Today’s guest, Stephen Buhner, is such an incredible, intelligent, and warm human. He is a cosmic earth whisperer and a true shepherd of plants and connecting them to the human experience and us to them.

In this conversation, we dive into Earth as an ecosystem and how we can shift back into alignment and connection with the intelligence of nature. We explore our ability to feel through plant medicine that supports us in this life, and also dive into being guided through mythic rites of initiation so we can reclaim the ability of being fully human.

We can’t wait for you to listen to this episode and take in the wisdom of this man—he is a teacher, a brilliant poet, and naturalist.

Stephen Harrod Buhner:

Stephen is an Earth poet and the award-winning author of twenty books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He comes from a long line of healers. The greatest influence on his work, however, has been his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.

Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.

He is a tireless advocate for the reincorporation of the exploratory artist, independent scholar, amateur naturalist, and citizen scientist in American society - especially as a counterweight to the influence of corporate science and technology.

In this episode, Stephen shares:

• Ecological currency and how the earth is constantly in a dynamic shift and how she reestablishes her balance
• Rationalism and the inability to extend our feeling and intelligence to the external world
• Connecting your heart with the soul of the earth and nature
• Non-linear systems, consciousness, and dynamics
• The world as the initiator and reclaiming the ability be human beings

Lean In and Listen:

• 3:20 - Earth as an ecosystem; ecological capital and how the earth balances herself
• 12:30 - Rationalism and its relationship with world- how to be a human being and have a sense of kindredness
• 17:02 - Entheogens and accessing the kinesthetic capacities of the heart and our ability to feel
• 25:10 - Message of depression and anxiety awakening us
• 32:20- Mythic rites of initiation and the world as our initiator

How to connect with Stephen:

BuhnerHealingLyme.com

Resources Mentioned:

The Secret Teachings of Plants

Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Beyond the Doors of Perception into the Dreaming of Earth

Revisioning Psychology

Read more and listen at This Wild Life on Wild Playground