I walk a path of fire like my ancestors of the Cherokee before me. The fire purifies, transmutes, and alchemizes what no longer serves into beauty, grace, wonder, and awe. The fire is composed of three flames: the electric blue light of Truth, the rose light of Compassion, and the golden light of Energy and vitality. The fire is our most ancient ally, and we have been taught to fear it.
Like many false beliefs we hold, the fear of fire is a primal fear buried deep in the cells of our bodies where ancestral memory resides, memories of when fire was misused, like power has been misused for centuries, and caused harm to our ancestors. When misused by fear, fire becomes a weapon. When honored with love, fire becomes sacred.
When we turn to face our fears, and we walk through the Truth, Compassion, and Energy of the Sacred Fire, we are purified, and the upside-down world of fear turns right-side up into love and truth.
Since fire is the first thing we are taught to be afraid of as toddlers, when the fear of fire is destroyed, all other things we believe are now suspect. Like a game of Jenga, removing the fear of fire is like removing a block way down at the base of the Jenga structure. The entire structure topples, and along with it topples fearful conditioning.
What replaces the fear? Curiosity, exploration, questions, and trust in the unknown. The world ceases to be a place with fearful monsters around every corner and becomes a garden of delights to explore through synchronistic connections and mystical revelations.
I love introducing people to Sacred Fire and inviting them to face their fears as they bravely walk barefoot across 1300-degree coals. The experience forever changes how they think of fire and Life.
Following the tradition of my ancestors, we call forth the winds of the south, the west, the north, and the east. We call forth Mother Earth and all of our relations. We call forth Father Sky and the Great Spirit. We experience sacred space, some for the first time in our lives.
Within this context of sacred space, of having invited the holy within us and around us to be present, we experience Sacred Fire. Because Sacred Fire is built on the building blocks of all creation–Truth, Compassion, and Energy–it easily vanquishes fear, which is an illusion.
When you meet fear with Sacred Fire, it dissolves away into nothing. People who come to the firewalk workshop filled with fear, doubt, worry, confusion, and heavy emotional loads learn how to invite the Sacred Fire to transmute all those energies into nothing. We dance across the coals while singing, laughing, and marveling at how beautiful this Sacred Earth truly is. We are grateful the Sacred Fire helped us remember the Truth.
