Staying Healthy in Winter & the Ally of Fire
Staying Healthy in Winter and Working with the Ally of Fire: How You Can Use This Thanksgiving to Support Your Wellbeing
As we enter the colder, darker days here in the northern hemisphere, it’s important to keep our immune systems strong. I do this by working with fire as an ally.
The energy of fire is stronger in the warmer months, with the sun shining on us for longer hours and a closer proximity—this is the essence of summertime. But as we move into the colder and darker months, the invitation is to bring that light, warmth, and brilliance into our lives with greater intention.
Fire keeps our homes warm and cooks our soups and stews. There’s also a flame that burns in our hearts, radiating warmth, friendliness, and loving-kindness. In the winter, being in community is especially important for our health. Cozy evenings with loved ones, shared over a hot meal, are a time for storytelling and connection. The warmth that resonates through community is one of the best ways we can stay healthy. The warmth in our relationships helps keep our immune system strong. If you don’t have a strong community, I invite you to bring that warmth and kindness to others when you’re out running errands—whether it’s at a restaurant, café, or grocery store. It doesn’t take much to make that flame glow a little brighter. Simple acts of kindness, like buying a hot meal for someone in need or complimenting a stranger, can have a big impact. It’s easy, and we are designed to thrive in this way.
We begin this season with Thanksgiving, a time that can be difficult for many and one that is also linked to a complex history here, which includes the persecution of the Indigenous peoples. It’s important to know the whole history here. But it’s also a day for contemplating gratitude. If approached mindfully, it can be an opportunity to support your well-being. There is so much to be grateful for—warm, safe homes, food, and the beauty that surrounds us. I invite you to take a moment throughout your day to count these blessings. Gratitude is essential for happiness and health.
The Thanksgiving Address, also known as the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, is a traditional prayer from the Haudenosaunee people and is what inspired the holiday of Thanksgiving. See below the article to learn more about the Thanksgiving Address.
I invite you to take a moment now to bring your attention to your heart and visualize a beautiful flame at its center. This flame clears away negative feelings and brings warmth. When connecting to the spirit of fire, known as Tarewari by the Wixárika people, I invite you to contemplate how ancient and sacred this fire is. Feel its guardianship, vitality, and power. You can visualize the light of this flame growing to fill your entire body. If you’re carrying sadness or heavy energy, bring Grandfather Fire to it. Be open to witnessing those feelings and thoughts dissolve in his loving, kind, compassionate awareness. Kindness is compassion and acceptance in one, feel the healing nature of this. When we connect to compassion and acceptance, we access a greater wisdom that transcends small thinking and fear. There’s great wisdom in acceptance, the way a grandparent might embrace you. Feel the shift that occurs. If this shift is subtle for you, let it be subtle; but with practice, it can transform your life. That’s the power of the spirit of fire.
I also see gratitude as the oxygen that fuels this fire—a fire of vitality, joy, and kindness. Take the time this Thanksgiving to connect more deeply with your gratitude. Throughout the season, appreciate the fire that heats your food, home, and water, as well as the ceremonial fires of the menorah, the candles on your table, and the faralitos lining the streets here in Santa Fe. Celebrate the warmth exchanged in your relationships, from loved ones to strangers. Work with fire to keep yourself healthy in all the ways this season!
Some education from the Akwesasne people.
“We who have gathered together are responsible that our cycle continues. We have been given the duty to live in harmony with one another and other living things.”
These are the opening words of the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, also known as the Thanksgiving Address, a traditional prayer or greeting recited in Akwesasne. Often meetings start and end with the greeting as a way to get everyone in a good mind to work together for the best for all. Translated from Mohawk, Ohenten Kariwatekwen means “the words that are spoken before all others.”
In this traditional greeting, all elements of creation are acknowledged and we say thank you to them.
This beautiful greeting finds its origins in a traditional Mohawk and Haudenosaunee religious ceremony and has been adopted in settings outside of the longhouse like business meetings and social gatherings. Some might say it serves a general mindfulness practice for living in harmony with nature. The spirit of the Thanksgiving Address can be felt throughout Akwesasne in how people live their lives, interact with each other and conduct business.
In the address, each verse ends with “Now our minds are one.” This final phrase of each section helps join people together in a common goal. This prayer is so meaningful to our identity that we have included portions of it in our tourism video, shown below.
Our young Akwesasne narrator shares excerpts from this prayer in Mohawk. This ancient greeting’s meaning and spirit are just as relevant in Akwesasne today as they were hundreds of years ago.
The Mohawk Thanksgiving Address: Words Before All Else
“We who have gathered together are responsible that our cycle continues. We have been given the duty to live in harmony with one another and other living things.”
These are the opening words of the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, also known as the Thanksgiving Address, a traditional prayer or greeting recited in Akwesasne. Often meetings start and end with the greeting as a way to get everyone in a good mind to work together for the best for all. Translated from Mohawk, Ohenten Kariwatekwen means “the words that are spoken before all others.”
In this traditional greeting, all elements of creation are acknowledged and we say thank you to them.
This beautiful greeting finds its origins in a traditional Mohawk and Haudenosaunee religious ceremony and has been adopted in settings outside of the longhouse like business meetings and social gatherings. Some might say it serves a general mindfulness practice for living in harmony with nature. The spirit of the Thanksgiving Address can be felt throughout Akwesasne in how people live their lives, interact with each other and conduct business.
In the address, each verse ends with “Now our minds are one.” This final phrase of each section helps join people together in a common goal. This prayer is so meaningful to our identity that we have included portions of it in our tourism video, shown below.
Our young Akwesasne narrator shares excerpts from this prayer in Mohawk. This ancient greeting’s meaning and spirit are just as relevant in Akwesasne today as they were hundreds of years ago.
Ohénton Kariwatékwen: Words Before All Else
Akwe:kon enska entitewahwehnon:ni ne onkwa’nikon:ra tanon teiethinonhwera:ton ne onkwehshon:ah ne akwe:kon sken:nen akenhake tsi teionkwatawenrie ne ken:tho ohwentsia:ke tewen:teron…eh kati’ niiohtonhak ne onkwa’nikon:ra.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks for the people gathered here, that everyone is at peace here where we live on earth…now our minds are one.
Akwe:kon enska entitewahwehnon:ni ne onkwa’nikon:ra tanon teiethinonhwera:ton ne iethi:nistenha ohwentsia. Ne:e kiakotka’wenhakie oh nahoten’shon:ah ne sken:nen akenhake ne ken:tho ohwentsia teionkwatawenrie…eh kati’niiohtonhak ne onkwa’nikon:ra.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks for (this is repeated throughout the prayer) Mother Earth. She has given us everything we need to live in peace…now our minds are one.
Akwe:kon enska entitewahwehnon:ni ne onkwa’nikon:ra tanon teiethinonhwera:ton ne kaienthoh:sera. Ne:e ionkhiia’takehnhahs no:nen tewatonhkariak… eh kati’niiohtonhak ne onkwa’nikon:ra.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks for the food plants. They help us when we’re hungry…now our minds are one.
Akwe:kon enska entitewahwehnon:ni ne onkwa’nikon:ra tanon teiethinonhwera:ton ne kahi’shon:ah tanon ne kwah tkonwakowa:nen ken’niiohontehsha. Ne:e kanenhri:ne’s ne kahi’shon:ah…eh kati’niiohtonhak ne onkwa’nikon:ra.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks for fruits and especially strawberry, the head of the berry family…now our minds are one.
This prayer continues, mentioning all the allies including the sun, moon, and sky. How truly beautiful.
