Embodiment Matters Podcast

What a powerful conversation we shared, exploring Plotkin's new book, the Journey of Soul Initiation as well as his vast body of work. Bill Plotkin, Ph.D., is a depth psychologist, wilderness guide, and agent of cultural regeneration. As founder of western Colorado's Animas Valley Institute in 1981, he has guided thousands of seekers through nature-based initiatory passages, including a contemporary, Western adaptation of the pan-cultural vision fast. Previously, he has been a research psychologist (studying non-ordinary states of consciousness), professor of psychology, psychotherapist, rock musician, and whitewater river guide. In 1979, on a solo winter ascent of an Adirondack peak, Bill experienced a call to adventure, leading him to abandon academia in search of his true calling. Bill is the author of Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche (an experiential guidebook), Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World (a nature-based stage model of human development through the entire lifespan), Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche (an ecocentric map of the psyche — for healing, growing whole, and cultural transformation), and The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries (an experiential guidebook for the descent to soul). He has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. You can dive into the rich world of his work at www.animas.org We explored so many rich topics in this conversation, beginning, of course, with embodiment, as well as how humans can become life-enhancing partners with Earth and Cosmos. We talk about Bill's framing of adulthood and maturity and his powerful sentiment, that 90% of older people in modern culture haven't reached beyond late adolescence. We talk about how to understand where you are on his map of maturity and the process of soul descent, as well as what makes a true adult (and it's not age-based!) We talk about the beautiful image of adults and elders as imaginal cells in culture, as well as what he calls the four facets of wholeness and ways of cultivating these. Bill shares comments on working with mature urgency in relation to our times and his admiration for Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects. We talk about the history of initiated elders and initiatory customs and rituals being what dominating cultures have continually wiped out in the partnership-based cultures they colonized, and what a great loss this has been around the globe. We talk about why rites of passage are so important personally and culturally. This whole conversation is so powerful and is rooted in the rare depth and comprehensive framework of his life's work and evolving understanding of human development. We hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

I'm so thrilled to share this episode with you, dear listeners, in which I have the privilege of interviewing one of my hero-writers, Kathleen Dean Moore, whose 2016 book Great Tide Rising: Toward Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Changewas life-changing for me. In this moving conversation, we explore the extinction crisis, what love really means, the importance of facing grief directly; about the necessity of locking the door to despair; and the importance of maintaining outrage as a measure of love and conscience. I've long loved the way Kathleen weaves a rich multiplicity of perspectives into her writing: that of mother, grandmother, naturalist, philosopher, professor, and earth-lover. Kathleen speaks about moral courage, about the shift in her writing from praising the beauty of the natural world to a fierce call to defend it. We explore how to speak to children about the climate crisis, and the big question: What can one person do? (I love her answer to this!) We discuss some favorite passages from Great Tide Rising as well as from her beautiful new book, Earth's Wild Music. I find her work and her words so simultaneously heartening, sobering, and a powerful spur to caring action. I hope you enjoy her as much as I did. I can't recommend her books highly enough. Please also check out Music to Save Earth's Songs, a project she's developed as part of the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University which includes 20 4-minute concerts weaving music and spoken word. Detaisls are below on that as well as where to find her beautiful books. Kathleen Dean Moore, Ph.D., served as Distinguished Professor of Environmental Philosophy at Oregon State University, where she wrote award-winning books about our cultural and moral relations to the wet, wild world and to one another. But her increasing concern about the climate and extinction crises led her to leave the university, so she could write and speak full-time about the moral urgency of climate action. Since then, she has spoken out across the country, publishing Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, a collection of short essays by the world's moral leaders about our obligations to the future. That is followed byGreat Tide Rising: Toward Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change (2016); Earth's Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World (February 2021); and Bearing Witness: The Human Rights Case Against Fracking and Climate Change(April 2021). Her work on the extinction crisis includes a film, "The Extinction Variations," a collaboration with a classical pianist. She writes from Corvallis, Oregon and from an off-the-grid cabin where two creeks and a bear trail meet a coastal inlet in Alaska. Find Kathleen's wonderful books here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/371383.Kathleen_Dean_Moore Here are details about an upcoming book launch party online for Earth's Wild Music https://events.oregonstate.edu/event/earths_wild_music_book_launch_party And here are details and a link to the wonderful project Music to Save Earth's Songs: https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/feature-story/music-save-earth-s-songs In a series called "Music to Save Earth's Songs," the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University will offer twenty, four-minute concerts that weave music and the spoken word to celebrate the creatures that fill the air with sound – frogs, wolves, songbirds, growling grizzly bears – and to inspire action to save them. Videos will be released online on Mondays and Thursdays at 6 pm, from now through March. The series is inspired by a new book by Kathleen Dean Moore, Earth's Wild Music.

