SERVICES

Earth Based Pratices 



Land Acknowledgement: I currently reside on the ancestral stolen homelands of the Costal Miwok and Pomo People, now called Sonoma County, CA. For further information check out Native Land, a site that aims to map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages.

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."

-Albert Camus

My name is Lindsey. I am a certified eco therapist and utilize earth based practices to help support individuals, groups, family systems and teams. I create programs, day longs and intensives to fit your needs.

Ecopsychology is an interdisciplinary field exploring the vital, bidirectional relationship between human mental health and the health of the natural environment. It stresses that the connection to nature is essential for psychological well-being. It also suggests that modern, nature-deficient lifestyles contribute to mental health challenges.

Ecotherapy is a path towards healing and believes that the human mind and body are inseparable from our relationship to nature and the whole web of life. Holos Institute states, “Ecotherapy is a practice that aligns our human selves with the natural world. It is a path of re-connecting the human with an essential, rooted connection to place, a restoration of comfort in nature as well as a remembrance of our inherent (in the bones) wisdom. It is a facilitation of restoring human nature to a grounded, soul-full connection to our-selves and all of our relations. It can be as simple as talking time to be in nature, be it an urban park or a wilderness setting. It can also mean applying mindfulness practices, somatic exercises or ritual in the natural world.”

As a provider certified in Eco Therapy, a rites of passage guide, and wilderness first responder, I offer walk and talk therapy and eco-pscyhology based programs. I utilize my training with vision fasting with Holos Institute, School of Lost Borders and Earthways. My work is informed and inspired by the book The Four Shields: The Initiatory Seasons of Human Nature, written by Steven Foster and Meredith Little.

Earth Based Practices

“Initiation causes a funeral and a birth; a mourning appropriate to death and a joyous celebration for the restoration of a full life...”

- Michael Meade

They are a ceremony or event that marks an important event in someone’s life. Some examples are birth, puberty, marriage and death. They serve as a formal transitions from one social or religious status to another. These rituals often involve symbolic challenges, activities and teachings that convey cultural values and expectations to the participants.

My work is informed by the cycles of nature and transitions of life, death and rebirth. Just as the seasons do, parts of us live and die. This is a continual process for health to be maintained. We go through many significant transitions, identity shifts, and developmental stages throughout our lives. We often live in societies that do not honor and mark these transitions in a healing way. Through ceremonial rites of passage we can initiate ourselves into the next phase of our life. This in return connects us to our communities and our place in the world.

What are Rites of Passage?

Three Stages of Rites of Passage

Severance: This is a process of letting go. This may include something that is not serving you. It is something that needs severing from your day-to-day life. What do you need to leave behind in order to move forward? It asks who am I now? This is the first step in rites of passage work to allow one to step into their true self and what they want to bring into the world.

Threshold: This is also known as liminal space and time. This is created to symbolize stepping from human form into spirit to do personal work. This is the realm between the old life and what is coming. The threshold may look like walking and being in nature a few hours. a day walk, or a full vision fast of 1-4 days.

Incorporation: This means taking into the body. Once you end your time on the land you will return across the threshold. It is here you will hear stories from your peers and will share your story from your time on the land. You will be united with your community and your guide(s) who will mirror your story back to you. You will take gifts and teachings to incorporate into your community at home.

The practice of council is ancient and is lacking in our mainstream culture. It is where stories are told, wisdom is passed down, and where healing takes place. It is radical in our world to take time to be in circle. And it is needed now more than ever.

The four core aspects of council include:

  1. Speak from the heart

  2. Be spontaneous

  3. Be lean of expression

  4. Listen generously with the heart

Sacred connection with Mother Earth and within community is crucial for there to be healing and restoration.

The Practice of Council

Reading and Community Resources

Books:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Robin Wall Kimmerer

Coming Back to Life: Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown

Active Hope: Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone

Wild Edge of Sorrow Rituals of Renewal & the Sacred Work of Grief: Francis Weller

The Threshold Between Loss and Revelation: Rashani Rea, Shayla Wright and Francis Weller

Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World: Karen Armstrong

Dark Ecology: For a Logic of Future Coexistence: Timothy Morton

The Four Shields, Steven Foster and Meredith Little

The Roaring of the Sacred River, Steven Foster and Meredith Little

Wilderness and Rite of Passage Community:

Earthways: https://earthwaysllc.com/

Landpaths: www.landpaths.org

Love Your Nature: https://www.loveyournature.com/our-team.html

Peer Spirit: www.peerspirit.com
School of Lost Borders: www.schooloflostborders.org
Wilderness Rites:  www.wildernessrites.com
Wilderness Reflections: www.wildernessreflections.com

Wilderness Guides Council: www.wildernessguidescouncil.org

Zen Caregiving Project: www.zenhospice.org

Here is templet for a day walk. This is material offered by Scott Eberle. M.D., Rites of Passage Guide (Click on image)