The Earthly Delights Podcast

Lucy O’ Hagan is a very inspirational person. She has been on a fascinating journey, a journey that we couldn’t do justice to in one hour. However, we did cover a lot. I primarily asked Lucy onto the podcast to talk about her work with WildAwake – a fantastic organisation designed to help people connect to themselves, their communities and the non-human life on earth in a deeper way. Wildawake through Ancestral Skills, Ethnobotany, Wildlife Tracking and Trailing as well as Rites of Passage Training invite people to relate to the natural world in a way we have forgotten. Part of this Rites of Passage training with Wildawake includes a process which is often described as a Wildness Fast or Vision Quest which is an ancient ceremony involving several days of fasting in the natural world with little to no human company nor modern distraction. This conversation attempts to delve deeper into this rich process, why Lucy felt the call to Wilderness fasting and how it deepened her relationship with the land and inspired her work in Donegal with Wildawake. We also talk about the rise of ethno-nationalism in Ireland and consider how combined with economic precarity and misinformation online, this racism might be seen as a symptom of the significant disconnection many Irish people feel to their language, to their tradition, to their stories, to their land. Lucy also shares some of her observations facilitating ceremonies and from her extended time on the land, including the ‘inherent queerness of the natural world’. This was a beautiful chat which I think might serve as necessary nutrition for many given the disconnection, polarisation and violence going on close to home at the moment. Lucy’s story reminds me of our collective need to listen to the natural world, to learn about the ways of our ancestors and to pay homage to these practices and worldviews. You can find more information about Wildawake and Lucy through the link below. As always, thanks for making the time to listen and thanks to Lucy for getting up early for our call

https://www.wildawake.ie/

This week's guest is Evelyn Van Winden, a Therapist with expertise in attachment, behavioural and parenting-related challenges surrounding child development. We talk to Evelyn about the importance of those foundational relationships during childhood and how they affect us as we grow into adulthood. We also talk about the challenges of parenting and getting the balance between supporting and caring for your child and taking a step back to allow them to learn important lessons on their own. We could have spoken to Evelyn for hours and hours and will be sure to get her back on soon, but we hope you enjoy this first very illuminating conversation. Thanks

https://evelynevanwinden.nl

This podcast is a conversation with Declan Hammond, the co-founder and former director of the Irish School of Homeopathy. Declan’s array of skills are vast but with this podcast, we focus in on homoeopathy. Most people, at least in Ireland, disregard homeopathy as woo-woo or pseudoscience but my hope with this podcast is that the listener becomes more open to this approach to healing. In this full episode, we cover how Declan came across homoeopathy and eventually established a school in Ireland, the philosophy behind homoeopathy and how it can serve as a catalyst for you to change your life. We talk about the need for balanced practicality in the world of medicine reflecting on what can homeopathy aid and it’s limitations (in the words of Declan- sometimes a gentle approach doesn’t do it). We also cover some memorable transformations it inspired in people over the course of his career, misconceptions about homoeopathy and much more.

https://declanhammond.com

James Cussen is a philosopher, video creator and the first Limerick man we’ve had on the podcast. He runs a very successful and useful YouTube channel titled “The Living Philosophy” through which he unpacks long-standing philosophical arguments with modern-day application. A good friend put me on to his stuff and I’ve been dipping in ever since. In this conversation, we cover what philosophy has done for James, and how exactly it can help us in a very real way in our daily lives while acknowledging the dangers of overthinking and overanalysing. We also critique some heralded figures in the mainstream and what their success might reflect about our current society. Are we running away from feeling? This was a long, very fun conversation and I know you’ll take something significant from this. If you’d like to learn more about James and his work, check out his website.

https://www.thelivingphilosophy.com or his YouTube channel https://m.youtube.com/@TheLivingPhilosophy

As always, thanks for taking time to listen to us.

Part 3 of our mini-series about direction and purpose in life!

Writing an introduction for our guest this week is an impossible task, but I’ll try. Martín Prechtel is an artist, writer, musician, storyteller, teacher, healer and leading thinker..he’s also one of the funniest guests we’ve ever had on The Earthly Delights. He has lived an incredibly full life and has some profound lessons to share with whoever is open to learning. I was first introduced to the work of Martin by My dear friend Matt who shared with me “The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise”. In this book, he speaks of the inherent interconnection between grief and praise in a truly life-affirming manner. It is one of the most influential books on how I view life and I would encourage anyone to give it a read if they are struggling with grief and joy in their own lives. To be brutally honest, I would recommend the work of Martin Prechtel to you all listening. Why do I say that? Well, if you are listening to The Earthly Delights Podcast, chances are that you are finding navigating the modern world very challenging. I don’t need to go into the many ways as to how life in 2023 is sucking our life force but I know that many of us are left today feeling blocked, numb, hopeless and even apathetic. Martin’s work addresses the maladies of our current situation but still manages to instil a deep sense of hope, love, meaning and gratitude in the people who listen to him talk and read his books. His core messages are simple but profoundly countercultural and I invited him on because I think we all need to hear his words until they sink into our bones. In this conversation we speak about some of the crucial lessons in his book “The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic: The Parallel Lives of People as Plants: Keeping the Seeds Alive” namely the nature of our collective disconnection or what he calls un-intactness, the importance of giving energy towards something beautiful that we will never see fully blossom in our lifetime as well as the significance of attempting something even if it feels impossible. These areas of discussion are so relevant now and it was an absolute delight and honour to spend this time with Martin. Thank you all for listening and I left links to his website and soul-sparking music in the show notes if you want more for Martin. The new album ‘The Sun’s Gonna Melt Your Gun’ is a really touching, powerful piece of art and you will hear a little snippet of it at the end of the podcast. All the best friends,

https://floweringmountain.com/

https://open.spotify.com/album/6N96PXRbD4WVDAbGiClvDM?si=z6FfW-RfS42Brqwg-2VVDw

Part 2 of our mini-series about direction and purpose in life!

