Ruth is a shamanic practitioner and soul guide working with nature, spirits, metaphor, and healing. She is very interested in these changing times we are living in, and evolving trauma-based narratives into positive futures. In this episode, Emily and Ruth talk grounded spiritual practice, land, creativity, gender expression, ancestry and languaging a new earth.

Episode transcript available here: https://share.descript.com/view/hBHA96K3yTx

Links and references

https://www.ruthcato.com

Instagram @shamanicpriestess

Interlude Music by Jenny Wilde Knight

Intro/Outro music by Richard Boxley

Staying Alive by Vandana Shiva

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (documentary)

The Death of Nature and Earthcare by Carolyn Merchant

Weathering by Ruth Allen

Val Plumwood, Starhawk, Rachel Carson

The Frailty Myth by Colette Dowling

Jane Hardwicke Collins

Jo Hazell Watkins @jo_somaspace

Rosie Knowles (podcast)

Metal Britannia (documentary)

In this episode, Emily speaks with Aaron Lelito about interdisciplinary space, multisensory creative practice and cultivating simplicity.

Aaron is an editor, writer, and visual artist from Buffalo, New York, US. He founded the art and literature publication Wild Roof Journal in 2020 and serves as Editor in Chief. His poetry chapbook, The Half Turn, was published in 2023, and he released a collaborative notebook/art collection titled If We: Connections Through Creative Process in 2024. His work has also appeared in Stonecoast Review, Barzakh, Eavesdrop Magazine, SPECTRA Poets, Peach Mag, and Santa Fe Review. He is a freelance editor, certified meditation teacher, and English educator. 

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Visit the Wild Rood substack to subscribe and find submission details for upcoming issues. An outline of Aaron's editing services is also available on the Wild Roof Journal website.

Website: wildroofjournal.com
Substack: wildroofjournal.substack.com
IG: @wildroofjournal / @aaronlelito

https://aaronlelito.com

Walking by Thoreau

Looby Macnamara

⁠Silo City project⁠

Films: Wild (2014) and Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Jonathon Stalls (he, his) is a Multidisciplinary Walking Artist with Intrinsic Paths. In 2010, he walked for 242 days across the U.S. and has continued to move alongside a wide variety of people and landscapes ever since. His creative work involves ink drawing, creative writing, the Pedestrian Dignity project, walk leader training with Walk2Connect (a program of America Walks), facilitating mindfulness practices, and more. He is the author of WALK - Slow Down, Wake Up & Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour (North Atlantic Books, Aug 2022). He attended the Living School for Action and Contemplation from 2015-2017 and resides in Poncha Springs, Colorado with his husband, Ben.

Find a transcript of this episode online here.

Jonathon's website: www.intrinsicpaths.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intrinsicpaths

WALK - Slow Down, Wake Up & Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour (North Atlantic Books, 2022)

Pedestrian Dignity on Substack: https://substack.com/@pedestriandignity

Walk2Connect Program with America Walks: https://americawalks.org/programs/walk2connect/

Instagram: @JonathonStalls @IntrinsicPaths @PedestrianDignity

Blue Sky: @JonathonStalls @PedestrianDignity &

Tiktok: @IntrinsicPaths

LinkedIn: Jonathon Stalls

Rural Women Walking and Waiting by Tara Patricia Cookson

(https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.49.d)

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

In Praise of Walking by Shane O'Mara

Follow Desire Lines on Instagram @desirelinespodcast

Emily Wilkinson on Instagram @emily.f.wilkinson

www.emilywilkinson.net

Jamila is a multidisciplinary visual artist based inShropshire, UK. Jamila creates bodies of work which raise questions about her role in the world, as an artist, woman, and more. Jamila's passions lie within narrative and layers. Her practice uses found objects and demonstrates afascination with minutiae of the everyday. As an experienced arts facilitator, Jamila often works in community settings, museums, galleries and arts for health.

In this episode, Emily and Jamila talk about creative practice, shifting from the UK midlands to the Welsh-English borderlands, rural/urban contrasts, mobility, belonging in the landscape and more.

Links & references

Instagram @jamila_artist

https://www.jamilawalkervisualartist.co.uk

https://switchmidlands.com

Journeys poetry & art booklet (for Switch Project)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

Steve Thorp is a psychotherapist, writer and editor ofUnpsychology Magazine. He is also author of music publication Ziggy's Lament, as well as essays and poems in various publications including Dark Mountain and the recent Climate, Psychology, and Change edited by Steffi Bednarak. He has edited and contributed to several books on race equality and education before training in psychotherapy and working with school staff and student wellbeing for manyyears.

Steve is author of several books published by Raw MixturePublishing including Soul Manifestos and Pieces of Joy (2014); Soul Meditations (2016) Blue Marble (2017) and Lifesongs (2021) with illustrator, Ruth Thorp, and his PoetryMix series (2019) with Mary Thorp. He also has had a number ofpoetry pamphlets and collaborations with other illustrators including Mary Thorp and Kim Major-George. Steve has taken part in a number of exhibitions including at the Dark Mountain Gathering and St Davids Cathedral, with artist Kim Major-George, and at Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in St Davids.

