Tending Fire

06/20/2026

Sometimes you get an offer you can't refuse! In this case, the offer was to my teacher, mentor, and friend Don David Wiley. Here Don David shares a story that I've heard many times before, but always enjoy hearing once again. It comes in the form of a podcast interview hosted by Jay Scherick.

I was honored to serve as the Ritual Pilot (reference is made to that role during the course of the interview) at the Santa Monica Fire Speaks that Scherick attended a week before this interview took place. Indeed, I can be seen sitting to Don David’s right in some of the still shots shown during the podcast.

This is an extraordinary story of mystery, wisdom, and possibility. To me, it demonstrates that kind of help–Divinely offered–that is available for us in this time of great challenge. Check it out and see what you think!

See:

What happens when a spirit makes you an offer you can't refuse?In...

06/05/2026

Modern life often favors convenience over well being. A recent confirmation of this in a long-term study of the way that remote work contributes to isolation and negatively impacts mental health. See:

How does remote work affect isolation and mental health? We drew on five nationally representative surveys of American workers (N = 588,322) conducted from 2011 to 2024, omitting the peak pandemic years of 2020–2021. Our difference-in-differences ...

06/02/2026

In a time when–to judge from the news at least–a very different kind of emotion seems to dominate–Ruth Pittard's simple, yet profound act of love is an inspiring example of what an individual can do to make the world a better place. I wonder if my good friends from Sacred Fire Asheville have crossed paths with Ruth. She certainly seems like she'd be a 'natural' around the fire!

See:

A friend of mine, a child psychologist, had never protested anything in her life.  But when she saw families being separated at the US-Mexico border, ...

05/29/2026

Don David Wiley--my friend and mentor–is offering an on-line experience of 'practical wisdom.' I hope to be there if I can get ready before for the men's fire I'll be hosting later tomorrow evening. Should be a wonderful experience! See:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FWyBPLsXz/

Most of us are navigating life without the kind of wisdom that once shaped how our ancestors lived — the counsel of elders, the guidance of living tradition. Don David Wiley has been walking two of those living traditions — the Huichol (Wixarika) and the Nahua of Mexico — for over two decades, initiated and recognized as an elder in both. In this virtual gathering, he brings that depth to the questions you’re living with.

Join us online for this rare opportunity:
May 30 4pm EDT/ 9pm BST / 1pm PDT
May 31 6am AEST (Melbourne Australia)
https://sacredfire.org/event/virtual-teaching-fire-2026-05/

05/14/2026

Pain is an inevitable part of being alive–something we share with other creatures. Suffering is something else: A uniquely human experience that comes from resisting what is in front of us. We can live with pain, but suffering robs us of life. See:

In a research study on adversity, Cortland Dahl recounts the experience of being a test subject, and the power of discerning intensity from pain.  ...

05/13/2026

The Path to Healing & Wholeness:
To heal comes from the Old English 'hǣlan' which means to be made whole, sound, or well. Even in our own culture then, before the advent of the Age of Enlightenment and modern science, there was an understanding that our well-being depended on wholeness and not only as an internal condition, but being in good relationship to the world around us–including others and nature itself.
Our medicine grounded in science is powerful and can be very helpful. But through the lens of far older cultures, something essential is missing from this approach. Like most traditions that have endured over thousands of years, the Wixárika (or Huichol) path that informs me as a healer, is one that experiences all of the world–including us–as alive with spirit. And it is from the level of spirit that a person is really made whole.
Find out how traditional Wixárika medicine can help you heal and be made whole by messaging me. Wishing you the best of health and well-being!