15/08/2026
While gazing into these exact flames yesterday night, I was pondering our relationship with fire.
It is, of course, an incredibly rich and multi-layered relationship with a long history. One of our longest love affairs here, next to the one with water, air, the soil, plants and trees.
Our relationship with fire might be one of the reasons we evolved the way we do. It has saved many humans from hunger and the cold. It has burned many memories and secrets, but also houses, settlements, crops, forests and both human an non-human bodies - not to mention the so called non-believers, witches or those who were considered 'less human' than others.
One of the discussions with EcoNIDRA teachers in training I enjoy the most, is the one about the nature soundscapes we use for the Earth Journey part of an EcoNIDRA session. Is it okay to let people listen to cracking fire? Will it make them feel nice and cozy, cocooned in their blankets? Will it instantly transport them to their treasured memories of camping in pure nature? Or will it trigger a trauma response based on either personal history or the collective eco-grief due to wildfires and climate change?
as is inherently trauma informed, thanks to the specific language we use, and the strictly invitational character of everything the guide says. That's why, when the guide's voice stops and you hear pure nature soundscapes during the Earth journey, we don't take it lightly, what these sounds might be. We care, we hold space, and we keep this conversation alive and open among certified EcoNIDRA teachers across the planet.
What is your first association with fire? Cozy, romantic and nice, or scary, startling, anxiety-inducing?
