Halloween Evening - Starting the Journey

On Halloween evening, after landing in Redding California, our adventure began with a visit to an Inipi sweat lodge. The lodge itself was handmade from red willow, tied with bamboo to form a star.

This was a purification ceremony — a ritual to clear the physical body of toxins, calm a busy mind, and cleanse the energy field. The intention of the lodge is always the same: to bring us back into balance with ourselves.

We entered the small, round space and sat in a circle. Inside, the air was warmed by stones that had been heating since 3 a.m., each one prayed over. Sweetgrass, cedar, iknish, and copal were added — sacred medicines meant to help us release tension and shift our vibration after the crowds and chaos of travel.

I stretched my stiff body on the ground, grateful the TSA hadn’t confiscated my ice pack after some pleading.

Mathew Bueno, who carries his Native name Lightning Bear, led the ceremony with songs and stories passed down through three generations. His voice wove through the darkness, calling in the power of the ancestors, guiding us toward reflection and healing.

The human in me, however, noticed the space wasn’t as hot as I expected. I’ve grown used to “power yoga” — quite the oxymoron — in studios heated to 95 degrees.

Afterward, Mountain Bear explained that he’d kept the temperature lower since we’d just endured a long day of travel — the dehydrating flight, the three-hour time change, the ninety-minute car ride. Grateful that he knew how to care for me better than I knew how to care for myself.

I was reminded of the saying, “Expectations are pre-planned resentments.”

We try to force outcomes, thinking we know what’s best. But do we? How’s that been working out for you?

This week, I set my intention to simply let it flow.