Show Notes
Today's subject matter is so slippery and mysterious that even my guest, Dr Maya Ward [https://www.mayaward.com.au/], finds it hard to describe, though she's swimming in it. It concerns the aliveness of rivers and the rivers inside us; the nature of reality and realms invisible yet objectively real. It's about catching the whispers and shouts of the world with pen and paper. It's shamanic, ecstatic and emphatically esoteric. It's bloody wild – and I suggest bringing your passport because the places this convo will take you are far out. But also, deep within. If you love all things complex, paradoxical and perspective-shifting, I dedicate this episode to you 🙌
After we recorded, Maya sent this thoughtful epilogue:
We are innately of the world, yet we are also this witness consciousness, experiencing separation. Forgetting, then remembering. "Inside human beings is where God learns", said Rilke. Does separation itself create the possibility of learning? In my exhibition, on the wall, I have a quote from Robert Bringhurst: "Language is not for talking about the world – that's for dilettantes. Language is for talking with the world." I wish I'd said that.
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🧵Threads
A new old way to introduce ourselves
Original meanings of yin and yang
The right ratio between humans and more-than-human
The role of the artist and poet
Ecstatic and mystical experiences in nature
Building beauty and vernacular architecture
Where a lack of trust in the system takes you
Initiated vs. uninitiated ways of being
Small, potent work
Third wheeling the love affair between sun and earth
Altered state work
The imaginal realm
Sufi mysticism
The danger of unwitnessed initiation
Automatic/shamanic writing
Reclaiming 'esoteric'
Acknowledgement of Country spellcasting
🧙♀️LINKY POOS
Maya Ward's home on the web [https://www.mayaward.com.au/]
Maya's events, workshops & exhibitions [https://www.mayaward.com.au/events/]
Maya's book: The Comfort of Water [https://www.mayaward.com.au/the-comfort-of-water/]
Nature Based Leadership Training [https://school.ceres.org.au/adult-learning/nature-based-leadership-training/]
CERES [https://ceres.org.au/]
William Wordsworth [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-wordsworth]
Tyson Yunkaporta [https://emergencemagazine.org/conversation/deep-time-diligence/]
Henri Corbin
Carl Jung
Rudolf Steiner
Plato
Wouter Jacobus Hanegraaff
Gregory Bateson
Book: Songspirals ~ Gay'wu Group of Women [https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Gay%27wu-Group-of-Women-Songspirals-9781760633219]
Alfred North Whitehead
More from Reskillience
I tell a story about a freak storm that flattened our summer crops before sharing a super inspiring convo with Chris Gilmour [https://www.chrisoutdoors.ca/], an emergency and disaster preparedness expert who believes that deep nature connection is key to surviving and thriving through uncertain times.
I tell a story about my inability to change before chatting with a guy who's obsessed with changing everything! Dr Shane Simonsen of Recombination Nation [https://recombinationnation.substack.com/] is a biochemist, research scientist and experimental farmer who is shaking up agriculture-as-usual by breeding plants that require ZERO INPUTS. No fertiliser, no pest protection, no weeding, no watering! We talk about how to run your own kinky plant breeding experiments at home, as well as:
Planting guides and sow-what-when calendars are great and all, but what happens when the seasons don't play nice? When spring arrives earlier, frost hits later, or heatwaves burn your crops to a crisp? There's no controlling the weather, but with tools like phenology, you can make better predictions and grow more food!
NOTE: I've done breathwork every day since this interview and – you gaias! – it's really helping me human.
"In a time of fracturing seasons, when everything's going awry, there are still cycles that we can set our hearts by."