Becoming An Elder
Online Via Zoom
Sun, June 23 2-3:30 pm EDT (US), 11-12:30 pm PDT (US), 6-7:30 pm GMT (UK)
Register Here
Many people are asking: Why don’t we have more elders today? How does one become an elder? How can I learn from elders?
Join us for an enlightening opportunity on June 23rd as we host an intimate conversation between two distinguished members of the Sacred Fire community: Don David Wiley and Chris Griffin. In this event, “Becoming an Elder” Chris will interview Don David as they delve into the profound journey of living a life that leads one to becoming “of use” to their community as Elder.
Don David Wiley is a teacher, elder and a founder of Sacred Fire community. He is well-known in traditional circles as one who lends his body as a human vessel to be the “god-speaker man” for Grandfather Fire. He is a healer, ceremonialist, and ritual leader in two ancestrally related indigenous traditions from Mexico—the Huichol mara’akame path and the Quiapaquiz path of Nahuatl weather working and a Tepahtiani or healer in that tradition. He has devoted his life to fulfilling the task given to him by the Spirit of Fire, “Reach out to the people of your modern world and provide help while teaching how to live life more aligned with Spirit and the nature of the world through awareness, connection, and engagement.”. He is considered an initiated elder in these two traditions as a Tsaurixika in the Huichol path and a Temachtian or teacher in the Nahua tradition along with being a Tlamatinimel, or knower of the Nahua ways. He performs baptisms for the children, initiation of young men into adulthood and funerary work for those who have passed.
Chris Griffin has served the Sacred Fire community for nearly two decades. With a background in software engineering and technical leadership within the medical device industry, Chris brings a unique blend of professional expertise and deep spiritual commitment. His journey through traditional meditation paths and Plant Spirit Medicine has led him to his current role as a Firekeeper, hosting monthly fire gatherings and serving as the Chairman of the Sacred Fire Board.
During this interview, Don David and Chris will explore the sacred role of Elders in our communities, the wisdom gained through life’s trials, and the importance of maintaining spiritual connections throughout one’s life. This event is an opportunity to gain insight into the power of Lifecycle Living and the deep, ancestral wisdom that guides us towards a purposeful and connected existence.
Schedule
June 23 2024
6-7:30 pm GMT (UK)
2-3:30 pm EDT (Americas)
11-12:30 pm PDT (Americas)
Price
$30 Fee, Personal-Use Only Recordings Made Available to All Who Register.
Becoming an Elder is of particular benefit when attended LIVE, so you can benefit from instruction and dialog with the presenter. Recordings are for the benefit of those who are unable to attend or are unexpectedly called away. Recordings are for the registration holder; please do not share your recording with others.
For more information
For more information, contact Sherry Boatright at sherry@sacredfire.org
Featuring
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Don David Wiley. In 1996, the Spirit of Fire — known as Grandfather Fire — appeared before David as an apparition in the garden of a meditation retreat center near Mexico City. Grandfather Fire asked David to be his conduit, so that people everywhere could discover their innate connection to spirit and have an experiential relationship with nature and the Divine. It was an encounter that profoundly altered his understanding of what is possible and how to live.
Grandfather Fire sent David to find two indigenous elders — Don Lupe Ríos Gonzales of the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition of Mexico’s Sierra Madres, and Don Lucio Campos Elizalde of the Nahua tradition of the central highlands — who began his formal apprenticeship in these two ancestrally related shamanic paths. From the Huichol tradition, he received initiation as a mara’akame — healer, counselor, and ceremonial leader. From the Nahua path, he was initiated as a granicero — weather worker, ceremonial leader, and healer. In 2008, he received initiation as a Huichol tsaurirrakame(elder shaman). On the Nahua path, he became Caporal Mayor — teacher and tradition leader — inheriting Don Lucio’s altar and lineage. As a recognized elder in both traditions, he carries the title of respect: Don David.
Also beginning in 1996, Grandfather Fire began speaking directly through Don David during special ceremonial gatherings — work that has touched thousands of people across the globe for nearly three decades. Among the Huichol, an axihuatakame is a god-speaker: a conduit who enters a deep trance state so that a divine presence can speak directly through them. A collection of Grandfather Fire’s wisdom was published as Heard Around the Fire in 2010; a second book is in final editing.
Over the years, Grandfather Fire inspired Don David and the community growing around Grandfather’s wisdom to spread traditional lifeways through the world. This lead to the founding of nonprofits Sacred Fire, which began training Sacred Firekeepers and hosting events and programs in 2004; Blue Deer Center, a Sacred Place in the Catskill Mountains of NY, a spiritual retreat of healing and transformation in nature which opened in 2005, and Sacred Fire Foundation, a charitable organization founded to promote and protect traditional indigenous lifeways in 2009. He continues to train a dedicated community of students, healers, ceremonial leaders, and firekeepers — ensuring that this wisdom is carried forward.
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This course was created by Sacred Fire Co-Founder Don David Wiley, informed by his more than 25 years of experience as a Nahua and Huichol traditional healer, ceremonial leader, teacher and elder. His comprehensive spiritual perspective on the phenomenon, power, and importance of prayer incorporates both the practical and the spiritual, empowering people to fully engage in their day-to-day lives.