Ancestral Longings

A recent article in our local paper sparked my interest around an issue that until the past year and a half, has been a non-issue for most of my life. The article examines the declining trend of hunting in America today, with 33 states seeing decline in hunting license sales in the past two decades. I encourage you to read the article and make some assessments for yourself about hunting.

I've recently had this urge (ancestral memory if you will) to start hunting. Lots of things have propelled me to this state: my time at Wilderness Awareness School and Tracker School, being around more men who are avid hunters themselves, and reading From Boys to Men of Heart.

As I've mentioned before, I grew up in a family that did not value hunting. I had one uncle who did hunt but throughout most of my childhood I did not relate to him much. There was always this mixing of ideas when it came to the idea of hunting. I grew up in a pacifist religious tradition and when it came to the issue of hunting (specifically using guns), I tended to lump it in with the other issues such as gun violence and injustice. This was so impressed on me that I was not permitted to have toy guns when I was growing up. How I managed to talk my mom into a super-soaker is beyond me... I did always have a fascination with archery in-lieu of firearms. I even used to view my friends that were hunters as somewhat barbaric in my youth and early 20's.

Something profound has happened to me in the past 18 months.

I'm actually longing to become a hunter.

Alot of it has to do with me rethinking the spiritual and initiation implications that are found in hunting. It also has a lot to do with the re-wilding of my self, my community and my faith. I really am becoming the mythical wild man that I have so often read about. I really want to expand on this longing right now and I hope that I can give some more intentionality and focus to this desire to partake in a sacred hunt, harvest an animal and use every part of it as a way of honoring it's life. More to come... 

TV and Babies

Study finds that babies (2 and under) who watch a minimum of 60 minutes of TV a day have slower cognitive development than those that watch little to none. Read more by clicking here.

I always struggled with the language that a "TV is the best babysitter there is," now I know why. It seems that it is actually the worst kind of babysitter...

Inward Inklings

With the weather now permanently settling into the teens, I suspect that my time indoors will be spent writing: reflections in my journal, songs and blog posts.

So be on the lookout for more posts here as well as some possible podcasts as well.

The Need for Nature Connection - Play Again movie

A movie that speaks to the importance of nature connection.

Check out the Play Again Film here.

Drawing Inspiration

So what's fueling me of late you might ask?

Ancient Paths Outdoor School
CrossFit Training
'Natural' Spirituality
Fleet Foxes
Studying Aikido
Warrior Reading
Mumford & Sons

Ancient Tradition Recognized

Druids are now officially recognized as a religious group in the UK. Read more here.

Nature is a (dangerous) Museum

A friend of mine just sent me a link to this article. The article is speaking in defense of allowing children to use knives and the modern mindset we have around the issue but the article went deeper as it explored the honest relationship that most people have with nature. I plan to post my own thoughts on this subject in a later post but for now check it out.

What are your thoughts?

Wolves at our gate

So I recently picked up a copy of Illinois Outdoor News and read an article about the recent history of wolves in this area. I was even more surprised to discover that a wolf had been shot right here in Lena in February 2008!

I posted a few years ago about cougar sightings in NW Illinois and last summer a black bear was about 7 miles from our house.

Thinking again how great it is to be in a part of the Midwest that has some exposure to these mammals.

Mentoring awareness

Here's Jon Young talking about the power of mentoring and awareness.

This comes from the upcoming film The Great Turning.

Is the postindustrial economy more congenial to women than men?

This article caught my attention.

It's entitled "The End of Men" and it is rather lengthy but worth the read.

As many of you know that I have been interested in masculine spirituality for almost a decade and I am hoping to get more involved as I am able. This article sure got my wheels spinning again and how my outdoor education fits into this puzzle as well.

I'll possibly post a response to this in the future but for now am willing to sit with it for a while.

Begin a New Journey

Here it is, the project I've been working on for the past month or so...


This is the first step in getting my name and new creation out there for people to see. There is still a lot to be done but hopefully this gets you more interested in the kind of work I am called to.

I'm also planning to create a Facebook page as a way of networking and communicating this vision.