Friends, we are thrilled to be able to share our recent interview with the incredible Cynthia Jurs with you. Before sharing her official bio, I want to tell you that I find Cynthia to be one of the most moving human beings I've met in a very long time. Her humility, her wisdom, her bone-deep dedication to healing the Earth and fostering awakening in herself and others is truly awe-inspiring. I adore her so much it's almost painful! Carl and I have had the good fortune to learn and practice with her this past year and it's been such a timely gift. Cynthia is a Lama in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition and a Dharmacharya in the Order of Interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. In 1990 she made a life-changing pilgrimage to meet a 106-year-old hermit and meditation master living in a cave in Nepal, from whom she received the practice of the Earth Treasure Vases. She is the guiding teacher of the Gaia Mandala Sangha in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she teaches a unique blend of engaged buddhism and sacred activism in response to the call of the Earth. Cynthia's nonprofit, Alliance for the Earth is dedicated to facilitating a global community committed to planetary healing and collective awakening through the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project. She has partnered with indigenous elders and young activists around the world and for ten years has carried out a peace building program in Liberia, West Africa. Cynthia is currently at work on a book and film entitled, Summoned By The Earth. In this conversation, Cynthia tells the story of meeting and asking a potent question of a 106-year old meditation master in a cave in Nepal and the life-changing consequences she's still living out today, 30 years later. We explore the topic of sacred activism, subtle activism, and engaged Buddhism, and Cynthia's incredible project of burying sacred Earth Treasure Vases, little clay vessels filled with prayers for healing the Earth, on every continent around the globe. Cynthia shares about where she's drawn strength to continue to persevere in her dedication and her practice. We talk about collective awakening and Thich Nhat Hanh's prediction that the future Buddha will not be a human being, but rather a sangha, a community of beings awakening together. We talk about so many juicy topics, from the practice of listening to the Earth to the distinction between belief and faith; from the potent teachings in the breath to experiencing Gaia in our own bodies and minds. Cynthia shares a passionate invitation to not close our eyes before suffering, but to stay awake and engaged with what is happening in our world. Cynthia also shares briefly about an incredible practice of Tara Gaia. We've been lucky enough to be at the first two transmissions of the practice. We close the conversation with a beautiful prayer Cynthia shares about taking refuge in the Earth as the embodiment of teacher, teachings and community. We hope you enjoy this wise and touching conversation as much as we did!! Some links you'll likely enjoy exploring: Cynthia's website: https://gaiamandala.net The monthly newsletter: https://gaiamandala.net/contact-us/ which keeps people informed about all offerings including the full moon meditation. Full Moon Full Moon Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Meditation: https://mailchi.mp/earthtreasurevase/full-moon-global-healing-meditation The link to register for the Tara Gaia Teachings: https://mailchi.mp/ff4def15a264/tara-gaia-online

In this episode, Carl speaks with Ian MacKenzie, host of the Mythic Masculine Podcast. Ian MacKenzie is a filmmaker, speaker, and writer who lives on the Salish Sea with his partner and son. His films include Lost Nation Road, Amplify Her, Sacred Economics, Prayer to the Earth, an Indigenous Response to These Times. For more than decade, Ian has been tracking the global emergence of new culture. From the desert of Burning Man to the heart of Occupy Wall St, he has sought and amplified the voices of visionaries, artists and activists who have been working toward planetary system change. In our conversation, we explore several of the rich themes that have woven through the conversations on the Mythic Masculine Podcast. We explore dynamics of power, and what can shift in the experience of masculine and feminine polarities outside of a power-over structure. We look at the loss of wildness, and the domestication that many modern men experience. We also speak about embodiment, ritual, and rites of passage. We weave through many essential themes and inquires about what it means to be a man in these times. For more information about Ian and his work you can visit ianmack.com or themythicmasculine.com

