Category: Around the Fire
2020: A Great and Auspicious Adventure
We were relieved to hear that this year is destined to be auspicious as long as we work with the patron of this Tibetan year, the Rat, in a rat-like way. Rat is a very social animal, devoted to community and family, very clever and smart, and can adapt to any situations and obstacles. This means it can deal with great challenges, create prosperity and reap benefit in the face of uncertainty and change. And since Rat is frugal, it requires very little to experience prosperity.
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Renewal as Women and Men: For us, for the world
We are all so different. Yet, something about our innate nature as men and as women helps us to sort out who we are and how we’re to be in this beautiful world.
“(The gathering) touched something very deep in me, a place that I didn’t even know needed exploring. Long-held assumptions were shattered, opening new channels of self-awareness and compassion.”
“Moving forward from my time spent at the gathering, I feel change. Simple, effective, positive change. Change that I was in need of. Yes, moving forward in life, sure-footed, with an openness of heart.”
Is it time for you to give yourself, your family and the world the gift of attending Ukalái: An Annual Gathering of Women or Ukilái: An Annual Gathering of Men”.
Fire and Wisdom for Challenging Times: Upcoming Fire Speaks Events
The 2020 momentum and excitement is building. A new season of Fire Speaks events, each centered around an audience with Grandfather Fire, is on the horizon. The opportunity to experience, first-hand, the wisdom and transformative energy of the Spirit of Fire in this unique way is a time-limited gift and not to be taken for granted.
Mark your calendars for a Fire Speaks in honor of the Tibetan New Year, in Tepoztlán, Mexico, on February 29; and for two California (USA) Fire Speaks events, in Santa Monica, on March 14, and at Mt. Tamalpais on March 21.
You can find a complete list of all upcoming Sacred Fire offerings on our web site.
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Fires Are Spreading: Welcome to New Firekeepers
In early December 2019, seven dedicated women and men were initiated as Sacred Fire Firekeepers. This was the culmination of a long period of preparation and training–for some over a year and a half–and marked a lifetime commitment to their work and service on behalf of community.
Our new Firekeepers represent a diverse worldwide group! We now have sacred fires burning in Edinburg, Scotland and Corfu, Greece, tended by new Firekeepers Sylvia Law and Vivian Menjiver, respectively. There are two new Firekeepers in Australia (Sofia in Perth, Western Australia, and Liz O’Leary in Melbourne, Victoria). Tibrata Gillies now tends the hearth in Ontario, Canada. In the United States, Chris Griffin and Faye Townsend will hold Sacred Fires in New Hampshire and Florence, South Carolina.
These seven join a family of Firekeepers in ten countries, on four continents. Each provide a safe, reliable space for people to re-discover what has been forgotten, to connect with each other and to be renewed.
Welcome Chris, Faye, Liz, Sofia, Sylvia, Tibrata, and Vivian!
Mission Critical: Return Fire to the People
How big a flame will it take? Sacred Fire, now in its twentieth year, is burning away the isolation of modern life with the connective and transformative gift of Fire.
What does that look like? How is that possible? Where does one start? While the task may seem daunting, we hope the following stories—offered by those familiar with the work of Sacred Fire—will inspire you and let you see why we feel our mission is worth staying the course for.
Having felt the powerful effect of Fire in our own lives, we naturally want to spread that opportunity to many, many others.
Daunting? Perhaps. Yet deep inside each of us at Sacred Fire, we believe that a small flame, carefully tended, can burst into something big and bright, revealing what has been forgotten, burning away what no longer serves, warming hearts and spirits, and bringing our human family once more into right relationship with ourselves, with each other and with all Life. Will you join us? We invite you to live into your own story of discovery and renewal!
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It’s time to apply for Young Women’s Initiation 2021
The application deadline for the 2020 Sacred Emergence is February 15.
Although the Sacred Emergence Women’s Initiation Council accepts applications year round, to be considered for the 2020 initiation, we must receive your application by February 15th. If we receive your application after this date, we will put you on the list for consideration in 2021.
IMPORTANT: If you are a young woman close to the cutoff age of 25 and want to apply for initiation, you must meet this deadline. If we have not received your application by February 15, you will have missed your opportunity.
To learn more about your eligibility, cutoff and ritual dates, and to apply please visit the event page or contact the Initiation Council.
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Sacred Fire Across the World: Always at Home by the Fire
by Lawrence Messerman, Sacred Fire Executive Director
It has been said that home is where the heart is. It could as easily be said that home is where the hearth is. In my role as Sacred Fire Executive Director, I travel often: within the United States, to Mexico, Canada and Europe.
Always, there is the Fire at the center, supporting the circle of people gathered in that place, whether for organizational leadership meetings, public events like Fire Speaks, or LifeWays programs that support women, men and emerging adults in their journey through life.
Time and time again, I find reaffirmation of the importance of our work in the face of a world that seems to be growing more cold and polarized. No matter how modest in size we may yet be, Sacred Fire is steadily spreading, helping to bring the transformative and connective gift of Fire to the world.
I am delighted to report that 2019 has been a very full, successful year. This is the result of focus, dedication and countless hours of volunteer work.
Read MoreYou’re Not In This Alone: Come to Our Women’s and Men’s Gatherings!
Amidst all of the hustle and bustle and busy-ness of your life, are you feeling alone? Is your heart and spirit longing for a deeper purpose, a more rewarding connection with others?
Around the world and throughout the ages, women have gathered with women, and men have gathered with men over shared activities or a big job well-done…when there is a need to be listened to, acknowledged, encouraged…when there are life events to be celebrated…when big changes are happening in the world, and fresh perspective is needed.
Sacred Fire provides multi-day opportunities for women and men to gather in beautiful locations, led by respected tradition-holders with important wisdom to impart. We invite you to attend Ukalái (Annual Gathering of Women) and Ukilái (Annual Gathering of Men).
Even if you’ve attended these gatherings before, consider gifting yourself or your partner this experience regularly; indeed, annually. Then, return renewed and inspired to tackle the day-to-day challenges that life presents to you.
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Taking Time to Grow Ourselves
There is such richness when we are witnessed and supported by community, as we learn and grow into what it is to be human, through the various stages of life. Sometimes community comes in the form of a pop-up “village,” during a profound time spent together over several days.
Gift yourself with one of the following opportunities to take some time “out of time” to remember and rediscover something essential about yourself. See the Sparks (events) section below for a list of upcoming Men’s and Women’s annual gatherings.
Sacred Emergence, which supports initiation into adulthood for young women, will take place July 26-August 2. Applications are due by February 15, 2020.
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The Role of Fire in Our Lives as Humans
Fire, whether in its elemental form or in electricity and fuel, warms us in the cold and cooks our food. Fire, as candles and flames or as electric light bulbs, illuminates our nights. Human beings are the only animals who work with fire in this way, but our relationship with Fire doesn’t stop there. Some have even said that it is Fire that makes human beings human.
In our new video, Sacred Fire Chairman Don David Wiley explains how our ancestors understood the profound role that Fire plays in guiding our lives as human beings with the wisdom and perspective of the divine natural world. Ancestral people everywhere gather around Fire, releasing their fears, drawing inspiration and receiving guidance, and then they go back into their communities to live life in a good way together. Today, is it possible that we need this ancient and timeless guidance of Fire more than ever?
During these particularly turbulent times all around the world, the Spirit of Fire is coming to our assistance by speaking to us, following an ancient phenomenon common to many original traditions. You can hear this guidance first-hand when you attend
Fire Speaks: An Audience with Grandfather Fire. To date, we have held Fire Speaks events in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Mexico and throughout the United States. Watch this video to learn more about why people are finding not only wonder and solace, but also practical, real personal transformation and other tangible benefits for their lives when they listen to the always-relevant guidance of that ancient ally of all human individuals and communities, Fire.
Warmth and Wisdom to Transform the Cold
Sacred Fire’s unique and transformative remedy for the challenges of the human condition was our focus during the annual Sacred Fire organization summer meetings this past August 2019. It’s hard to express the magic all of us feel when devoting ourselves to opening the way for meaning and warmth to fill the cultures and communities that gather around our fires. The only thing we can say is, come join us in this Great Endeavor!
Do you feel called to help in this work that’s so relevant to our times? Many hands and hearts brighten the work, and we’d love to help you discover how your unique talents can be warmly received.
He’s So Hot!
He appears in many countries worldwide and across the USA, touring from city to city. His wise words regularly inspire people to travel across oceans or drive for 10 or more hours just to listen. Who is this mysterious force of Nature?
After being in the presence of a living, conversing divine being whose words and presence have touched and changed us, how do we share the experience with others? Many of us who have attended Fire Speaks have the same reaction: the world needs to hear more from Grandfather Fire! And yet, how do we go about inviting our friends to this mysterious event that has the potential not only to blow their minds, but also to open their hearts to the possibility that the world around us actually is living, breathing, sacred and filled with vision and meaning?
Perhaps the best way to invite friends or loved ones to this extraordinary event is to share our stories of how we have been moved by being in Grandfather’s presence. And here are some stories we’ve collected from people who were deeply moved by their encounter with Grandfather Fire at Fire Speaks.
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