Episodios
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“When we talk about tracking, it's a very holistic definition. It means paying attention, not just with your eyes, but with all your senses.”
In this episode we explore the question, "does tracking help us connect deeply with a place more quickly?" Jon and Sarah, having recently returned from two weeks in South Africa and the Kalahari, reflect on the impact that tracking had on their experience, not only connecting with the land but also with people through tracking. We also look at the broader definition of tracking, moving beyond footprints and into awareness of the world around us, our communication with that world, and how our intentions shape our environment. We explore how connection develops, in the deepening of our awareness that occurs through the process of tracking, in our collective engagement with the present moment, and shared curiosity about the world around us.
Embodying Unity With Nature
If you're interested in the themes of this podcast episode, our upcoming fall program explores how to develop them in your own life.
What happens when we bring the beauty, peace, and flow of the natural world into our interactions and relationships with other people?
In this 7 week journey, we will work directly with Nature, as a partner and role model, toward embodying Cultural Elements of Connection... The program starts on Oct 17, 2024.
Learn More
Harmonizing with Nature
Join Jon Young, Sarah Fontaine, and Special Guests for a conversation about what it means to harmonize with nature, ways to do it, how it helps us individually, and the potential impact on the collective.
We'll look at 3 levels of 'harmonizing' through the lenses of Deep Nature Connection Practices and Neurobiology...
• Personal — Harmonizing with Nature for Inner Wellness
• Interpersonal — Natural Harmony in Human Relationships
• Unity — Concentric Rings of Harmony through Communities
For those interested in our Fall Program, Embodying Unity with Nature, this will give you an important foundational understanding of the journey we will embark on!
Join for Free
Scheduling Note: due to travel and more obligations than usual, we have decided to move to an every-other-Wednesday release schedule for a few months.
Our next episode will release on October 9, 2024.
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“There’s an intelligence that emerges out of being together in a connective way, that we can call The Keeper, or we can call it The Emergent Mind in interpersonal neurobiology.”
"It was an example for me of what I want to build as a community and how I want to build it and participate with people."
Susu, Martha, and Patrick joined us to share about their transformational experience designing a weekend program together for the first time, using principles like Designing with Natural Cycles and the Ten Stones. Everyone that participated was moved by the way the experience unfolded, and what is possible when we slow down and listen deeply to The Keeper, remaining present to what most wants to emerge in that moment within the group. If you have been considering starting a program or offering something, this conversation will inspire you and give you insight into what's possible. Enjoy!
Janet (Susu) Marley is earning an MA in Ecopsychology from Naropa University. She is currently researching styles of governance in traditional indigenous societies of Turtle Island and how such wisdom ways can positively influence contemporary ecocentric and regenerative residential communities and bioregional initiatives. She is a dedicated student of the Tracker School, and committed to carrying the wisdom of the lineage into the future. Janet is a community organizer with an abiding interest in co-creating intentional living and learning centers that model and teach connection and reciprocity with the natural world. She is integrating the 8 shields design model into this work. Her gifts and roles include mentor, healer, event producer, and guide to ceremony, council, rites of passage, ecotherapy, and trauma integration work. She is a Montessori-trained educator and mom of two young children.
Martha Meacham is a professional educator with a Ph.D. in Education living in the Austin, Texas area. After decades in higher education, she is focusing on bringing people together who want to explore deep relationships within nature, themselves and others. She brings natural design principles (8 Shields) to her classroom for first time-in-college students to reflect on what they need from their college experience to successfully accomplish what they want. As a Niasziih practitioner, she promotes mind~body~spirit~soul wellness, rooted in the Earth. Aligned with this, she is an Apprentice Tracker, and a Quest protector. She has also learned Tellington TTouch Method for humans and companion animals from Linda Tellington-Jones. Learn more about Martha’s healing work at heartfelttouch.us
Patrick Monroney lucked into some great mentors and teachers in the outdoors when he moved to Alaska in 1987. He learned fishing, plants, and survival, and started an outdoor school for kids and adults. Patrick has taught flora, plantlore, fishing, survival skills, leadership and community building to children and adults for thirty years. He is a cancer survivor, and his current communities are the Tracker School Keepers group and the Helpers Mentoring Society.
Show Notes & References
If you want to learn more about the Ten Stones, join us for Embodying Unity With Nature, which starts on Oct 17, 2024. We are also holding a free event, Harmonizing with Nature, on Oct 3rd, 2024Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work.
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“The message that I’m trying to get across is that we’re all caregivers, whether we recognize it or not, and the more we can take care of ourselves the more we can spread that into the community.”
This episode feels like a hug.
