Awakenings

This is the name that I’ve given the therapeutic group that I’m leading. For our first meeting we had an Anasazi fire circle… in a lockdown facility.

In the dark room that is usually full of dirty plastic tables and chairs lit by the harsh glare of fluorescent lights we communed by the soft glow of a bundle of Christmas lights wrapped in a white sheet in the center of our circle. They were invited by the tribal music playing softly in the background and a small bit of chocolate that we passed around. The darkness hid the ugly green rehab mattresses that we sat on as I spoke the sacred Legend of the Breezes to my circle of young friends. As we discussed the meaning of the legend we used the hand made talking stick to help maintain respect for the speaker and something amazing happened.

These young hearts were vulnerable and real. They opened up. They forgot about being tough, cool, shy, or funny. It is a rare thing to see and a joy to experience.

People’s hearts opened, their beauty unfolding before us. I felt the long absent spirit of ceremony in my heart. Afterwards I felt exhilarated and terrified. This is only the beginning; can I maintain this? I don’t know. What I do know is that it can happen and I want more of it so much that I feel driven to do whatever it takes to facilitate this experience regularly. I’ve had some great teachers at my facility and at Anasazi. I’m ready, I’m making it happen.

Tomorrow we will have our second fire circle and we will perform a name ceremony for each group member. The names are based on symbols, animals, colors, plants, etc, of their choosing that represent their personal strengths.

I’m calling out to the universe to bring the awakenings to my beautiful young friends…and to me.