Description
“The kind of change we are after is cellular as well as institutional,
is personal and intimate,
is collective as well as cultural.”
—Prentis Hemphill
BECOMING BEAUTIFUL BARBARIANS is a 3-month seasonal journey
dedicated to composting inherited patterns
and imagining beyond the scripts we’ve been shaped by.
Equal parts slow unlearning and re-membering, this journey is for those who feel that the dominant ways of living, working, and relating are unraveling—and know that something else is possible.
Together, we practice loosening habits, reconnecting with the living world, and cultivating new ways of being, creating, and belonging beyond Empire.
Guided by an earth-rooted, liberatory spirit, we weave inner work, culture-lab exploration, and collective inquiry into how we might live differently—with the toys and tools of council circle, embodied practice, nature connection, poetry, art, action, and ritual.
Many of us feel the gap: between how we want to live and how we actually live. Between our values and the stories we inherited. We know that the systems we live inside are destructive and unsustainable—that the Overculture of isolation, domination, extraction, and exile (what we’re calling Empire) is not how we are meant to live on this Earth.
Many of us care deeply about Earth, about liberation, about how we show up with others. And still—we can find ourselves rushing, disconnecting, performing, exiling, extracting. Even acting out allegiances that no longer feel true. This is not a personal failure. It is the water we swim in.
In Becoming Beautiful Barbarians we move with these wonderings:
- What patterns have shaped our lives—and where do we feel them most?
- What might it mean to live beyond the allegiances we didn’t choose? (both individually and collectively)
- What deeper wounds—and longings—are these patterns pointing toward?
- What are we ready to let go of?
- What is already trying to grow through us?
“We have to practice something new, ask different questions, access again our curiosity about each other as a species.”
—adrienne maree brown
Over 12 weeks, we gather in a small group through council circle, embodied and earth-based practices, creative exploration, and culture-building experiments.
The style is emergent, curious, playful, vulnerable, and grounded in practice.
This is not a space led by someone who has it all figured out. It is a space of presenced accompaniment. You’ll be guided by someone living inside these questions—someone shaped by them, still in relationship with them.
We do not rush toward answers. We practice staying in contact:
with what is alive in us
with each other
with the living world
even as old certainties begin to loosen.
“It can be dangerous to investigate what our lives depend on,
to recognize that freedom requires a species scale betrayal of our founding mythologies.” —Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Our time together unfolds in widening circles: seeing the waters that shaped us, learning to stay with the trouble, composting what no longer holds life, tending sacred wounds beneath the surface, and cultivating what is trying to grow through the cracks.
Rather than rushing toward solutions, we move slowly enough to notice, name, grieve, loosen, and reimagine.
This journey is held through a weaving of practice, connection, and creative exploration:
- 12 live, 2-hour gatherings with a small, committed circle
- Embodied and earth-rooted practices to help us slow down, deepen into your body and senses, and build the capacity to stay
- Creative prompts and invitations for the in-between to support listening, resilience, and unfolding
- Optional 1:1 check-ins for more personal reflection and support
- A dedicated Signal group to stay connected, share, and learn between gatherings
- A copy of the poetry collection Becoming Beautiful Barbarians along with early glimpses of Composting the Spell of Empire: 40 Trickster Practices for the Great Turning
- Curated readings and resources on decolonization, hospicing modernity, and the Great Turning
- Additional liberationist and earth-rooted poetry
- Optional: a supported extended day on-the-land through a wilderness rite-of-passage framework to deepen your listening
Here’s the terrain we’ll walk together.
Our Journey:
Week 1: THE WATER WE SWIM IN
Theme: We are not broken. We are shaped.
We begin by naming the moment and finding each other in the story. T
ogether, we start recognizing the patterns, perceptions, and habits that have taught us
how to live inside Empire without always seeing it.
Week 2: TURNING TOWARDS THE TROUBLE
Theme: What we stop denying or resisting, we can transform.
We turn toward this moment as both crisis and initiation.
We explore the challenges and possibilities of the Great Turning,
and practice staying with discomfort, joy, and the long work of re-membering.
Week 3: COMPOSTING EMPIRE I — THE CONDITIONS
Theme: What if we stopped rushing and started tending?
We explore what composting actually requires:
slowness, truth-telling, grief, spaciousness, witness, and not-knowing.