We are joined by Kris August, veterinarian, herbalist, and educator, to discuss the power of self-care and how she has used natural cycles to create a holistic self-care program for caregivers. Kris' program, Self-Care Through the Cycles of Nature: Creating Your Own Personal Habitat, is a 9 month course that helps people develop self-care habits and practices that reconnect them to nature and their own nature. We explore Kris' journey to discovering the various connective practices that influence her work, the impact compassion fatigue can have on people that work in the world of caregiving, and how starting with self-care can lead to a renewed connection to work and community. We hope you enjoy it!
Read the Podcast Transcript Here
Self-Care Through the Cycles of Nature - Enrollment open through September 2024
Kris' program begins September 1st and there are still openings if you are interested in participating. Learn more about the program and enroll here.
About Kris August, DVM, GDVWHM (Western Herbal Medicine), CHPV (Hospice and Palliative Veterinarian)
Dr Kris August is a veterinarian, herbalist, and educator. She received her graduate diploma in Western Veterinary Herbal Medicine online through the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies (CIVT) and co-created the first hands-on veterinary herbal course with Dr. Laurie Dohmen. Kris values compassionate care for animals, people, plants, and our world, with a special focus on caring for the caregiver. We cannot help others unless we continue to care for ourselves. A lifelong learner, Kris also practices qigong and nature meditation. Kris enjoys bringing a holistic approach to learning through sharing her passions with others and has taught in a variety of capacities from Waldorf-inspired playgroups to Tae Kwon Do, to teaching veterinarians and veterinary students in herbal medicine, animal hospice, and self-care topics.
Show Notes & References
We mention Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon YoungWe mention the 8 Shields Master Class: Designing with Natural Cycles, Village Building, and the Kamana Naturalist Program. All of these programs will be available soon through Living Connection 1st. Join the mailing list if you're interested.Scheduling Note: due to travel and more obligations than usual, we have decided to move to an every-other-Wednesday release schedule for a few months. Our next episode will release on Sep 11, 2024.
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“For me, the whole motivation is to facilitate people to come to a place of vision, is to be really activated in their gift, and really starting to deliver their gift to the world, because the world needs it to function better.”
In this episode, Ingrid and Jean-Claude take us into their work in nature and people connection, through the Wisdom of the Earth School in British Columbia, Canada, and their work in France with Troiseme Option. In particular we explore their adult immersion program, a 1-3 year full-time program that uses nature connection to take participants on a transformative journey, one that helps them connect with their vision and gifts and prepares them to bring those gifts out into the world. We discuss the purpose of immersion, how the journey is healing, and where some of the participants have taken the work after finishing the program. We also learn about what the adults learn from their interaction with the children's' programs, how nature connection differs in different cultures, and the power of deep listening. We hope you enjoy!
Read the Podcast Transcript Here
Adult Immersion Program
There are still openings in the Adult Immersion Program at Wisdom of the Earth this September, if you are interested in participating.
You learn more about the documentary, L’autre Connexion (Another Connection), produced by Cécile Faulhaber, at Troiseme Option. Note: this website is in French, but Google Translate is still quite effective.
About Jean-Claude
Jean-Claude Catry is the co-founder of Wisdom of the Earth Wilderness School and has been studying, practicing and teaching wilderness connection skills for over 35 years. Originally trained as a physical education school teacher in his native France, Jean-Claude left the beginnings of a career as a professional soccer player when he almost died from a serious illness. This awakened him to a path of meaning and nature connection, and he spent over a decade as a mountain wilderness guide, leading groups of children, at-risk youth, and adults on horse, ski, and foot through the French Pyrenees, to support them in connecting to their inner Wild Nature. He established a remote mountain equestrian centre with over 150 horses, now run by a woman he mentored when she was a teen.
About Ingrid
Ingrid Bauer is the co-founder of Wisdom of the Earth, and has been working with and sharing deep connective practices for over 30 years. The mother of 4 children aged 14 to 35, Ingrid is committed to growing peace from the roots by addressing how we practice compassion with ourselves and each other, how we nurture and educate children, and how we embody interdependence in creating communities that nourish and care for each living being within the whole web of life.
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“This idea of the natural mind IS human nature, or maybe it’s nature in human, nature as human.”
“Our nervous system is born expecting that kind of welcome, that kind of attending, that kind of intending. I think our nervous system is shaped for that.”
What is the connecting legacy of mentoring the natural mind? Today, Jon takes on a journey to answer that very question, explore how to mentor in this fashion, the benefits we get from being mentored (and mentoring others) this way, and the future of mentoring the natural mind. Jon shares how he was primed for mentoring by his elders as a young child, how Tom Brown Jr. mentored him, and how he observed this same mentoring in the San people in Africa. He shares what makes mentoring different from teaching and what, specifically, makes nature a mentor like no other. Enjoy!