In this episode Emily and Steve talk about self publishingas a desire line, building communities through writing, indie zine culture, psychology, punk and more. Also included are poetic interludes where listeners can enjoy spoken word by Steve. The ending piece features music by Patrick Carpenter, and was created for Unpsychology issue 9.1.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://share.descript.com/view/1Q82AOIoK6h

Links and references

https://www.unpsychology.org

https://unpsychology.substack.com

https://medium.com/unpsychologymag

https://www.instagram.com/unpsychology

https://www.facebook.com/unpsychology

Get hold of free digital and print versions of UnpsychologyMagazine from: https://unpsychology.substack.com/p/unpsychology-edges-in-print

Essay about current position of Unpsychologyhttps://unpsychology.substack.com/p/steps-forward-steps-back

https://ziggyslament.substack.com

https://www.instagram.com/stevethorp54/

https://www.rawmixture.co.uk/https://www.rawmixture.co.uk/OURBOOKS

Books and articles
Art Objects by Jeanette Winterson

The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

Between activism and academia: zine-making as a feminist response to COVID-19) by Dr Emily Gray

Jo Jukes is an artist, creativity tutor, nature writer, poet and musician. Her self published books Finding Home and A Year of Beauty tell stories of connection with her local landscape in Shropshire. Jo has also released two albums of music with musician Rick Wilson.

In this episode, Emily and Jo talk about walking practice, interdisciplinary creativity, living in tune with the seasons, ancestry and speaking up.

This podcast includes original music by Jo and Rick Wilson. A transcript is available here.

References & Links

www.jojukesandrickwilson.com

Jo's books on Etsy

Instagram @jukesjo

The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Instagram @desirelinespodcast

Music by Jo and Rick (in order played)

The Field

Awenydd

She Moves Through Her Phases

A Lifetime of Digging

Title music by Richard Boxley

The Landing Project is a two-year ACE funded project based in Shropshire that unites artists, farmers, environmental practitioners, schools and local communities through on-farm artist residencies and a programme of workshops, public events and exhibitions. It explores how creative activities can offer alternative pathways to communicate about how we farm the UK, and constructive ways to imagine positive futures for our farmland. Led by artists Molly Brown and Andrew Howe, the project is a creative exploration of rural labour, the evolution of farming practices and future relationships between people and land.

Episode transcript available here.

Links & References

https://www.thelandingproject.com

The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes

Therapeutic Landscapes of Stillness (paper by Karolina Doughty)

Dr Ffion Jones (agriculture & creativity)

Instagram:

@the.landing.project

@mollybrown.prints

@andhowenow

@emily.f.wilkinson

@desirelinespodcast

Opening/closing music by Richard Boxley

Interlude music by Oliver Kynaston

James Aldridge is a visual artist based in Wiltshire, UK who works with people and places. James' practice explores the place of visual arts processes within learning and wellbeing, at a time of climate and ecological crisis, and particularly the importance of including queer and neurodivergent voices/experiences within this work.

In this episode, Emily and James talk neuroqueering, nature and neurodivergence whilst comparing their practices as walking creatives.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Links and references

Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism by Robert Chapman

Neuroqueer Heresies by Dr Nick Walker

Erin Manning on For the Wild

www.jamesaldridge-artist.co.uk

www.queerriver.com

Instagram @JamesAldridgeArt

Instagram @desirelinespodcast

Instagram @emily.f.wilkinson

Dr. Tamara Russell is a neuroscientist, author, clinical psychologist, author, martial arts expert and leading innovator in the well-being space. She has helped people all around the world transform their lives using her ground-breaking applied brainwise techniques for living well. Find out more about Tamara and her courses/retreats on Instagram @drtamararussell, on www.drtamararussell.com and www.thedragonacademy.co.uk

REFERENCES & LINKS

Attention Restoration theory

Wandering mind research by Jonathan Smallwood

The Way It Is (poem by William Stafford)

BOOKS:

Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Adults by Luke Beardon

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd

Find a transcript on Descript

Music: Messages by Richard Boxley

Desire Lines on Instagram @desirelinespodcast

www.emilywilkinson.net / Insta @emily.f.wilkinson

Desire Lines is a podcast created for creative minds and curious souls, hosted by Emily Wilkinson. The themes explored in this podcast are wide-ranging, including environment, arts practice, walking, the body, well-being, health, diversity, neurodivergence, belonging, and more. Desire Lines is hosted by Emily Wilkinson.

Instagram @desirelinespodcast

https://emilywilkinson.substack.com/podcast

www.emilywilkinson.net

Donations: https://ko-fi.com/emilywilkinson