When We Slow Down, Earth Heals - Ayana Young

As Slowness Medicine is being experienced by the collective consciousness on an unprecedented scale, we can more clearly than ever see that the frenetic pace of the human species under endless growth capitalism is the root cause of global ecosystem disruption (one consequence of which is the emergence and lightning fast spread of novel viral pathogens). From newly clear canal water in Venice to dolphins swimming closer than usual to Italy’s coast to record breaking breathable air in China, let’s embrace this opportunity to pause consciously, learn deeply, and critically rethink our approach to the many threats that face our planet and all who share it.

IN THE INTRO:

• Coronavirus, planetary interconnectivity, and what stillness reveals

IN THE INTERVIEW:

• Pushing the belief button: self confidence on the life path
• That underlying feeling so many of us have had that there has to be something other than the consumerist capitalist culture we were born into
• Ayana’s awakening to a life of questioning, seeking, and activism
• The role of the erotic in meeting overwhelm and hopelessness in these times
• Burning ourselves out will not save the earth
• Time plugged in v time in nature and the lie that we’ll be more productive if we’re hooked into technology 24/7
• When we slow down, the earth slows down (literally)
• How the For The Wild podcast came to be (Ayana had no idea what she was doing at the beginning) and how the vision has evolved
• “My devotion is unwavering, but I’m very flexible with how I understand things”
• The cultural moment that we’re in is a spiritual crisis
• Rebuilding consent, trust, and reciprocity
• Planting a million redwoods and building a living library of species
• Striving to be successful while also staying small and slow and moving through the world with integrity

LINKS:

• Matriarch Collective
• For The Wild website
• The 1 Million Redwoods Project
• Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses!)
• Specific For The Wild episodes mentioned- Dr. Bayo Akomolafe on Slowing Down in Urgent Times, Bronte Velez on The Pleasurable Surrender of White Supremacy and on The Necessity of Beauty, Dr. Max Liboiron on Reorienting Within a World of Plastic, Dr. Kyle Whyte of The Colonial Genesis of Climate Change
• Specific Medicine Stories episodes mentioned- Planetary Intelligence, Ancestral Resonance, & the Perception of the Heart w/ Stephen Harrod Buhner and The Boundaries of the Unthinkable are Wavering w/ Charles Eisenstein
• For The Wild on Instagram
• For The Wild Patreon
• My website MythicMedicine.love
• Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy?
• Medicine Stories Facebook group
• Mythic Medicine on Instagram
• Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)
• The Overstory (novel) by Richard Powers
• The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake (article in the Atlantic) by David Brooks