FTS: PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE is a wonderful undertaking, but it's got a heck of an agenda. So how did you start?
SKYFIRE: We started on a couple of levels. PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE, like most good things, started in a serendipitous way; it really started by accident, if you will. I am a Harry Potter fan, and I was on the HPANA website [www.hpana.com, Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator], in a place called "controversial issues" where I saw two people arguing adamantly, but they were really saying the same thing. So I stepped in and said "it's very difficult to deal with all the negativity. You are both saying the same thing. Why don't we fan the Phoenix fires of hope instead?" Apparently, this caught the imagination of several people and I was encouraged through them to create this website of hope and positive goodwill. It's really meant to be a place where folks can get together and talk and really cause dynamic changes, not just talk about them.

FTS: Can you give us an idea of methodologies that people can find on the website?
SKYFIRE: Very simple things, as simple as learning just how large the benefits are to recycling one glass bottle a day. They could find a different charity, or a place volunteer. If they need help, it's a place they can go to talk and know they will find a kind ear. So there are a variety of possibilities. We're a work in progress - we will continue to be expanding on the information available, especially as people contribute. We hope to see the connections between people here and around the globe grow.

FTS: Who else is working on this with you?
SKYFIRE: Kanntara, God bless her, is the technomage because I'm not! She is the technical end and also has a lot of good ideas. There are other good women who have volunteered to moderate the site: Maxecat, Samtibbs, Weesa, Ladyhawke - and you!

FTS: Do you take 'stands' on any particular issues?
SKYFIRE: On several... that's a bit of a broad based question.
For instance: some people say, "Well, we're not taking a stand on abortion, or nuclear disarmament, on the bird flu panic"

FTS: What's your particular background that you felt so moved to go into this? What is your path?
SKYFIRE: It comes from two levels, personal and spiritual. On a personal level, I'm the kind of person who just can't sit and watch. We all have the ability to do something and I couldn't just sit here seeing what I'm seeing, knowing what I'm knowing - that there are good people and so many possibilities to help and to connect. On the spiritual end, I am a shaman and a tradition keeper and also one of those people [unintelligible] Warriors of Stone that has been sent by the Elders to gather the people so that we can form a village from this age to the next age, what we call the "Sixth Sun." So we can evolve better as a planet. I personally prefer evolution over 'not'!

FTS: What's your goal for the first year?
SKYFIRE: The goal would be to get a good sense of where people feel that PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE needs to do for them in order to be successful. To really have PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE organized, recognized in the community, both spiritual and 'regular' communities; and ultimately for PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE to really inspire actions, so people can go there for information or tips, if you will, to inspire them.

FTS: Are you looking to do something like get everyone together to build a Habitat house, or get everyone on the site to give money to the Heifer Project, something like that?
SKYFIRE: Ultimately we will. It has been suggested to us. We are researching it, but that would be more toward the end of 2006. We are also reaching out to other websites who have done something similar. Reaching out to others who have done this before helps us avoid the 'learning curve'!

FTS: If someone is interested in PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE, what do they do, how do they join, what does it cost?
SKYFIRE: It doesn't cost anything - just contact one of the members of Phoenix Fire, or better yet, if you have a computer, point your browser to www.projectphoenixfire.com and sign up - and you're in! And with life being as hectic as it sometimes is, simple is a beautiful thing.

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