Brother Richard Hendrick is a priest-friar of the Irish Capuchin Franciscan Province, now based in Dublin. He was director of Youth Ministry for the Irish Capuchins for over ten years and has worked at both secondary and third level as a retreat giver and chaplain. He is deeply knowledgeable about ritual and initiation within several wisdom traditions and his work highlights the significance they play in our development as humans. With the Sanctuary Mindfulness and Spirituality Centre in Dublin, he has created many youth and teacher training programs around this perspective – the perspective being that young people need elders along with ritual and healthy forms of initiation to help them progress through the stages of human development. In this conversation, we unpack this further with Brother Richard, along with essential components of initiation, the precise role of the elder, and why our parents cannot be our elders. We also hear his critique around the confirmation, the common form of initiation for young people associated with the Catholic Church. This was a special chat with a man deeply committed to spreading insights from many wisdom traditions, not just the Christian tradition. If you would like some more from Brother Richard, he has a fantastic book out called Still Points: A Guide to Living the Mindful, Meditative Way which is available in all good bookshops.

Part 1 of our mini-series about direction and purpose in life!

Welcome out -- Barry Dillon is the Programme Manager at Venture Out Wilderness Project, a registered charity and social enterprise based in the West of Ireland. Barry spent many years teaching adventure sports in places such as Honduras, Mexico, Asia and South America and returned to Ireland 10 years ago to spread the expertise and wisdom he learned to the young people of Ireland. In this podcast, we unpack his experience with the natural world, working with young people outdoors and the specific programmes Venture Out provide. Some of these programmes have helped people that haven’t yielded much benefit from traditional talk therapy and I hope this serves as some inspiration for those who feel that nothing is working to help their mental health, their relationship with themselves and the wider world. I invited Barry on because, as a Youth Worker myself, I see first-hand the lack of time many young people spend outdoors and I sense that this has broader repercussions than we are quite aware of right now, so I strongly support the work he and his team are doing at Venture Out. Please see the links below for more information on their upcoming events and as always, thanks for listening!

https://www.venture-out.ie/

Manchán Magan is a writer, traveller, documentary maker, Gaeilgeoir and polyglot. He is a very necessary presence in Irish culture right now as interest in the Irish language and Pre-Christian Ireland grows and grows. I was introduced to his work by my girlfriend late last year and was pulled by his incredible passion for the Irish language and myth. He describes in powerful detail how the language provides us with a much more rich, more mystical and interconnected perspective on the world compared to the English language that was forced onto us. His recent work can be seen as a plea to ponder the significance of an island losing its native language and as a rising call to explore the Irish language and myth with greater curiosity if one feels the call. This podcast covers all of this in more detail and insightfully highlights how the Portal of language and mythology can push us to feel a tighter connection to our ancestors and to our land. This conversation was an absolute pleasure for me and I hope it was just as powerful for you.

https://www.manchan.com

Melissa Kramer is the founder of LIVE UTI FREE. An organization established to help support people struggling with long-term Urinary Tract Infections. They also advocate for the need for more research in this somewhat neglected area of women’s health. Why arrange this podcast? Well, I think our majority male audience could brush up on their knowledge on UTIs as it has and will impact a large percentage of the women in their lives. I have also seen the crushing impact of a Chronic or long-term UTI on my girlfriend and her mental health. She and many others in a similar situation feel alone and often dip into periods of despair- wondering if they will always experience this pain. Melissa is keenly aware of this, having suffered with this condition for many years. Her own experience of frustration and anguish encouraged her to set up LIVEUTIFREE; in order to push the situation forward and to help others who have UTI issues significantly affect their lives. We cover a lot in these 42 mins; from Melissa’s personal story, misconceptions around UTIs, where the research is lacking and why curing long-term UTIs can be so complex. We also acknowledge the mental health impact of this condition. I hope this conversation proves helpful to listeners and don't hesitate to get in touch with LIVEUTIFREE below for more information.

https://liveutifree.com

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It’s easy to forget that we once had the skills, resources and sense of community to feel confident in addressing these kinds of challenges – perhaps easier to believe that we have lost them forever. Common Knowledge is a non-profit organisation, based in Co. Clare committed to helping people familiarise themselves with such skills while empowering the community to play a more hands-on role in their living arrangements. Spider Hickman is a Co-founder of Common Knowledge and programme director. Originally thinking that architecture was her path, she diverted to contemporary art, then residential development before finding her happy place back on site, this time with tools in hand. As well as teaching as part of our core crew, Spider manages course development and communications. This conversation covers Spider's journey (which is a real journey) to ending up with Common Knowledge, what exactly Common Knowledge do, to Tiny houses - I'm confident I'm not the only one that has considered a Tiny Home over the last few years. We also spend some time reflecting on the collective shift towards wanting a sustainable living situation that we can contribute towards. As someone who is far from handy, this served as an uplifting and inspiring discussion which reshaped my belief on what I could do, in the midst of a cost of living and housing crisis to aid my living situation. I truly hope it does the same for you. Common Knowledge is running courses almost non-stop over the next 5 months or so. Please see the link below for more information about their courses and dates etc also, if you are somewhat handy interested in volunteering with the guys, please drop them an email which you'll find through the link below.

https://www.ourcommonknowledge.org/volunteering

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