Inner Fire is about love: the care and concern for each Seeker's transformational journey is palpable and practical. Recovery is long, slow, hard work, but Seekers are supported by a sense of warm community, as well as by doctors, therapists, and day-to-day guides.
In addition to the schedule of therapies, Seeker activities are designed to engender trust in life, balance, well-being, and long-term life skills such as gardening, cooking, and care of one's inner and outer space. In other words, Inner Fire helps people build a solid and strong foundation not only for healing, but also for reconnecting with life.
And yes, we do laugh! And we sing, and hike in the woods, and have philosophical conversations, and write poetry, and appreciate beauty together. Re-connecting with life and with the humanity in oneself and in others is about the soul as well as the body.
I wish there were many, many places like Inner Fire in our suffering world. It is a haven where love, humanity, community and individuality are welcomed, warmed, and nurtured.
The current psychiatric model views the human being as a machine. Take this pill, it will have this effect. The pills however do not do as advertised. The effects on me were devastating: drastic weight gain, sexual dysfunction, loss of interest in life, malaise and depression, and disconnection from my emotions and feelings. In short, they were a chemical lobotomy that rendered me feeling subhuman, cut off from my manhood and humanity.
For years, I struggled with the diagnosis of bipolar with its accompanying cocktail of psychotropic drugs. My former life vanished. It wasn’t until I discovered a different view of the human and “mental illness” that I began to take steps in my recovery. After discovering Inner Fire in 2019, I began to implement some of the aspects of the program: clean and whole foods diet, walks, yoga, and meditation. But it wasn’t enough. I still struggled with tapering.
After successfully participating in the Inner Fire program for over a year, I sense the necessity of a holistic program in a grounding, natural environment that not only allows striving individuals to taper but also offers opportunities for growth and healing. In my experience, the various aspects of the program – therapies, location, practical work, diet, community, etc. – combine with one another for a powerful multiplier effect. Together these aspects allow the Seeker to experience amazing growth, something I experienced firsthand, while experiencing a steady and successful taper of two psychotropic drugs. Inner Fire saved my life.
In my opinion, the world is a better place because Inner Fire exists! Upon entering the grounds, one feels the warm, healing, protective energy that exemplifies what Inner Fire is. I am so grateful for the vision and commitment exhibited by the staff and volunteers that allows the seekers to heal in an environment that treats the entire human being on a deep and very real, complete level.
I have never meet a group of more dedicated individuals who are changing lives everyday through their work at Inner Fire. It gives me hope to know that there is a place to heal from mental illness that sees the patient/seeker as a whole (mind, body and soul) being. Witnessing our flawed mental health medical system over medicate with heavy pharmaceutical psychotropic medicine without healing the human is heartbreaking. Thank you all at Inner Fire for the work you do to change the world one seeker at a time.
Powerful & phenomenal! No other organization like it in the U.S. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Just wanted to share my appreciation for all you have done and continue to do to make a difference in people’s lives and in the world. I have seen first-hand the long-term damage that psychotropic doctor prescribed medications can do to a personal family member. They wreak havoc and cause a pathway of destruction to a person’s life. They effect the individual’s ability to work, their families, their social circles, and even their ability to function utilizing basic social skills on a day-to-day basis.
Our family was very fortunate to find Inner-Fire – they are truly life savers! This organization provides the facility, time, care, attention, resources and different holistic healing modalities that support seekers in returning back to their beautifully unique & naturally balanced selves.
Their professionalism, compassion, therapeutic processes & systems allow the seekers to be guided in knowing (1) they are not alone (2) they can live a normal life & (3) empower them to live a confident live free of these addictive prescribed medications.
Bless you – each of you, especially the founder of this organization, Beatrice, as I know that you are angels here on earth and the reason that our family member is well on the way to becoming the best version! I am envisioning Inner Fire helping and supporting even more people get back on their feet to live normal and empowered lives!