Tracking with Heart, Mind & Soul

I've been consumed lately with studying for my Tracker Evaluation next month in northern Wisconsin. I've really enjoyed getting into distinguishing intricacies between different species. Tracking has been a passion of mine for at least 5 years and I am setting goals for myself to learn as much as I can from now and even during the eval to help facilitate my connection to the natural world even more. There are multiple levels to be obtained and I am taking the Track & Sign Eval and hope to someday take the Trailing Eval as well.

I am also currently weaving the tracking theme into spirituality (i.e. sermon & writings) in hopes to awaken people's understanding of the connection between the natural world and faith.

Baring it All pt. 2

Okay so I bumped into a guy at the gym that was wearing a pair of Nike Free 5.0. The shoe is meant to replicate the flexibility and movement of the bare foot. You can check out a video here. I'm not one that will support Nike but I think that just like other corporations there is a shift of thinking into making products that are more natural feeling...

What is it with the footwear theme for me this week? First it was a post about the Vibram FiveFingers and barefoot running and now the Nike Free 5.0?

Maybe it is because I am a barefoot advocate and am thinking more and more about running barefoot. Why not right? I prefer to be barefoot any other time...

Coming Soon...

I'm presently fleshing out my vision for an Outdoor School here in the Midwest. Here's what I've been working on specifically:

Vision Summary
Statement of Need
School Philosophy
Programs
Leadership Positions
Marketing Strategies
Equipment and Supplies List
Proposed Budget
Time line
Lesson Plans and Presentations
Song Archive

There has been nothing but good medicine since I said yes to this journey a year ago. And it doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon. Grateful for the connections I am making and the energy that is coming with this vision!

Baring It All

A couple of my classmates at Wilderness Awareness School wore these Vibram FiveFingers shoes and I was quite intrigued by them. It was really cool to read this article about the benefits of barefoot running

I would love to get a pair of these if they weren't so expensive. Oh well, if I wait a year or two there will be generic versions of them out.

Attention is the Holy Grail

An interesting article on the effects of our information and technological overload on our brains and how we might repair them.

I know why I feel so much more alive and capable of making sound decisions when I'm in the woods and away from all of that technological crap!

Threads...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have stepped back into a world that hasn't changed and even though I can speak with more clarity about what it is that I am doing, people still aren't really getting it. Guess I need to follow my own motto from Survivor Camp: "Don't tell them, show them."

Thus an elder's poem really speaks to me at the moment...

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

- William Stafford

Check out Ched

I'd heard a bit about Ched Myers when I posted back in December about Feral Christianity and have had a few days to check out some of the stuff he's been saying and I really am liking the message that he is bringing the church today and how so much of it fits what I've been doing and experiencing the past 10 months of my life and faith development. Click on the link or here to go to his web-page.

Flying with the Fastest Birds on the Planet

Been doing some great bird language and interpretation studies and came across this video of the Peregrine Falcon and the Northern Goshawk. Absolutely amazed by the speed and grace of these two raptors. Love the camera angles from the birds perspective!

Immerse Them

WWJD?

I think he'd start an immersion program. In essence that is what he did when he called his disciples. A full on living immersion experience. I think the church no longer is that immersion experience, it is more like dabbling... When I say immersion program what I'm speaking of is a similar model to that which I experienced while at WAS and that might be harder to explain right now but in my head it makes sense and now it is a matter of fleshing that out. When Jon Young spoke with us a month ago he said that he'd like to see an immersion program in every town.

More thoughts to come as they come to me but this here has a lot that I can work with and expand upon.

Graduation thoughts

This the short reflection I gave at my graduation from Wilderness Awareness School:

American poet Mary Oliver asks at the end of her poem "The Summer Day"
Tell me, what is it that you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I know that for those of us who came to the Anake Outdoor School nine months ago we were seeking the answer to that question of what would we do with this wild and precious life? A journey that had many discoveries along the way...

