mermaid tail, she gave me the info, and the tail adventure began!

Did you get involved with your friends or is this something you pursued on your own?

Visit Kelby's new Facebook page

Like I said, Jaimie is the one that told me what I needed and which video to watch, but I didn't have anyone doing it along with me. My boyfriend was there every step of the way, supporting me, though! Hopefully I can get him in a tail one day!

What sort of mermaid activities do you engage in?

Hmm...swimming! Haha when the weather is right, anyway. A lot of my time has been put into working on my second tail, which has turned out to be a lot more complicated than I had expected! I also like to make accessories. I was at Autism Families Night at the Aquarium of the Pacific in support of TACA (Talk About Curing Autism). I got to meet a lot of kids and they were happy to have met a mermaid! My sister is a TACA mentor and wants me to go to another event and maybe go to my niece and nephew's school to read a sea life-related book and talk about ocean conservation.