If you have been a subscriber and follower of this newsletter for a long time, you have probably seen my written rendition of this story in four parts. At the time, I had called it The Lady and the Serpent.

As mentioned back then, this was published in the late 1800s in Denmark. It can also be named King Lindworm. What I tried to do at the time was to add interpretive elements to the basic structure, and since then I have grown in confidence doing an oral rendition of this folk tale. This is what you hear today.

In retrospect, the title should be revised to put more emphasis on the feminine hero who came to fix the situation in the kingdom with the dragon / lindworm / wyvern. And that’s what I did back then calling it the Lady and the Serpent. Today I used the more common title as this is likely how most people will recognize it.

On this occasion, I told this story in a lovely place by the beach during my recent travels, but I wanted to pair it with the more arty photos I had taken back when I was really deep into this myth.

If you are a new follower or subscriber, this will be your opportunity to witness what I am all about: connecting to the land, and listening just because, with nothing to expect in return.

I aim to become more and more comfortable filming myself doing this, but I am also concerned that having to carry a camera everywhere I go and “pose” and try to look good can be detrimental to what I am really trying to achieve. So this audio version is somewhat closer to my aim, and I have less fear of it trying to woo audiences.

While I do wish to get better at storytelling, some sort of recording is necessary, and so this is my compromise: sharing the wisdom of this tale without selling out, all while not trying to become the Mr. Beast of Substack (so far so good 😉).

If you liked this story and if like me it changed you in a positive way, please consider a donation to Survival International or Junglekeepers to protect amazonian tribes from further deforestation and all the abuses of modernity. Whether it’s a one time, or give for a bit longer it can make ripples.

Donate to Survival International

Donate to Junglekeepers

And if you think you want to hear original stories from around the world that speak to our universal human nature and hear deep liminal conversations in the outdoors, I would suggest subscribe to my podcast, either here or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Subscribe now

Happy trails and hopefully we’ll catch each other on the next one!

In Philia!

Andredge

\m/

Emerald Wilkins is an artist, facilitator, an a life coach through Shadow work. We met recently in north Florida and had an open conversation on what is Authenticity and why it can be so challenging to express our true self.

We expanded on what is Shadow Work in general. We talked about the advantages and the caveats of working with psychedelics as a tool to heal and integrate the shadow.

The Diamond Net

Shadow Integration webinar

1-1 Coaching

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Timestamps:

02:39 Authenticity

41:33 Longing

49:55 Peak and challenging states

1:04:00 Lessons from Shadow Work coaching

1:08:36 Non-psychic Tarot and Art

1:16:50 Lady Ragnell

1:36:00 Culture vs Shadows

1:52:00 Psychedelics

2:00:30 Integration

2:08:00 Meaning of Life

2:17:26 Shadow in content creation

2:26:07 Cover of TOOL / Song: 46 & 2

Time stamps:

0:00 Intro

0:05:01 Francesca on Intimacy

0:14:46 Trio of women on Vulnerability

0:22:47 Anna on Power

0:30.47 Contemplations

Wisdom begins with wonder! But do you have to be a philosopher to engage in philosophy without feeling like an impostor? Can the Liminal Web and its practices be applied to people from all walks of life without fearing that it could get messy or that you have to over correct and enforce a specific outcome?

Of course, behind these practices you will find everyday people. I wanted to test for myself again what would happen once I stepped out of my intellectual bubble and tried to meet people where they were, and still be left wondering. Or would something still be missing because of the lack of experience in the practice?

In this new episode of Trailing Wisdom, we have deep conversations with random people wandering through London’s Royal Botanical Gardens and ask them for their personal definition of Intimacy, Vulnerability and Power. And what’s peculiar is that this time I only had women taking up the challenge, so here it is for a feminine perspective.

This is a bit of a vlogging episode or a podcast-on-the-go style, so this is an exploration. The end result is a mysterious and a humbling one for me, and I think you will enjoy this one and would love to hear your impressions.

Otherwise, let me know in the comments your own definition of Intimacy, Vulnerability and Power, so we can keep exploring the notion without trapping it!

I find with this practice that the more one explores a notion, the more we embody it, and the more we can witness it in our lives, staying primed for when it next ambushes us and breaks the script of the mundane.

May this be a beacon of wonder in this life!

Happy trails!

Andredge

If you liked this story and if like me it changed you in a positive way, please consider a donation to Survival International or Junglekeepers to protect amazonian tribes from further deforestation and all the abuses of modernity. Whether it’s a one time, or give for a bit longer it can make ripples.

Donate to Survival International

Donate to Junglekeepers

And if you think you want to hear original stories from around the world that speak to our universal human nature and hear deep liminal conversations in the outdoors, I would suggest subscribe to my podcast, either here or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Subscribe now

Happy trails and hopefully we’ll catch each other on the next one!

In Philia!

Andredge

\m/

Wisdom begins with wonder! But do you have to be a philosopher to engage in philosophy without feeling like an impostor? Can the Liminal Web and its practices be applied to people from all walks of life without fearing that it could get messy or that you have to over correct and enforce a specific outcome?

Of course, behind these practices you will find everyday people. I wanted to test for myself what would happen once I stepped out of my intellectual bubble and tried to meet people where they were, and still be left wondering. Or would something still be missing because of the lack of experience in the practice?

