The Holy Wild with Victoria Loorz

What does it mean to listen with the Holy Wild? In this episode, Victoria Loorz is joined by Elizabeth Rechter and Deb Metzger—two seasoned spiritual companions and guides in the Eco-Spiritual Direction program from Seminary of the Wild Earth. Together they reflect on the sacred practice of holy listening in partnership with the more-than-human world, sharing stories of reciprocity, grief, and transformation that emerge from deep relationship with Earth. The conversation is both an invitation and a reminder: the wild trusts us, and in return, we are called to trust the holy within and all around us.Considering and discerning a call to be part of this new movement of ecospiritual direction? Apply today for the next cohort of the Seminary of the Wild Earth. The application deadline is August 15, 2025.Connect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:08:58 What Is Spiritual Direction, Elizabeth?12:40 What Is Spiritual Direction, Deb?13:55 Including the rest of the alive world18:23 The Wild Approach20:05 Holding Space21:58 Reciprocity23:48 Stories of the Spirit Directed Wild27:03 Memory meeting us in the Wild31:30 The Wild Share Her Pain Too34:36 A Deconstruction The Culture That Has Incarcerated Us37:30 The Non-Judging Wild40:56 The Wild Trusts You41:43 You May Feed The Birds By Hand43:13 The Wind Speaks Of Suffering47:03 Meaning In and From Relationship49:18 The Playful Wild51:59 Invitation53:23 Valarie and a circle of Blue Violets55:59 Outro

In this episode of The Holy Wild, Victoria Loorz speaks with Sean Ó Gaoithín, the lead gardener at Glenveagh National Park, Irish forest-tender and a third-level Hedge Druid, about his journey of ecological restoration, ancestral reconnection, and spiritual practice. They share how sacred relationship with land is remembered through language, biodiversity, and embodied gestures like Gaia Touch. Together, they explore insights on rewilding efforts in Donegal, the ancient Celtic festivals, declaring peace with nature through prayerful movement, and how despair and hope can both be holy as we return to sacred kinship with Earth.Connect with Sean:Article: Native Woodlands of County Donegal Book LaunchInstagram: @ogaoithinMentioned in the episode:Book: Gathering Moss by Robin Wall KimmererOrganization: Botanic Garden Conservation InternationalVideo: What is GAIA TOUCH? Interview with Marko PogacnikVideo: Gaia Touch 1: Body Exercises by Marko PogacnikOrganization: Order of Bards, Ovates, and DruidsArticle: Rudolph Steiner's anthroposophyConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:00:00 Introduction08:38 The Seeded Wild Forest11:45 Donegal13:01 Indigenous Language As A Doorway16:12 "Ecology Is My Religion"17:46 Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)20:09 A Gardener Hopes For Eden25:01 Hope and Despair are both Holy26:06 Invasive Species28:45 Gaia Touch Earth Yoga31:34 Transmitters and Receivers34:43 The Fairies of Particular Places40:48 Declaring Peace43:51 Weeds Are Part of Biodiversity47:44 Generational Shift50:49 Sean's Druid Journey54:41 Order of Bards Ovates and Druids57:36 Celtic Annual Cycle60:54 The 7 Directions66:37 Being Drawn Home71:16 Sacred Invitation73:32 Ethan and Cherry Tree76:43 Outro

In this episode of The Holy Wild, Victoria Loorz speaks with her sister and co-author, Valerie Luna Serrels, about the transformative movement of Wild Church. Together they explore how sacred relationship with Earth is being rekindled through embodied spiritual practice, intentional community, and the reclamation of ancient ways of knowing. They reflect on the Field Guide to Church of the Wild, a book they co-wrote to support this growing network, and share insights into the shift from dominance to kinship as a core spiritual calling.Mentioned in the episode:Writing: USING EMERGENCE TO TAKE SOCIAL INNOVATIONS TO SCALE by Margaret J. WheatleyConnect with Valerie:Book: Field Guide to the Church of the WildWebsite: wildchurchnetwork.comEmail: valerie@wildchurchnetwork.comOnline Community: The EcosystemConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:00:33 Introduction  05:00 Field Guide  09:45 Living Paradox  13:15 Wild Church Network  23:10 Feminine Emergence  26:53 Seeing Tree  28:51 WCL Offer *31:02 Grounding  34:15 Redefining Church  36:52 Reclaiming Vocabulary  39:27 Acknowledging Land and Ancestor  43:30 Re-Placing Rituals  47:20 Advocacy Through Relationship  48:06 Wandering Saunter  49:59 Threshold Crossing  51:33 Permission Asking  53:00 Connect with Valerie  54:17 Closing Benediction  57:27 Melissa and Grandmother Oak  58:56 Outro*When signing up for the Wild Church Leadership Course, mention PODCAST in your submitted form to get $50 off the cost of the course.

