#571: Boyd Varty — The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life

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Feb 16, 2022

Boyd Varty, an author and wildlife activist, shares insights from his transformative life spent at the Londolozi Game Reserve. He delves into the art of tracking not only wildlife but also personal growth, intertwining stories of family resilience and the Shangan people's journey from hunting to conservation. Varty discusses profound experiences in nature, the philosophy of Ubuntu, and the emotional connections formed with animals. He emphasizes solitude as a path to self-discovery and highlights the healing power of nature and community.

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ANECDOTE

Londolozi's Origins

Boyd Varty's parents met at 15 and started a safari business against all odds.
They transformed bankrupt cattle land into Londolozi Game Reserve during apartheid.

ANECDOTE

White Knuckle Charter Company

Boyd Varty recounts wild childhood stories, including plane crashes during his parents' early safari business days.
One crash involved a bird strike, leaving passengers covered in bird remains.

ANECDOTE

Shangaan Trackers and Londolozi

Shangaan trackers played a vital role in Londolozi's success, teaching Boyd Varty the art of tracking from a young age.
The reserve's transformation began with partnering with the land and local Shangaan people.

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Cathedral of the wild

Boyd Varty

Cathedral of the Wild is Boyd Varty's memoir about his life on the Londolozi Game Reserve, where he learned to track animals and connect with nature. The book explores his journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth, highlighting the transformative power of the wild. Varty recounts his adventures, including surviving dangerous encounters with wildlife, and reflects on the lessons he learned from his family and the land.

Lion Tracker's Guide to Life

Boyd Varty

In this book, Boyd Varty merges his experiences as an African tracker and a Master Life Coach to convey profound lessons on how to live a fulfilling life. The story follows Varty and his friends tracking lions in the South African bush, highlighting strategies such as navigating without a fixed destination, staying alert, and using all senses to read the environment. These strategies are applied to everyday life, helping readers find and follow their inner tracks to discover what is deeply important to them. The book emphasizes the importance of living in harmony with nature and listening to one's 'wild self,' which has been conditioned to be neglected in modern life.

The Gift

Hafiz

Daniel Ladinsky

This book presents a stunning collection of Hafiz's most intimate poems, translated and interpreted by Daniel Ladinsky. It imparts the wonderful qualities of Hafiz as a spiritual teacher, including an audacious love, profound knowledge, wild generosity, and a sweet, playful genius. The poems explore themes of the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy, and are known for their ability to encourage love, happiness, and a deep spiritual connection. Although Ladinsky's renderings are not traditional translations but rather modern interpretations, they have been praised for their accessibility and timeless appeal[1][3][4].

How to Change Your Mind

What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

Michael Pollan

In this book, Michael Pollan delves into the history of psychedelic drugs, from their rise in the 1960s to their current resurgence in medical research. He combines historical and scientific analysis with personal narratives of his own experiences with psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin. The book explores how these substances are being used to treat conditions like depression, addiction, and anxiety, and discusses their potential to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and consciousness. Pollan's work is a blend of science, memoir, and travel writing, offering a nuanced and engaging look at the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of psychedelics[1][2][4].

Awareness

a de Mello spirituality conference in his own words

Anthony de Mello

In 'Awareness', Anthony de Mello combines Christian spirituality, Buddhist parables, Hindu breathing exercises, and psychological insight to challenge readers to wake up from the go-go-go world of illusion. The book, composed of short chapters and lectures, encourages readers to become aware of their thoughts, actions, and motivations. De Mello argues that true happiness and freedom come from dropping illusions and living in the present, free from the constructs of culture, conditioning, and fear. He emphasizes the need to observe oneself, understand negative feelings, and practice detachment to achieve a more authentic and fulfilling life[1][3][5].

Of Wolves and Men

Barry López

Originally published in 1978, this book delves into the intricate and varied interactions between humans and wolves over centuries. Lopez uses a wide range of sources, including personal experiences with captive and free-ranging wolves, to create a compelling portrait of the wolf. The book celebrates scientific fieldwork, dispels folklore that has demonized wolves, explains myths, and honors indigenous traditions. It explores how wolves are perceived differently by various cultures, such as scientists, Eskimo hunters, and Native Americans, and argues for the wolf's preservation. The book also examines the historical and cultural significance of wolves in human imagination and society[1][3][4].

