A Role for Initiated Young Women

Sacred Emergence, as offered by Sacred Fire, guides young women through ritual initiation into adulthood. When a young initiated woman has reached a certain age and time in her life, she may help a new group of candidates by serving on the Initiation Staff. As this Fire Story shows, such volunteer service can bear gifts for all involved.

When I emerged from my own initiation three years ago, I wondered how the experience would continue to impact me. Naturally, the next two years unfolded how they were supposed to. By creating an intentional and ritual separation from my mother and my childhood, I created enough space to finally connect to my core and discover the essence of who I was as a woman. And I found that as I followed this deep, feminine, instinctual self, more and more opportunities and connections flowed naturally into my life.

Still, two years later, I had reached a point of feeling lost, disconnected from my life purpose, and unsure of what I had to offer the world. Serendipitously, I was invited to join the Sacred Emergence Initiation staff and hold space for the next group of young women during their initiation process. The experience of being on “the other side” not only helped me to reconnect deeply to the pace of the land and the warmth of true community, but it also allowed me to rediscover the gifts I already possessed and had to offer to the next generation of women. By helping those remarkable souls step into their womanhood, I simultaneously stepped deeper into mine. By giving back to the community that has selflessly supported me, I felt the roots of connection and the lineage of this particular initiation ritual growing deeper and deeper.

Bio:
Sylvie Mei-Cheong Lam lives in Boulder, Colorado and studies psychology at the Naropa University there. She was initiated in 2012 and describes herself as an explorer, dancer, yogi, reader, and artist. Since she was young she has loved using art as a way to explore the beauty and rawness of being human. She hopes that through her creativity she can add a little more beauty and honesty to the world.

— Sylvie Lam
Boulder, Colorado (USA)
December 3, 2018