Mountain Whispers

In this episode, I chat with Tucker Walsh. Tucker is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker who has spent the last few years exploring transformation experiences and communities, including a Wilderness Quest with Animus Valley Institute, which is the focus of our discussion. We chat about:Tucker's life as a filmmaker and the circumstances that led to his Wilderness QuestTucker's experience during the quest and why these experiences are so transformativeA bunch of other topics in dancing around soul, spirit, and transformationLinks mentioned in the conversation:Tucker's article on the magic of the Pachamama community in Costa RicaTucker's short film "Treatment box" which won an Emmy Award in the 2019 Outstanding Special Class Bill Plotkin's Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human PsycheGary Lachman's Lost Knowledge of the ImaginationTucker's recommendation for using grief for transformation: The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis WellerFor more information on Tucker's coaching offering, travel guide for the soul, see his website www.tuckerlighthouse.comYou can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use or connect with Tim on Instagram @timstewnz.

In this episode, I chat to Brent Martin, founder of Ryders Eyewear, one of the OG of mountain bike eyewear brands, as well as xcamp.ca which leads transformational backcountry camps designed to stoke souls and awaken spirits.we chat about:The birth of Ryders, the same year that Brent won the first Canadian Mountain Bike Championship in 1986Legendary figures in the early Vancouver/Whistler mountain bike sceneThe Shoe Dog-esk story of building Ryders The spark that started Xcamp + how Brent designs experiences to facilitate group flow and transformationmodalities of transformation: how we can design experiences of inspiration, healing, and connection through the modalities of adventure sports, breath, stillness, engaging the senses, and moreLinks mentioned in the conversation:The books Stealing Fire & Recapture the RaptureThe Presence Process breathwork by Michael Brown - book here, Youtube clip of the practice hereThe neuroscientist mentioned is Dr. Ryan D'Arcy, and functional medicine practitioner is Dr. Jan VenterYou can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use, or connect with Tim on Instagram @timstewnz.

In this episode I chat to former pro snowboarder turned weaver and artist Meghann O'Brien. We chat about: How she fell in love and out of love with snowboarding. The challenges of filming mountain films, the toxic side of competition, and how it relates to intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.How Meghann accesses flow states, how the feel of these states differ when snowboarding versus weavingmuch, much moreLinks mentioned in the conversation:Article on Robert Lanza's theory of Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space & ConsciencenssThe book Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness by Itzhak BentovYou can find more of Meghann at her website https://meghannobrien.com/You can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use, or connect with Tim on Instagram @timstewnz.

In this episode, James Farr returns to the show to continue where we left off in episode 6 to explore transformation through adventure,We chat about some of James' most transformative experiences outdoors, the challenge of reconciling it into a belief system, how adventure sports develop out of privelege, and how fear and suffering are so often instrumental to transformation outdoorsLinks mentioned in the conversation:James' article in Climbing Magazine on the Samburu moran who are taking to climbing James' post he shares at the end on spirituality and adventureYou can find more of James at the link above, or at https://www.kileleproject.com. You can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use, or connect with Tim on Instagram (@timstewnz)

In this episode, I chat with Simon Yugler. Simon is depth psychotherapist and psychedelic integration coach. We chat about:Simon's relationship to the outdoors and how it has developed and been influenced by depth psychologyThe ritual of initiation, its history, transformative power, and how adventure sports and travel can be viewed as modern attempts at self-initiationDepth psychology vs the rational-materialism of the scientific method. How concepts like the self (and transformation of the self) require a "more than rational" lens to contemplate how interacting with nature can lead to transformation.Links on some of the topics of this conversation:A great article written by Simon: What is InitiationBill Plotkin, his work on soul-making & wilderness rite of passage ceremonies: Animus Valley InstituteRené Descartes and mind/body dualism: See this article on How the dualism of Descartes ruined our mental healthYou can find more of Simon on Instagram @depth_medicine and https://initiationscounseling.com/You can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use, or connect with Tim on Instagram @timstewnz.

In this episode, I chat to Marie-France Roy, pro snowboarder and environmental activist. We chat about:Marie-France's journey to going Pro + Whistler mountain culture in the early 2000's that enabled itMaking decisions in the backcountry, stories of risk and injuryTaking a stand for the environment and letting go of the expectation that you have to be perfect to be an advocateLinks mentioned in the conversation:More on Marie-France's cob-house on the West Coast of Vancouver IslandMarie-France's documentary The Little Things - On environmentally conscious riders who are inspirational through their riding, as well as their sustainable ways of living and thinking. Protect Our Winters CanadaDispatch from Fairy Creek - the protests against the logging of old-growth forests on Vancouver IslandYou can find more of Marie-France on Instagram @mariefranceroy.You can support this podcast by leaving a review on the podcast platform you use, or connect with Tim on Instagram @timstewnz.

In this episode I chat to Brian Hockenstein, mountain filmaker and director of The Radicals documentary.In our conversation we chat about:How he fell in love with the mountains, his move to Whistler in the early 20's, and his entrance into filmmaking through the pursuit of stokeHow The Radicals came to be and how the magic of outdoors calls us to take action for the environmentHis latest film project Resilience and how confronting tragedy and our own mortality can help us make the most of our limited time on this earth You can find Brian on Instagram at @brianhockenstein and Tim at @timstewnz.If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a 5 star review on your podcast player :)

In this episode, I chat to James Farr, mountain guide and outdoor educator based in Nairobi, Kenya. We chat about growing up in East Africa, the magic & aesthetic of the mountains, and how adventure creates a container for self-transformation.Connect with James' work at: https://www.kileleproject.com/Other references in this episode: NOLS Outdoor leadership SchoolSoulcraft by Bill PlotkinBone Games by Rob Schultheis

In this episode, I chat to Kristof Lenart, endurance athlete and founder of the Vancouver Psychedelic Society. We chat about trail running, the mind-altering runner's high, and how this state of consciousness can be elevated through the responsible use of LSD.Links from the episodeMeetup page for Vancouver Psychedelic SocietyThe book Bone Games: Extreme Sports, Shamanism, Zen, and the Search for Transcendence, by Rob Schultheis Find more of Kristof at https://www.kristoflenart.com/

In this episode, I chat to Tyson Adams about the lessons and wisdom he's learned from the outdoors. In our conversation, we talk about how Tyson finds flow in the outdoors, as well as through dedicated practice.A lot of topics are covered in this episode including The vagus nerve and the effect it has on our physiologyTaoist tradition around meditation and perineum squeezesBill Plotkin and combining depth psychology with wilderness practiceBrain wave frequencies & how they influence flow statesYou can learn more about Tyson and his upcoming course on Instagram: @tysonadams_ , or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adams.tysonFind Tim on Instagram: @timstewnz