Cynthia Jurs is founder of Alliance for the Earth, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting a global community committed to the healing of the Earth. She is also a teacher in the Buddhist tradition.

Cynthia has spent the last 30 years traveling the world with a healing practice that involves burying clay pots in the Earth called Earth treasure vases. This network of almost 100 vases and growing spans dozens of countries across the globe on all 7 continents. Each vase is filled with its own unique healing aspirations and blessings. It is a practice that has fostered community and built cross cultural connections in the spirit of climate stewardship.

In this episode, Cynthia and I discuss how the Earth Treasure vase practice first came to be and its inspiring unfolding in the decades since. It was fascinating to speak with Cynthia about this unique calling, and I am delighted to share this conversation with you.

Episode links:

www.GaiaMandala.net 

www.SummonedbytheEarth.org 

Nina Simons is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about reinventing leadership, restoring the feminine, and co-creating a peaceful and equitable world for all. She is the co-founder of Bioneers, a nonprofit that explores visionary and practical solutions for many of our most pressing social and ecological challenges.

Nina and I discuss the connection between nature, culture, and the sacred, and how may this help us anchor ourselves in the face of interconnected challenges that climate change poses to our every day lives. Nina also shares insights gained from her unique vantage point of working with multi-faceted leaders from around the world to co create productive actions toward a regenerative vision of healing the Earth. And, she highlights the crucial role of indigenous wisdom in exploring how to foster a more sustainable and sacred way of life for all.

Episode links:

ninasimons.com

Nature, Culture & The Sacred: A Woman Listens For Leadership, 2nd edition

Bioneers

Philip Carr-Gomm is one of the leaders and former Chosen Chief of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, as well as a prolific author and teacher of Druidry. He is also a psychologist and educator, and has founded a Montessori school.

In this episode, Philip shares insights about the profound and timeless nature spirituality practice of Druidry that has had a modern resurgence on a global level. We contemplate harnessing the power of ritual, the Druid practice of entering the sacred grove, and of cultivating one’s own life calling, or what is referred to in Druidry as a person’s awen. These practices and insights are all connected toward leveraging the circle of influence each one of us has in our lives and the yearning to enhance our Earth stewardship.

Episode links:

Philip Carr-Gomm

Tea with a Druid

Mirali Shukla is a bioethnologist, author and photographer with a focus on how local and indigenous communities are spearheading conservation projects around the globe.

During this episode, we discuss how her research and front line conservation projects explore the link between local communities and the natural environment, and how this relationship affects wildlife conservation, human rights and conflict resolution. 

She also shares insights about her trailblazing journey to be the founder of multiple conservation organizations with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Episode links:

miralishukla.com

Kind Learning Organization

iO Conservancy

Mozambique Mangrove Reforestation Project

In this episode we hear from Mr. Benson Kanyembo, who serves as Law Enforcement Advisor for conservation South Luangwa in his native Zambia. 

Benson was named 2019 winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award. This is an annual prize initiated by the charity’s royal patron the Duke of Cambridge that gives international recognition to the men and women who defend Africa’s wildlife. 

In the past decade, more than 1,000 rangers have been killed in the line of duty: 75% of them by commercial poachers and armed militia groups. They have lost their lives in a bold uphill effort across the globe to protect the dwindling numbers of endangered species that are targeted by poaching syndicates. In Africa this includes what are referred to as the “Big Five” (which are Elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and African Buffalo) and also many less popular but equally relevant species.

Benson will share with us his own journey that spans over three decades and has led to his leadership and training of over 600 wildlife rangers to protect endangered wildlife and ecosystems in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

We discuss: the current state of the poaching crisis in Zambia, what keeps him motivated in the face of big challenges, and his deeply personal love of nature and desire to safeguard it for future generations.

Episode links:

Conservation South Luangwa

Tusk Award Winner Benson Kanyembo

In this episode we’ll be hearing from Xinqing Lu, who is leading the work for Champions for Nature. This is an initiative of the World Economic Forum, comprised of a community of leaders from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia with a goal to lead the charge in innovating ideas to address the climate crisis. 

During our time together, we discuss what advocating for a net-zero, nature-positive global economy means and looks like, as Xinqing works to ensure nature and nature-based solutions will be at the heart of international policy commitments in the years to come.

We also reflect on the role of global citizenship and intercultural exchange to address climate change and halt biodiversity loss.

Episode links:

New Nature Economy Report Series

The Future of Nature and Business

New Nature Economy Report:  China Insight Report

In the first interview of season 3, we’ll be hearing from Dr. Joe Parent, a meditation and mindfulness teacher who wrote A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh with his sister Nancy Parent.

This book features the beloved Winnie the Pooh character, and was inspired by the practice of forest bathing. Joe and I discuss a few of the book’s key offerings on how to be present in our lives through the practice of mindfulness, and how the natural world supports us in this endeavor.

Then, for the second half of this episode, we will experience a guided meditation practice for ourselves to help connect with the Earth. Joe will guide us through a profound meditation called tonglen, an accessible practice to connect to our own hearts and facilitate an Earth connection.

Episode links:

A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh

youtube.com/user/DrJoeParent

drjoeparent.com

Welcome to Season 3 of EarthRising. We will continue to explore a deeper connection to our planet by speaking to inspired activists who safeguard our Earth.

As interviews continue to unfold, I wish you the same renewed sense of inspiration that I’ve felt speaking with these amazing individuals and learning about their Earth activism.

First interview of season 3 will be released February 25, 2022.

During the course of this podcast, we have been hearing from artists, activists, conservationists, and spiritual thinkers about how they take action out in the world to benefit our planet. The hope has been that hearing their stories will help us to rouse our own motivation for how to be better stewards of the Earth. And it seems like an integral piece of this motivation is to feel an Earth connection on a more personal, embodied level. 

And so, it is with enthusiasm I offer this first guided meditation.  The purpose of this practice is to take a time out in order to feel more centered in our bodies and grounded on the Earth. 

Tanaya Winder is a poet, writer, artist and educator who was raised on the Southern Ute reservation in Ignacio, CO. She has taught writing courses at Stanford University, CUBoulder, and the University of New Mexico. Tanaya writes and teaches about love in all its forms, and advocates for youth & women’s empowerment, healing trauma through art, and cultivating mental wellness.

In this episode, Tanaya shares about her rich background and breadth of experience--including advocating for land preservation, working with youth, and forming a collective called Dream Warriors Management with fellow indigenous artists. Her actions show how it's possible to harness the energy of the heart to serve and help others envision future growth, and we reflect on how artistic expression plays an important role in these endeavors.

Episode Links:

Words to Love By by Tanaya Winder

Why Storms Are Named After People and Bullets Remain Nameless by Tanaya Winder

Tanaya Winder

Igniting Healing: Tanaya Winder at TEDxABQ