February 6, 2024 • 36 mins
In this episode of A Witch, A Mystic & A Feminist, Marlena is joined by return guest, Kristine Daizy, and special guest, Tim Corcoran. When Tim Corcoran walks into a room, you can almost feel the forest enter with him. His life's work, dedicated to the Earth's stewardship, unfolds in our latest episode as he shares his transformative journey and the inception of his Headwaters Outdoor School. Through heartfelt stories, he transports us to the Canadian wilderness, reveals his spiritual awakening at Mount Shasta, and shows that the land itself can be our greatest teacher. Tim's narrative is a vivid tapestry, intertwining his profound encounters with nature’s signs, like the wolf that led him to his school's grounds, and the hawk's feather that affirmed his life's path.
Sowing the seeds of environmental mindfulness starts with a single step, and this episode highlights the simple acts that cultivate a deeper connection to the Earth. Tim and I discuss the power of transforming personal spaces into wildlife sanctuaries and making eco-conscious choices in our daily lives. The conversation blossoms with the shared belief that fostering these connections can ripple out to effect meaningful global change. We reflect on my earlier work and the parallels found in Tim's upcoming book, "The Earth Caretaker Way," underscoring a universal call to become stewards of our planet.
Concluding our inspiring exchange, we celebrate the collaborative effort behind "The Earth Caretaker Way," crafted by Tim himself and Julie Boettler. This isn't just a book; it's a vessel for a movement, with intentions to funnel proceeds into land conservation and education. As we talk about the transformative classes offered at Headwaters Outdoor School and its evolution into a hub for earth caretakers, Tim’s vision for a legacy of environmental guardianship becomes clear. His hope, and ours, is to ignite a passion within listeners to join this collective mission for a greener, more conscious future.
You can learn more about Tim Corcoran and Headwaters Outdoor School at https://hwos.com/walker-hupp-fund/.
And you can learn more about the book, The Earth Caretaker Way on their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthcaretakerway/
Medical Disclaimer
Have questions or comments for A Witch, A Mystic & A Feminist? Send us a message at https://www.wmfpod.com/contact/. Also you can subscribe to receive updates at https://www.wmfpod.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to A Witch, a Mystic and a Feminist.
I am your host, marlena, and weare welcoming back our special
guest host, christine Daisy.
Today we are thrilled to have atrue Earth steward with us, tim
Corcoran.
From his early days in theCanadian wilderness to his
career in wildlife conservationand the owner of Headwaters
Outdoor School in Mount Chastica, california, tim's journey has
(00:29):
been intertwined with his Irishheritage and a deep connection
to Earth people's philosophy oflife.
Communicating with spirits ofanimals and enriched by the
teachings of renowned trackerTom Brown Jr, tim embodies the
Earth caretaker way, a path hehas dedicated his life to and
shares in his upcoming book.
Welcome Tim, and welcome backDaisy, so happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yay.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Good to be here.
We have a nice rainy day outhere and trees are happy.
They're soaking up the water.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Fantastic.
Well, I know that you're comingout with a book soon called the
Earth Caretaker Way, correct,correct.
But before we get into that, Ikind of want to go into the
school that you have.
You're the owner of HeadwatersOutdoor School.
Can you tell us a little bitabout your teachings there?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah Well, Headwaters Outdoor School.
We started the school I did in1992, which I can't believe it's
been that many years and I wasreally guided to find.
The land that it's on is at thefoot of Mount Shasta, about 10
miles from Mount Shasta.
So it looks at it and MountShasta is one of the most
spiritual mountains on theplanet.
(01:36):
On our earth.
People come from all over theworld to come and just be in the
presence of Mount Shasta and wehave this incredible view of it
.
It touches us every day.
And so back in the early, in1990, I was called to find my
land that I had dreamed abouthaving since I was a kid and I
thought it was actually going tobe in Canada, but I got called
(01:57):
to Mount Shasta.
I actually, when I was 12, I'ddone my rites of passage in
Mount Shasta, so I had aconnection to it, you know, and
I love mountains anyway.
So I came up and I found thisland in a really, really
incredible spiritual way.
With it I was just guided to itand it's just full of water and
trees.