“I would call them nutrients of our consciousness. Each of these different species, and individuals among the species, that we build relationships with- the more of that we get from nature, the more our mind becomes nature, and our heart becomes nature, and there’s a longing to inhabit this planet in a deeper and different way, where we feel like we belong. And when we feel that, then we really care, and then we really want to help make it better.”
Looking for More?
If you're interested in learning more about mentoring the natural mind or the 512 map, check out these resources below.
The 512 Project
Coyote's Guide
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“We’re in this time when the earth is activating this awakening, we’re part of the immune system of the earth. So then, what do the kids need to hear? Do they need to hear the battles of the Civil War, the names of the Egyptian pharaohs, the capitals of the States? Or do they need to hear that they’re magical beings, threaded to a living earth? That’s what they need to hear everyday from us adults, and we need to give them the evidence for that.”
This week, we are joined by Paul Astin and Jenny Griffiths, the co-founders of Manzanita School & Institute, a nature-based school in Southern California. Founded in 2014, Manzanita challenges educational paradigms and nurtures the whole child through its unique indoor-outdoor curriculum blending rigorous academics, land stewardship (including a working organic farm), and the study of local ecology on its 21-acre campus and the protected lands that surround it.
This is an incredibly inspiring conversation that you won't want to miss. Jon, Aidan, and Sarah were all moved to tears on multiple occasions. We discuss the genesis of the school, what they believe the role of teachers is in helping students at different stages, what the latest research says about the role nature connection plays in education, and how we help students create and reinforce an empowering narrative about themselves and the role they have to play as members of our society and stewards of the earth.
About Paul & Jenny
Dr. Paul Astin, Ed.D. and Jenny Griffiths, M.A., are longtime educators and Topangans who founded Manzanita in 2014 with the intention to create a new and meaningful alternative to the existing education system—one that honors the unique community and landscape of the Santa Monica Mountains, while preparing students to become independent thinkers and confident, embodied leaders in a rapidly changing world.
Dr. Paul has worked in education for over 30 years. He has been a teacher and administrator in both public and private schools, as well as the founder of a health-education nonprofit and a jazz pianist. He has a BA degree in Prehistoric Studies, a bilingual and bicultural teaching credential, an MA in Latin American Studies, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA, where his dissertation focusing on adolescent development and middle school reform won the Dissertation of the Year Award in the Educational Leadership Program.
Jenny has a master’s degree in Art Education and has taught art and organized community art events for more than two decades. She has also designed and delivered courses for mothers in building mother-daughter groups, a project supporting networks of mentors for adolescent girls. She now oversees the Seeds (K-2) early childhood program at Manzanita. Jenny has also received training in leading council and has been leading our parent council group at Manzanita since 2014.
They continue to be inspired and humbled by the Manzanita community, and their dedication to educating the next generation of thoughtful and effective leaders and creators.
Learn more about Manzanita School & Institute here
https://manzanitaschool.org/
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“Sometimes you hit the bramble patches of life and, if you’re listening for where your drum beat is -your North Star- you can just keep moving towards it one little step at a time.”
This week, Jon and Sarah are joined by mentor and author Victoria Mew, the founder of Red Squirrel Resources, and a longtime student and mentor in nature connection. Victoria shares about her nature connection journey as a student, how that evolved into becoming an instructor, and later led to writing books and founding organizations to expand access to nature in the UK. She shares about her inspiration for Red Squirrel Resources where she has created over 200 video resources for parents and teachers that are teaching nature connection. She also shares about the positive impact the Art of Mentoring and the Nature Culture Network has had on her over the years and her excitement for the reimagined Nature Culture Connection Camp coming up in August in the UK. We hope you enjoy this inspiring conversation!
About Victoria
Founder of Red Squirrel Resources, Victoria Mew found her passion for nature connection and earth living skills at 12 years old and deepened this journey throughout her teens thanks to organizations including Trackways, Coyote Tracks and the Wilderness Awareness School. After extensive vocational training, she founded Cultivating Curiosity which has been running regular groups in Sussex both weekly and monthly since 2012, the year she also completed her Forest School L3. She co-authored Learning With Nature in 2015. Victoria is passionate about helping spread the breadth and depth of nature connection for our health and happiness as individuals, communities and as a whole.
https://redsquirrelresources.co.uk/
http://www.cultivating-curiosity.co.uk/
Learning with Nature book
Connection Camp - August 4th, 2024
There are still a few spots left in Connection Camp if you're interested in experiencing the incredible program that Victoria describes in the podcast.
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“How am I connecting? And not just about projects but really about how is my connection journey with nature, with other people, with myself?”
Julia Talk is a pioneer, facilitator and mentor for a life and business in harmony with our inner nature, oriented towards love, vitality and joy. In this episode, Julia joins us to discuss how 8 Shields principles can be impactful in the world of business by helping to improve the culture and connection of an organization. We also discuss the elements of the Profile Journey, a way of looking at how individuals grow and evolve through different archetypes of the natural cycles over time. We also get into Julia's personal Profile Journey with her podcast, and how she has used her understanding of the journey to work effectively. Enjoy!
