Posts by Tess Howell
BIPOC Mirroring Training: Reflecting BIPOC Stories through Nature and Belonging
This program is run by Wild Mountain Retreats and bookable direct on their website This program is open to all who identify as Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC). Many of whom have often expressed not feeling welcome, seen, or a true sense of belonging in nature based programs. Such programs have usually been…
Read MoreCO June Queer Quest 2
The natural world reminds us that being Queer* is both beautiful and something to be celebrated! Showing up as who we are, and with our many gifts, is a celebration of nature’s diversity and honors our deep connection to the natural world. Many earth-based cultures recognize and honor queer community members as gatekeepers to the…
Read MoreThe Great Ballcourt Initiation – Spring Fast
Death is the ultimate agent of transformation—be it a physical death or “the little deaths” encountered throughout life. Indigenous cultures developed rituals to aid and guide people through these stages of change and renewal, utilizing the power of death to enhance and intensify these experiences.
Read MoreCO Men’s Fast
Being a man can be easy, and not easy at all. How do people who identify as a man navigate both the immense privileges that come with maleness, and the weight of myths that come with being a man. Myths like ‘the self-made man’, the ‘warrior’, the ‘breadwinner’ and ‘protector’. In a world where patriarchy…
Read MoreThe Nature of Council
Council is an ancient way and modern practice whose roots are deep within the natural world, spanning diverse cultures and spiritual traditions. Sitting in circle we remember and learn to listen to the whole: the people, the place and all living beings. This practice elicits an experience of deep community, recognizing that each voice has value, every person has a gift, a story to share, a piece of the puzzle.
Read MoreCO Fall Vision Fast
Fall is a potent season, the leaves change, the nights lengthen, and the composting of all that is overripe begins. It is a time of harvest and a time of shedding. We begin to draw inward, to listen, and to be with the seeds of change. We begin to ask what is our responsibility as…
Read MoreThe Great Ballcourt Initiation – Fall Fast
Death is the ultimate agent of transformation—be it a physical death or “the little deaths” encountered throughout life. Indigenous cultures developed rituals to aid and guide people through these stages of change and renewal, utilizing the power of death to enhance and intensify these experiences. For the Mayan people this ceremony was played out on…
Read MoreBecoming Human: The Four Shields Model of Nature-Based Therapeutics
“If there were a measure of ‘mental health’, it would involve the ability of individuals to grow into the fullness of each season – that is, the ability to fully become, or enact, the contents of each shield.” – Steven Foster and Meredith Little All that we do and teach at the School of Lost…
Read MoreCO June Queer Quest
The natural world reminds us that being Queer* is both beautiful and something to be celebrated! Showing up as who we are, and with our many gifts, is a celebration of nature’s diversity and honors our deep connection to the natural world. Many earth-based cultures recognize and honor queer community members as gatekeepers to the…
Read MoreCA Two Week Training
In these times of change and uncertainty, it is crucial that we show up for our community in ways that truly serve. The world is calling us to listen in new and old ways to connect with the land and each other for personal and collective healing. We are being called to show up in…
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