We begin cultivating a diversity of tactics, tricks, tools, and toys for the work ahead.
Weeks 4-5: COMPOSTING EMPIRE II — OUTER
Theme: We can loosen what we never chose.
We loosen our allegiance to inherited mythologies
and begin divesting from Empire’s sacred cow structures and stories.
Weeks 6-7: COMPOSTING EMPIRE III — INNER
Theme: What lives in the system lives in us—let’s meet it
We turn inward to meet the ways Empire lives in us.
Together we explore supremacy, patriarchy, individualism within
and begin practicing beyond punishment, exile, and extraction.
Weeks 8-9: TENDING UPSTREAM WOUNDS
Theme: What we’ve buried continues to shape us.
We make space for grief-tending, for welcoming home the hungry ghosts,
and for listening to our deepest (be)longings.
This is where we begin reinhabiting the animate web of life.
Week 10: COLLAPSE AWARE/EMERGENCE
Theme: What feels like unraveling…is also soil of the new.
We look directly at collapse as both ending and opening,
and we begin making meaning from the mess.
Weeks 11-12: IMAGINAL FUTURES
Theme: Another way is already growing through us
We turn toward imaginal futures, cultivating imaginal cells and otherwise forms of power.
We close by stepping into the pollination party of regenerative culture tending.
“Our radical imagination is a tool for decolonization,
for reclaiming our right to shape our lived reality.” —adrienne maree brown
The arc of our journey draws on a diverse range of liberationists, radical (to the root) thinkers, earth-based practices, a new collection of poetry Becoming Beautiful Barbarians (all participants will receive a copy), but ultimately remains rooted in each of our authentic lived individual and collective experiences, longings, and imaginations.
Along the way, you might find:
- A grounded, relational space to practice living beyond the patterns you didn’t choose
- A deeper capacity to notice, stay, and respond differently in the moments that matter
- The felt experience of composting—working with grief, truth, and not-knowing as generative forces
- More honest relationship with the patterns you carry and the systems they come from
- Space to tend the small, imaginal stirrings
of personal and collective transformation - Simple, embodied practices to root you back into body, place, and the living world
- Creative pathways—through writing, art, and expression—for what has been hard to name
- A sense of not doing this alone but being in it together
“The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist
is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.”
—Murray Bookchin
A CLOSING INVITATION
This is not another workshop—even less a training. It is not something to consume, complete, or get through. It is a small, shared practice of becoming…otherwise. A space of relationship, inquiry, and experiment that asks for your presence and your willingness to stay a little longer than you usually would
You don’t need to be perfect or prepared or fully resourced. Just willing to notice and to remain a little longer than you usually would. After all—Empire has paved over a lot. Together, we can begin to surface what is truer and practice allowing deeper forms of belonging to emerge.
If something in you recognizes this—not as an idea, but as a quiet pull, you’re already in the conversation.
PRACTICAL DETAILS:
We begin January 16
and gather for 12 Saturdays in a small, committed circle.
Dates: January 16 – April 3
Time: 9am-11am PST (4pm-6pm GMT)
Where: ONLINE – Zoom (and practices with the land between classes)
Group Size: Maximum 8 participants
(to keep the space intimate, relational, and alive)
EXCHANGE
Recommended: $395
Sliding scale: $295 – $475
Payment plans available.
REGISTER
Join in whatever way feels simplest
Register on this page, or
You can also send payment or deposit via:
PayPal.me/WildNatureHeart
VENMO: @RyanVanLenning
(add note: “BBB” and your email)
Or email: programs@wildnatureheart.com with your interest.
Accomplices in the Unraveling
If you feel the call, bring a compost-bud (or small pod)
and you’ll each receive $25 off.
The work of composting Empire was never meant to be done alone.
(enter “barbarianbuddies” in coupon field at checkout)
If you’re unsure, or want to feel into whether this is a good fit,
you’re welcome to reach out.
“Without new visions we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down.
We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution
is not a series of clever maneuvers and tactics but a process that can and must transform us.”
—Robin D. G. Kelley
A note about the title:
‘Becoming’ denotes our ongoing shapeshifting and emergent creation, and ‘Beautiful Barbarian’ is our reclaiming of visions and values beyond the definition and control of Empire and dominating OverCulture..
