At play in the heart of the matter
Technorati Tags:
play,
fire,
challenge,dreams
For more on the theme of the title, click here:
'At play in the heart of the matter, Take 2!'I just spent a week (March 7-14) with some amazing folks in Portland, Oregon. I was sort-of sequestered with 31 other Sacred Fire Community Fire Keepers from across the US as well as Mexico and Great Britain. We were learning enhanced group facilitation skills with the fine folks at the Process Work Institute, flowing from Arnold Mindell's book, "Sitting in the Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict and Diversity"
Vassiliki, Gary, Emetchi and Dawn are earthy, grounded process workers and facilitators that sat with us in our own 'personal' and group 'fire(s)' and opened their hearts and minds to us to help us bring our Fire Keeping to a new depth. We are most grateful to them, and know that the communities we serve as Fire Keepers will benefit greatly.
In the meantime, on Sunday March 9th, I took a few hours to go to the Oregon coast with some fellow students...what a treat. Overcast as usual, but Grandmother Ocean was welcoming and restful.
That's me in the foreground.
That's Debra and Claire snuggling in their wild-women glasses.
We worked and played hard this week--the kind of play that is soulful and guided. I'm in awe of the process of bringing our life-stories as wood to be transformed by the fire...
Thank you to my fellow Fire Keepers and the Process Workers assigned to help us grow! Special thanks also to Jonathan and Jennifer, Fire Keepers in Portland, for their generous hosting of this rowdy bunch!
Beth
Virtual Tea House Host and Processed-Out Fire Keeper...
For more info about the Northwest USA Community Fire Circles click here. To find if there's a fire circle in your area, click here. (worldwide fire circle info).
The Virtual Tea House website became 'word-ripe' when, over a cup of jasmine green, I realized that the web has an expanding part to play in the communal aspects of spiritual growth.
One of my favorite hats, among several is: initiated firekeeper in the Sacred Fire Community. Hosting a monthly community fire circle, I'm being taught that the simple act of sitting around a fire with the intent of holding open-hearted space makes for some soulful community!
With a master's degree in religion, my career spans 20 years in end of life care and I currently work in the field of child abuse intervention and advocacy.
Here in beautiful Central Oregon, my spiritual homes of the high desert and the mountains are both in proximity. And for good measure, four hours away is Grandmother Ocean and the stunning Oregon Coast.
I'm making decent progress on the goal set by my mother early on: she taught us that the goal of humanity should be to become ever-more eccentric, i.e. more fully human.
Entering the 'forest-dweller' phase of life, I am honored to host the Virtual Tea House for all who wish to explore how our lives are enriched and made new a thousand times each day by the spirituality we embody. Exploring this engagement together is the purpose of the Virtual Tea House.
Welcome! Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy, what we are being taught by life, how we are leaning into the Big Questions posed to us each day in sometimes 'distressing disguises'.