The Holy Wild with Victoria Loorz

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Latest Episodes:

Remembering The World As Lover and As Self with Joanna Macy (In Memoriam) Aug 09, 2025

In memory of Joanna Macy, we offer this recording from a Seminary of the Wild gathering where she spoke with radiant clarity about living through collapse with courage and love. She outlines four ancient ways of seeing the world—battlefield, trap, lover, and self—and invites us into the radical intimacy of belonging to a living Earth as lover and self. With humor and grace, she tells a story from Cosmicomics by Italian author Italo Calvino, in which the universe begins not with a bang, but with a generous offer to make pasta.

Discover Joanna's work at:

joannamacy.net
Work That Reconnects Network: workthatreconnects.org
Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino

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.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction
04:53 Joanna Macy begins—gratitude, interdependence, and uncertainty
11:31 Choosing how to rebuild: worldview as a tool
12:42 World as battlefield
16:38 World as trap
20:33 World as lover and world as self—belonging to a living world
24:17 The Cosmicomics story: love, pasta, and the birth of the universe
31:30 Transition from lover to self—nonduality and the ecological self
33:00 Thich Nhat Hanh on evolutionary belonging
35:00 Letting the Earth act through us—John Seed’s rainforest story
38:30 Question session on deepening into intimacy
45:41 Weekly wandering invitation: “What can I do for you?”
47:38 Closing invitation and credits

What We are Learning from the Holy Wild about Spiritual Companionship with Deb Metzger and Elizabeth Rechter Jul 26, 2025

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.

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

08:58 What Is Spiritual Direction, Elizabeth?
12:40 What Is Spiritual Direction, Deb?
13:55 Including the rest of the alive world
18:23 The Wild Approach
20:05 Holding Space
21:58 Reciprocity
23:48 Stories of the Spirit Directed Wild
27:03 Memory meeting us in the Wild
31:30 The Wild Share Her Pain Too
34:36 A Deconstruction The Culture That Has Incarcerated Us
37:30 The Non-Judging Wild
40:56 The Wild Trusts You
41:43 You May Feed The Birds By Hand
43:13 The Wind Speaks Of Suffering
47:03 Meaning In and From Relationship
49:18 The Playful Wild
51:59 Invitation
53:23 Valarie and a circle of Blue Violets
55:59 Outro

Celtic Wisdom for Reconnecting with Place with Seán Ó Gaoithín Jul 05, 2025

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 Launch
Instagram: @ogaoithin

Mentioned in the episode:

Book: Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Organization: Botanic Garden Conservation International
Video: What is GAIA TOUCH? Interview with Marko Pogacnik
Video: Gaia Touch 1: Body Exercises by Marko Pogacnik
Organization: Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids
Article: Rudolph Steiner's anthroposophy

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction
08:38 The Seeded Wild Forest
11:45 Donegal
13:01 Indigenous Language As A Doorway
16:12 "Ecology Is My Religion"
17:46 Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)
20:09 A Gardener Hopes For Eden
25:01 Hope and Despair are both Holy
26:06 Invasive Species
28:45 Gaia Touch Earth Yoga
31:34 Transmitters and Receivers
34:43 The Fairies of Particular Places
40:48 Declaring Peace
43:51 Weeds Are Part of Biodiversity
47:44 Generational Shift
50:49 Sean's Druid Journey
54:41 Order of Bards Ovates and Druids
57:36 Celtic Annual Cycle
60:54 The 7 Directions
66:37 Being Drawn Home
71:16 Sacred Invitation
73:32 Ethan and Cherry Tree
76:43 Outro

What Is Church of the Wild? with Valerie Luna Serrels Jun 14, 2025

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 SCALEby Margaret J. Wheatley

Connect with Valerie:

Book: Field Guide to the Church of the Wild
Website: wildchurchnetwork.com
Email: valerie@wildchurchnetwork.com
Online Community: The Ecosystem

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

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.