It's the land itself.
(02:18):
Is a teacher.
If I did no teaching at all inthe school, the land would do it
for me, but with myself and mystaff and this land itself.
I mean, it's an amazing mixwhen people come here.
So I started the school in 92and it's been going ever since
and it started out mostly adultsand some kids and then it kind
(02:39):
of morphed into a mix and nowit's probably three quarters
kids and a quarter adults, sobasically anybody who wants to
go deeper into learning aboutnature and having a personal
connection to the earth.
This is the place to come andwe've touched a lot of people
and I hope to keep living for awhile and do more.
And this book coming out, I'mhoping it's going to carry on
(03:00):
the teachings.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Fantastic.
And so I have never actually,and I live in the Bay Area but
I've never been to Mount Shasta,so it put it on your bucket.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That's crazy, I know.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How can that be?
I asked myself the samequestion.
I'm giving you an openinvitation.
You now have an open invitationand a place to stay.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Well, thank you very much because it's definitely as
I have been healing and growing.
Nature has really helped mewith that growth and with that
healing, and so is that some ofthe things that you teach your
kids and adults.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, deep personal connection to the earth, not one
where it's like you're lookingin it, like in a museum looking
at something.
It's when you realize you are apart of the earth, you're not
separate from it.
I think it's one of the bigmistakes humans have made since
we came into the modern world iswe've pushed that sacredness,
connection to the earth away,not from any master plan, it
(04:03):
just happened and we're losingit now and so we don't feel what
the earth is going through andwe also lose our feelings with
everything else in between.
And one of the things aboutwhat we teach going back to, I
think, about the title of yourpodcast, it's, I think you'd
appreciate part of how I foundthe land.
And so when I was out with arealtor, driving around looking
(04:27):
for weeks and months, couldn'tfind the land all these dirt
roads and I finally come downthis dirt road and he gets a
call and a piece of land came upfor sale.
So I'm very I.
When things like that happen, Iconsider it like a message.
You know, like it happenedright.
Then he goes oh, just down theroad there, let's go look.
I said, yes, you know.
So we walked down the road.
At the time I couldn't even getdown the road in the car, it
(04:49):
was so rough.
As we walked down and Iimmediately heard the water and
the land started to call to meand I saw a tree that really
felt personal, like, like,really personal.
And as I'm hearing the water,I'm getting closer, and along
with me I had a wolf namedJoseph, who I named after chief
Joseph of the Nespierre Strybebecause he could appear and
(05:10):
disappear at will and he lovedthe land.
So he was one of the signs Ineeded to say yes, get the land,
he loved it.
I just let him go on itwandering around.
And then I get to the water andI was also at the time a
falconer and a bird rescuer andI had birds of prey and I had a
hawk for 40 years named Portia.
She was a red tailed hawk thathad been injured, and so I've
(05:33):
always again I'm going back to,I'm looking for signs saying get
this land, get this land, and Isee a center tail feather of a
red tailed hawk come floatingdown the creek.
I pick it up, I go whoa, nowthat is a sign.
So I'm pretty good, right then.
And then I look up.
I give you my word.
I look up in a tree like thatand it just brings tears to my
eyes.
(05:54):
My friend for the rest of mylife I call him the earthkeeper
looked down at me.
It was a spiritual being.
He looked down at me from atree and he just said get it.
And I looked at the realtor andthere was a couple of the
people with me.
They felt the energy.
I said, let's get it.
And that afternoon we got theland and that started the whole
(06:14):
thing.
And the earthkeeper a lot ofhis words are in the book the
earth caretaker way and a lot ofthe teachings come from him and
my relationship.
And this land is just full ofspirits from the earth, spirits
and spirits from the nativepeople who lived here.
I mean, it's just for sensitivepeople, it's like sometimes too
(06:34):
much, it's almost more than youcan handle.
Okay, yeah, it's really reallyamazing place, so you have to
come.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And Daisy, so you haveexperience.
You know Tim and you actuallybrought him to us, and so I was
like you gotta have Tim on.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
He's an incredible person and this book, I think,
is an incredible piece of work.
