September 20, 2017
HAPPY Fall Equinox!
 
It is the evening before the Autumn Equinox and the air is beginning to feel like Fall.  We have been enjoying our deck and taking meals outside watching the spiders weave their amzing webs and pryaing mantis stalking bugs.  The last of the summer flowers still brighten the counters and the  healing elixir of fresh holy basil tea nurtures my soul.  The gardens are blanketed with summer weeds and the peppers continue to offer themselves up for homemade chile rellenos, our favorite!  Malabar spinach and cherry tomatoes flavored our dinner tonight.  The sizzle of summer is giving way to the calmer mood of Fall.  It is so quiet and still here this evening with the sound of the night time bugs still serenading. It is hard to imagine that another major hurricane on a rampage in the Carribean as the dark veil of night so serenely slips down here.  The fire ceremony that was originally scheduled for this Sunday has been rescheduled for Friday night September 29 at 6:00  (no potluck), as I have been called away on family matters this weekend.   It will be a belated celebration of the Equinox and falls on the beginning of Yom Kippur so we will be in the spirit of atonement and attunement.  On October 30, our Monday night circle would like to invite you to join us for our annual Day of the Dead Fire Ceremony at 6:00pm (rather than our usual 7:00pm, indoors in case of  rain).  
 
The sweat lodge is calling and Saturday October 14 feels like the day. If you are interested in experiencing this powerful purification ceremony please let me know by calling and leaving a message.  Please leave a phone number for me to call in caseof last minute changes.   There is more info below.
.
 
Shalom, Peace, Love, Respect, Truth and Wisdom for these times be with us,
 
Miriam /Firebird
 
 
Fire Ceremonies 2016
 
 
Friday September 29, 2017        6:00 pm    Equinox and Yom Kippur Fire Ceremony
Monday October  30, 2017         6:00 pm    Day of the Dead Fire Ceremony with Monday Circle
Friday December 22, 2017         6:00 pm     Winter Solstice Fire Ceremony
 
Come bring your inspiration or find some here for yourself.  The fire is where we lay down our fears and excuses and take responsibility for what we are willing and able to do to make this world a better place right now!   Take strength, courage, love, light, growth, resilience, clarity, innocence, playfulness, and joy away with you.  You will have the opportunity to release beliefs, grief, feelings, thoughts, relationships or anything else that is hampering your ability to be fully and completely who you are by offering them to the fire. We will witness each other as we make new agreements with spirit and dream our lives into being. We will feed the holies and ask their assistance in co-creating ourselves, our thoughts and our lives as we wish them to be.  If your health and circumstance permit you to stay for the entire ceremony we appreciate that greatly and it is always ok to take care of yourself or your children so please plan accordingly. This is not about rules or permission, it is about respecting ourselves and others,witnessing and being witnessed in sacred community.  The choice is always yours!
 
Bring a chair, flashlight, drum, rattle, closed water bottle and dress for outdoors (if super cold or heavy rain we'll be indoors by the woodstove). Feel free to bring some healthy food to share if you are so moved. If you are drawn to be here please call or email Miriam at (919) 304-5754 or melieber@mebtel.net so I’ll know how many people to expect and give you directions if needed. Come prepared for both indoor and outdoor conditions weather depending.   I invite all women to wear a skirt or sarong over pants to honor our sacred grandmothers and the circle of life.  There is never a fee for ceremony but Gifting is appropriate and appreciated to support the life and work of the elders who dedicate their lives to keeping the old ways available and for wood and supplies needed for ceremony and the upkeep of the land.
 
 
 SHAMANIC HEALING CIRCLE
 
 
 
This circle is currently full but there is a wait list for anyone interested should shifting occur.
Do let me know of your interest. If enough people are interested perhaps a second group could form.
Spirit has been whispering in my ear for a bit now to start another circle that meets on a regular basis (bi-weekly for starters) to deepen our relationship with our guides and helpers, to heal ourselves , to dream to the sacred beat of the drum, to share wisdom teachings and step out of the frenetic pace of life, to be authentic clear channels for spirit. I am proposing some dates (alternate Monday evenings beginning on All Souls Day). Once a group is formed we can decide together if these dates and times will work or need to be changed. I will be sharing teachings from the elders I have had the privilege to sit with, from my fifteen years of annual pilgrimage to vision quest in sacred community (as quester and supporter) and as one whose life purpose it is to serve and feed the people on this path with heart.  I invite you to bring your wisdom teachings, healing gifts and spirit of love. The drums are calling to be played and for their medicine to be shared in the service of humanity.
 