So what did we discover?
1. Tracking isn't just something that happens in substrate or on the trees around us but it also means tracking what is going on inside our hearts, minds and souls.
2. Before coming to WAS we knew that the birds were always speaking but now we know that they have something to say.
3. Fire by bow drill or hand drill is no longer something that we always have to do solo, in fact, it often increases the chance of a coal when we work at it together.
4. And community is often broken up into two words "commune" and "unity", we often tend to emphasize the "unity" aspect of that word but the minister in me is more attracted to the "communion" aspect of that word meaning that it is about being present with one another especially when we don't always have "unity".

I've been asked by family and friends back in the Midwest "What will you do with this schooling?"
I don't think that they are asking the right question when I hear this. There's an implication that the stuff we are learning and have learned is something that we'll do later on. And I think I speak for my 30 Anake classmates when I say that we're already doing this, it isn't something that will happen later on. And in that way of doing and in that way of being... we have become more connected to our one wild and precious life!!

Holding On and Letting Go

So much to blog about... so little time in which to do so.

After giving the blog a fresh look and celebrating my 30th birthday yesterday, I'm more centered on the tasks that lie ahead...

Primary thing on my mind is that have transitioned back into a world that has not changed. The past 9 months have been one of true transformation and reawakening to my life's passion and now I step back into a world seeing it with new eyes but knowing that it will be making the same demands of me. What will I hold on to and what will I let go of in this transitional time?

Discerning how I will hold on to my vision: As one who walks the edges of the church (i.e. coyote, scout) and pulls folks out from time to time into a wilderness faith journey.

More to come....

What is to Come, What will Be

Sitting here at the Lake House @ Lake Margaret and thinking about my blog....

I just deleted the A Place Apart blog after really nothing has been happening for nearly a year and I'm starting to contemplate just how much attention I want to continue to give to this blog.

In the beginning (5 years ago) when I started this blog it was riding a wave of new media formats that allowed me to put myself out there in regards to what was going on in my brain... Now I'm not so sure how that will continue. It also has a lot to do with my lack of time spent on the computer these past 8 months and I'm sure that once I get more settled somewhere I'll be able to come back to it more often. I'm not saying in any way that this blog is finished, it too is at a crossroad for how I'll use it in the future...

So with that I thought I'd post a little about what has been happening of late...

I have spent the past 2 months making some connections via outdoor education by sending my resume to a ton of places. I did get some bites but nothing has manifested itself yet. My wife presented me with the awesome challenge of starting to write down my vision of what it is I want to do with these skills and knowledge with the intent of being really serious about forming our own outdoor education/wilderness school/retreat center etc... in the Midwest.

So I am planning to spend some time this coming weekend in SW Oregon for a retreat of my own and begin to put some vocabulary flesh to this vision that is unfolding in my life.

If time allows then I will post that on this blog... until then I will be having the time of my life as we move into Scout Week, Survival Week and the last week together as Anake community.

Connected but to What?

Just came across this study from the Children and Nature Network:

The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones.

Read more about the study by clicking here.

In related news, the No Child Left Inside Act that is reportedly in the President's Budget.

What's up with the blog?

As to be expected, I have been quite busy with school this quarter and it has been difficult to find much time to blog. It has also been difficult because I've not had access to the internet like before. I hope that as I am able I can begin posting some more. So much is happening and it really has been a blessing.

This spring, I am looking forward to family and friends visiting as well as making a shift to live out on the western edge of camp to conduct my own primitive living experience for the last 10 weeks of school. Maybe then I'll be able to offer some reflections... come to think of it, since it is a primitive living experience then I may not be posting.....

Stay tuned.....

Renewing Medicine for 2010

1) Review of Good Medicine

What have been those special sacred times when we were most connected to the Earth, other people, and our sacred path?

2) Stepping Stones of our Vision and Path

What have been the keystone events in our life's path that lead us to this moment?

3) Synchronicity

When has the sacred been present in our life?

When have their been clear signs of this and what form has this taken?

4) Gifts

What are our natural gifts, talents, and creative/sacred powers?

What have other seen in you?

5) Obstacles

What obstacles and blocks have their been on our path?

How have we overcome them?

6) Forgiveness and Release

What do we need to let go of?

What expectations do we have of ourselves and others that we need to let go of?

7) Vision

What is our future ideal vision or dream?

Where are we going and how do we get there?