Thirty years ago I gave a presentation that would change my life. I was a Pagan environmental activist and had been invited to deliver a talk at an academic conference at Newcastle University. The event, ‘Paganism in Contemporary Britain’, was the first international academic conference on the subject of Pagan studies and they wanted a Pagan perspective on the environmental crisis. My presentation was called ‘Sacred Ecology’, and it led to me doing a PhD. ‘Sacred Ecology’ was subsequently published and has been more widely read than anything I’ve written since.

'Sacred Ecology' considers the environmental crisis and asks; how can we achieve real change? I consider philosophical options, including Social Ecology and Deep Ecology. I reject both, and present instead my vision for a somatic philosophy that embraces our embodied knowing. I propose ecstatic Pagan ritual as a fundamental pathway to embodied knowing. Such rituals enables us to reconnect with ourselves, healing the rift between body & mind and gifting us a deep knowing of the sacredness of the Earth.

Passionate and radical, this presentation is perhaps more important now than it was thirty year ago.

In this episode, I’m privileged to speak with three Indigenous spiritual leaders. In the first interview I talk to two members of the Willkasara Medicine Family, who have been leading Plant Medicine Ceremonies and Retreats for 50 years. Wachan Bajiyoperak is from a lineage of Peruvian Medicine People. His partner Martika Gomez is a descendent of the Kogi people. They live with their daughter, Shiqwarkenty, in the Sacred Valley of the Inca in Peru. They work with powerful plants including Grandfather Wachuma, the spirit medicine from the San Pedro cactus.

My second interview is with Shaneihu, a member of the Yawanawá tribe, and chief of his village in Brazil. Shaneihu has received teachings from different Yawanawa spiritual leaders is steeped in their traditional knowledge.

He spends most of his time at Yawarani village, where he receives small groups for spiritual learning and healing. I was fortunate enough to interview him live during a rare visit to the UK.

I've edited out the translation of my questions, but Shaneihu's replies are unedited. Indigenous voices are often silenced and I want you to hear what he says in his own language. The translation was provide by the anthropologist and writer Maria Fernanda Gebara.

These two ancient traditions are geographically far apart, but have much in common. Sacred Medicine plants are important in both cultures as is an intimacy with the natural world. Wachan and Shaneihu urge us to wake up from the illusion of disconnection that plagues us. Martika, Wachan and Shaneihu all send us an urgent message: We must find connection and right relationship with each other and the natural world.

The Willkasara Medicine Family:
https://www.willkasara.org

Learn about the Yawanawá People:
https://ikixara.com/

Maria Fernanda Gebara
https://fegebara.com/

This is the third and final episode in a series where I explore embodiment with key thinkers in the field. In this episode, I speak to Lisa Blackman and Glen Mazis, two established and very embodied academics.

Professor Lisa Blackman is a researcher in body studies, media, and cultural theory, with a particular interest in subjectivity and embodiment. Lisa is involved in mental health research and was one of the early pioneers of the Hearing Voices movement.

Lisa was born with a rare congenital condition that made her different from others, and this experience influenced her work in disability awareness and the implications of living with a non-normative morphology.

Her interdisciplinary education, including psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and critical psychiatry, shapes her work. Lisa is interested in challenging normative assumptions about what it means to be human and a subject, rejecting dualistic categories, and embracing radical relationality and interdependence.

In her research with a Hearing Voices group, Lisa observed transformational processes that led to changes in the embodied experience of the voices, resulting from shared experiences and a sense of community. She believes that acknowledging interdependency as the starting point is crucial for addressing the multiple crises we face and argues that the individual is porous and interwoven with others.

Glen Mazis, an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, brings a unique perspective to the study of embodiment. His work as a Merleau-Ponty scholar and a published poet underscores the significance of embodiment and how our physical presence in the world offers us a distinct experience.

His interest in embodiment is rooted in many years of philosophical study and his ongoing challenge to the idea that being embodied is a curse. Glen finds depth and interconnectedness in living through the body, a perspective shaped by the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a philosopher known for his focus on the body and its relation to the world.

Glen advocates that the body is our pathway into the world, enabling us to connect with other beings and entities, creating an immersive, interconnected experience of reality. Glen's voice resonates with urgency as he argues for a more embodied understanding of the world. He expresses concern about the prevalence of a 'disembodied culture' that prioritizes mental manipulation over connections with others and the environment.

Glen stresses that feeling the wonder and interconnection with nature is crucial for addressing ecological concerns. He also challenges the perception of individualism, emphasizing that social bonds and interwoven experiences are primarily expressed through embodied interactions.

Additionally, Glen asserts that humans need to recognize their animal nature, acknowledging that our exceptional capabilities are rooted in our shared animal bodies.

Lisa Blackman: https://www.gold.ac.uk/media-communications/staff/blackman/

The Body. The Key Concepts: https://www.routledge.com/The-Body-The-Key-Concepts/Blackman/p/book/9781350109414

Glen Mazis: http://glenmazis.com/

Earthbodies. Rediscovering Our Planetary Senses: https://sunypress.edu/Books/E/Earthbodies2

Glen Mazis & David Abram discuss embodied ecology:
https://adrianharris.org/blog/2019/06/21/glen-mazis-david-abram-discuss-embodied-ecology/