Uncommon Considerations in the Anthropocene An Interview with Dr. Bayo Akomolafe Friends, we're thrilled to share with you this most recent interview with our dear friend, Dr. Bayo Akomolafe. Bayo is a poet, philosopher, psychologist, professor, proud diaper changer, and passionate about the preposterous. He's a thinker and speaker unlike any you've met before. Born and raised in Nigeria, Bayo currently lives with his wife and two children in Chennai, India, and pre-pandemic, spent much time traveling the world teaching on transraciality, emergence, postactivism and more. He is a widely appreciated speaker, teacher, public intellectual, author and facilitator, globally recognized for his poetic, unconventional, counterintuitive, and indigenous take on global crisis, civic action and social change. He is the Executive Director and Chief Curator for The Emergence Network (A Post-Activist Project] and host of the online writing course, 'We will dance with Mountains: Writing as a Tool for Emergence' Erin first met Bayo while taking this class in 2017, and we're both thrilled to hear that this life-changing course will be offered again in Fall of 2020. Read more about Bayo and explore his unconventional and refreshing perspectives through his website www.bayoakomolafe.net, including this recent essay, which Erin refers to in our interview. https://bayoakomolafe.net/project/i-coronavirus-mother-monster-activist/ A friend recently said it so well: "I feel if I can relax and let go of a certain part of my mind and just fall in with Bayo's words, I always grow." In this conversation, we explore Bayo's ideas about making sanctuary. He shares Yoruba proverbs, including "In order to find your way, you must become lost," and "May your road be rough." We explore white supremacy, colonial mind, and modernity and the unfortunate"flattening of the sacred." We talk about control, queering binaries, resisting "simple and neat" stories or explanations, and relaxing into our entanglement with the world and each other. Holding the tensions of paradox are a necessary skill. Bayo talks about the necessity of making way for grief, what he calls "the vocational project of touching loss," and the possibility of decorating these wounds as a way of making sacred. We also explore topics of justice, fugitivity, bodies as becomings, and explore some musings on how Bayo learned to think in these unique ways. We also speak about the beauty of bewilderment. There's so much richness in this conversation! We hope you can relax certain parts of your mind and grow as you listen to Bayo "shock you into noticing the world differently." You can listen to our first conversation with Bayo in 2018 here: The Light Longs for the Dark: A Conversation with Bayo Akómoláfé - Embodiment Matters

In this enlightening conversation, Michael Meade, a seasoned teacher and storyteller, shares his insights on innate genius and its connection to healing societal wounds. He discusses how honoring our unique gifts fosters equality across various divides. The conversation delves into the role of community in initiating personal transformation and the significance of rituals in healing cultural trauma. Meade highlights the potential of protests as rituals and emphasizes that personal change is essential for broader societal shifts.

Francis Weller, a psychotherapist and soul-activist, shares profound insights on grief and healing. He discusses the concept of Rough Initiation, suggesting that we navigate our overwhelm through self-compassion and embracing beauty. Weller emphasizes the importance of transforming sorrow into something healing for individuals and communities. He reflects on the loneliness of trauma, advocating for a healthy relationship with grief. Furthermore, he explores the spiritual practices that foster deeper connections within ourselves and with others during challenging times.

Hello, listener friends! We're delighted to share with you our most recent conversation with our dear friend and mentor, Francis Weller, psychotherapist, soul-activist, and author of the life-changing book The Wild Edge of Sorrow, as well as a newly released book of essays which we discuss in this interview. It is titled: In the Absence of the Ordinary: Essays in a Time of Uncertainty and is available for free or by donation on his website. https://www.francisweller.net/store.html In this episode, recorded on May 26th, 2020, we jump right into discussing our current global circumstances as what Francis calls a Rough Initiation. We explore Francis's suggestions for responding to overwhelm: self-compassion, turning toward our feelings, being astonished by beauty, and having patience. We explore what Francis calls growing an apprenticeship with sorrow, and the possibility metabolizing our sorrows into something medicinal for soul and for community. Francis speaks to a powerful quote from Human biologist Paul Shephard, that states, "The grief and sense of loss, that we often interpret as a failure in our personality, is actually a feeling of emptiness where a beautiful and strange otherness should have been encountered." We explore this beautiful and strange otherness and so much more. We are sure you'll enjoy this beautiful conversation as much as we did. Many thanks to Francis for sharing his words and wisdom so generously.