If you too feel this call, please  let me know your intentions, needs, desires and willingness to commit to holding sacred space together. I can be reached at 919 304-5754 or 919 618-4919. 
 
A suggested donation for the holding of the space and facilitation of the circle: $20.00-25.00.
As always the amount of your gift is between you and spirit. 
 
 
Little Boys and Girls Sweat Lodge
  ( Available by request unless specific dates are listed herein and/or in addtion to dates listed.)
Saturday  October 14, 2017
workday to prepare Saturday Sept 30  11-
  The lodge is poured by Miriam / Firebird  in the tradition passed down to me by my beloved Elder Sharon Mitchell.  This is a beautiful teaching lodge that has the strength and heat for those with experience and the gentleness and ease for those who will join us for the first time (which is how it came to be known as the Little Boys and Girls Lodge).  It is not a lodge specifically for children as some have asked, but supervised children are welcome to attend ceremonies here unless otherwise specified.  Please notify me if spirit is calling you to join us, so I can let you know how to prepare and know how many people are coming.  Please know that we need at least 8 people to pour a lodge due to all the preparations involved so let us know if you would like to join us in ceremony.  
 
People always ask me "how long does a sweat lodge take?" My first thought is how much we need these ceremonies to take us back to soul time where it is the experience, the prayers, the being together in community, the work as worship that really matter and not the construct of time that we are forced to run our lives by.  I have learned for myself to not schedule anything else on lodge days as I step outside of "time" to be present to what is, the stones, the fire, the people and their prayers, the feast and then basking in the richness afterwards.  Please take care of yourselves however you need to with "time". You are welcome to join us for the time you can be with us and if you need to leave due to other commitments that is yours to keep track of.  My wish for you is that you can be timeless with us and sink into the ceremony as it unfolds organically.  If for some reason you need to leave during the lodge please be sure to let me and/or the firekeeper know ahead of time so we can assist you.  
 
We usually light the fire around 9 am and close the ceremony with a feast in the afternoon after cleaning up the ceremonial grounds.  It is tradition to leave a place better than you found it.   Please bring a dish to share for the feast following the lodge.  
 
Workdays : I'm looking forward to hearing from those of you who want to build this community, be you newcomers, or those who have been here often to share in the love of lodge from beginning to end.  
 We can always use help with gathering or purchasing, and splitting and moving wood, raking, moving blankets, etc.  We are in need of  stone people if you can bring some stones that have not been in an active creek bed (cantalope size) If you have a truck and/or chain saw and want to help gather some wood between lodges please let me know so we can find times to work together, it is an ongoing need.  The preparations are part of the ceremony and are a labor of love and communion with the land, the tall standing ones, the stone people, mother earth, the water and help deepen one’s experience of the ceremony as we joyfully prepare the grounds together. 
 
 
Contact Miriam/Firebird at 919 304-5754 or melieber@mebtel.net  if you are called to attend.  Please RSVP  with contact info if you would like to join us.  I will let you know what to bring, how to find us and how to best prepare once I know you are coming.  Feel free to call with any questions as well.    Checking in the day before lodge to verify last minute information or changes due to weather, illness or attendance is strongly encouraged as we have to have a certain number of people to hold this particular ceremony.
 
         
  
Peace be with you, Miriam
 
Thanks for reading!  Remember who you are, what you came here to do and have fun sharing your gifts with us all ! Shine your light brightly with love and gratitude.
  
Drumsong Sanctuary for the Soul
Miriam Lieberman
(919) 304-5754 or melieber@mebtel.net
1920 Western Trail
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
www.drumsongsanctuary.com 
 
Directions
 
Forward this email to a friend
 
 
Unsubscribe / Change Profile