Tracking Connections

"Start to become aware of the need to be aware"This is the first of several episodes where we will explore the Core Routines for Connection. Today, we look at the sit spot routine, which may be the most important routine of all. Jon, Sarah, and Aidan reflect on their own experiences of going to their sit spot, the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned, and what they have taken with them from those experiences."When I first went to my sit spot, I didn't even know there was a chipmunk. Then when I slowed myself down, and learned to move from the animals, I would see that chipmunk in the distance run down its hole and make a noise. Then over time he wouldn't run away, and sometimes I would arrive at my sit spot and he would be sitting there eating."We also provide some ideas for how to establish the routine for yourself, whether you live in an urban setting, have limited time, or are trying to include your children in the routine. Sit spot can take many forms, and the long term benefits you get from committing to making space and time for the routine are worth it.“The way that I started back into the rhythm of [sit spot] as an adult was I said 'I'll just go there for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, however long it is,' and over time it became a very organic unfolding of the true desire to be there.”Interested in Learning More About Sit Spot?Check out the 512 Project Ring 1This 8 part video series features Jon Young teaching and sharing stories about Sit Spot and seven other Cultural Elements - ways in which healthy cultures foster and promote connection to nature and other people.1. Greeting Customs 2. Errands 3. Peer Bonding 4. Sit Spot 5. Culture of Allowance 6. Wiping Off the Road Dust 7. Sensitive Conduct 8. Bird LanguageVisit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

“We need to build a bridge between where we are and where our future generations need us to be.”In this episode, Shore Charnoe shares how growing up in connection with nature led to her developing the attributes of connection, and how she supports others to develop them as well. She tells us the four core practices that she believes lead to the most connection over time, practices that each of us can start today. Shore also gives us a behind the scenes look into the design of her summer gathering, Rekindling Connection, which is based on 8 Shields principles and has evolved to maximize the opportunity for participants to experience a culture of connection firsthand.“Shift your attention to a place of curiosity and receptivity. Go in there adventuring the same way that those children could experience it, and let’s just see what happens.”About Shore CharnoeShore has had a private counseling practice since 1994. As a traditional counselor, helper, and social worker, she has directed several community clinics and many highly-effective community helping programs. These programs have focused on at-risk youth and have included suicide prevention, apprehension prevention, parenting skills, lifeskills, adoption facilitation and short- and long-term foster care. She has helped foster, raise and mentor over 100 children. She is a mother of eleven adopted and biological children and a grandmother of six. A number of her adoptive children were born with fetal alcohol syndrome and came from abusive homes where they were victims of severe abuse, neglect, and trauma. She has been a consultant for child welfare organizations.She credits much of her effectiveness to the lessons she has learned from over 20 Indigenous Elders. To name just a few specifically:She studied for 10 years under the Odawa Medewin Elder Eddie King.Shore’s husband and partner, Richard Szponarski, was a student of Eddie King for over 30 years.She took her degree in Indigenous Social Work through First Nations Technical Institute under the direction of Banakonda Kennedy-Kish (Bell) , an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) Elder; Katsitsiase, also known as Betty Maracle, a Bear Clan Grandmother of the Mohawk Nation, Elder and Wisdom Keeper, and Ben Carniol, who was a Holocaust Survivor, social activist and author.Shore also studied language and traditional stories with Basil Johnson, an Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) Elder.Shore’s unique gift and skill is her ability to make the lessons she learned from these and many other Elders accessible to others. She has a deep gratitude and love for all the Elders and their teachings.Learn more about the Rekindling Connection gatheringShow NotesYou can view the full show notes on our Living Connection 1st siteVisit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