I've been honored to be apre-reader for it and to read
both what the caretaker of thespirit of the land has taught
Tim and from Tim himself.
My son and I have gone toheadwaters camp, actually the
first time I visited.
(07:12):
It's, of course, like Shasta'simportant to me, like it was
literally a place that I went toand had a spiritual awakening
when I was leaving kind of alife behind and I had my own
experiences with Shasta.
And so the owner of the crystalshop that I work at is actually
been childhood friends withJulie, who is also a teacher of
the land and helps to take careof the school and the land.
(07:35):
So she invited us one time whenwe came up to Shasta and we
went into the land and I met Timand the land itself is just.
You can feel how it is a powerspot, how it's important as a
teacher and as a piece of theearth For just being on the land
.
It changes you and I can seethat and my son has come, even
(07:58):
though he's like one of theyoungest people that always
comes to the camp.
He just it's like he belongsthere, it's like he just becomes
part of the community.
And I think it's such animportant reminder to all of us
that to go and to be on theearth and to, like we do
activities like cover ourselveswith mud and go and hide and
(08:20):
become part of the earth andlike you have bugs crawling on
you and stuff and that stuffthat maybe in our modern day we
avoid doing that kind of things,we're always trying to get the
bugs out or whatever.
But Tim and the teachings aretelling you how you're part of
that.
That's not separate from you.
You're part of the ecosystem.
This is all part of who we allare and it's a reminder and I
(08:43):
think why kids take that up, sothey like soak that up right,
and I know that Tim said he hasso many kids coming to the space
and this affects them as theyget older too, like we all
remember that that's all part ofus and that's something maybe
that we get disconnected from asa child because we live in
these cities and we live inthese places that are away from
(09:04):
everybody, so it's so essential.
If everyone could come toHeadwaters, that would be
incredible.
I feel like that would be a lot, but we want other places in
the world to be like Headwatersand to be sacred.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Who are many of them.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Exactly for it to spread.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Well, you just touched on that.
But when, tim, when you weresaying that it went from you
having a lot of adults to nowyou having more children coming,
I love that, because for themto learn that young and to be
able to take that with themthroughout their life and be
able to teach that as theycontinue, continue on with your
(09:44):
teachings, I think it'sabsolutely beautiful, absolutely
.
So I love what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So when I was younger , a few years earlier, in the
school for the school, my firstbook I wrote was called Growing
Up With a Soul Full of Natureand that book I wrote is kind of
for students to have who cameto the school and it's about how
a childhood really raised bythe earth.
And some of that book is now inthe new book, the Earth Care
Takeaway.
But I wrote that I was soinspired about how kids have to
(10:16):
learn when they're young.
And today the thing that's evenharder for kids is, with social
media, a lot of kids they'lljust never get away from their.
They won't even go out and sitby a tree.
And so much teaching fromnature doesn't necessarily come
from, like me, lecturing or evenhiking or anything else.
It comes from just being innature and soaking up the living
(10:38):
force of the earth and youcan't replace that with anything
but being out there and open.
And kids today, some kidsliterally never, ever, go in
nature, never, never.
It's scared me, but we'retrying to help.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
So you describe yourself as an earth caretaker.
Can you kind of describe?
You know and I know you've beenbriefly touching on that, but
what does that mean to you beingan earth caretaker?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well, an earth caretaker.
The idea that comes out of thebook is that it's one of those.
When you look at human beings,I find human beings fascinating.
And from an anthropologicalstandpoint, what are the few
things in the world that we allcan agree on and bring us
together?
And maybe, if we all begin towake up, caring for the earth is
(11:26):
a universal thing and it doesliterally with global warming
and overpopulation and what'shappening to the world actually
means life for us in the future.
That's quality, right.
So it's that developing thatpersonal relationship with
nature, the earth caretaker way.
We all have that universalthing in us.
So, no matter where you are Idon't care if you're the richest
(11:48):
person in the world, I don'tcare if you're the poorest
person or any type of person, orany religion or any political
belief or any of that we can allwake up every day and dedicate
ourselves to doing good for ourplanet with the resources we
have.
And if it's nothing but justour body, go up and clean up
creeks.
Talk to the people about nature.
