Grandmothers of the Eternal Flame
From Left: Grandmother Eila, Grandmother Jalila (Chris), Grandmother Devi Tide, Grandmother Heather, and Grandmother Taiha (Moetu-Taiha)
Photo Credit: Fran Dwight Photography
Meet the Grandmothers
Grandmother Devi Tide
Devi has traveled the world, with Elders, Healers and Wisdom Keepers from many cultures. She is convener of the Awakening the World project. She lectures, conducts workshops and leads healing retreats in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India and Europe integrating the wisdom of the essential world, the healing and meditative practices of the Sufis, and the timeless healing tools of yoga. She has been Head of the Sufi Healing Order in North America since 1999 and continues to gather treasures that support humanity in healing and generating the conditions for wholeness, joy and well-being. Lately she is letting go of distinctions and differences in a message of the unity of the one world family and our heart covenant with all life.
Reverend Whaea Eila Paul
Whaea Eila Paul is a descendant of Maori heritage, the Indigenous culture of Aotearoa (New Zealand). She is richly blessed with the heritage from two strong Iwi (tribes) - Tainui and Ngati Raukawa. “My mountain is Maunga Tautari and my Awa (rivers) are Waikato and Waihau, holy to my people.“
Whaea Eila Paul travels throughout Aotearoa, North America and Europe offering sacred seeds of knowledge and healing. Eila works with people of all walks of life, weaving deep and sacred connections to Mother Earth and to the hearts of all beings using nature, storytelling, sound, ancient traditional songs, prayer and dance. Eila does body readings, Reiki, and shaman work. She is able to take people into a world of magic, guiding them back to their own roots and inherited gifts. She is a minister and offers marriages, funeral services, home blessings, baby blessings, and guides personal retreats.
Currently Eila is the coordinator of The Sharda Retreat Centre, whose philosophy is the Sufi Path of Love, Harmony and Beauty.
Whaea Taiha-Moetu – Maori Tuhoe Elder
Taiha-Moetu is descended from Ngai Tuhoe and the Kahungunu Tribes of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Taiha-Moetu, in light language means, “I stand for my dreams and in my power.” Taiha comes from two family lines of healers and leaders of the tribe of Tuhoe. Her knowledge has been handed down to her by several Maori Tohungas [Shamans] and acknowledged Elders of her tribe. Taiha has spiritual access to information that only a few people can access.
Growing up with her special gifts, being taught the art of healing through love since childhood, Taiha has traveled the world sharing those gifts. Her professional portfolio holds a wealth of knowledge and her specialty is working with the cellular system. This method helps to transform trauma by identifying and releasing memories and scar tissue and replacing them with new patterns that empower. Taiha works on the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and etheric layers, supporting you to access your “KNOWING.” Go on a journey for self-empowerment to discover your Truth, your Wisdom, as she helps you uncover the Beacon of Love and Light that you are.
Taiha is a Shamanic Seer and Intuitive Healer who has done trauma healing for over thirty years. She is also a transformational coach and mentor who runs Women’s Self-Empowerment workshops nationally and internationally that provide a framework for inner exploration and empowerment by bridging the gap between spirituality, rationality, and emotions. The workshops are carefully tailored and delivered to assist people from all walks of life as conscious co-creators in all aspects of their existence.
Grandmother Flordemayo
Born the youngest of 15 children in the highlands of Central America, Grandmother Flordemayo was recognized early for her gift of Sight. Trained from the age of four in the art of curanderismo—passed down through generations from mother to daughter—she learned the healing traditions of herbs, women’s medicine, and honoring Mother Earth. A Mayan healer and keeper of her family’s sacred staff, passed down for 12 generations, she is the founder of The Path, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving traditional knowledge and heirloom seeds.
She is a founding member of the Church of the Spiritual Path, the Confederation of Indigenous Elders of the Americas, the Institute of Natural and Traditional Knowledge, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, Grandmothers of the Eternal Flame, and the Mother Earth Delegation of United Indigenous Nations. Grandmother Flordemayo travels the world offering prayers, ceremonies, and teachings to inspire unity and spiritual understanding.
Grandmother Heather
Heather Hall-Dudney is the oldest child, only daughter, and personal assistant and travel companion to Mayan Elder and Seed Keeper, Grandmother Flordemayo. A disabled Navy veteran with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and economics, Heather serves as program director and leads donor outreach for The Path, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving sacred heirloom seeds and Indigenous wisdom. She has co-produced We Are All Related, the 20th Anniversary of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, and The Sacred Reciprocity Gathering for Mother Earth. Born under the sacred Mayan Nawal 9 Iq’—symbolizing divine inspiration and the breath of life—Heather is a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and passionate advocate for the environment, survivors of sexual abuse, and veterans, carrying her Mayan and Finnish ancestry with pride.
Grandmother Jalila
Jalila Chris Botsford has been a student, facilitator and teacher of a variety of holistic healing modalities for over 25 years. As a holistic health practitioner, she offers both in-person and long-distance sessions, drawing on energy healing, cranial sacral and the foundational Sufi practices of presence, breath, light and guided meditation in her Spiritual Energy Sessions. An ordained minister, Sufi Guide, Healing Retreat leader and Shafayat, Jalila leads classes and services at her local Sufi Center, offers individual and small group retreats, as well as online meditations. Her dedication to service has taken her to Africa, Haiti and Guatemala, where she has worked in hospitals and clinics in underserved communities.
Whenua Sherifa Jo-Ellen Courtney
One of Whenua’s earliest formative experiences was as part of the worker-owned Community Produce Collective in Seattle. This experience shaped her lifelong commitment to collaboration and community, fueling her joy in bringing people and organizations together for a common purpose. Over the years, her coalition work has spanned diverse areas of community health and empowerment.
A Māori elder honored her with the name Whenua—meaning “nurturing the land.” She has carried this name forward through her service on local and state energy committees and coalitions, embodying stewardship of the Earth and community well-being.
Since 2014, Whenua has accompanied and supported the Grandmothers, traveling with them to New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, across the United States, and to New York City.
Her educational background includes both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in education. She has taught in many settings, from nature classes for children to car seat safety for parents, and training for healthcare staff. Teaching, in all its forms, has been a source of joy.
Spiritually, Whenua was initiated into the Sufi Order International in 1982 and has studied widely with teachers from many lineages. She has cherished the Dances of Universal Peace since the mid-1970s, finding deep inspiration in their capacity to connect hearts.
Grounded in both community and spirit, Whenua believes empowerment and interconnection are essential, nourishing both ourselves and the land we are entrusted to care for.