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.s

KANNTARA: Skyfire approached me with the concept of Project: Phoenix Fire and wanted to create a wonderful home for it. It was a very serendipitous event for me as well. I met Skyfire and many other wonderful friends over the years at a local bookstore. That bookstore closed and then I moved further away. I felt like I had lost a connection to a part of community that shared the same goals and interests that I had. I've been looking for ways to create that kind of community on-line. Helping to spread the Phoenix Fire answered what I was looking for!

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.

KANNTARA: I think the connections are key. Connecting, or networking, can be very powerful. When we started Project: Phoenix Fire I envisioned a place where someone could go to learn about a wide variety of topics. For example, you can learn about other spiritual belief systems, not from books, but from the actual people who live it every day. If you have questions, there is a safe place to go and have them answered without fear of mockery or reprisal.

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!

SKYFIRE: For years I've noticed in my travels and talking to people, there are more good people than, say, 'chaotic' people. But we need to find each other, to be able to connect and to get organized, so that we can go forward not only for our own greater good but for the greater good of all and hopefully this will impact the planet as well. So it's more the fact that the media tends to try and isolate people, and PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE is here to say 'Hey, we're not separate from each other: we are together, and we are citizens of the planet and we can help each other. Everyone's important; no matter what you do, everything counts, and it is good to contribute to each other.

KANNTARA: I also see more good people that 'chaotic' people. We just seem to be a quieter group. No, quieter isn't right. We do not riot in the streets or cry foul every time something does not go our way, so we are not heard as often. I think one reason for this is there are not many mainstream ways for us to be heard. The Project: Phoenix Fire website is a place to find each other and work on this... find ways to stand up and make a difference the right way.

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" -

SKYFIRE: That's two separate things. Whatever happens on PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE I'm here to create common ground for solutions that work - so although I personally have a stand on things, I keep that out of PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE in the sense that I do not allow myself or anyone to control or to steer the directions. People are there to make up their own minds and hopefully, it invites them to work together.

KANNTARA: Project: Phoenix Fire can be viewed like a think tank, or a place to brainstorm ideas. The purpose of the site is not to sway someone's thinking on a particular subject, but to invite honest, respectful discussion. My hope is to see these discussions covering different views on the same topic. From this discussion ideas may emerge. Hopefully this will motivate people to act on these ideas.

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'!

KANNTARA: My background is multilayered as well. On a personal level I feel compelled to help others find information. I have been an information seeker since I was very young. I would find myself compelled to learn more about something that I may not have had a very strong interest in, to turn around and find someone else looking for that very same information a few weeks later. Spiritually I am an empath which might explain my previous comment! I excel at gathering odds and ends and weaving them into something cohesive. I also have a very strong technology background. I thoroughly enjoy using current technology and seeing it transform before my eyes into something that will benefit many.

SKYFIRE: I have the strength of networking within community, with my Native American background, and with her Universalist and logical/technological background, we're two halves of a whole.

KANNTARA: I am working on packets that can be mailed out to those who want to help spread the word.. These packets will contain a variety of promotional material. The most prominent item will be flyers. These flyers will contain our mission statement and contact information. The flyers could be left at stores, conventions, or festivals, or even passed out among friends.

SKYFIRE: In addition to that we're going a variety of other ways. We are asking everyone who participates on the PROJECT: PHOENIX FIRE website to talk about it within their community to spread the word, not just leave flyers. I also know that Weesa's brother submitted the website to "The Open Directory project" found at dmoz.org which helps us in being listed on Google and other search engines. And of course, interviews like this one. The most important is for folks to tell their friends, whether it be through cyberspace, through the phone or what have you - going through community and placing us on search engines is right now where we are going. In a month or two I am hoping to have a couple of radio interviews as well.

KANNTARA: Expanded membership. In the first two weeks after the site launched, we had 30 registered users. I think that is wonderful and look forward to see this growth continue. We have already mentioned some of the ways we are doing this. We also have some exciting new features coming... but they are a surprise!

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.

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'!

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.