"Inner tracking, to me, is that interface of how we meet the world -how we meet ourselves- and how we say yes to choosing a path of the most peace, the most passion and purpose in bringing that forward."In this episode, we are joined by Josh Lane, a long-time mentor and expert in nature connection and inner tracking. We discuss Josh's work in bridging the gap between mindfulness/meditation and deep engagement with the natural world. Josh explains the importance of cultivating presence and using the senses to deeply observe one's surroundings, as a gateway to developing a more profound connection with nature. We discuss how facing our fears and preconceptions about the natural world can lead to deeper understanding and appreciation, as well as the scientific research behind the benefits of nature connection, including the relaxation response, epigenetic changes, and the way it can enhance our attention, intuition, and overall well-being. We also highlight how these insights can be applied in daily life. Jon reflects on the responsibility of passing on the nature connection teachings to the next generation, and expresses gratitude for Josh, Aidan, and Sarah's roles in continuing and expanding this work. “You go to your sit spot and you meet these rites of passage of fear and cold and dark and wet, and you then you start to go deeper into the power of meeting that place with stillness, and what I found was there are these thresholds that happen where you start to tap into parts of yourself that you weren’t aware of when you started the journey. ”About Josh LaneThe author of the book, Conscious Nature: The Art and Neuroscience of Meditating In Nature, Josh coaches heart-centered change makers and leaders in saying YES to taking the next courageous steps in their deep-purpose work and calling. Josh's unique visionary work teaches clients how to release limiting subconscious/energetic patterns and embrace their genius, so that they can move forward with greater confidence and inner clarity on their paths. His background includes serving for over 25 years as a mentor in the arts of deep nature connection, with a focus on the ancient perceptual skills of wildlife tracking and reading Nature’s pattern language. Josh’s teaching fuses primal understandings from the wild with insights from brain-based coaching, to help bridge the healing energy of Nature into the modern experience. Learn more about Josh's work at https://www.ConsciousNature.netJosh's Free Guidebook with Inner Tracking Tools:How can we move beyond fear, worry, and self-doubt to bring our visions fully to life? Learn how to track the hidden inner patterns that shape your choices and future. https://www.consciousnature.net/impact

"We feel pulled to reuniting the wild family again. We want to reconnect with all our wild kin, but we want to connect with our wild human relations as well and be able to speak that old language."In this episode, we are joined by award winning documentary filmmaker and author Craig Foster. We discuss Craig's connection to Jon through tracking, including the impact that watching the Great Dance had on Jon and the impact that hearing Jon's Tracking CDs had on Craig. We explore how tracking and deep connection to the wild seem to lead to mysterious capabilities, and some of the ways in which the natural world seems to reach out to connect to us in turn. We also explore some of the benefits of connecting to the wild world, from our nervous system and health, to it's impact on learning, and even on our relationships. “There’s a lot of good stuff in the tame world but it’s unbalanced. The wild person is being smothered by the tame, and what I’m saying is let’s find a balance and let that incredible, wild, intelligent person come back and nourish us.”About Craig FosterCraig Foster is an Oscar and BAFTA winning filmmaker, naturalist, author and ocean explorer. His films have won over 150 international awards. He co-founded the Sea Change Project in 2012.Craig’s work has contributed to the marine sciences through the discovery of new species and new animal behaviours. He is the first person to create a method of underwater tracking in the kelp forest. His film “My Octopus Teacher” has led to making the Great African Seaforest a global icon. Craig also has consulted for 8 years to the centre for early sapiens behaviour, SapienCE, and created an award winning exhibition about middle Stone Age human origins. Drawing on 30 years of his work with the San and other indigenous African people, the exhibit promotes Africa as the origin of science and art. Craig believes that the greatest threat we face is the cooling of the human heart towards nature. All his work is about inspiring a change of heart, inspiring people to care for and regenerate nature around them. He has founded the Sea Change Project to share his love of nature with others, and has kept his pact to dive 365 times a year for over a decade. Check out Craig Foster's book - Amphibious SoulWatch the trailer for My Octopus TeacherLearn more about the Sea Change Project and support Craig's work hereWatch: Jon Young & Craig Foster discuss Amphibious Soul At the Commonwealth Club - May 2024Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work

"When there’s a pull, or a need, or a deep question, or a sincere curiosity coming from an innocent core part of ourselves, the answers often come in ways that you just can’t explain."In this episode, Nate, Sarah, and Jon share their experiences of following intuition to answer questions that were previously unanswered or find something in a time of need. They reflect on the routines and practices that allow us to develop this sort of advanced awareness, and also on how these abilities are recognized in cultures that are still connected to nature."As I return to it and I look at how did that all unfold, there’s something in there that I can learn from forever."Show NotesVisit https://www.primalnate.com/ to learn more about Nate Summers. Get Nate's book on Amazon.Check out Craig Foster's book - Amphibious SoulHear Craig Foster's interview with Tim Ferriss hereVisit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