Empires have always called any peoples beyond their borders and domination some version of ‘barbarians,’ which comes from ‘bar-bar’, that Greeks used to refer to those outside their civilization. Probably onomatopoeic in origin, the “bar bar” sound representing the perception by Greeks of languages other than their own. Those who were close with the earth, those with intact cultures, those who resisted the citizen regimes of the hungry ghost nation-states have always been targeted. Rooted in severance from Life, Imperial civilizations—from the Greek and Roman Empires to U.S. Empire and Israel today—use the language of dehumanization and rely on domination, denial, and deception as methods of perpetuating themselves.
So by becoming beautiful barbarians, we remember and resurrect all that Empire paved over.
“It’s not that I like the Empire, I hate it,
but there’s nothing I can do about it right now” —Luke Skywalker, A New Hope
About the Facilitator:
My name is Ryan Van Lenning, Founder of Wild Nature Heart, and I am an earth-lover with a deep desire to be of service in the work of re-connection, re-membering, and re-inhabiting the animate web of life.
My life changed when I really started listening and apprenticing to Water and the seasons. I started Wild Nature Heart to support people at a crossroads to re-connect with the wisdom of both inner and outer wild nature, to live their soul callings into the world, and to assist in the work of repairing broken belonging. If I had to summarize our work for this time: Compost Empire. I believe each of us has unique gifts that the world needs as we birth new imaginations and ways of being beyond Empire, and I love mirroring people’s stories as they deepen into their wholeness and next aligned steps.
I am a threshold guide and barbarian poet of the Great Turning (author of several collections of poetry, including Re-Membering, From Inside These Wild Ones, One Bright and Real Caress, An Ambitious Silence, Trust the Ceremony, F*ck the Ceremony, and Trust the Ceremony, Then Yeses Come Bubbling, Within the Cave Something Pulses, Moon Has a Long Memory, Kiss Me A Huckleberry, and High-Cooing Through the Seasons: Haiku From the Forest).A compost pile disguised as a book and field guide to outgrowing Empire in our bodies and imaginations, Composting the Spell of Empire: 40 Trickster Invitations for the Great Unraveling, will be released in early 2027.
I am trained as a rite-of-passage/wilderness ceremony guide through the School of Lost Borders, certified as an Ecotherapist through The Earthbody Institute, where I teach the Level 1-3 ecotherapy courses, and am a Certified Wilderness First Responder through Foster Calm. Prior to moving to California 18 years ago, I taught Comparative Religion, Philosophy, and Environmental Ethics at Sinclair College in Ohio. I live among the forest and rivers in northern California, ancestral Wiyot and Yurok land.
My current apprenticeship is to fire, seeds, composting, and emergence, and I like cinnamon ice cream, fantastic fungi and lovely lichen, and river ottering.
Recent Appreciations:
“Thank you so much Ryan for a wonderful two months together! Your course provided so much new excitement and inspiration for me. It was really eye opening and truly deepened my sense of ecological connection. Thank you for guiding us through this beautiful course.” —Nicola Gailits, Deep Belonging 2025
“I have worked with Ryan in different courses and contexts, both virtually and in person on the land. I find him to be a skilled guide, gentle but powerful, who creates invitations to experiences that provide safety to swim in liminal spaces where deep work blossoms into growth, all in the absence of ego. Not only is Ryan very knowledgeable but he listens deeply and provides mirroring that leaves you feeling seen and honored. The spaces he creates encourage productive struggle and growth with a healthy dose of play.”—Kim Bielmann, Deep Belonging 2025
“Ryan is absolutely fabulous! He is engaging and culturally sensitive. Ryan is truly gifted. I am grateful to have had him as an instructor for this course.” — Participant, Level 1 Ecotherapy (Spring 2025)
“Ryan’s facilitation was superb. I felt his presence like a steadfast oak, and his ability to hold and meet everything that was brought to class was refreshing. He held the space with a lot of grace and created time for us to meet the grief & pain that lives beneath all that paves over it. It was more than just being given information – he invited us into embodied states of being with the wisdom, and created a structure which offered us to meander like streams through different ideas and concepts together.” —Participant, Level 1 Ecotherapy, Spring 2025
“Ryan created a welcoming environment that fostered a culture of connection, curiosity, and creativity. I so appreciated the passion that Ryan offered in his facilitation; he models to us the possibility of bravely taking steps to live our callings!” – Gemma A., Participant in Threshold: Earth Intimacies and the Great Turning, (Spring 2024)
