Wild Earth, Wild Soul

A Manual for an Ecstatic Culture

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

Why a Wild Earth Intensive?

This was quite possibly the most profound ten days I have everexperienced. If this is what a small group of people can create in tendays, I know that we can transform this world. We were doing itevery second of every day—we were living it.

—Wild Earth Intensive participant

What if a culture embedded in nature was not a relic of the pastbut a living reality? What if you did not have to travel thousandsof miles to experience indigenous wisdom but felt it in yourheart? What if you knew in your bones the "rightness" oflearning sustainability from the inside out? This is the promise ofa Wild Earth Intensive (WEI), "a time out of time" where a smallgroup of people can create the kind of world they want to live in.Although that world is temporary, the participants come awaywith a much "higher bar" for what is possible in the widerworld.

A WEI is the culmination of twenty-plus years of experimentingwith a variety of "deep ecology" workshops, blendedwith what I have learned during numerous trips to visit theaboriginal peoples of America and Siberia. Those workshops andjourneys were created under the umbrella of Sacred EarthNetwork (SEN), a small not-for-profit environmental organizationthat I founded in 1988.

The workshops were a response to the unanimous sentimentof SEN board and staff members that the environmentalmovement was, unfortunately, solely focused on what JoannaMacy, the remarkable Buddhist scholar and systems theorist,termed "holding actions." When Julia Butterfly lived atop ahuge, threatened redwood tree for two years and whenGreenpeace helped stop nuclear testing, they galvanizedtremendous sympathy for their causes, but, by themselves, thoseactions and the thousands of lesser-known ones were insufficientto reverse the tremendous momentum of worldwide environmentaldegradation underway. Hopefully, these actions boughttime for a wiser understanding to kick in.

To achieve that, Macy and others began to recognizesomething longer term and more effective was called for;something that rocked people to their core and made them lookat the world differently. These innovators wanted to help create aliving culture where ecosystems would be honored and keptintact. Then, as now, we needed a shift in consciousness to spur adifferent way of living—and, simultaneously, a different way ofliving to spur a shift in consciousness!

The growing desire to create a new, living culture—one that is(dare we say) ecstatic—is a response to the tremendous environmentaland social pressure we are all experiencing. That pressuremakes the vision of a life lived in balance with the rest of natureever more compelling. Anyone who has really investigated themonumental trends that are shaping our world knows thatchanging how we live is imperative. But the re-creation of aliving culture is considered by many to be the thorniest ofproblems. The critics balk: "It's impossible, idealistic, andutopian. Don't waste your time." They are voicing a pervasivesense of hopelessness that can paralyze one's best intentions towork to change things for the better. However, the brilliant workof Joanna Macy, John Seed, John Perkins, and other Western eco-spiritualactivists showed me that the feeling of hopelessness wasjust that—a feeling—and not an immutable truth. Furthermore,the track record of thousands of indigenous tribes who have livedlightly all over the planet is evidence that a dynamic balancebetween humans and nature is not some weird anomaly, but aliving reality.

This was the main reason SEN sponsored Sacred Traveljourneys over the course of ten years (1999–2009), taking smallgroups of North Americans and Europeans to meet indigenouspeople in Siberia and the Four Corners area of the United States.The dominant intention of these journeys was to listen to andlearn from these indigenous groups, especially with regard totheir relationships with the land and one another. We came tothem to learn what aspects of their cultures allow them to remainconnected to the land in a way that honors future generations,both human and nonhuman. We were able to visit sacred sites(with the blessing and guidance of local indigenous leaders) andwitness how the people draw spiritual nourishment from Earthand Sky. We found in them an eagerness to share with us not justtheir information and wisdom but their hearts.

A different but complementary kind of journey was alsobirthed by SEN; we facilitated cultural exchanges between someof the indigenous peoples we had met, in which Native Siberianstraveled here to meet Native Americans, and vice versa. Thesetwo majestic peoples, separated by half a planet, have much incommon. Their wisdom, rituals, and enduring celebration of alllife are woven into many of the WEI activities described in thisbook.

Rekindling Wildness

While organizing and co-facilitating these journeys and culturalexchanges, I was able to observe cultural survival skills that hadstood the test of time against seemingly impossible odds.Whether in the steppes of Siberia's Altai Mountains or in thedeserts of New Mexico and Arizona, I noticed that the wildnessof the land penetrates the core of its Native people who, despitecenturies of outside rule, exhibit a stubborn refusal to be domesticated.

Leon Secatero, a well-respected Navajo elder who participatedin these programs and became a SEN advisor, spent thelast twenty years of his life gently yet powerfully encouragingnon-Natives "to make a culture based on Indian ways thatwork." He did this by immersing sincere non-Natives in theNavajos' and Pueblos' land, their ceremonies, and the indigenousrock art of their ancestors. He would say, "You non-Nativesoutnumber us ten to one, and you are not going anywhere, so youbetter figure this out."