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Boyd Varty (@boydvarty) is the author of two books, The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life and his memoir, Cathedral of the Wild. He has been featured in The New York Times, on NBC, and in other media and has taught his philosophy of “tracking your life” to individuals and companies around the world.

Boyd is a wildlife and literacy activist who has spent the last ten years refining the art of using wilderness as a place for deep introspection and personal transformation. He grew up in South Africa on Londolozi Game Reserve, a former hunting ground that was transformed into a nature preserve by Boyd’s father and uncle—both visionaries of the restoration movement. Under his family’s stewardship, the Reserve became renowned not only as a sanctuary for animals but as a place where once-ravaged land was able to flourish again and where the human spirit could be restored. When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment, he went to Londolozi to recover.

Boyd has a degree in psychology from the University of South Africa. He is a TED speaker and the host of the Track Your Life podcast.

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Setting the scene. [05:44]

How the Londolozi Game Reserve came to be, and what happened during Boyd’s childhood that instilled him with a “get on with it” attitude. [08:02]

Why did Boyd’s father and uncle insist on keeping the property that would become the Londolozi Game Reserve when, at the time, it was considered useless, overgrazed wasteland? [10:18]

Boyd shares what it was like growing up as a regular passenger/survivor of The White Knuckle Charter Company. [12:25]

How a man named Ken Tinley and the native Shangaan trackers helped a trio of teenagers transform their expanse of scrub-encroached land into a thriving safari business. [21:03]

On the ancient lineage of the Shangaan trackers, and how the local wildlife came to trust the human caretakers of Londolozi. [27:05]

Renias Mhlongo is supreme among world-class trackers — and sometimes the importance of the work outweighs the will of his clients. [32:21]

Which animals are hardest to track at Londolozi — even if you happen to be Richard Siwela? [37:53]

Because nature can be unpredictable, how do people protect themselves in Londolozi? [41:03]

“I don’t know where we’re going, but I know exactly how to get there.” —Renias Mhlongo [42:56]

How the tracking process has changed for Boyd over the years — from confident child to young adult traumatized by a home invasion and crocodile attack to competent grown-up thanks to people like Dr. Martha Beck and Solly Mhlongo. [45:00]

What is Ubuntu? [1:02:50]

Boyd talks about that time he lived 40 days and 40 nights up a tree — the questions he was trying to answer for himself by doing so, the primal fear he experienced while waiting out a storm, the pros and cons of extreme solitude, and if he’d do it again. [1:05:15]

Stories about bees, the birds who help humans rob them, and the power of the hive algorithm. [1:17:45]

The dos and don’ts of interacting with lions in the wild. [1:29:42]

On the eerie conversation of death, modern confirmation of ancient myths, and the inexplicable movements of beasts and men. [1:34:16]

How did Boyd’s own path toward healing after trauma differ from the way his mother and sister recovered from a trauma they experienced? [1:39:57]

What is ceremony work, and how can it help someone deal with trauma? [1:43:32]

What Boyd means when he says “an authentic life infused with meaning is a kind of activism.” [1:46:40]

How Boyd and I have both been affected by the Work of Byron Katie. [1:52:03]

Boyd’s first medicine encounter in an Arizona sweat lodge, and what he took away from the experience. [1:56:31]

Feelings. Nothing more than feelings. [2:02:49]

Kudus and nightjars and leopards in the fire (oh, my)! What a close encounter with a beautiful predator taught Boyd about Ubuntu. [2:04:14]

Examining the therapeutic value of spending time with animals. [2:13:05]

Laurens van der Post poetically described the sound of a lion’s roar. And, in a packed presentation hall at a major Silicon Valley company, Boyd did not. [2:17:57]

An invitation to visit Londolozi and other parting thoughts. [2:22:10]

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