Giving is receiving joy! Why I Created A Fundraiser for Inner Fire? by Mitzy Sky
Looking forward to my birthday on March 21st, I decided to create a birthday fundraiser for Inner Fire on Facebook. I’ve been tuned in for a while about “giving back” and the joy and gratitude it brings into one’s life. Feeling joy isn’t just about getting things or about what I have. Giving is receiving joy, and it warmed my heart space to have the opportunity to give to a worthy cause! The thought of Inner Fire and its work is not the first thing in peoples’ minds regarding mental health and addiction care. It needs to be, and change needs to happen now. The mainstream media and most people in our society advocate the “disease illness” model for emotional distress and people’s behavior. I knew that and saw that it would be challenging to get support for what I was asking to raise money on a social media platform. I wanted the fundraiser to do its best, so I called on some reliable friends. I know it’s a naïve attitude, but I don’t understand how insurance companies, and our governments could pay for programs where people cycle in and out rather than paying for a program that offers people a way to build their life from the inside out. Inner Fire would be where I would seek support if I were in emotional distress. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to afford it, and neither would my loved ones, I decided to fundraise for the Support Seeker Fund so that maybe one person could get a three-day glimpse of the possibility of what “healing from within” could accomplish in their life experience. Mitzy Sky is a poet/writer/videographer/storyteller, who shares her work at www.mitzysky.com.
A longer version was published at Mad in America online platform on May 3, 2022. You could read here. https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/05/inner-fire-emotional-distress/
As a family doctor for many years, I know the tragic pain people face in finding meaning in life and reclaiming themselves when drugs are too habitual or an addiction. Conventional medicine has help for tapering, but not for finding meaning. Inner Fire brings both, by reconnecting the heartsore human and often also his/her family to the life of meaningful work, community, nature, in the setting of careful tapering of drugs/meds. We can need this as professionals too! The Inner Fire work is creative and unique, and meets each Seeker as the unique person each is.
I have a very close family member that has been struggling for years. Inner Fire was our families saving grace. Being in nature is one of the greatest healers amongst the many other modalities that are incorporated in their programs. I truly believe that when a seeker leaves Inner Fire they are the person they were born to be. Clarity!! So Grateful for Beatrice and every caring heart that has made Inner Fire possible.
As soon as I learned about Inner Fire in the summer of 2016, I drove straight up to VT to see it for myself. At the time, I had recently retired from a 30-year career as a High School Counselor and was also deeply concerned about a loved one with profound mental health / suicide issues. My combined professional and personal experiences convinced me that mainstream mental health care's approach, while well-intentioned, does not guide an individual through the underlying causative factors to enable him or her to emerge as a more integrated, functioning person, equipped to move forward on their life journey.
I was thrilled to observe the program firsthand and to mingle with some of the Seekers. They were immersed in the rhythmic daily routine that combines practical physical work, reflective times (both group and individual) and a variety of artistic therapies, as well as fun social times. It was clear to me that these individuals felt safe and supported enough to truly explore the dynamics of their individual struggles and to do the challenging work of personal change. For most, Inner Fire enables them to do this work while tapering off psychoactive drugs and their accompanying effects.
While it did not work out for my loved one to enter this healing community, I am passionate about supporting their mission. With plans for expanding the facilities, the founder hopes to welcome other healthcare professionals who are interested in developing initiatives like Inner Fire in other locations or are seeking more effective treatment options to offer in their own practices. The time for change is now!
Inner Fire was highly recommended to me by a trusted associate. I spoke with the director and was clear about the urgency of my grand-daughters situation. It always takes the director at least a day to respond to phone calls or emails. I was under the assumption that after receiving my application there was a 2 week waiting period and we could visit for the 3 day trial period. after filling out the forms and planning logistics and packing I received an email that my grand-daughter could not come and visit for another month and then there is a week wait before admissions. I am severely disappointed in the lack of clarity about admissions, the disorganization in the responses I received (I hd to submit the same form 3 times before they could locate it and the lackadaisical approach to communication. Structure and organization are so important to those facing mental/emotional/psychological challenges. I completely lost confidence in the Inner Fire program. Additionally, on their home page and in articles about Inner Fire the first thing they focus on is their donation goals, renovations and expansion NOT on their program. In my experience, primary objectives are what people focus on. I believe they are more consumed with fund-raising than their mission to help "seekers"