A WEI—and a growing number of other alternative educationalmodels—invites wildness back into our souls by helping usremove the imagined separation between "out there" and "inhere." This is what Secatero kept pointing toward. And contraryto the modern notion that to be wild is to be dumb and brutish, itis, in fact, extremely intelligent. To re-experience the wild doesnot imply a return to our Paleolithic past but a return to ourinherent spontaneity and natural strength, a freeing up of theplayful wonder we each had as children and that still lives insideus. Simply put, it is an unselfconscious, passionate love of life!

Anthropologist Bradford Keeney, Ph.D., who has written oneof the most comprehensive field studies of healing andshamanism, the Profiles of Healing series, describes what drewmodern cultures away from this wildness: "The problem beganwhen someone said that words and meanings must explain,domesticate, and cover up wild experience. Within thishegemony of words, we demystified whatever was mysteriousand walked away from the wild in order to become semanticallytamed. We sacrificed our link-to-the-universe-heart for adelusional body-less-head-trip that has imprisoned us far toolong. Consider a re-entry into the wild."

Furthermore, Keeney writes: "The greater mind of nature thatholds our psyche is a small part of a more encompassing interdependentthough always-changing network of relations."

Re-entering the wild and embracing the greater mind of natureis at odds with the dominant culture's obsession with control.Most of us born in this culture have been conditioned to believe inits core tenets unquestioningly. For example, we have been taughtthat we can think our way out of any problem. Therefore, theprevailing educational assumptions are that a "left-brained"academic approach is the primary mode of understanding andthat knowledge is bestowed upon the student by the teacher. Aculture made up of wild souls certainly encourages the intellectualabilities of each individual and provides mentoring by themore experienced to the less. But, more importantly, it relies onthe larger intelligence that is already within each of us—thatincludes but is deeper than thought—to guide the way.

A WEI is designed so that this intelligence can blossom andflourish. It honors the many equally important forms of thisintelligence: feelings; intuition; awareness; body sensations;impressions gleaned from nature; wisdom perceived from ourancestors (both human and nonhuman); information gainedfrom visioning and inner journeys; and cognitive insight. Eachparticipant is encouraged to trust this intelligence—his or herdeepest knowing—rather than simply conforming to the ideasand perspectives of the facilitators. In this way, a WEI modelswhat our culture badly needs, direct experience with nature (inits broadest sense) as a foundation for learning.

The WEI is not a place to simply "go wild" and "hang out,"although there is plenty of time for spontaneous interaction orbeing alone. It is a spiritual training ground for joyous, creativeself-expression and community building. Logic, reasoning,science, and abstract thought have their places, both in the worldand at a WEI; but, ideally, they are in the service of a wild heart.

Elements of a New Culture

We long for the expansiveness of knowing and feeling that weare one with all that is. But in some ways we are also frightenedby it—and for good reason. To discover the reality of onenessthreatens our narrow sense of self. It is a wonderful paradox thata WEI, while providing a nurturing container where we don'tlose our individual uniqueness and emotional stability,strengthens our sense of interconnection with each other and theuniverse. Participants come to recognize or develop theirparticular gifts and see how they enrich the group and,eventually, the larger community. We experience personalempowerment through activities that make us feel safe enough tobe authentic: to be ourselves and to think for ourselves.

The premise is that this place of wholeness, connectedness,and gratitude is where wise actions, healthy lifeways, andsustainable cultures grow. It is the wisdom of the Earth herself,flowing through each of us, that can provide the clearestdirection for the way ahead. It is about each of us trusting ourdeepest experience by being open and receptive to that flow.

There is immense power in the gathering of a community ofpeople holding this intention. What is prescribed in this book isdone in community, with all of us working together for ourindividual and collective freedom. And this community is largerthan just the human realm. Each of us is held in multiple relationshipsthat nurture us: relationships with the elements of earth,air, water, and fire, as well as with the plants and animals. A WEIis a space in which to really experience this.

The many people I've come to know during WEIs do not needto be taught anything during the workshop—not in any conventionalsense. They don't need another dogma or formula forliving. They don't need another tight schedule where they areexpected to rush to the next activity, where time is experiencedmore like a noose than a pillow. What they need most, I believe,is simply an environment in which to love and be loved—to becherished, accepted, and celebrated for who they truly are.

