Tending Fire

08/10/2025

Cities are structures of fear. That's been apparent these past eight weeks as I've had to leave our home in a rural area outside of Carrollton and get my cancer treatments in Atlanta. The image here is from the 10th floor of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute–where I received chemo infusions each week.

Happily, the treatments are over and I am healing in the relative peace of the rural setting of our home (including the pictured trail where i like to walk). But the contrast between urban and rural is very much on my mind.

Of course, cities have opportunities and resources that make them attractive. I needed to go to 'the big city' to receive the high -tech medical treatments for my condition. Similarly, people are drawn to a city like Atlanta because there are jobs and cultural offerings that are just not available in small towns and rural areas.

Walking the streets of Atlanta during the week, it was wondrous to see all of the restaurants, galleries, and experience the diversity of the people!

To make a city like Atlanta be functional at all takes a high level planning: those who design and build the infrastructure necessary to accommodate millions of people–including utilities and roads and then the individual high-rise apartments, condos and office towers.

Any kind of human endeavor takes planning. But the level of planning in cities is particularly concentrated or else you get chaos. And with millions of people living and working within a relatively small space, you get a lot of individuals each planning their schedules and trying to live in an ordered way.

Planning is something we need to do as humans. But any kind of planning includes a level of fear or concern: If I don't do 'x' then something undesirable will happen. I won't get what I want–the income, comfort, or future that I idealize. Multiply that by millions of people in a city like Atlanta and you have a lot of fear!

Not everyone can live in the country and even in the country, to the extent that we plan our lives or find ourselves in homes placed however far apart, we still are engaging in a level of fear or concern.

All of us–rural or small town dwellers up to the more urban/urbane need a respite from the fear and concern that comes with being human. That begins to drop away as we find ourselves in the wild order of nature or the 'other than human.' That's when we get beyond the structures of fear–however wondrous–and begin to touch something eternal, mysterious, and far beyond our human concerns. That's also the realm of heart and spirit. More about that to come!

08/06/2025

How the religious impulse plays out in Silicon Valley...

The Rationalists, a community focused on the risks of artificial intelligence, regularly gather with tech figures and other like-minded people in a complex that covers much of a city block.

08/04/2025

Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee emphasizes the spiritual nature of the current "poly-crisis" that we are experiencing as the materialistic world-view of modernism (actually post-modernism) is running out of steam. His visions lead him to believe that getting to the other side of breakdown will take two centuries. Meanwhile, we can create sustainable communities that will be a reference for better times to come.

I would add that traditional wisdom like that of my Wixárika (Huichol) path will be an important resource for what Vaughan calls these"enclaves of light."

See:

Mystic and Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee offers a deeply personal and prophetic reflection on the spiritual dimensions of ecological collapse and civilizational decline. Rooted in both visionary experience and ecological witness, he names this time as the Darkening of the Light—an era in whic...

07/14/2025

An amazing documentary about my friend and fellow Firekeeper Carole Nomessin from Bristol. I am honored to have spent time at her home when Sacred Fire had a Fire Speaks event in Bristol two years ago. The video is a testament to Carole's resilience and courage in overcoming some difficult circumstances in her life. Her connection to Fire has helped her to identify her American father's Salish roots--a traditional people from the Pacific Northwest. Carole speaks here about that discovery unfolding after she attended a Sacred Fire Reunion in Oregon in 2009. That's an event that Jessica and I also attended.

Carole has a big heart, and is such a loving presence. I only wish we had more opportunities to be together...especially around the fire! See:

This is the story of Carole Nomessin the Lady on Fire

07/05/2025

I know, it's been a while! And yet, I have been quite preoccupied with the subject of healing lately. Here's why:

Yewniquely Attired: That’s me a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve shared on Facebook recently, I am in the midst of chemo and radiation treatments for a cancerous tumor near my left tonsil.

“You’ve got cancer.” Not the words anyone wants to hear! But for around 40% of the people in the U.S. and modern cultures, this will be a diagnosis.

Having been called to become a healer in the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition, it is interesting to navigate through the world of high-tech allopathic medicine. From the outset of my treatments, it seemed important receive it all as ‘spirit medicine’ in line with the perspective of a tradition that has supported well-being for a people over thousands of years.

How to do that? Well, for one, every time I receive either a radiation or chemo-therapy treatment, I wear one of my t-shirts with a Wirárika design, as well as a Wirárika bracelet on each wrist. That may seem like a superficial fashion statement, but it helps me to stay connected with my identity in that tradition.

For the radiation treatments, while my head is secured tightly by the mesh mask that ensures that the proton beam targets consistently, I try to see it as a form of Fire. In my tradition–and many others–Fire is the spirit that animates our hearts and helps us feel connected to each other and the world.