“There were soo many valuable things. Encouragement and validation for my deepening relationship with the rest of the natural world. It took me deeper into myself and my connection to everything wild and breathing and alive… and I loved being in a small group of wilderness lovers and poetic travelers.” – Sky, Participant in Threshold: Earth Intimacies and the Great Turning (Spring 2024)
“Thank you for your dedication to this work and for modeling new/old ways of being in leadership and community! I gained a sense of companionship on the journey of exploring some of life and death’s biggest questions. The community formed in the group gave me a glimpse into how we can come together to unlearn, deconstruct, remember, and create more natural and balanced ways of being and relating. One of my biggest take-aways is understanding belonging as something inherent rather than “found” or “earned”. Being witnessed and witnessing others after our solo time on the land was very powerful and deeply meaningful to me on my/our journey.” —Leslie Hammer, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)
“Ryan is an amazing human being and teacher. This course will nurture your soul, challenge you, and open up new ways of seeing yourself and our wonderous planet. I will definitely be signing up for another Wild Nature Heart experience!” —Rob Daroff, MD, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)
“I loved this course! This is the second course I’ve taken with Ryan and both times I felt affirmed and supported as he led us on a journey delving into themes of belonging, being, grieving, healing, and growing. Ryan encouraged us to engage with the more-than-human-world on an intimate level of discovery and connection thus cultivating a more earth-centered life. I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking a deeper connection with self and with the natural world.” —Cecelia Futch, LPCC, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)
“Ryan was FANTASTIC. He was knowledgeable and most importantly, a great listener and guide. I greatly admired his mirroring skills, which have clearly been learned from Mother Nature herself. I have learned so much from Ryan and look forward to incorporating his techniques into my practice as well.” — Participant in Spring 2021 Earthbody Institute Ecotherapy Certificate Course
“I find myself repeatedly touched by the depth of your caring for Earth and all her beings and by your dedication to practice and evolving new pathways of relationship and culture. I am moved by the presence that you bring to deep listening and your willingness to explore different perspectives. Your ability to express through poetry and action what’s in your heart and your desire for healthy relationship among all beings is a source of inspiration for me.” —Marianne B. Rowe, MS, LMFT, Summer 2022 Level 3 Ecotherapy Training, Earthbody Institute
“Ryan’s well-designed course on Deep Belonging for the Great Turning was just what I needed at a stressful time in life. The facilitation, knowledge and materials shared were generous and truly a gift to enhance my nature connection and learn about myself. This course also provided support for a solo experience which was rich and rewarding. I appreciated being in a group and connecting with other like-minded people.” — Lezlie Scaliatine, Psy.D, California, Deep Belonging for the Great Turning Course Participant
“Ryan is a very thoughtful and sensitive instructor. His background in teaching and poetry, along with his ability to effectively “mirror” our stories about our journeys make him an excellent facilitator. Ryan helped us to organize our thoughts and feelings in this politically and environmentally challenging time, gave us hope, and guided us towards developing a personal plan for coping with the future of our planet.”
— Nan S., California, Deep Belonging for the Great Turning Course Participant
“Thank you again Ryan for your mentorship prior to this quest of mine. You empowered me to trust in myself, in the wild, and in the ceremony and it seemed so fitting to receive these gifts of yours just prior to a decent. I love and am sincerely grateful for your poem. It certainly helped give me courage to unflinchingly make those leaps over trees and off every known cliff and will continue to do so. I feel super motivated to continue on this path of mine and stay open to all the wild mysteries that present themselves within myself and within this more-than human world of ours. And to taking the next steps in unfurling my own gifts and presenting them to the world.”— Brady W., Wisconsin, 1-on-1 Ecotherapy Client and Course Participant
“This course is a deep-dive across 6 weeks. Ryan’s skill and generosity of spirit has guided me through a variety of themes and practices that have been both thought-provoking and empowering. I’ve valued this time immensely, and the abundant materials provided will keep me moving through this journey for a long time to come. I’ve developed a richer relationship with my Urban Wild environment in very unexpected ways, and for that I am so very grateful.” —Claire (United Kingdom)
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