www.firetender.org www.thestoryofthis.net
www.artforhealers.com www.mauihealingartist.com
a firetender?
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Background Russ Reina, a firetender? There's Something Here for You... Expand Your Vision of Healing This Started in an Ambulance Biography |
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| A Most Unusual Rejection Letter |
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Wopila Cepa! (in Lakota, means A Big Fat Thank You!) for being part of the journey.
I'm glad you're here!
This web site is my way of sharing over thirty-eight years of experience in the healing arts. My name is Russ Reina, and I refer to myself as "a firetender." So there's no confusion, I'm Italian and have no Native American blood, though my spiritual Unci has called me a WOPaho!
This whole firetender concept is based on my experiences living and working with a traditional Oglala medicine family on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota at various times during the 1990's: Chips (a truncated geneology , but pretty good narrative of the family's origins is here. ) I tended fire for sacred ceremonies.
I was graced with a glimpse into indigenous ways of healing, and learned some of the ways that connection plays a role in transformation of illness into health. Through it, I had an elemental experience of bringing forth knowledge and guidance into the process of working with others. These are ancient concepts with very real applications in today's world!
The family I worked with modeled the art of building "One Mind, One Heart" for everyone involved in the healing process, for healing was never presented out of the context of community. It was a potent revelation of how far away we have travelled from the ways healing was practiced for Millennia before it got "Westernized".
But even more indicative was the emphasis that (paraphrasing Godfrey Chipps', the Yuwipi Man): "you're here to change your life!" Through them, I learned that to be a healer is to be a vehicle, NOT a Director with a Capital "D", and the will of the person seeking healing is paramount!
For a better understanding of my relationship with my mentors, please read my article A firetender's Lesson (Part I). You can easily get to the full series from there.
Working with fire is all about working with both the seen and the unseen. It's working with a primal force that moves freely, affecting everything it touches. Most important, it's all about the moment. And
person who
prepares a sacred, safe and nurturing space for forces of guidance and
healing
to visit. That's what this site's about; that's what I've prepared for
all of us.