Sacred Fire Poetry by Richard Bienvenu

I thought you might be touched by this excerpt from a poem by Richard Bienvenu. He wrote it while tending a sacred fire at SpiritQuest. For those of us who have ever sat before a fire tending to it lovingly to keep it alive, I'm sure you will appreciate the calling and sacred space he describes. You can read the entire poem at http://www.spiritquest.info/poetry.html

By the fire
I sit soul in hand.
Sunlight scatters through the trees
Wind manipulates the branches.

This sacred place
sacred space
A time of no time
Where the world stops
And we are renewed.

Fire sings fire dances
Fire calls to me
"Begin again," it says
I will light the way
Call you to renew."

Call you again and again
Call you to the circle.

Helping Others Through Our Connection With Sacred Fire

A week or so ago, I was doing a special, private fire meditation with close friends of mine. As we reflected with the fire, we began seeing images of children in a small refugee camp in what we understood to be Rwanda. These children were orphans, whose parents had been killed or did not know where to find their children. Their clothing was worn, meals were meager and they only seemed to have two adults to watch after the 50-60 children in the camp.

We immediately began holding these children in our compassion and love, praying for their families to find them and praying for additional help to come to them. Whether or not what we were seeing was accurate, what is true is that there are over 1 million abandoned children in Rwanda as a result of the genocide in the 1990's.

Divine Grace brought them to our attention through our meditation, and it is our sincerest belief that their need for our prayers, love and action on their behalf is the reason they came into our consciousness as we sat in stillness with the sacred fire.

At SpiritQuest ceremonies, we learn how to eat and pray for our questers in such a way that the challenges of fasting and being alone in the woods are eased by our support. I find myself these days, eating my meal and energetically sharing my food with a starving child. I have seen such prayers in action help someone fasting on the hill. I find it acceptable to believe such prayer could help a child in need in another country.


And so I extend an invitation to you to add the children of Rwanda to your prayer list. Perhaps, you will even energetically want to share a meal. And then perhaps, find one of the many agencies providing aid to these children and help them out.

From my heart,
Misa

From Holiday Stress to Holiday Joy

During the past holiday week, I have been blessed to be sharing our home with some very dear friends. As I said goodbye to the last of our guests, I felt a peaceful, warm, fullness in my heart.

Holidays in my family of origin often produced a dichotomy of feelings for me. On the the one hand, I loved the magic and fun holidays seemed to produce; and at the same time I strained under the rude words expressed by stressed family members. Holidays were filled with an imbalance of high expectations and not nearly enough compassion.

Fortunately, eleven years with SpiritQuest has taught me that by reversing the order of focus — increasing compassion and becoming non-attached in regard to expectations — allows people to enjoy the beautiful result of living in joy, harmony and fulfillment with others.

By opening our home, with that focus in our hearts, my husband and I enjoyed a peaceful and fun holiday season with several beautiful people who were holding the same focus in their hearts. We found a wonderful rhythm together as we shared this house for nine days. I watched with delight as old wounds around stressful holidays slipped away to become a celebration of each other and the season.

If I Bless the Sun.....

The sun is nestling in behind the hills leaving an amazing golden glow all around our home. Even the air itself seems to be golden. My husband and I stopped working in order to step outside and bathe in this unique after glow. The sacred fire of the sun has called us to what is truly important—being in the beauty of the moment.

As I drank in the golden air, it was not lost on me that this gorgeous light cast itself around us just as I sat down to write a Message from the Sacred Fire. Standing there in its wonder, I reflected on how often I take the sun for granted and offered a prayer of gratitude for its special blessing this evening.

Sitting down once again to write, I can't help but wonder—if I bless the sun, where does this blessing go? How far is its reach? If I recognize and bless its nature as sacred, and its nature lives in and touches all of life on Mother Earth, what else will be blessed? If I can touch the sun with my heart and words, what difference might I make throughout the world?

I believe our true reach extends beyond our physical bodies in a realm of Divine awareness. The mystic within me wants to know how deep my love can go and how far it can truly reach.

In just a few days, we will be coming together for our monthly New Moon Fire Tele-ceremony for men and women. During fire ceremony we step into the sacred nature of fire, honoring its nature as we hold ourselves and others in its healing caress.

Then only a couple of weeks later, we gather together for our Solstice Tele-ceremony which we lovingly call The Kiss. In this ancient and beautiful ceremony, we become one in our hearts with the sacred fire of the sun and gently kiss the planet awake with our compassion and gratitude for the sacred fire that burns within all humans.

If you have been on one of these Tele-ceremonies, you know how exquisitely the sacred fire nourishes and expands as our Divine natures join together. If you have not yet been to one of these ceremonies, I welcome your sacred spirit to join with ours as we bless each other and the sacred fire that lives within all of creation.

Sacred Fire — The Guiding Light of Compassion

Each day, I sing a song of welcoming to the sun. I sing my gratitude to the sacred fire of the sun for its life giving rays of light. I sing to wake up the sacred fire burning inside of each of us. I invite the sacred fire within all of life to be a guiding light of compassion and love for everyone.

I became inspired to live this daily practice after realizing a man I deeply respected made this ritual a part of his gift to the earth and the people of the earth. His name was Dawn Singer and he rose each morning at dawn to greet the sun. His relationship to the sacredness of fire was so profound that when he visited me in the dream time, he came as a gentle, loving flame of fire. His awareness of the sacred fire within him was so secure, he was known to pick up searingly hot sweat lodge stones in his bare hands.

Though I only got to spend time with him on a few occasions, this incredible man touched my life profoundly. My understanding of, and my love and respect for the sacred essence of fire in all living things deepens because I witnessed him allowing himself to actually embody this nature of the Divine. When I wonder how he became such a profound expression of the sacred nature of fire I find myself reflecting on the many hours I have tended our sacred fire during the week of SpiritQuest ceremonies, and the reflections of others who have tended these fires.

There is something awe inspiring that happens when we become still with the flame of a fire. There is a comfort with and a passion for life that stirs within us when we sit quietly and meditate with fire. Our minds become quiet, our hearts open wide, and our deepest dreams seem imminently doable. We become present in the precious moment of now, and we know ourselves as part of a great mystery unfolding itself through us.

Dawn Singer's influence continues, beyond his death nearly a year ago, and reaches out to each of us at Earth Ceremonies. I hope you will accept our invitation to light a candle, and then join the sacred fire of your heart with ours, and with the heart of Dawn Singer and other spirits of the fire on this New Moon, as together we honor the healing nature of the sacred fire and its guiding light of compassion that lives within us.

Vision Quest for Elderhood—Stories from the Elders

Our wonderful Elder Women of the Water Ceremonies have written a book about their experiences you might want to read. Just five short stories, but do they give some awesome insights about the journey of elderhood and the process of becoming initiated as an Elder.

Check it out at:

Read stories from elders who have completed their initiations.

The Power of Elderhood

In June of this year, several dedicated women were initiated as Elders of the Women's Water Ceremonies. After many months of preparation they listened in the silence for three days to know the three goals they would fulfill before their death. They bravely watched for a vision of their death so they can live fully all the days they remain here on earth.

Such a rite of passage transforms your entire life. Here is what one of the elders had to say about her incredible spiritual journey into elderhood.

The Elderhood ceremony has transformed my life for the better. It made me deal with my issues, and become a more loving and compassionate person. The ceremony caused me to become far more aware of my position in and responsibilities to the community we all live in. I have stepped into my power through this ceremony. It is an incredible lesson in living in
community, in integrity, and in service. I recommend this to anyone who is in the "elder" years of their lives. -Sandra Watt, Ph.D