My intuition was that, just as parents gain marvelous insights from interacting with their children, a certain openness combined with the right environment and intention would be enough.

In this episode, we have deep conversations with random people wandering through London’s Hampstead Heath and ask them for their personal definition of wonder. This is a bit of a vlogging episode or a podcast-on-the-go style. You get to hear me struggling to find someone to engage with, but that’s not all. The end result is simply wonderful for me, and I think you will enjoy this one.

Otherwise, let me know in the comments your own definition of being in wonder, so we can keep exploring the notion without trapping it!

I find with this practice that the more one explores a notion, the more we embody it, and the more we can witness it in our lives, staying primed for when it next ambushes us and breaks the script of the mundane.

May this be a beacon of wonder in this life!

Happy trails!

André

Time stamps:

0:00 Intro

0:02:41 First wave of rejections

0:07:41 Samuel and Vincent

0:16:05 French young woman from the mountains

0:23:27 Aguette and Justine

0:31:51 Friend trio (Grace, Alex, and … for the life of me, I cannot recall the other name, I am so sorry!)

0:44:00 Contemplation

Mike Harhangi is a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, bodybuilder, and host of a YouTube channel dedicated to empowering people to transcend themselves and cultivate discipline that brings meaning to their lives. We've both practiced Jiu-Jitsu at the same gym for years and finally found the opportunity to go deeper into topics we both hold dear and share notes on our journeys.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

0:01:15 Greeting the land

0:02:00 Power

08:00 Experience of the Transcendent

0:16:30 Logos

0:27:12 Intuition

0:44:32 Fear

0:47:55 Odysseus

0:48:59 Children

0:53:10 Waking up from the Matrix

0:59:13 Vassalisa the Beautiful

1:09:27 Witchcraft and words

1:19: 07 Future

1:34:30 Fitness and Nutrition

2:04:00Final thoughts

2:07:00 Song: Spirit Bird by Xavier Rudd

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

0:02:15 Greeting the land

0:07:00 The Celts

0:14:41 Hawthorn bush

0:16:10 Birds chirping interjecting

0:18:23 Grief and Love

0:21:33 Love

0:24:23 Ireland’s Celtic spirit

0:39:52 Song: I caught her eye | Bog Bodies

0:51:40 Asking the ancestors

1:00:16 Reborn our of the cairn

1:09:15 Grappling with fatherhood and boundaries

1:19: 07 Irish language

1:28:30 Meaning and pragmatism

1:30:39 Technology, Harmony and Hardship

1:41:04 Idealist contemplations

1:44:17 Foraging and nutrition

1:49:50 Ubermensch

1:59:15 Story: The Peddler of Swaffham / a.k.a John of the dream

2:13:55 Recurring dreams

2:25:05 Psychedelics

2:48:09 Higher-Self and the Meaning crisis

3:04:13 Contemplations on leaving of the land

3:10:46 Building and fostering community

3:15:12 Digital Monasteries

3:22:31 White paper for Community 3.0

3:34:49 Beautiful Chorus

3:38:00 Final thoughts

3:41:00 Song: Pachamama by Beautiful Chorus

Resources:

• Poem: Inversnaid by Gerard Manley Hopkins

• Song: Pachamama | Beautiful Chorus

• Song: I caught her eye | Bog Bodies

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The experience was amazing and I learned a lot about how creating from scratch doesn’t have to be a painful and lonely process. On the contrary, this felt fun and well-crafted, with incremental steps that made the final piece so very personal, sincere, authentic, and true for each and all of us participating.

I will likely take part in what they do, as I understand that Mezrab is becoming a hub for storytelling in my part of the world.

Until then, happy trails and I wish you a lovely time with your loved ones for this end-of-year celebration

In philia

André

In case you have missed it, I have recently tackled an ambitious goal: to start a podcast. This will be a limited series of ten episodes, with one new entry once a month. I will likely use it to publish short stories from time to time.

Sentient Trails podcast

In a world of talking heads in Zoom calls, I longed for more embodied conversations in the outdoors and in a longer format; where ideas would flow and we could sip the wisdom of the land. I am not sure if this will bring what I expect, so this is an experiment, but I will surely learn a lot in the process, and I am glad to have you with me.

This is available in the usual podcast outlets and fits well when you are also on the road yourself, but it can also be absorbed in chunks. Check the timestamps so you can start wherever you like, and in whichever order.

But hey! Don’t let a blog post tell you what to do!

I look forward to hearing your feedback!
In philia!

Ax

Time stamps:

0:00 Intro

0:02:41 Greeting the land

0:03:28 How we met

0:05:46 Early days with music

0:09:05 Originality | Elitism in music

0:15:32 Creative process

0:21:18 Crossroads with theater

0:28:44 Discipline and priorities

0:35:25 Visual arts

0:42:00 Catharsis

0:53:05 Gratitude and the stories we tell ourselves

0:54:18 Meditation

1:06:50 Humor and irony

1:18:02 Voice acting and artistic collabs

1:30:36 Education system

2:15:05 Like a kid

Resources:

• https://luckydee.newgrounds.com/movies

• https://lnk.bio/LuckyDee

• Song: 976evil by Deftones

By the way, have you ever had a recurrent dream?