"There's a moment, as a mentor, where you have to recognize, 'I'm more interested in this than they are. And in that moment, if you push, you can actually push them in the opposite direction.'"In this conversation, Jon, Sarah, and Aidan reflect on what it means to be "tracking connections." They share about what connection feels like in different situations, how to notice it in others, and the benefits of prioritizing connection in our work, family, and personal lives. They also share some stories about what can happen when we don't prioritize connection and the impacts that disconnection can have."He said to us, 'I have never seen a team come together with such unity, such creativity, so much ingenuity, and such productivity; you put these other company cultures to shame. Now I see the value in connecting first.'"Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

In this conversation, Brian Knittel shares stories and design principles learned from his ten years at the Bay Area Tracking Club. Brian shares what it was like to experience the 8 Shields principles at work from the student perspective in the beginning, and then his observations as he grew to be a station guide and then leader of the club. We hear from Brian and Jon about the finer points of using the Art of Questioning to facilitate the tracking journey, including how it relates to how the San people still train trackers to this day. If you are interested in tracking, or interested in starting any sort of group based around learning nature together, you won't want to miss this episode."That was really the biggest draw for me; turning that curiosity on and getting people excited to learn more.”About Brian KnittelBrian Knittel’s professional career was as a software engineer in Silicon Valley. He has been on a lifelong journey of spiritual exploration and nature connection.His journey deepened when he started searching for ways to explain spirituality to his young kids and found Tom Brown Jr.'s books, which sparked a series of "Aha!" moments. He resonated deeply with Tom's teachings and has been training at the Tracker School since 2000. Once he found Jon Young’s work he trained intensively in the Kamana Naturalist journey and the 8 Shields model. He is a long time wildlife tracker and helped lead a vibrant Tracking Club on the California coast for close to a decade.He is deeply involved in these lineages, taking classes, mentoring others, and has been on a path towards Elderhood. Helping people learn about the essential nature of core routines, community building, and living in harmony with nature brings him immense joy. He has been a leader of groups within the Mankind Project, mentoring heart-centered men on a personal growth path, which has further shaped his beliefs about the importance of cultivating a state of personal peace.Today, he uses many healing methods – Shamanic, elements of power, nature connection, and more – to help others find their own paths to peace and well-being. His vision is to create a world filled with love, healing, deep connection, and a deep respect for Mother Earth.He lives in Mendocino, California with his amazing partner Amanda, who shares his passions for healing and nature. They have a blended family of four wonderful children, and when he's not exploring the natural world or helping others, you might find him practicing martial arts – something he's been passionate about for over 30 years.He's excited to share his experiences with others, exploring the world of spirituality, nature connection, and living a life of purpose and joy together.About Bay Area Tracking ClubBay Area Tracking Club meets on the second Sunday of each month from 8am-11am. Locations change based on where the great tracks can be found, although our home base and most consistent venue is at Gazos Creek State Beach on the San Mateo County coast.Connect with Bay Area Tracking Club on Facebook to learn moreVisit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

