Resources

Resources on Council, Wilderness Rites of Passage, Four Shields:

What is a Wilderness Rite of Passage (by John Davis)
Wilderness Vision Fasting and The Four Shields of Human Nature, by Stephen Foster and Meredith Little, founders of School of Lost Borders
The Practice of Council (From Ojai Foundation, posted on Wilderness Guides Council)
The Four Shields Model

Related Organizations & Networks We Adore:

Joanna Macy and The Work That Reconnects
EarthWays
School of Lost Borders 
Ariana Candell and The Earthbody Institute
Bill Plotkin & Animas Valley Institute
Joyality: Empowering Conscious Changemakers
Canadian Ecopscyhology Network
Wilderness Guides Council
Craig Chalquist, Emmanence Journal, and WorldRede
Holos Institute
Emergence Magazine
Holos Institute: Holistic Counseling and Ecopsychology Education

Earthy Poets, Authors, Podcasts, and Creatives We Adore:

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Author Of Braiding Sweet Grass
David Abram, Founder of Alliance for Wild Ethics and Author of Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology
For the Wild Podcast 
Michael Meade’s Living Myth Podcast
On Being with Krista Tippet Podcast
David Whyte
Mary Oliver
Kai Siedenburg, Poems of Earth and Spirit
Andy Goldsworthy – Nature Artist
Rainer Maria Rilke
James Hollis
Gary Snyder

Forms:

Wild Nature Heart Program Evaluation

Wild Nature Heart Program Participant Agreement

Wild Nature Heart Medical and Information Form

Wild Nature Heart Backpacking Gear Pack List

“The world was made to be free in. Give up all the other worlds except the one to which you belong. Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.” – David Whyte, Sweet Darkness

“If we surrendered
to earth’s intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.” -Rumi

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🌝BEING WITH Last night a group of about 10 of us gathered to slow down and re-connect to nature, our inner voice, and each other. A sacred pause with the moon. Only the moon hid behind the fog! Or was the fog there to teach valuable lessons?: That our wholeness is always there, despite clouds of distraction, doubt, division that we allow to gather in front of it. That getting thwarted in agenda-driven life (even ‘lets go see the moon!’) can make us notice and simply BE WITH what is right there (persistent crickets, fresh air and summer scents, our bodies and breath and minds as they are, bats and mugwort) After a simple spaciousness of silent BEING WITH the moment, we shared insights and stories that becomes medicine for each of us as we travel this human journey, as we keep coming back to wholeness, our enoughness, and our Groundedness at our core. And as we walked back on the trail, knowing ourselves and each other better, the moon blessed us with an evocative dance through the Monterey pines, saying, thanks for visiting. No, thank you, 🌝Moon. In all the best and wild mysteries, -Ryan To keep in the earth loop of Wild Nature Heart events, sign up for the newsletter and join the #Humboldt County or #EastBay Meetup🦊(links in bio)
🌝 PAINTS HERSELF INSIDE MY SKY This night-owl Luna wild-eyed she paints herself inside my sky washing walls that gather dust making murals moonly must of love and lonely lunar lust illuminating rivers lost coloring canyons filled with moss or mud from eroded banks from many months of ambling aches leaving light in her wake got no gate to keep her out now she waxes why and wanes my how gliding through with brushes wide painting pictures, pulling tides evoking all the scenes inside This night-owl Luna wild-eyed she paints herself inside my sky. Full Moon Blessings —Ryan Van Lenning
🐋 MEMORIAL FOR OUR WHALE AND DOLPHIN FAMILY We will hold a memorial service at dusk for the 181 whales found dead along the Pacific coast this year, the hundreds of dolphins washing up dead on the Gulf Coast, the thousand dolphins found mutilated in France, and the increasing numbers of marine life impacted by plastic. Many hearts are breaking open as we witness these losses. These species have shared this planet with us for as long as we have been human. Our world will be a poorer place without them. Our intention is simply to offer an opportunity for people to gather together and share our grief and sense of loss at what’s happening with the whales and many other of our more-than-human family and habitats. Gray whales have washed up dead along the Pacific coast in record-breaking numbers recently. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an “unusual mortality event,” for both the gray whales on the Pacific and the bottlenose dolphins on the Gulf Coast. Because we are NOT separate from nature and others, we cannot help but be impacted on many levels. Grief is an essential process and a critical feedback of Earth/Gaia itself. Because we love and care for the world, we feel grief and other emotions when we see the harm being done. We are often not able or willing to fully feel or express these emotions for a variety of reasons. The idea here is that by allowing the space to feel and be seen with these emotions, we are honoring nature's feedback loop and can become unstuck. When: July 24, 8:15pm Where: Trinidad State Beach. What to expect: This is a FREE, non-religious, simple earth-based gathering and everyone is welcome. Together we will do an opening circle, share a moment of silence and an opportunity to share our grief, gratitude, and other emotions. Attendees may expect poetry, movement, & singing. What to bring: Layers An item that symbolizes something you are feeling about what is happening in the world and our relationship to Mother/Lover Earth. More info and RSVP on FB Event Page and Wild Nature Heart Humboldt Meetup (link in bio).
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