Recently, a friend alerted me to the fact that one of my chemo infusion ingredients (Paclitaxel) is derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. That hit like a lightning bolt!

“Coincidentally,” a kindred species of Yew was revered by different indigenous traditions of Europe for thousands of years. Because of the toxicity of its needles, bark and wood, Yew has often been associated with death. And yet, much like the card representing death in tarot, it has connotations of transformation–the ‘little deaths’ that we must experience along the way in order to have a fulfilling life.

Yew trees are amongst the oldest found in Europe. They are challenging to date them because part of their death/re-birth character stems (literally!) from the fact that as they age, their core dies out and they become hollow. The usual approach of counting rings doesn’t work with Yews. But the oldest of these trees is thought to be a particular Yew tree in Scotland that is purportedly up to 5,000 years old!

As it happens, when I was in Scotland to support one of Sacred Fire’s Fire Speaks events three years ago, I joined some friends to visit a Yew tree in the Borderlands region. The powerful presence of that great being was immediately noticeable! A picture of that Great Yew of Ormiston is below.

From the Old English, the word ‘heal’ has the connation of being made whole. And ultimately, that is what I am seeking through my allopathic treatments. I have a particular challenge right now that shows up in the form of cancer. But looking beyond my story, there is a pervasive need out there ‘to be made whole.’ Technology is definitely useful as I am finding in my allopathic treatment. What it does not do so well is make us feel whole. That’s the realm of spiritual medicine that has been practiced by the Wixárika and many other indigenous traditions over millennia.

03/02/2025

(Photo Credit: Felix Mittermeier)

Root Awakening....

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
(From the poem "The Second Coming," by W.B. Yeats, 1919)

"Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one."
(Sam Rayburn, 1882 – 1961, U.S. Congressman from 1913 – 1961)

We live in chaotic times. Each day, the news brings stories of political norms being upended here and the U.S. and the changes are having profound ripples in the rest of the world.

What might not be so obvious in Washington these days, but would be more recognizable in many spiritual traditions is this: Whether as individuals or en masse, life throws unexpected challenges in our path. Sometimes this shows up as a dramatic illness, a relationship ending, or even an accident. Collectively, it may seem like the whole world is teetering on the edge of collapse.

When there are great difficulties looming–whether for us as individuals, but especially if they seem pervasive to how we are living–it’s all the more reason to take a hint from nature and root ourselves more deeply.

What do I mean by that? Creating deeper roots means to have a regular practice of stepping back from media and devices and cultivating a deeper connection to others, the natural world, and ultimately the great mystery of life.

We live in a hyper-active, mind-oriented culture and it makes us unduly anxious and unhappy. This is true even in the best of times, but is especially so as the world is grappling with so much chaos. Regular practices to calm our over-active minds include meditation and mindfulness exercises, being in nature, yoga, and any form of creative outlet. Doing any of these activities with others is particularly beneficial. Beyond that, spending in-person time with others and having the opportunity to share about what matters to you is particularly grounding or deeply rooting.

Best of all is finding a spiritual community that resonates with you. That could be in the form of the tradition in which you were raised, or it might look entirely different from your upbringing. In my case, I discovered that although I was raised Jewish, I had a deep soul connection to the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition from Mexico. I have been taught that we each have a tradition that really ‘fits’ us. It can take time and exploration to find that tradition, but once you do, you’ll experience a kind of home-coming: You have a ‘safe harbor’ from the great trials of life. In the process, you’ll gain specific practices (prayer, meditation, etc.) that align with your deepest nature and help you maintain some sense of sanity as you face the storms.

Ultimately, rooting deeper is about reaching beyond the concerns and worries of our minds, to the felt experience of life that we experience as ‘heart.’ That’s the part of human nature that can obscured by our restless minds, but is always in the background: feeling innately connected to the web of life around us. Through heart and spirit, we discover a remarkable resilience that we never ‘thought’ we had. It’s the kind of resilience that allowed our ancestors to survive incredible difficulties.

We don’t root ourselves more deeply to completely withdraw and pretend that hard things are not happening in our lives or the world at large. It’s not about escapism. On the contrary, we dig deeper to root ourselves better, so that whatever tempest is brewing around us does not undo us. We may be buffeted, but we are not bowled over. We have the strength and equanimity to think more clearly and find ways to help others: our loved ones, friends, and our communities.

Life is not always easy. But if we root ourselves more deeply, we can find the fortitude to push on and be of benefit to others. It’s a time that may bring out the worst in some, but it can bring out the best in us: A life lived courageously, compassionately, thoughtfully. That’s a life worth living–whatever challenges may come our way.

02/02/2025

One of our newly initiated Firekeepers is Emma Diggle in the U.K. An account from a woman who recently attended one of Emma's fires.