(12:09):
Spend time with a tree.
You could always.
One of the biggest things I tellpeople today it's so huge is
vote for nature If you'relooking, if you're frustrated
with the way that the world isright now and politicians just
vote for the ones that save land, care for land, do good for
wildlife.
That's the most important thingright now.
(12:31):
It's huge, and being an earthcaretaker it has to do with when
you wake up in the morning.
It's not something you evenhave to think about, you just
know you love our earth, youcare about it and you're going
to dedicate your life to caringfor.
So it might mean joiningorganizations that are already
fighting for the earth, helpingclean up creeks and rivers.
If you have money, donatingmoney to good causes.
(12:53):
But the other half of thatbeing an earth caretaker, then
is developing your personalrelationship with nature, which
means you have to go out and bein nature go to the beach, go to
the mountains, go backpacking,go hiking, climb trees, get in
the water, get personal withnature.
That's a brief, a quick brief,but imagine what it would happen
(13:15):
if people start, if this earthcaretaker way idea started to
catch on and become a movementand people all around the world
started to wake up every day andthink what are we going to do
for our planet?
Imagine if half the populationof the world just decided to put
water out and take care ofbirds Right Overnight, a problem
would disappear.
(13:36):
If we all took our front yardsand our backyards and cities and
suburbs and turned them intowildlife habitat, we'd have more
land saved than all thenational parks.
And imagine cities would becomea waste for animals and people
would come out and see theirneighbors and talk and visit and
imagine what it would be likefor a bird to fly over a city
where the front and back yardswere designed for wildlife and
(13:59):
not just grass.
Imagine overnight.
The other thing too is we'retrying to push really hard is
saving land.
About 50% of the land in theworld needs to be set aside as
wild for the soul of humanbeings in the earth, but for all
wildlife to have space.
And it's starting to happen.
There's people doing it.
(14:20):
I'm feeling this energy buildand every day I read and study I
see there's a new person doingsomething big.
So that's what gives me hopeand often a very hopeless time
for a lot of people.
It gives me hope and you can'tfunction without hope.
You can't do anythingAbsolutely, but it has to be
real hope and that's what givesit to me.
(14:42):
Just to wrap up here, so thebottom line is everybody can do
something.
We all can do it.
It doesn't have to be, oh, thatguy can do it or that guy.
No, you can wake up in themorning and care for our earth,
and part of it is educatingyourself.
Learn how you can do it, beinterested, and again, that book
will help with that to somedegree.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Well, I can't wait for it to come out and I can't
wait to read it.
And it's funny because you werejust talking about if everybody
were to turn their backyardinto something for wildlife.
So I have a neighbor who wasliving next door and because of
what she's done with herbackyard, there are hummingbirds
(15:24):
that come into my yardfrequently and dragonflies and
butterflies and everything.
And then there has been a fewtimes where hawks perch up and
I'm in the suburbs so hawksperching up on the fence in
between our two yards where I'mjust like, oh my god, this is so
beautiful, like there's a hawkright there.
(15:44):
So the fact that you said that,and because I've had the
opportunity to experience itthanks to my neighbor, I get
what you're saying oh yeah, no.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
In moments like that, when you see that hawk, just
know that hawk speaking to you,Spend time with it.
Like one thing people do a lotis they'll see something neat
and then they'll just move on,Spend time and soak it up and
then it really lives in you.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
No, I am fascinated, and so it's almost like I'm
constantly looking now, wheneverI'm walking, driving, you know,
looking for hawks.
Hawks are definitely my spiritanimal, I believe, and so, just
and especially after having thatrelationship with that hawk and
(16:30):
that meeting with it, so, yes,I definitely sat there and just,
and sometimes I was even ableto get pictures, and I go back
to that picture and I'll reflect.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, I think, when we personally become Earth
caretakers, we're finding whatconnects with our soul, that
connects us to the soul of theEarth and the elements and the
ethereals, and even to rememberthat, like the book, there's a
chapter in the book that talksabout elementals and it talks
about how we can connect tothese spirits.
(17:02):
And I think that that in thisday and age, we're just
awakening and the young ones areall like, more open for that
idea where there was a time thatthat we were disconnected from
even those more sensitive andspiritual topics.
