Beginning March 18, 2022!

The Sacred Fire

This course is an experiential journey with fire and its properties, uses, and influence on human life. Save your spot!

Free introduction 6:00-8:00 March 18,2022.

Some things you will learn

• The Science of Fire

  • Mechanics of fire

  • Preparation & safety

  • Trees, wood, & materials

  • Fire building

  • Fire starting

  • Maintaining fire

  • Fire types & structures

  • Fire-making in all weather & emergencies

• The Art of Fire

  • Using fire as a tool

  • Fire keeping

  • Lighting & warmth

  • Tools, crafts, & skills

  • Cooking with fire

  • Invisible fire

• The Spirit of Fire

  • History, myth, & evolution

  • Primal philosophy

  • Fire as a teacher

  • Fire and community

  • Fire in ceremony and healing

About

Although fire is a familiar element in our lives, it is easy to overlook its influence and the many ways it has shaped our world. Although this class dives deep into our connection to fire, this is not a woo-woo course. This is a practical in depth study of the science, art, and philosophy of fire and our relationship to it as humans. Fire is a profound gift that we will explore from modern scientific, traditional, ancestral, and personal perspectives.

Throughout the course, I will be using my own journey and experience with the “Sacred Fire” as a guide, not because it is ideal or exemplary, but because it is my authentic story and relationship to how this dynamic and transformative tool can influence your life in an ongoing, universal, yet personal way. As you gain hands on experience with fire and discover its profound and instinctive impact on your life, it is my hope that it will ignite a passion for the earth and a greater awareness of the richness that is available in the simple and ordinary elements of life. This is the sacred, not some exclusive form of enlightenment, rather a richly embodied relationship to life and the cosmos that is readily available with a little nurturing and practice.

I will be intentionally steering away from specific traditional teachings and expressions of the sacred fire, other than to provide examples and to honor the sources that shared the spark with me. This is for a couple reasons: one, to help you connect to the teachings at a primal level from which you can cultivate your own relationship to them'; and two, to respect specific cultural forms and teachings of indigenous peoples and avoid unintended claims of cultural appropriation.

Details

• Free in person & live-stream introduction- 2+ hour presentation, discussion, and Q & A.

• Online series- one 90 minute session per month

  • Bonuses: private online group, assignments & projects, Q&A, guest presenter Nate Summers, 1 personal coaching session, video recordings & file access.

• Seasonal workshops- 4 in person workshops around the seasons (10am-4pm)

  • Spring- Saturday May 21, 2022

  • Summer- Saturday August 20, 2022

  • Fall- Saturday November 19, 2022

  • Winter- Saturday February 18, 2023

• Final presentation & conclusion- group share

Cost

• Introduction- FREE

• Online Series- $240

  • Drop in $25

• 4 Seasonal Workshops $300

  • Drop in- $85

• Final session- FREE

• Total program- $499

Your Guide

Ben Sanford, founded Tribal Edge beginning with a sacred fire in 2002 and has been influenced by the fire and it’s teachings, in some shape or form throughout his life. Fire has been a powerfull teacher during his apprenticeship with Tom Brown Jr., and has been at the center of nearly every important event and teaching in his own life and his 20 year long experience with the Tribal Edge community. In that time, his relationship to the Sacred Fire has expanded to be deeply influenced by personal survival excursions, over 300 gathering fires, thousands of hours with fires at classes and trainings, and ceremonial fires including the six month Earth Vigil Fire. Other influences include Joe Lau’s Phyre Dojo, western alchemy, dynamical systems theory, complexity science, adaptive system theory, integral theory, evolutionary theory, and cognitive science. Ben seeks to provide a primal (simple yet essential) understanding of complex teachings and inspire others to embrace the mystery of life through curiosity and wonder.

Guest Instructor

Nate Summers, author of Primal: Why We Long to be Wild and Free, has been a survival skills instructor for over 20 years with a background in anthropology, Asian studies, and natural medicine. He taught and directed at the Wilderness Awareness School for over 15 years, and has served as faculty for the Desert Institute of Healing Arts, the Asian Institute of Medical Studies, and as adjunct faculty for Prescott College. Nate's passions include ethnobotany, natural mentoring, hunter-gatherer childhoods, natural movement, herbal medicine, internal martial arts, mentoring, and leadership.

Registration

This course has layers of depth and is cumulative in nature, however each part of the course is also whole unto itself, and this subject lends well to an “a’la carte” modular approach. Feel free to participate in any or all of the offerings.

I am moving back towards a mentorship approach with my teaching in general so there may be an opportunity for ongoing mentorship in this subject. You may upgrade your participation or opt out at any time (no refunds on packages). Introductions will be offered seasonally or available by recording if you miss them and I am also available for a private consultation for any questions or to learn more.

Use the registration button to design your experience.

Please read our waiver and terms of service.