Re-Enchanting the World Through Relationship with Brother Coyote (Gary Paul Nabhan) May 31, 2025

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 Nabhan
Article: On Doors and \cracks\ by Bayo Akomolafe
Book: Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth byDebra Reinstra
Podcast: Refugia Podcast with Debra Reinstra
Agrarian Trust: agrariantrust.org

Connect with Gary:

Website: garynabhan.com

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction
05:53 The Land That Raised Brother Coyote
07:22 Engaging All Senses
09:52 Old Stories Collapsing
11:32 Awkward Teen Phase
12:28 Against The American Grain: A Borderland's History of Resistance
15:24 Desert Spirituality
17:29 Practical Sanctuaries of the Wild
22:32 Listening Through Diversity
24:29 Cultural Resistance
28:13 Retreat to Assisi
29:57 Take Little Steps
31:34 Coming To Our Senses Through Body
34:09 Active Incarnation
36:29 Relationship > Thing-ness
38:53 Ancient Expressions
41:59 The World of Fragrance
46:23 Wild Invitation
49:26 Alex and the Ocean

Life After Doom with Brian McLaren May 17, 2025

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 McLaren
Ghost Ranch - www.ghostranch.org
Book: Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McLaren
EBook: Authoritarianism: Coming To A Society Near you by Brian McLaren
Article: On Doors and \cracks\ by Bayo Akomolafe
Book: Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth byDebra Reinstra
Podcast: Refugia Podcast with Debra Reinstra
Short Story: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (Kindle) by Ursula K. Le Guin Ursela Leguin
Book: This Life by Martin Hagglund
Book: An Interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum
Article: Etty Hillesum from The Jewish Women's Archive
Song: Imagine by John Lennon
Book: Marx- Towards The Centre of Possibility by Kojin Karatani
Text: Revelation 21-22 A vision of Eco-civilization
Book: Mapping Ideology by Slavoj Zizek
Quote: "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'Donohue

Connect with Brian:

Website: brianmclaren.net
Instagram: @brian_mclaren

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
5:34 Opening Poem
7:12 Interview
12:13 4 Problems
13:12 Collapse and Authoritarianism
18:40 Comfort in cycles and grief
21:41 Practically being with neighbors
27:12 Repentance
29:08 The Bible as Indigenous literature
30:30 Adam and the dust we return to
32:20 This Life vs the afterlife
37:00 What is our dream?
41:31 Liberation to new thinking

Kincentric Leadership: The Unlearning And Emergence Of A New Kind Of Spiritual Leader with Justine Afra Huxley May 03, 2025

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.net

Connect with Justine:

Website: kincentricleadership.org
Book: Generation Y: Spirituality and Social Change
Magazine: emergencemagazine.org
Website: goldensufi.org
Website: stethelburgas.org

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction
4:48 Justine's Beginnings in the Sufi Tradition
7:35 Sacred Earth
9:15 An Encounter In Devon
10:56 Inner Life Becoming Outer Life
12:05 Suffering Earth Severance
12:39 The Work Is Spiritual
15:29 Integration At Every Level
17:29 Unlearning At Every Level
22:41 Kincentric Leadership
25:03 Many Knowledges Integrating
26:34 Readiness For This Wild Shift
27:49 The Need For New Words
31:35 Avail Yourself
33:13 Offerings To Water
36:00 A Fire Ceremony Story
38:17 The Pace Of Emergence
40:02 Adapting Without Appropriating
41:01 Inviting Earth In To The Ceremony Markers
42:14 Farewells
43:58 Wandering Invitation
45:34 Corrine and Golden Eagle

Click here to view the episode transcript.

Indigenous Worldview Can Preserve Our Existence with Four Arrows (Don Trent Jacobs) Apr 19, 2025

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, PhD
Video: Indigenous worldview can preserve our existence
Morobe Development Foundation: mdfpng.com
Book: The Descent of Man - and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin
Book: Mutual Aid: A Factor In Evolution by Peter Kropotkin
Article: "False Doctrine" and The Stifling Of Indigenous Political Will by Four Arrows
Quote: "“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 Reason
Book: Amerindian Rebirth by Antonia Mills
Book: The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Podcast: Radiolab on the secret life of trees

Connect with Four Arrows:

Website: fourarrowsbooks.com
Chart Download: worldviewliteracy.org

Connect with the Center:

Website: wildspirituality.earth
Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction
5:30 Lakota Prayer
6:31 Indigenous Worldview Video
9:27 Statistics Challenge
11:19 Anthropocentrism Harms Relationship
11:56 Four Arrows Near Death Experience
12:43 There's No Question The Animals Talk With Us
13:51 How Do You Know It's The Animal Speaking?
18:57 Sharing The Sacred
20:05 Binaries
23:18 How To De-Other
24:30 Human Nature In Our Own Captivity
30:00 Noun Verb
33:18 Relationship Is Action
36:21 Humans Are Not A Cancer
37:26 Differing Worldviews
40:29 Asking Permission Of Plants
41:56 The Science Is Catching Up
43:58 Closing Flute Song
47:13 Wandering Invitation
49:16 Michele with River and Wind
51:16 Credits

Click here to view the episode transcript.

Mapping The Holy Wild Apr 05, 2025

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: