What have you heard the Fire speaking to you? Whether you’ve become good at listening to that soft voice of Heart within you, or whether you’ve had the privilege of sitting around the fire with Grandfather Fire as he speaks to groups “in the suit,” when you listen to the wisdom of Fire, you become more connected to others, the living world, and your purpose for being.

Owning the book Heard Around the Fire is an easy way to hold the wisdom of Fire in your hand and consult it whenever you need it. Here’s an excerpt:

Q: What’s the difference between mind and Heart?

Grandfather: The mind and the self are worshipped in this culture. It is the mind’s job to preserve and protect you. Planning, projecting the future — this is the mind’s job. The mind plans around your need for food and shelter. It plans for your general well-being. To do its job correctly, the mind tries to exert control over events. Where you get led astray is when the mind convinces you that material goods will make you happy, content and connected with greater realms. “If I only had such and such, I would be happy or enlightened.” To suggest that the mind is held in too high esteem can trigger defensive reactions in people of this culture. But, let’s examine the role of the mind — and this is not about banishing the mind. It’s about putting the mind in the role it is supposed to take.

The mind can be very talkative. It can worry, fret, obsess, plan and organize, all within a few seconds, day in and day out. Sifting through the chatter is a lot of work. You must learn the mind’s voice and the Heart voice befre you will know how to live from the heart. The heart has a direct connection to Divine. The heart will often have its way, whether you know it or not. It always has a way to take you where you need to be. You can do it complaining, arguing and screaming, or you can do it with peace, openness, acceptance and compassion. The mind is very powerful. In order to retain control, the mind will often use the jargon of the heart to justify many things, somewhat emulating the heart, so it is very important to know the difference.

The mind thinks the Heart thing is a lot of bull, and giving over to the heart requires relinquishing control, and the mind wants control. Often people say, “I am listening to my heart,” but really they are listening to the mind.

For 150 pages of fiery wisdom, purchase Heard Around the Fire from the Sacred Fire Community Marketplace.

It’s been going on for 800,000 years: human beings and our special relationship to fire. Read the Story of Fire.

Learn more about Grandfather Fire.