Facing Your Fears with Curiosity

For years my friend Jennifer "Jen Moonbear" has been sharing snippets of magical stories about her Shaman teachings and the sweat lodge ceremonies she is passionate about. This summer I was invited to join her and experience my first sweat lodge healing and the alchemy of a lodge pouring ceremony. A new dance chief would be pouring her first lodge and Jennifer was assembling an intimate group to honor her first official ceremony.

Before participating, I did a little bit of homework including fasting for the day, drinking lots of water and preparing my mind and body for a new adventure. Beyond that, I agreed to show up with out any expectations. The encounter rocked my world.

Part of the Shamanic teaching suggests participants keep the experience to themselves for at least 7 days before sharing with others from the outside world. I feel compelled to share the rich metaphor of this transformational experience while the dewy innocence of the experience puddles in my soul.

The magic began at an other-worldly space in the county in the late afternoon. The land was beautiful. A spacious meadow surrounded by Jack Pines. The songs of Wood Thrushes, drumming and Coyotes comprised the background music of the gathering.

Our temporary community was made up of seven people. From my perspective, I met and became friends with five strangers, reconnected with one acquaintance and cemented the bond of friendship with one close friend. In the first couple of hours, we set up camp, explored the land, got to know each other and made time for quiet contemplation.

The ritual of setting the fire was beautiful and included our entire group. The fire tenders, dance chief and lodge participants all added stones, kindling, paper and logs to the structure. Each stone representing a wish or intention for the ceremony. After setting the fire we sat in the forest, talked about what we could expect, and had all of our questions answered. We learned how our bodies might react to the heat and what to do if we had trouble breathing or needed to get out the lodge.

After a couple of hours, the fire was ready and we were prepared to enter the sweat lodge. I entered last with the intention of being close to the door. Never one to be in love with small spaces and extraordinary heat, I needed to know I could escape quickly if I freaked out and needed to escape.

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Photo by ziggy fresh