And I cannot underscore enough that the natural world is theideal setting for this to take place. Nature is a profoundlyimportant companion, mentor, and advisor, because it is ourGround of Being. If you sit under a tree and observe its textures,listen to its surroundings, rub the fallen leaves on your palms,and be still, you will gain a sense of connection, gratitude, andawe. I can't explain how it works, but it does—and not just withtrees, but almost anywhere "out there" when we make theintention to connect.

Spiritual Yet Practical

Most of the experiential activities in a WEI correspond toindigenous practices I have witnessed, techniques I have learnedfrom other workshop facilitators and "dharma" teachers, or onesI have created spontaneously as a response to the needs of themoment. The ones I have learned from others are never exactduplicates. The idea here—and this is extremely important—isthat the essence of the activity, not its precise form, has universalvalue and a regenerative function.

This book describes a practical methodology based on theexperiences of many people who have participated in a WEI,including those who have been guest mentors and facilitators. Itis a "how-to" manual of ecologically based spirituality, bothancient and modern, that expands our sense of self to include alllife.

I emphasize the term practical because many people who areworking toward environmental and social change are ambivalentabout the term spiritual. Their bias is that spirituality—a vitalpart of the human experience—is not really effective for makingpositive change, or that it is something apart from daily life.Martin Prechtel, prolific author, artist, educator, and adopteeof the Tzutujil Maya, speaks about this well:

Spirituality is an extremely practical thing. It's not a thing thatyou choose to do on the weekends. Spirituality ... has to havesome degree of social accountability, no matter what layer oflife you're stuck in or aiming at. It's only in everyday life thatspirituality makes a difference. Otherwise, if spirituality is anentertainment or something that is removed from life itself,then it ceases to become spiritual.... I think spirituality is asessential as eating or holding hands or being warm in thewinter or being together as a village. It's all in there.

Mahatma Gandhi was probably the most revered luminary whocombined spirituality and social change. He writes in his autography:"I should certainly like to narrate my experiments in thespiritual field which are known only to myself and from which Ihave derived such power as I possess for working in the politicalfield."

Fruits of a Wild Earth Intensive

At the conclusion of a WEI, we often come to realize that we havegathered a lot of low-hanging fruits that were previously hiddenby the pace of our busy lives. These fruits are both means andends of an integrated spiritual practice. They include:

• Community: learning together while supporting oneanother

• Safety: living in an atmosphere of emotional and physicalsafety while exploring our "edges" and taking risks

• Connection: breaking through societal and self-imposedisolation to perceive our oneness with Earth, Spirit, andone another

• Empowerment: feeling the beauty and power of our trueselves

• Feeling: allowing all facets of our emotional palette,including grief and pain, to arise and find expression

• Fun/play: expressing our innate, limitless ability to riseabove the difficulties of life through spontaneous, joyfulcreativity

• Meaning: choosing to experience a universe that isintensely alive and express our unique selves within it

A typical WEI combines indigenous wisdom, Buddhist teachings,eco-psychology, and the central message of most religions: love!However, the philosophical underpinnings of a WEI are far lessimportant than the open-mindedness and open-heartedness thatthe facilitator and any helpers or guests bring to the experience.A WEI does not impose a belief system but inspires a belief inLife. This goes beyond the intellectual concept that humanscannot be separated from the rest of creation. It engenders a feltknowing that we are the consciousness, or Spirit, that interpenetratesthe mountains, the rivers, the stars, and so much more.

CHAPTER 2

How to Use This Book

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was morepainful than the risk it took to blossom.

—Anaïs Nin

Deep down in the hidden recesses of our psyches are ancestralmemories of when we lived in deep relationship with the landand each other. These memories refuse all manner of subjugation.In these pages, I want to impart the hope and enthusiasm I feelfor our ability to re-create an Earth-honoring culture for newtimes.

My approach is twofold:

1. To provide a blueprint for any small group of people to practiceand experience—through a workshop† called the Wild EarthIntensive (WEI)—the key components of that culture. Thesecomponents are based on what has been historically (andprehistorically) successful and, when adapted for thestrengths and weaknesses of modern participants, aretransformative in the present. Herein you will find avariety of exercises and activities that make these componentsdeliciously real instead of abstract ideas. Theexercises and activities have been highly valued by peopleof all ages but are particularly suitable for young adultswho are disillusioned with the dominant culture and areseeking alternatives.

2. To explain the concepts that support the various WEI activities.I hope by doing this to increase your motivation toremember your "original instructions." Throughout thisbook, you will find quotes from, and references to, amultitude of Native elders, progressive thinkers, frontierscientists, poets, and spiritual luminaries who make thecase that a whole new level of consciousness is possible,based on what already lies within us.
(Continues...)Excerpted from Wild Earth, Wild Soul by Bill Pfeiffer. Copyright © 2012 Bill Pfeiffer. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
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