We had such an enlivening conversation with Steven which we're so excited to share with you! In this conversation we talk about Steven's history - which included leaving civilization as a young man to live in the wild and forage to sustain himself. He eventually felt called to returned to civilization, pursued higher education and eventually growing food and medicines in new/old ways. He offers a beautiful short exercise on how to listen to plants. We also talk about the habit of gratefulness and the orientation toward illness as a great teacher and healer. We explore ways of inhabiting the great give and take with Earth and the importance of loving our food. We also explore a less human-centric approach to gardening - which he calls wildculturing. What a beautiful and inspiring conversation about connecting more deeply with the intelligence of earth through our food, our gardens, our own bodies, and more. We're now dreaming of visiting Steven and Megan's Sacred Gardener school when travel is possible again. It looks amazing! Steven is an artist, farmer, wildcrafter, builder, teacher, writer and visionary who has more than thirty years experience living co-creatively with the Earth, practicing traditional living skills of growing food, building and healing. In 1996, he created the Algonquin Tea Company, North America's premiere bioregional tea company. He has given talks and run workshops internationally for more than twenty years and taught plant identification and wilderness skills at Algonquin college for 11 years, and at the Orphan Wisdom School for eight years. In 2014, Megan and Steven started the Sacred Gardener Earth Wisdom School. Steven released his first book The Story of the Madawaska Forest Garden in 2016, and his second, Sacred Gardening, was released in June 2017. "The Sacred Gardener was chosen for our farm/school's name because it conveys something that we feel is unique in our approach to both growing and teaching here on the farm. While there are many places, books and ways to learn about gardening or working with the Earth, there are very few that put the needs of the Earth first. This means not just thinking about production and convenience for ourselves but making the effort to step forward gently with real ecological/spiritual integrity. In everything we do we try to honor the ancient agreements with Nature. These agreements, which enabled our ancestors to survive and us to be here now, have long since been ignored and forgotten by western culture. Even radical forms of "environmental" action like organic gardening, permaculture and wilderness skills such as hunting and foraging are done with little or no thought as to the consequences of what we're taking. We are always in the center of our thoughts and move forward with unflinching entitlement to what we take." Find out more about Steven, his beautiful books, the incredible Sacred Gardener school and more at www.thesacredgardener.ca

Friends, I had such an inspiring and useful conversation with Jan Dworkin! I loved her unique and powerful definition of embodiment. We spoke about human relationships in so many ways - what makes a "successful relationship" (hint - not just one that lasts forever.) We spoke about relationships as ground for profound learning, and that "learners can never be losers." Of course we spoke about quarantine and responses to the pandemic and how that can show up in so many ways in our relationships. We also explored the interesting territory of framing our differences as resources, both in intimate relationships and in the world at large. Jan spoke about the deep importance of expressing appreciation and gratitude, especially at this time when many of us are struggling. We also spoke about different flavors and impacts of guilt - and how in many ways it can be a force for positive change. I hope you love our conversation as much as I did! Her book is also fantastically insightful and practical as well as being a deeply enjoyable read that both invites deep introspection as well as laughing out loud. Highly recommended! Special thanks to our mutual friend, the gifted artist and Process Work Facilitator, Randee Levine, who brought us together for this conversation. Jan Dworkin, PhD, has more than 25 years of international, cross-cultural experience as a couples therapist and leadership coach. She is one of the founders of the Process Work Institute (PWI), a not-for-profit graduate school dedicated to research and training in process-oriented psychology. She co-created its master's degree programs and served as its academic dean for over a decade; she continues to teach training workshops worldwide. Jan coaches leaders and teams across sectors, specializing in conflict facilitation and leadership development in creative industries. She is the author of Make Love Better: How to Own Your Story, Connect with Your Partner, and Deepen Your Relationship Practice (Belly Song Press, 2019). Jan has recently been featured as an expert advisor for her work with couples under quarantine on The Love Doctor is In and Fox2Detroit news. Based in Portland, Oregon, she lives with her husband, Jerry, and their Corgi, Mattie. To learn more about Jan's work and her book go to www.jandworkin.com You can order her book at Powell's in Portland https://www.powells.com/book/-9781733901109 Or on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Make-Love-Better-Relationship-Practice/dp/1733901108/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572929540&sr=1-1 To learn more about the Process Work Institute https://www.processwork.edu/