About Illumination
For three nights in a row, at a beautiful forested Oregon camping venue, we light a fire at midnight and co-create an extraordinary vision-quest journey of flowing music, ecstatic dance, spoken word, ritual and empowerment all through the night, until the fire sees its shadow at sunrise. These fires of transformation trigger profound insight, ecstatic wonderment, and meaningful connection with like-minded peers from across our interwoven communities.
Illumination – an exhilarating journey around the Sacred Fire in which we manifest our prayers and dreams through artful play…for those who want to go deeper
Learn about Sacred Fire Circles.
Our Facilitators
As Creative Director of Peak Experience Productions “JohnnyD” has produced and co-facilitated many different types of conscious celebrations, ranging from intimate spiritual intensives such as this event to large-scale, multi-day, music and performance arts festivals. JohnnyD is a two-time world flying disc (Frisbee) freestyle champion and holds the world’s only Bachelor of Arts degree awarded for “Professional Flying Disc Entertainment and Education. JohnnyD is an harmonic overtone singer- able to sing three notes simultaneously.
As Rabbi of the Phurst Church of Phun and as a minister in the Universal Life Church, JohnnyD officiates weddings and other such important life ceremonies for members of his extended community. He is a nationally renowned master of the tribal art of fire dancing, specializing in dancing with unusual flaming props and the choreography of large-scale fire dance ritual theater set to live music. JohnnyD is a veteran of more than 100 sacred fire circle nights. peakexperience.cc
For two decades, Joshua and Deborah have committed their lives to exploring the arts as vehicles for personal growth, social change, and fostering fellowship, friendship, and community. They have studied, taught, and performed in a range of contexts and locals around the world.
Joshua has been engaged with the modern sacred fire circle movement since its inception, and is co-creator of the Alchemifire Ritual, a cutting edge format for personal/interpersonal exploration and deep play. He served as resident artist with Firedance during its founding four years, as musical director for Fires Rising, and as a faculty member at the McBride School of Magic. He has performed in a range of contexts and configurations from the traditional Middle-Eastern music ensemble Sherefe, to the eclectic Seeds of Time, and the contemporary NWR ensemble.
Together with Deborah Levin, he is the co-founder of Sacred Arts Circles and New World Rhythmatism, which are ongoing collaborative community based art forms. He plays South Asian tabla, doumbek/darbouka, and is an endorsee for Cooperman Framedrums. His music can be heard on a variety of CDs and DVDs. Joshua is cultural anthropologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, and is a full professor in the Department of Human Behavior at the Community College of Southern Nevada. His popular anthropology classes include special topics courses on rhythm, art, and culture. Joshua is also an award winning visual artist.
Deborah teaches and performs New World Rhythmatism in Las Vegas, where a growing lineage of dancers have pursued her course in improvisational movement relationships. In addition to her work as a mother, dance instructor, and certified massage therapist, Deborah Levin manages the many responsibilities of the creative workshop and studio. Deborah and Joshua view all this creative abundance as the fruit of their teamwork together.
They cherish the opportunity to share the joys and rewards of loving collaboration through the arts.
Jason is a veteran producer and co-focalizer of many sacred fire circles including more than 20 Forestdance gatherings in six states in the US and now in Massachusetts, Tennessee and Costa Rica.
As a co-founder of the heARTbeat Collective: Healing and Expressive ARTists for Balance, Ecology, Awareness, and Transformation, based in Jamaica Plain, MA, Jason hosts events that help people reclaim inspiration while honoring personal connection to the earth and to life. He is the composer, keyboardist and singer for his band Incus, whose unique and dynamic World Tribal Medicine Rock music has moved listeners all over the US and in Costa Rica.
His latest effort, Unifier Festival is bringing a Transformational Festival to the northeast in support of a Land Trust Project. Visit heARTbeatCollective.org for more information.
Jeff McBride – named Magician of the Year by The Magic Castle in Los Angeles, is recognized as a foremost innovator in contemporary magic. His magic performance art combines mime, masks, Kabuki Theatre, world-class sleight of hand and grand illusion to create a completely unique performance experience. New York Times columnist Glenn Collins writes, “What Mr. McBride gives his audiences is a mesmerizing performance…a magic show that is at once a celebration of mystery and a struggle to understand powerful forces.”McBride is a regular headliner at casino showrooms in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and has been seen on every major US television network. Jeff plays the role of Joran on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Most recently he has been a special guest on Criss Angelís Mindfreak, and the subject of the Canadian TV documentary: Jeff McBride – A Magickal Life on the “Enigma” series.
He runs the McBride Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas, and has created some of the best selling teaching videos in the world of magic. In addition he is a popular lecture and workshop leader for both magicians and corporate audiences around the world. With his wife, Abbi, he hosts transformational fire circle events around the world. For more information, visit mcbridemagic.com
Abigail Spinner McBride – For the past 16 years Abbi has been a renowned musician, priestess, and teacher of percussion, hand-drumming, dance and magic. Her creative abilities in music, poetry, dance and choreography are much in demand at conferences across the country. For the past decade Abbi has worked with Jeff McBride, traveling through Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America as a dynamic part of his performance as live music director, choreographer, and lead dancer. Currently she is lead vocalist and co-writer for Zingaia, a top selling world fusion group operating out of Las Vegas. She also has released three CDs of her original music: Songs From the Center, Enter the Center, and Fire of Creation.