The trick has always been to be quiet enough to hear the things that need to be heard. Or at least willing to put one’s ear to the ground (or sky or heart) of silence in order to pick up something new/ancient, beyond the all-too-human. It turns out silence is not empty, but rich with raucous conversations. The poems harvested here include a biodiversity of voices: of the more-than-human, alter-egos, inner voices, ancestors, Muse, Mystic, and Mystery. Conversations with archetypes such as The Artisan, The Priestess, Butterfly, the Emperor of Dust, and Tumbleweed Tøm, reveal astonishing perspectives on cosmic unfolding, grief, belonging, presence, and post-imperial imaginings.

Whether maniacal or mysterious, delusional or delicious, An Ambitious Silence offer a symphony of vibrant voices and a multitude of un-author-ized conversations worth leaning into.

Order Here.
Released Sept. 1. Books will be shipped then.

You can also get a digital E-book of An Ambitious Silence sent directly to your device from Amazon.

Ryan Van Lenning, M.A., is author of Trust the Ceremony, F*ck the Ceremony, Trust the Ceremony, Re-Membering: Poems of Earth and Soul, One Bright and Real Caress, From Inside These Wild Ones, and High-Cooing Through the Seasons, a collection of haiku. His new collections Becoming Beautiful Barbarians and Riverever will be released throughout 2025-26. He is the 2019 recipient of Jodi Stutz Poetry Award by Toyon Literary Magazine and his work appears in journals and the books A Walk with Nature: Poetic Encounters That Nourish the Soul and Behind the Mask: 40 Quarantine Poems from Humboldt County.  Ryan is founder of Wild Nature Heart, supporting people to re-connect with the wisdom of both inner and outer nature, to live their callings into the world, and to assist in the work of repairing broken belonging during this Great Turning. He is a teacher, ecotherapist, and wilderness rite-of-passage guide and lives among the forests and rivers of Northern California.

Testimonials for previous collection Re-Membering:

“Bless Ryan Van Lenning for listening to the wild voices and bringing back the news for those who have lost their way. Bless him for reminding us of our original love affair with the earth and of what we know deep in our souls. His poems give wise counsel: let go of the debris, remember who you are, do not abandon your luminous thread.” —Lorraine Anderson, editor of Sisters of the Earth and Earth & Eros “Ryan’s poetry speaks deeply and clearly to the awakening to our true interconnected nature, which is the only way we can transform our world.” –Molly Young Brown, Author of Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects (co-authored with Joanna Macy), Editor of Deep Times: A Journal of the Work That Reconnects

“Ryan’s poetry sprouts out of him from moist, fertile soil – painting a lush landscape of sensual and philosophical magic. His poems transport you to a way of living in relationship with the earth that is lovingly intimate. Ryan integrates body, spirit, and social commentary into a vision of how to live a nature-inspired life amidst noise and overrun technology. ” Ariana Candell, LMFT, Founder of The Earthbody Institute

In addition to offering evergreen earth-rooted mentoring and ecotherapy, and custom wilderness rite-of-passage ceremony, I’m thrilled to be able to offer a basketful of programs in the next few months.

Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (begins Oct. 1) was Wild Nature Heart’s first flagship course, foundational deepening in our earth-connectedness and supporting your next, aligned steps. This will be the fourth round, and anchors on what I call the 7 Ps of Belonging (Pace, Place, People, Purpose, Play, Pain, and Possibility). The next round of Earth Intimacies, beginning Sept. 5, will be the third round, this time adding new more-than-human kin with whom we will apprentice, an exploration of soundscapes, and a new session on being what I’m calling “Emergence Aware”, the mirror of being ‘Collapse Aware.’ Write Your Wild River‘s first two rounds were so so sweet, fun, and creative that I’m already eager for cohort that begins October 2. If you’re looking to support your creative awesomness, this is a great container for that.

See more below:

DEEP BELONGING IN THE GREAT TURNING (6 Wednesdays beginning October 1)
Situating our current moment of multiple crises and opportuunity as the Great Turning, Deep Beloning is a 6-week experience for people hearing the call to cultivate their ecospirituality, deepen their journey beyond inherited scripts, and practice belonging to pace, place, and purpose as we intentionally meet this collective initiation of intersecting ecological/social crises and opportunity.

We explore what I call the seven Ps of Belonging (Place, Pace, People, Purpose, Pain, Pleasure, and Possibility). For example, how do we divest from the Colonial Clock and re-connect more deeply to natural cycles (season, moon, sun, deep time) and to the pace of the body? How can we think of our wild purpose ecologically, as a niche in the ecosystem of repair? How to we both not turn away from the wounds of the world, while also allowing our pleasure to be liberatory? (Find out More HERE)

🦋EARTH INTIMACIES (Every other Friday beginning Sept. 5)
Earth Intimacies is a 6-week interactive course dedicated to intentionally re-inhabiting the animate web of life. We will deepen our ecospiritual intimacies by tending sacred relationships with the other-than-human world (including Water, Moon, Lichen, Mycelium, feathered friends, Soundscapes, Emergence, and more), practice cultivating belonging and honoring longings, and proliferate imaginal buds for what is emerging in this Great Turning.
(Find out More HERE)

💦 WRITE YOUR WILD RIVER: A 6-WEEK Poetry & Nature Playshop (Beginning Oct. 2)
This 6-week workshop explores the play/craft of creative writing through an embodied, earth-centered, liberatory lens, and simultaneously, explore our embodied, earthy, multi-faceted selves through the exploration of poetry.

We will create a river of words that tap into Earth as poet and the melody of our whole, multi-faceted, messy, brilliant selves. Each week will focus on a different theme (see below), using open conversation, embodied practice, and visualization as inspiration for creative experimentation. Each week includes generative writing prompts, somatic solicitations, readings of poems, spaciousness for exploring particular energies, and generous mirroring in a relaxed, supportive online environment.

No previous poetry or creative writing experience required. All experiences levels welcome.