In this profound conversation, Victoria Loorz is joined by ethnobotanist, Franciscan brother, and spiritual ecologist Gary Paul Nabhan—also known as Brother Coyote—exploring themes of cultural and spiritual resistance, sacred relationship with the land, and the transformative power of remembering ancient ways. Gary shares stories of his time with Indigenous communities, his recent recovery from a traumatic head injury, and his hope for agrarian sanctuaries in a time of ecological and societal collapse. Inviting us into a re-enchanted worldview grounded in interconnection, reverence, and resilience and concluding with a poetic practice of naming the relationships in the natural world, reorienting us toward wonder and communion.Mentioned in the episode:Book: Against The American Grain: A Borderland's History of Resistance by Gary Paul NabhanArticle: On Doors and \cracks\ by Bayo AkomolafeBook: Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth by Debra ReinstraPodcast: Refugia Podcast with Debra ReinstraAgrarian Trust: agrariantrust.orgConnect with Gary:Website: garynabhan.comConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:00:00 Introduction05:53 The Land That Raised Brother Coyote07:22 Engaging All Senses09:52 Old Stories Collapsing11:32 Awkward Teen Phase12:28 Against The American Grain: A Borderland's History of Resistance15:24 Desert Spirituality17:29 Practical Sanctuaries of the Wild22:32 Listening Through Diversity24:29 Cultural Resistance28:13 Retreat to Assisi29:57 Take Little Steps31:34 Coming To Our Senses Through Body34:09 Active Incarnation36:29 Relationship > Thing-ness38:53 Ancient Expressions41:59 The World of Fragrance46:23 Wild Invitation49:26 Alex and the Ocean

In this episode of The Holy Wild, Victoria Loorz speaks with author and public theologian Brian McLaren about how to live with love, courage, and imagination in the midst of ecological and societal collapse. Rooted in McLaren’s latest book, Life After Doom, their conversation invites us into a deeper spirituality that faces reality without losing hope. Together, they explore how grief, beauty, and small communities of care can become seeds of transformation. It’s a moving, grounded dialogue for anyone longing to walk a path of love—no matter what unfolds.Mentioned in the episode:Book: Life After Doom by Brian McLarenGhost Ranch - www.ghostranch.orgBook: Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McLarenEBook: Authoritarianism: Coming To A Society Near you by Brian McLarenArticle: On Doors and \cracks\ by Bayo AkomolafeBook: Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth by Debra ReinstraPodcast: Refugia Podcast with Debra ReinstraShort Story: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (Kindle) by Ursula K. Le Guin Ursela LeguinBook: This Life by Martin HagglundBook: An Interrupted Life by Etty HillesumArticle: Etty Hillesum from The Jewish Women's ArchiveSong: Imagine by John LennonBook: Marx- Towards The Centre of Possibility by Kojin KarataniText: Revelation 21-22 A vision of Eco-civilizationBook: Mapping Ideology by Slavoj ZizekQuote: "It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism." (attributed to both Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Zizek)Book: Anam Cara by John O'DonohueConnect with Brian:Website: brianmclaren.netInstagram: @brian_mclarenConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:0:00 Intro5:34 Opening Poem7:12 Interview12:13 4 Problems13:12 Collapse and Authoritarianism18:40 Comfort in cycles and grief21:41 Practically being with neighbors27:12 Repentance29:08 The Bible as Indigenous literature30:30 Adam and the dust we return to32:20 This Life vs the afterlife37:00 What is our dream?41:31 Liberation to new thinking     

In this moving conversation, Victoria Loorz and Justine Afra Huxley explore kincentric leadership as both an unlearning and an emergence — a return to sacred relationship with Earth and a new way of living as spiritual leaders. Drawing from Sufi tradition, spiritual ecology, and deep listening to the more-than-human world, Justine invites us into a future shaped by kinship, reverence, and co-creation.Mentioned in the episode:Website: patmccabe.netConnect with Justine:Website: kincentricleadership.orgBook: Generation Y: Spirituality and Social ChangeMagazine: emergencemagazine.orgWebsite: goldensufi.orgWebsite: stethelburgas.orgConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:0:00 Introduction4:48 Justine's Beginnings in the Sufi Tradition7:35 Sacred Earth9:15 An Encounter In Devon10:56 Inner Life Becoming Outer Life12:05 Suffering Earth Severance12:39 The Work Is Spiritual15:29 Integration At Every Level17:29 Unlearning At Every Level22:41 Kincentric Leadership25:03 Many Knowledges Integrating26:34 Readiness For This Wild Shift27:49 The Need For New Words31:35 Avail Yourself33:13 Offerings To Water36:00 A Fire Ceremony Story38:17 The Pace Of Emergence40:02 Adapting Without Appropriating41:01 Inviting Earth In To The Ceremony Markers42:14 Farewells43:58 Wandering Invitation45:34 Corrine and Golden EagleClick here to view the episode transcript.

