When facing the realities of our world, the urge to drown in grief or shut down into apathy is becoming more and more common. As we are flooded with information and global predicaments outside of our control, overwhelm can set in, affecting our energy, efficacy, and even our ability to care. But what if facing our grief is actually the pathway to increasing our capacity to stay connected to and work on the things that matter most to us? What tools, practices, or rituals could we use to help us begin to metabolize our grief?
In this episode, Nate is joined by John Seed and Skye Cielita Flor to explore the power of rituals and community for processing grief and transforming it into a deeper connection with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. They discuss the primary influences of their work, including ‘The Work That Reconnects,’ a framework developed by Joanna Macy and others, as well as the philosophy of Deep Ecology, founded by Arne Naess. Most importantly, John and Skye share their experience with deepening their own emotional capacity and embodiment of ecological values, and how they’ve helped others do the same.
How has an absence of ritual and the avoidance of grief in our culture distorted our relationship to loss – and therefore our ability to protect what we love? What practices do other cultures use to nurture ecological identity and kinship with the more-than-human world? And finally, why might grief, when honored and integrated, be a vital part of building more resilient and ecologically-grounded systems for the future?
(Conversation recorded on May 21st, 2025)
About John Seed:
John Seed is an activist, facilitator, musician, and co-author of the seminal book “Thinking Like a Mountain” with Arne Naess, Joanna Macy and Pat Fleming. John Seed is the founder of the Rainforest Information Centre and has dedicated his life to the protection of rainforests and their biodiversity since 1979. Over the past few decades, John has also become a pivotal figure in the Deep Ecology movement.
About Skye Cielita Flor:
Skye’s early years were spent working in wildlife rehabilitation and as a Wilderness Guide in the South African bush. She then underwent a traditional 3 year apprenticeship in Taoist Healing practices before moving to the Peruvian Amazon where she entered into a full-time 5 year traditional curanderismo apprenticeship with her Shipibo teachers of the Mahua - Lopez lineage.
On return from the jungle, she has been passionate about finding meaningful ways to deepen into and integrate the life altering paradigmatic shifts she experienced with the plants. This is primarily done through her work as a facilitator of Experiential Deep Ecology, as a Grief Ritualist, as a co-facilitator of The Mythic Body year-long course by Josh Schrei, and as a facilitator of immersive group experiences into practices focusing on reclamation of living earth perception, mythic imagination, and ritual rhythms.
Watch this video episode on YouTube
Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.
---
Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future
Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners