Community Fires | Around the Fire

The Path to Firekeeping

Posted by Around the Fire Editor | Feb 24, 2019 | Event Landing Page, Export, February 2019, Firekeeper Love Letters |

Are you looking for great purpose, meaning and transformation in your life, while producing spiritual connection, community and help for others? Would you like to see conflict and polarity in people’s lives changed to heart and dialogue? If so, we invite you to explore stepping into the role of Sacred Fire Firekeeper.

In premodern cultures around the world, people recognized the otherworldly effect of sitting with Fire and its influence to open people in a way not easily understood. Beyond heat and light, the presence of Fire was revered for the way that it could produce emotional, mental and spiritual health for communities and individuals, when facilitated by someone who could see and work with Fire’s special gift. This ability, held by those in the role known as “firekeeper,” was cultivated and passed on through generations to particular people. Firekeepers would then be a common presence at gatherings, council and ceremony. Nowadays, this skill, which has been lost in our society, is being reintroduced with the help of Grandfather Fire, and through his relationship to traditions that are still familiar with this spiritual endowment given for humanity’s benefit.

Finding Answers around the Fire

Posted by Britt Espinosa | Feb 5, 2019 | Event Landing Page |

“After a period in my life when I was heading in the wrong direction, I turned to exploring spirituality as a path to addiction recovery. Through serendipity, I found myself talking to a woman who, through her intuition, sensed that I would benefit from a drum or fire circle. As I started asking around, a friend of mine led me to the Sacred Fire community fires hosted by Tim and Karla Cole in Poplarville, MS. Once I got there, I realized it was no coincidence that I had been led to this community specifically. I’ve overcome so much through the people I’ve met and the lessons I’ve learned around the hearth there. So many of the answers to my questions in life have come from listening to, or observing the growth in others, around the Fire. For instance, one community member participated in the Sacred Fire Community Annual Gathering of Men. I watched his journey toward claiming his more feminine/emotional side; it wasn’t easy for him at first, but ultimately the transformation was inspiring.”

I’ve come to appreciate the importance of community, and how beneficial healthy communities are to society. I’ve learned the importance of letting go of judgment. And now I’ve found the courage to take a huge leap. In March I will quit my well-paying job, and move to the Pacific Northwest where I hope to start a community-based healing center. I take with me lessons about new beginnings and the wisdom I will need to carry with me, and of the courage it takes to leave things behind.

The Purpose of Life

Posted by Britt Espinosa | Jan 23, 2019 | Event Landing Page |

“The call to spirit and a spiritual life has always been in the background of my life. In my younger days, as I contemplated my life purpose, I used to think it depended on transcending the mundane world. I certainly have had experiences that were “other-worldly.” But as I reflect on these now, I see how they were not really about being “someplace else,” but were showing me glimpses of what it is to be truly present here and now, experiencing life fully and directly.

Experience is opening my eyes: to live a life of purpose and meaning, no matter how that looks externally, means to be truly touched by life. By all of it: the ups and the downs, the deep well of love, the grief of loss, the knocks that bring us to our knees and the strength that comes from standing back up. It is about being part of and touched by life. It sounds so ordinary, but in reality it is extraordinary. To the mind it may seem pointless, yet to the heart it is fulfilling beyond measure. It brings me tears of gratitude.

I was at a funeral of a friend recently. The officiating minister, in his address, spoke of these ups and downs, and noted the alternative: a straight line. He pointed out that in an electrocardiogram this “flatline” represents a non-existent heartbeat and signifies death. Through the shared loss and simultaneous celebration of this woman’s life, the grief and the gratitude were both palpable. We were feeling deeply. We felt alive.

It is this being touched by nature and by my fellow humans that draws me to sit around Fire – feeling the wind, the earth, the heavens, the trees, with the dancing flames at the center drawing us together, calling out our stories, drawing feelings forth from our depths. A deep longing in me is satisfied, leaving me strangely settled. Without this time around Fire, I feel that I have lost my bearing, my orientation. When I sit with Fire in this way, it’s a little like going to sleep and waking up renewed and ready for the next day. And for this I am very grateful.”

How Fire moves me

Posted by Britt Espinosa | Jan 16, 2019 | Event Landing Page, January 2019 |

“The fire frees my emotions and heals me in ways that nothing else has to this point.”

Women’s Fires: The Gift of Sisterhood

Posted by Britt Espinosa | Dec 14, 2018 | Event Landing Page |

“A close friend introduced me to the Sacred Fire Santa Monica, CA (USA) community fires, which are held monthly. After my first visit, the Firekeeper announced an upcoming women’s fire. At first, I didn’t think that I would need to sit around a fire with a bunch of women, as I was perfectly satisfied with the community fire, and so I thought nothing more about it. One evening, however, I was invited by a friend to accompany her to the women’s fire. She was aware of personal trials I was experiencing and suggested I might attend to gain some much-needed strength.

Although I had been to several community fires with the same ladies, the women’s fire experience was definitely different. There was a magical sense of caring and inclusion that was so strong it filled me with pure energy. I felt emotion; not emotional to the point of crying, but if I had cried, I knew it would be okay to do so. It was more that I felt very aware of our sisterhood, and that we were all there for a soulful purpose, not only to be reenergized and renewed through the consecrated Fire, but through each other. This experience was life-changing. Even if the women present that night might be unaware how much their gift of stories and presence impacted and strengthened me as a woman, I have formed a special bond with each of them.

I will forever make the women’s fire part of my personal soul-cleansing, self-nourishing practice. During the community fires, I find that sharing may be tailored by women because of the presence of men. Yet among themselves, women feel understood by each other and can more openly discuss private matters and intimate feelings. I can see the difference in how we share and feel more open, unhindered and unleashed. That freedom is what makes the women’s fires so special. I now realize that I can have healthy, fun and growing relationships with other women, and that the particular setting of Sacred Fire women’s fires is ideal for this.”

Displays on page: Community Fires

The Path to Firekeeping

Finding Answers around the Fire

The Purpose of Life

How Fire moves me

Women’s Fires: The Gift of Sisterhood

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