In this moving episode of The Holy Wild, Victoria Loorz is joined by Four Arrows (Don Trent Jacobs)—Cherokee author, scholar, and Lakota pipe carrier—for a profound conversation centered on reclaiming a kinship-based worldview. Drawing from Indigenous wisdom, never-before-told personal vision stories, and decades of advocacy, Four Arrows shares how restoring sacred relationship with the Earth begins with shifting our deepest ways of seeing and being. May this conversation serve as a powerful reminder that Indigenous worldviews hold essential guidance for healing our fractured relationship with the more-than-human world.Mentioned in the episode:Book: Restoring Kinship Worldview by Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, PhDVideo: Indigenous worldview can preserve our existenceMorobe Development Foundation: mdfpng.comBook: The Descent of Man - and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles DarwinBook: Mutual Aid: A Factor In Evolution by Peter KropotkinArticle: "False Doctrine" and The Stifling Of Indigenous Political Will by Four ArrowsQuote: "“We must be compelled to hold this doctrine to be false, and the old and new law called the Old and New Testament, to be impositions, fables and forgeries.” by Thomas Paine in The Age of ReasonBook: Amerindian Rebirth by Antonia MillsBook: The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter WohllebenPodcast: Radiolab on the secret life of treesConnect with Four Arrows:Website: fourarrowsbooks.comChart Download: worldviewliteracy.orgConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:0:00 Introduction5:30 Lakota Prayer6:31 Indigenous Worldview Video9:27 Statistics Challenge11:19 Anthropocentrism Harms Relationship11:56 Four Arrows Near Death Experience12:43 There's No Question The Animals Talk With Us13:51 How Do You Know It's The Animal Speaking?18:57 Sharing The Sacred20:05 Binaries23:18 How To De-Other24:30 Human Nature In Our Own Captivity30:00 Noun Verb33:18 Relationship Is Action36:21 Humans Are Not A Cancer37:26 Differing Worldviews40:29 Asking Permission Of Plants41:56 The Science Is Catching Up43:58 Closing Flute Song47:13 Wandering Invitation49:16 Michele with River and Wind51:16 CreditsClick here to view the episode transcript.

On our first episode of the Holy Wild, Victoria speaks with producer Stephen about the vision for the podcast. Victoria shares her answers to the questions we intend to ask every guest, including "tell me about the land that raised you?" and "what's a recent experience you've had with the holy and wild?" They also introduce elements of the podcast like the invitation to you at the end of each episode, as well as the Sacred Conversation segment to feature your stories and encounters.Mentioned in the episode:Book: Church of the Wild by Victoria LoorzBook: Field Guide to Church of the Wild by Victoria LoorzBook: Anam Cara by John O'DonohueNIH Paper: Depression and Vitamin D- A Peculiar Relationship Scripture: John 1 - On LOGOSScripture: Matthew 18:20 - Where Two Or More Are GatheredArticle: CAC Meditation: God in All Things (Richard Rohr on Panentheism)Video: "Wild Geese"- written and read Mary OliverConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:0:00  Intro                  3:43  The Land Who Raised You10:06 Being-In-The-Longing As Belonging11:06 The Unknown As Spiritual Practice Markers12:54 Our Tragic and Voluntary Severance14:56 We've Tamed Ourselves15:57 In Kinship With The Mosquito17:28 Hosting LOGOS Conversations20:36 Why Podcast Now?20:55 "God Is Not A Tree"?24:07 The Conversation Of Creation25:08 The Trap Of Duality25:53 Restoring Human Cooperation27:01 Conversation Beyond Words28:48 Victoria's Conversation With Sister Stream32:56 Obstacles Are The Music35:21 A Closing Thought On Practical Wandering38:05 Thresholds40:50 Introduction To Invitation44:40 Invitation46:44 Sacred Conversation: Stephen and Prairie Falcon49:30 Credits

From the Center For Wild Spirituality, The Holy Wild, hosted by Victoria Loorz.Connect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality