What Clients are Saying
Why did you seek out a fire talk session?
Jeff’s clients share the situations that led to their first fire talk.
How do fire talks differ from psychotherapy?
Clients compare their fire talks with conventional forms of counseling.
What does a fire talk session cost?
Clients talk about money, and the easy sliding-scale fee.
A fire talk is a powerful, heart-centered approach to counseling rooted in the nature-based wisdom of indigenous people worldwide. The fire talk practice is outlined in Jeff’s book, The Lost Art of Heart Navigation, and honors the ancient curanderismo healing traditions of the Americas. Picture the conversations between the old Mexican Yaqui healer Don Juan and his young apprentice Carlos Casteneda, sitting on the veranda or in a desert canyon around a fire, engaged in discussions of the heart…
In this same fashion we sit down together, share a simple practice to open the heart, and listen for what is deeply felt but not seen in your life. We sense the quiet, insistent invitations of your heart and follow those like trail markers through an unmapped yet familiar landscape of promise and new energy. Chief among these is a question that asks the journeyer to consider what kind of life– or more precisely what way of being– your heart really longs to be living? Getting clear on the answer to that question is the first step in the ancient path of healing and transformation I call the Path of the Heart. It turns out the wisdom of our ancestors is alive and well in us, and uniquely suited to help with our biggest struggles from the personal to the ecological.
Needless to say, this is a completely different approach to helping people than conventional counseling and psychotherapy. Because the primary goal is not to just learn coping skills, mood management, or insight about past traumas. The goal is to awaken your inner jaguar, the instinctual wildness, power, and resilience that lies deep in your soul. And then to start actually living a life that honors your authentic soul whether the people around you are cooperating or not. This is a spiritual matter, not just a social, emotional, or psychological one.
Take a moment to click on the short videos below, and hear Jeff’s clients explain the fire talk process, how it compares to conventional counseling, and the sliding-scale fees.
I look forward to supporting you on the Adventure of your Life.
Bright blessings,
Jeff Nixa J.D., M.Div.
Fire Talks Can Help With...
… almost anything. For example, many clients bring their struggles with stress, anxiety and depression, chronic illness, or relationship problems. Some are dealing with job or career issues. Others bring struggles that can be more spiritual in nature, like feeling stagnant, lost, or adrift in life. These issues are all quite common, but the fire talk approach is extraordinary, deeply concerned with the soul and our vital connection with nature as a source of healing, strength, and purpose…
Fire talks focus on the heart. Your heart. They do not involve a church, pastor, religious program, holy book, self-help guru, or any other form of external authority the client needs to “believe in” or follow. Instead, a fire talk helps you identify your own authority, on the inside, using a relaxed conversation to explore the heart, discover your authentic self, and bring this self out of the closet to be more fully alive in the world. We draw on the time-tested healing practices of our ancestors such as vision questing, storytelling, core questions, dream work, fire ceremony, shamanic journeying, acquiring a power animal or spirit guide, soul retrieval, nature-based mindfulness practices, and more. It’s a very organic, magical, and empowering experience that draws its power from the self-healing capacity of the soul and the luminous web of life all around us.
Guests traveling from outside the area can choose to stay in our guest cabin for one or more nights.
You can e-mail me to schedule a fire talk or ask a question. More details on each of the fire talk options are listed below, including fees.
4 Ways to Enjoy the Fire Talk Experience
We’ll meet at my creekside cabin outside of Cassopolis, MI, sit down around the flame of an earthenware lamp, and share a brief ceremony to welcome the wisdom of your ancestors. Then we will explore your situation together. It’s a gentle yet focused process to quickly get to the heart of your situation, begin clarifying a vision for what is needed in your life, identify any barriers that stand in the way, and create a clear and doable plan for enacting that vision. Some clients choose to stay overnight the day before or after (or both!) in our guest cabin.
Fee: The first 2-hour session is a sliding-scale fee from $85.-$125. Meaning, you decide what you can afford to pay within this given range. Later sessions are 1.5 hours long and the sliding-scale fee is $75.-105. Whether you return is completely up to you, based on your interest and how helpful the process is for you.
We can also meet via Zoom teleconference. It’s the same basic process as above, and I’ll send you a link for the session and a helpful self-preparation guide prior to our gathering online.
Fee: The first online session (2 hrs) is a sliding-scale fee from $90.-$130. Additional sessions on a sliding-scale fee of $80.-$110. Payment is made in advance via e-invoice.
You can do several fire talk sessions over the course of a whole day, which allows more time and depth for our work together. We’ll negotiate the day’s schedule together to assure you have a good balance between the time spent in sessions and free time to relax, process the work, and do any reading or homework assignments. Some clients choose to stay in our guest cabin the night before or after their intensive day.
Fee: A flat fee of $100./per session is charged during these multi-session days.
This is the ideal option for people who really feel trapped in busyness and the “hurry sickness” of daily life. We arrange for you to take a full two or three day break from home and work for a deep, retreat-like experience involving multiple fire talk sessions during your stay. Clients stay in the guest cabin and enjoy plenty of free time for naps, reading, journaling, sitting by our creek, or strolling our quiet country roads. The break from busyness is a powerful intervention itself, not to mention the actual work we will do together in our fire talk sessions!
Note: A retreat here does not mean a group class or workshop. It means a solo time of withdrawing from your busy life to settle down and explore the deep guidance of your heart through a series of fire talk sessions. How many fire talks we do together depends on your goals, available time, and budget. You’ll develop a sense of this prior to your visit and we can finalize the details after you arrive.
Prior to your visit Jeff will send a helpful self-preparation guide with information on the cabin’s accommodations, a personal packing list, the food/cooking arrangements, and self-preparation material including a copy of Jeff’s book.
Fee: The total fee for your retreat will be the sum of your lodging fee ($65/nite), fire talk fees ($100./session), and the book ($21). A nonrefundable deposit is required to reserve your retreat and would equal your full lodging fee plus the book fee.
Example: If you stayed for 3 nights and we hold 5 fire talks during your stay, the total fee for your visit would be your lodging fee (3 x $65.) plus the fire talk fees (5 x $100.) plus the book ($21.), or $716. Your deposit would be the lodging + book fee, or $216. At the end of your stay the balance due would be $500.
