Still In the Eye of the Storm: Finding Calm and Stable Roots with Dan McTiernan of Being EarthBound

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Jul 2, 2025

Dan McTiernan, a teacher and coach focused on embodied learning, discusses the importance of grounding practices amid societal upheaval. He shares insights on his 'Calmer Farmer' initiative to support land workers' well-being and explores the connections between individuals and nature. McTiernan highlights grounding techniques that foster safety and authenticity, urging a shift from goal-oriented to process-oriented mindsets in agriculture. His holistic approach emphasizes the significance of community and genuine connections in navigating life's challenges.

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INSIGHT

Two Faces of Nature Connection

Oneness with nature and kinship with nature represent distinct awarenesses: self-embeddedness versus relational connection.
Both are crucial for embodied ecology, highlighting different layers of experience with the web of life.

ADVICE

Commit to Deep Cooperative Inquiry

Commit to longer embodied presence and cooperative inquiry for deeper mutual learning in farming wellbeing.
Work with peers to share challenges, try new actions, and reflect in ongoing cycles to improve farming practices and resilience.

INSIGHT

Farm With Process, Not Fixed Goals

Farming is an iterative design process that requires reflection, adaptation, and responsiveness to complex seasonal and ecological variables.
Embracing process over rigid goals acknowledges ecological unpredictability and supports resilience in farming systems.

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Our priority now is to find -and then embody - a sense of grounded stability, a sense of safety, a sense of embodied connection to the Web of Life...

This is the single most important thing we can be doing to create a world we'd want to leave behind, and this week's guest, Dan McTiernan, is one of those who is leading courses, trainings and embodied meditations that give people a genuinely grounded set of resources to feel this at a cellular, bone-deep level so that it can become the foundation for a life of authentic practice.

Dan's main focus in all of his work is to really double down on the process and practice of finding our Ground. He's been working with people to really explore the physiological, psycho-emotional and existential layers of grounding as a holistic approach to a stabilised embodied sense of safety and connection. This is just so foundational to any possibility of responding to a world in which all the ground has been ripped up, and we are literally laying each cobblestone at a time before we dare take the next step. This feels a central Thrutopian capacity - to him, and to me.

Dan is a friend of the podcast. We talked last on Episode 263, where we explored his concepts of embodied learning. This time around, as we watch the death throes of the old system grow ever more violent, his experiences with the Calmer Farmer programme, his Being Earthbound Practice Circle and What's Here Now meditations feel like exactly what we all need.

Dan's Website https://Earthbound.fi

Dan's Embodied Permaculture Course https://earthbound.fi/embodied-permaculture-course

Dan's Substacks
Calmer Farmer https://calmerfarmer.substack.com/
Being Earthbound Practice Circle https://beingearthbound.substack.com/p/earthbound-practice-circle

What's Here Now https://beingearthbound.substack.com/p/whats-here-now

Dan on Episode #263 of Accidental Gods https://accidentalgods.life/avoiding-burn-out-fall-out-drop-out-and-freak-out-with-dan-mctiernan/

ALEF trust https://www.aleftrust.org/

What we offer: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass

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If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life.
If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here.
If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass, the details are here