“I didn’t even realize that it was happening to me until I looked back and then I realized it had naturally unfolded.”
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~Learn more about the Profile Journey in Coyote's Guide
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About Julia
Julia Talk is a pioneer, facilitator and mentor for a life and business in harmony with our inner nature, oriented towards love, vitality and joy. A deep longing for healthy and vibrant ecosystems and a healthy and fulfilled human existence, has shaped her life path. Being mentored in deep nature connection, nature-based ritual work and connective leadership, Julia started to connect fields that are usually not in harmony: life and business. As a mentor, she brings together nature connection and nature-connected ritual work with appreciative business and creates spaces for connection. With her Sacred Business she provides inspiration, direction and opportunities for creating projects and new ventures with natural patterns and principles that build living systems and healthy relationships among people and with the natural world.
Podcast fürs Leben (engl. Podcast for Life)
Website
Master thesis translating the 8-Shields Model in the field of economy and business:
“Analyzing the potentials of an Appreciative Economy for creating regenerative socio-economic systems exemplified by the companies Circlewise and Sonett“
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Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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"Gravity is not just a force of physics. It is a living force, a force in the world that shapes us. And in that way, we can think of it as an old god, or a fierce god, or a wild god. It’s something very deep that literally shapes the alignment of everything in the universe. That’s a powerful thing. And yet is an everyday and mundane thing."
In this episode, Jon is joined by Dr. Bill Sutherland as they explore the effects of gravity on motion. Together they reflect on the subtle and not-so-subtle forces that act on our movements everyday, what happens when we shift our relationship to gravity, and how our movements can effect our awareness of the world around us. This conversation is sure to effect the way you think about your own movement and relationship to gravity. Enjoy!
You can check out Bill's website here https://www.complexitymedicine.org/ or you can reach out to us directly if you're interested in connecting with Bill.
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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We're taking a little break this week to enjoy the summer, and we invite you to do the same. Take the time you might have spent listening to this podcast and find a quiet place to sit and listen.
Move slowly on your way to and from that place.
Open your senses and tune into to what you notice around you.
Take a few minutes afterwards with a journal and reflect: what role does pausing play in your life right now? What are the benefits you get from it? What would it be like to add little more pause into each day?
Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time.
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Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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"Get down to the height of the fox and see through the fox’s eyes and I bet you’ll be able to find the next track."
This is the second episode in our series on the Core Routines, which Jon first wrote about in Coyote's Guide, all about Animal Forms and imitation. We share stories about how animal forms show up in the San culture and other indigenous cultures, how imitation is a natural part of human development, and about the role imitation plays in tracking, communication, movement, storytelling, sports, and even music. Enjoy!
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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"Tracking is like dancing because your body is happy. You can feel it in the dance. It tells you the hunt will be good."
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“You want that part of you that can feel the dance to be in the driver’s seat, and the thinking mind in the passenger seat.”
This is the first episode in our series dedicated to discussing the Attributes of Connection. We look at the Quiet Mind. What do we mean by having a quiet mind? How can we tell when we're in the quiet mind? What are the benefits of a quiet mind? How do we practice and deepen our ability to have a quiet mind?Jon, Sarah, and Aidan share stories of their own experiences and get curious about these questions. You won't want to miss this one.
"Tracking is really just us having questions that are coming from that core childlike place inside of us."
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Bird Language is one of the best ways to develop a quiet mind. Jon shares about bird language in the 512 Project videos (link below), and gets really in-depth in his book What The Robin Knows.
Check out the 512 Project Ring 1
This 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 Language
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"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 1
This 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 Language
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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“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 Charnoe
Shore 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 gathering
Show Notes
You can view the full show notes on our Living Connection 1st site
Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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"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 Lane
The 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.net
Josh'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
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"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 Foster
Craig 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 Soul
Watch the trailer for My Octopus Teacher
Learn more about the Sea Change Project and support Craig's work here
Watch: Jon Young & Craig Foster discuss Amphibious Soul
At the Commonwealth Club - May 2024
Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work
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"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 Notes
Visit https://www.primalnate.com/ to learn more about Nate Summers. Get Nate's book on Amazon.
Check out Craig Foster's book - Amphibious Soul
Hear Craig Foster's interview with Tim Ferriss here
Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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"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.
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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 Knittel
Brian 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 Club
Bay 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 more
Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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Learn more about what Joël is up to:
Connect with Joël by email: [email protected]
"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/portfolio
This 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/96565
This 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-Brahman
My 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 Cole
When 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/alliances
Visit https://www.livingconnection1st.net/ for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.
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