Learn more about what Joël is up to:Connect with Joël by email: jdubois@csus.edu"Acorn Assembly" Backyard Naturalists https://acornassembly.wordpress.com/This is the very simple wordpress site we use to inform people about our local “Backyard Naturalists” meetings, mentioned in the podcast, which also has a way for people to contact me. (FYI, the name “Acorn Assembly” was proposed by a group member who had no knowledge of the Acorn terminology used for team-building/facilitation at 8 Shields events—an interesting synchronicity!)Online portfolio of classroom activities https://portfolium.com/jdubois/portfolioThis is the site I use to model for students how to showcase their work with the kind of hands-on activities I mentioned in the podcast; the “Connections” tab links to students' own representations of their work.Internal Family Systems Trainings https://ifs-institute.com/practitioners/all/96565This is my practitioner listing for Internal Family Systems (IFS) on the IFS Institute site, which also links to resources about this method of working with parts and self. I didn’t go into much detail about this way of working during the podcast but thought I’d provide it as a reference—unless you think this might be best left for a follow-up podcast at some point.Book - Hidden Lives of Brahman https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Hidden-Lives-of-BrahmanMy academic book, “Hidden Lives of Brahman,” showcases my research in traditional Brahmin schools in India, mentioned briefly at the outside of the podcast. My ethnographic approach to the topic actually has a lot in common with the way I approach village building!Laurence ColeWhen speaking of the power of music to draw people together, I reference Laurence Cole’s website (http://www.laurencecole.com/album/) and thought others might want to draw on it.Braver Angels (braverangels.org)​Braver Angels provides community facilitation tools to host gatherings that provide a welcoming space and prompts for conversation between people on opposing sides of the political spectrum. At first glance this probably seems like the opposite of what’s needed to build connection, yet the emphasis on focused listening to each other's' life experiences, with pauses for reflecting back what one hears, is one of the most powerful forms of "culture of allowance" that I've experienced, which also benefits from work drawing on 8 Shield archetypes for facilitation.https://sites.google.com/braverangels.org/fieldops/field-leadership/alliancesVisit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

“The coyote’s on the edge of your awareness. Where’s your edge? Where is your student's edge? That’s what you’re trying to find and push gently out.”In this episode Jon, Sarah, and Aidan are joined by Rick Berry from 4 Elements Earth Education. Rick shares his story of nature connection and how that has led to mentoring others over the past 30 years. He shares about how land and place influence our lessons, how he guides teens in transformational ways, and the importance of modeling the values we want to pass on to the next generation. Rick shares stories of his own lineage of mentoring, including how coyote teaching was passed on to him through Tom Brown Jr and Jon, and how that has contributed to his own teaching style. Rick shares a beautiful vision for unity and the role we can play in welcoming and allowing each other’s unique ways of being, before closing with an invitation for each of us that might offer a little healing today. “We do have a common vision and we each do this in our own unique way. We have to come together to Heal”About Rick BerryRick Berry began with the Tracker School in 1986 at the age of 15, and has been teaching these skills for the past 30 years. After graduating with a B.S. from Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, Rick honed his skills in the remote Klamath Mountain range where he immersed himself for 12 years in indigenous life-ways--passed on to him by Gary Morris who himself had lived with Yurok Elder Calvin Rube for 20 years. Later, Rick spent two years in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey as a care-taker for the Tracker School, refining his tracking and survival skills. Rick taught with both Jon Young and Tom Brown, Jr. through the Tracker School’s Coyote Camps, and moved on to serve seven years as Director of The Children of the Earth Foundation. Rick, Cherokee Descent, (Grandmother was part of the Red Bird Stokes Stomp Ground in Vian, Oklahoma), has been working in collaboration with the Siakumne Maidu Tribe for the past 14 years creating the Fox Walkers youth programs at Pata Panaka / Burton Educational Preserve in Nevada City, CA. In 2019 Rick was asked to be the Executive Director of The Children of the Earth Foundation; Rick will oversee Coyote Tracks Programs under the 4EEE west coast non-profit umbrella.Learn more about Rick at https://www.4eee.orgVisit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

“You can’t rehabilitate someone that hasn’t been habilitated in the first place.”In this conversation with Jon and Aidan, Kathleen shares her journey to becoming an occupational therapist, the role nature played in raising her own children, and how nature connection principles facilitate healthy sensory development. We also discuss the science behind story catching and the role it plays in helping children develop, and the role we play, alongside nature, in regulating each other’s nervous system. Kathleen brings a wonderful perspective as a mother, occupational therapist, researcher, and mentor, and her stories are funny, insightful, and full of hope for the future. “There’s no such thing as self regulation; we regulate in relationship to everything else.”About Kathleen LockyerI am the daughter of a fisherman from Newfoundland, Canada, and a debutant from New York City. Raised a little wild, and a little cultured, I’ve learned enough to know that preserving a healthy amount of wild is good for a growing heart, body, and mind. Guiding others to reclaim wholeness and love the messiness of raising children while healing themselves is my joy.Learn more about Kathleen at https://www.kathleenlockyer.com/Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.