Tending the Embers

This morning, under the New Moon in Leo, I felt a quiet invitation to slow down, soften, and open. I found myself at a tea ceremony, where the message was clear:

“You don’t sit at the gate—you go into the temple.”

So we sat and drank tea on the perch.

We closed our eyes.

We breathed.

We received—messages from Spirit, from our own souls, and from the tea itself.

Lately, I’ve had this lingering feeling… like there once was a fire within me, but now only ashes remain.

I’ve been releasing.

Letting go of what I no longer need.

Burning old fears, outdated stories, and quiet limitations.

And over these past few weeks, I’ve been gently sifting through the ashes.

Of course… there they were—embers.

Faint but alive.

As I nourish them with grace, love, courage, and creativity, I can feel them expanding.

Evolving.

Seeking expression.

The fire within is asking to come forward—not with urgency, but with playfulness.

With creativity.

It’s asking for a platform rooted in safety and authenticity.

And so it begins.

The song that ushered in this moment is “Sit Around the Fire” by Jon Hopkins, East Forest, and Ram Dass. I’ll leave you with the lyrics that lit something in me—and maybe, if you’re quiet enough, they’ll stir something in you too:

Sit Around the Fire

Jon Hopkins, East Forest & Ram Dass

Beyond all polarities, I am

Let the judgments and opinions of the mind

Be judgments and opinions of the mind

And you exist behind that

Ah so, ah so

It’s really time for you to see through

The absurdity of your own predicament

You aren’t who you thought you were

You just aren’t that person

And in this very lifetime

You can know it

Right now

The real work you have to do

Is in the privacy of your own heart

All of the external forms are lovely

But the real work

Is your inner connection

If you’re quiet when you meditate

If you truly open your heart

Just quiet your mind

Open your heart

Quiet the mind, open the heart

How do you quiet the mind? You meditate

How do you open the heart?

You start to love that which you can love

And just keep expanding it

You love a tree

You love a river

You love a leaf

You love a flower

You love a cat

You love a human

But go deeper and deeper into that love

‘Til you love that

Which is the source of the light behind all of it

Behind all of it

You don’t worship the gate

You go into the inner temple

Everything in you that you don’t need

You can let go of

You don’t need loneliness

For you couldn’t possibly be alone

You don’t need greed

Because you already have it all

You don’t need doubt

Because you already know

The confusion is saying

“I don’t know”

But the minute you are quiet

You find out that in truth you do know

For in you, you know

Plane after plane will open to you

I want to know who I really am

As if in each of us

There once was a fire

And for some of us

There seem as if there are only ashes now

But when we dig in the ashes

We find one ember

And very gently we fan that ember

Blow on it, it gets brighter

And from that ember we rebuild the fire

Only thing that’s important is that ember

That’s what you and I are here to celebrate

That though we’ve lived our life totally involved in the world

We know

We know that we’re of the spirit

The ember gets stronger

Flame starts to flicker a bit

And pretty soon you realize that all we’re going to do for eternity

Is sit around the fire