I think nowadays we have thisopenness when it comes to
listening.
You know, this is.
(17:23):
And then the book, it even saysit's like remembering our
future by going backwards.
Right, so we're remembering ourmore indigenous, the more
native ways of, you know,connecting and actually being
with the Earth and rememberingthat as an entity, as an energy,
there's so much for us to learn.
Just by slowing down, just bystopping, and like when you sit
(17:47):
by a creek, when you, you know,have a moment with the tree and
you place yourself, you know,put your back to the tree, and
you become one with that spiritof that energy, you get a lot of
information, you get a lot ofcomfort, you get a feeling of
groundedness when you sit with atree.
You know, when I'm working withmy clients and I, we do
(18:11):
grounding, we're always becominga tree just because, like, we
need to honor these, theseentities and these energies for
the wisdom that they've held.
You know, when you sit and youobserve like when I it's been
windy and I'm observing trees Igo.
What is this tree teaching me?
And it's about flexibility.
It's about how that storm orhow that wind doesn't break a
(18:33):
tree, but the tree becomesflexible within it.
So what is that?
A lesson for me?
Right, earth caretakers arepeople who reflect and see the
Earth as not separate from you,as something that is about you
and for you and takes care ofyou.
So don't you naturally want togo and take care of it?
I think, like Tim said, it'sreally important that we start
(18:53):
to either in a especially in ourday to day lives, moments of
connecting, even just looking atthe sky, looking at the clouds,
saying thank you to the sun forgiving us all this vitality and
growth, the rain for giving usthat water, that nourishment and
that clearing, but also, how dowe expand that so that we can
(19:14):
preserve this for the longevityof our children and our
children's children and otherpeople's children, right?
And so that the animals and theinsects continue to have an
ecosystem that's thriving andnot one that's dying, where we
turn our back from it.
It's difficult, it'soverwhelming.
I think sometimes we getoverwhelmed in the feeling that
(19:36):
the climate change and this isstuff that we've been talking
about since I was a child.
It's a stuff that we know right.
If we don't find tangible waysof actually doing things to
preserve it and inspiring peopleinto preserving it, then we are
going to be at a loss and it'sgoing to be a really great loss
for humanity as a whole.
(19:57):
One way or another, the earthwill take care of herself and
she will survive.
Now, for humans, I don't knowif it's going to be the same
success story, but I know, likeTim, like we have hope, we have
to.
You know, right, we are here tobe visionaries, and I'm a
visionary for peace andconnection and community for the
(20:18):
entire world.
I feel like if we can't evenbelieve that we can have a
worldwide peace, how do we haveworldwide connection to earth?
You know how do we do thosethings?
Well, we believe that it'spossible, and then you go from
there and you do things thatwould make that possibility
happen.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
So yeah, Beautiful, I agree.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Exactly, I'm just like yes, yeah, we inspire each
other.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Yeah, and one of the ways that it happens too and
people just don't realize howeasy it is is if you just show
an interest in something like aplant, like a flower, like a
hummingbird, like a mountain,like a creek, just like the
earth.
If you're just showing interestis a way of saying through your
(21:01):
body, through your actions,that you love this thing, that
you care about this thing, thatyou find it important, and
that's an energy that goes out.
Remember, the earth is a livingbeing and every single thing on
the earth is living.
I really think it's the humantime right now.
This is what we're supposed todo is be your caretakers is care
for this precious planet.
(21:21):
That's one of the reasons wehave these incredible brains,
these incredible hands that canmake and build things.
Yes, with this incredibleintelligence we built the H-bomb
.
We can do bad things, but wecan also build and create
incredible things.
That's always a choice and wehave it both of it in us and
(21:42):
that deeper connection to theearth taking the time, letting
her come in keeps us morecentered and balanced to make
better decisions.
Often it's the light, it'sright.
Some of the worst moments, likeit seems now in the world, it's
so bad right now.
In so many ways it's that justbefore that darkness comes more
light and it all changes.
(22:04):
I really believe we're buildingup for a more awareness, this
younger generation now very muchinspiring me.