There are seven of us shuffling anti-clockwise around a fire burning in an oil drum in a garden next door to the Queen’s Park Rangers’ Loftus Road stadium

02/02/2025

A sign that the convenience presented by modern devices is really hurting us. A fascinating interview with psychiatrist Anna Lembke of Stanford on our addiction to 'dopamine hits.' All the more reason to consult traditional wisdom for how to live a good life. See:

The psychiatrist and author of “Dopamine Nation” wants us to find balance in a world of temptation and abundance.

01/24/2025

What Elon Doesn’t Know...

First a disclaimer: This is not a diatribe about Elon Musk’s political activities. There are plenty of critics better able to handle that. This is about something more fundamental.

Whatever you may think of Musk, you have to concede that he has an uncommon genius for solving technical problems. More than any other individual, he has driven the design and production of electric vehicles in the U.S. through Tesla. Space X has made high-speed internet available nearly everywhere in the world and looks to transporting humans to Mars. You may not approve of Musk’s political leanings or his personality, but he has demonstrated an overall success at using cutting-edge technology to deliver products and services that people want.

The problem is that the most important challenges facing humanity are not solved through science or engineering or the brilliant minds that drive them. This is as true now as it has ever been.

The biggest challenges we face are a product of our human nature and our propensity to get into trouble when we get seduced by the cleverness of our minds.

This can seem like a particularly modern problem, but upon closer examination, it is a recurrent theme in many traditional stories from around the world. In North American native lore, this weakness is often portrayed through the antics of coyote. The ancient Greeks –the very foundation for our modern, western cultural outlook–had the notion of hubris. This form of arrogance was the fatal flaw that brought down the protagonists in all the great tragedies. In the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian tradition, it's a theme that plays out in the story of the Tower of Babel.

At its most basic, our cleverness is a capacity to manipulate the world to our advantage. All tools–from the simplest stone hand axe that might have been wielded as early as two million years ago–or more–all the way up to artificial intelligence (A.I.)–represents our uniquely human capacity to bend nature to our will. The fact is, we cannot survive without using that capacity: Without our tools to provide food, clothing, and shelter, we would quickly perish. We can be thankful that science and technology have delivered us a level of comfort and prosperity that is unprecedented in human history. This is not to deny that access to this abundance could not be more evenly distributed as a great portion of the world’s population still lives in relative poverty.

Given the success of science and technology, it may not be surprising that when Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley titans dream of the future, they envision that technology may displace us altogether because of our inherently slow-moving, slow-thinking, and mortal natures. This chilling vision—at least to many of the rest of us–of being eliminated by our own creations is a relatively recent story that appeared at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution with Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818). Only now, this fear is exponentially more plausible given the sophistication and lethalness of the technologies we are so fervently developing.

In our head-long (literally!) embrace of technology, we have lost touch with another important aspect of our human nature. It can be called ‘heart’ or what some recognize as spirit. It’s the part of us that feels innately connected to the greater whole. That aspect of us is not obsessed with getting nature to do our bidding; rather, it’s focus is on helping us get along with what is.

What traditional cultures have recognized is that our clever minds need to be balanced by an awareness of our connection to the whole. The latter comes through heart and spirit. When these two ways (mind and heart/spirit) of engaging the world come together, you open the door to wisdom. Beyond just the abstracted information favored by our clever minds, wisdom constitutes enduring ways of getting along with each other and the world.

Wisdom is about knowing one’s limits and requires a basic humility. Wisdom helps us to see that every new tool or idea requires time to truly gauge its value. Wisdom helps us to recognize the central importance of getting along with each other. When we do so, we’re capable of great accomplishments. When we don’t, we can be exceedingly dangerous and destructive.

How does one cultivate wisdom? A good starting point is to at least acknowledge the limits to the cleverness of the mind. Then there are a range of practices like meditation or being in nature that calm the mind and allow the ‘heart-voice’ to be heard. Even more powerful than any practices done alone is coming together with others and engaging the sacred. This is the function of the great spiritual traditions.

Then there is Sacred Fire. This is an organization I have been involved with since its founding 20 years ago. The core purpose of Sacred Fire is to help people of any or no spiritual tradition to connect with each other, the world, and live more wisely by providing a doorway to heart and the sacred. One of the basic practices Sacred Fire offers is sitting around a consecrated fire. This is the most ancient of practices (at least 800,000 years old!) that calms the mind and opens the doorway to a world that is far richer and more mysterious than any of our ideas.

Nature is not something to be ultimately conquered or subdued by Elon Musk and those who aspire to be like him. It represents the great web of being that we humans are part of. When we experience our connection to that, we feel a kind of homecoming that A.I. and other technologies will never offer us: A sense of who we are and our place in the world. We see beyond the obvious differences we have with others and recognize our common humanity. Then we can come together to meet whatever challenges may lie before us. That’s a good life. It’s an embodied life. Only when heart and mind work together is it possible. It's a formula that has been recognized for a very, very long time. Given the array of difficulties before us–environmental, social, and political–we need are in desperate need of such wisdom today.

12/20/2024

Finding Light🌞in the Darkness 🌌 - https://mailchi.mp/c883586cc8ac/light-in-the-darkness-10133679

12/10/2024

It may seem obvious that one's satisfaction is linked to health and longevity. But even more important than satisfaction is a sense of purpose. We are at our best–and feel best–when we have the sense of being part of something greater. Our ego-minds crave satisfaction and are only temporarily fulfilled. But you could say that our spirit really soars when we apply ourselves to a big challenge–not for our own gain, but for the benefit of others. It's the kind of aim that helps individuals overcome difficult challenges–seemingly "unsatisfactory" circumstances–and become inspiring leaders. It's the kind of aim that the world seems to need so desperately these days. It's the kind of aim that is tempered more by heart than mind: A deep, felt sense of what one is called to do in order to leave the world even slightly better off than when you first arrived. Tending fire and tending heart is about living in that bigger view of who you are and what you are capable of doing...

A growing body of research suggests our social-psychological health matters when it comes to health and longevity. For example, st...

12/07/2024

A Sacred Journey - Part I

Three nights ago, I returned home from Mexico after my annual pilgrimage–a trip of 2-1/2 weeks that involved more than a dozen of us covering over 1,500 miles of road and leaving offerings at ten sacred sites along the way. After all of that travel and many nights of ritual, I am tired, but happy that it all seemed to go well.

However challenging the journey, it pales in comparison to what the Wirárika (or 'Huichol' as they are more commonly known to the outside world) pilgrims endured in the past. Before the modern era, they would walk from the homelands to various sacred sites and back for what could total hundreds of miles and might take up to a month of travel each way! This level of sacrifice was considered worth it to receive the guidance and blessings of those divine presences that took the form of mountains, rivers, springs, caves, etc. Nowadays, Wirárika pilgrims are happy to take advantage of vehicles to shorten the journey, but they are still willing to undertake great sacrifice to continue this rich tradition that goes back thousands of years.

In my case, pilgrimage is important to maintain my standing as a 'mara’akame' or healer and ritual leader in the Wirárika tradition. Through my relationship with the sacred sites, I gain the ability to provide healing and offer guidance to those who seek my help. It’s something I’ve done nearly every year since I first embarked on the Wirárika path over 25 years ago.

It’s hard to capture the experience of pilgrimage in writing–let alone social media! Some years are harder than others, but in general, it’s a time of great physical and emotional challenge. I’m not the best of sleepers to begin with, and the succession of nights with little or no sleep can be quite taxing. Following the tradition, on days of travel, we eat and drink before dawn and then not again until we reach our destination for the day. This is after a month of fasting that includes no salt and eating and drinking between noon and midnight only–a privation that substitutes for what Wirárika people endured in the past as they spent weeks walking to their sacred sites.

Whereas in our modern culture, there is great emphasis on convenience and ‘taking the shortest distance between two points,’ the Wirárika–like many traditional cultures–recognize that you get in proportion to what you’re willing to give up. A degree of convenience and comfort provides a nice respite between spiritual obligations: anything from a good meal to a restful sleep, or perhaps even a ride in a modern vehicle to get you to your destination. But the gods have little interest in our comfort.

Our vehicles and climate-controlled environments can shield us from the reality of the world, and that includes the central role of sacrifice. We could not survive without the sacrifice of all of the plants and animals that give up their lives to make our food. Similarly, we cannot live well without the wisdom of those who went before us–those who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears to learn important lessons that are worth passing on to future generations. There are no short-cuts to this kind of hard-won wisdom.

This year, I experienced despair (my own stuff melding with a general concern about the unfolding level of chaos in the world) and fear during this time. But then there were also moments of awe and deep gratitude for the opportunity to walk this path and be able to help people with the healing that is made possible by my relationship with the sacred beings engaged through the offerings.

I am glad to be home with Jessica again. As amazing as pilgrimage was, the real ‘work’ will be integrating the experience into everyday life. The Wirárika path is an eminently practical one. As the renowned Wirárika shaman Don José Matsuwa once said, "Last night we flew with the gods. Today, we are idiots again. Back to the cornfields!" More about pilgrimage and ‘tending corn’ (a metaphor for tending to one’s people) in the future.

On this day that marks both my mother's birthday and also a Prosperity Ritual harvest of corn at our medicine group home at Casa Xiuhtecuhtli ("House of Fire" in the local Nahuatl language) in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico, I wish you an abundance of love...