There are earth caretakeradvocates out there in their 20s
, early 30s, all over the worldkicking.
But they are out there Everycountry in the world.
It's happening.
You just don't hear about it inthe news.
You've got to research it tofind these people and things.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I've been watching some of your YouTubes.
We've been actually trying toconnect for a few months.
I've been watching your TimTalks on YouTube.
There was one that you recentlydid, a few weeks ago Living
Simply where you were talkingabout forging your own food and
stuff like that Something thatmy husband and I were putting
(22:51):
together a garden so that wehave our own, not always having
to go and get groceries andthings like that.
Also.
I'm really excited because it'sa way for me to connect with
the earth and be able to watchsomething grow.
I've always said I have a blackthumb, but I think it's more.
(23:11):
I just wasn't knowledgeable.
I don't want to say I didn'tcare, but I didn't care in the
way that I care.
Now that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
That's neat that you're doing the garden.
That's a great way to get youout Growing plants.
It becomes personal.
When you start them from a seed, say, and you grow them, you
want to protect them.
The natural protection part ofyou comes out.
You protect them from insectattacks.
You watch them grow, you getcloser, you watch them finish
their life and they're all thewhile they're filling you up,
(23:43):
feeding you and giving you life.
That's another thing.
In doing the front and backyards as wildlife habitat, you
can also add into their personalgardens and it's actually been
done.
In World War II there waswhat's called victory gardens
which, because most of the foodhad to go to feed the troops
overseas fighting.
(24:04):
It was asked of the Americanpublic to grow their own food
gardens and millions of peopledid that.
It's been done.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, it's essential for us to grow our own food.
I think, with the cost ofeverything going up, we can
recognize that growing our ownfood and turning areas that were
long or whatever within ourpersonal properties or even pots
, if you live in an apartment oryou live in a small space, like
, put some pots out with thingsthat you can grow that are
simple, right, we have kind oflost touch with that part of
(24:35):
ourselves.
And the gardens at.
You know, headwaters areincredible.
There's entire greenhouse butthen there's small little areas
that they grow just herbs andthings.
And even when I come for class,like at headwaters, there's a
woman, rosie, who does.
She goes a tea garden walk inthe morning and will go and pick
the herbs that we make a teawith and everyone can enjoy that
(24:57):
tea.
Just small little things likethat.
If you have some lavender orlemon balm or whatever you want
to have, you know you can growyour own rosemary for when you
make chicken or whatever right,like to flavor your own herbs
and seasonings, right.
It makes those small littleefforts just really.
It gives us back thatsimplicity.
Like you were saying in the TEDtalk or the sorry, the Tim talk
(25:19):
, it's all about returning tothat simplicity, and I know that
Tim has turned the gardens andthe area around his house.
Even there's apples that aregrowing there, like I remember
when we were there last summerthat I think there was cherries
growing and all the kids got togo and pick cherries and then we
(25:40):
had fresh cherries, it's likethe joy of just being able to
pick a fruit for yourselfinstead of picking it up at a
grocery store.
That's the kind of connectionthat you need to remember that
you are capable of that samething.
We've lost that, so now let'sremember that that's part of who
we are Just growing those herbsor those, if we can.
(26:01):
A cherry tree right, go bigRight.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
That cherry tree on our property every year.
Every year it gets about fivegallons of cherries and they
come about when they start toget ripe.
I have the kids climb the treeand pick it and they just go
nuts.
They love it so much and Icould teach for days that tree,
holding them, letting them pickcherries and having the
(26:25):
community and then eating themand preparing them.
That's the teacher.
That's the real teacher.
I don't need to get my egoinvolved.
Believe me, the cherry tree isthe master teacher and that's
what we do a lot here.
And you see it, it's lettingthe tree be the teacher and the
experience.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Can I say, when we climb trees.
So in the school they actuallyhave us climb these large trees.
We even had an activity whereall of us went up in the tree
and sat on a branch.
Now, these are things that andI've been a teacher for 20 years
, so they don't want you, as achild, climbing up into a tree
because it's a liability issueor whatever.
You're going to get hurt.
(27:00):
Well, you get to remember that.
Being careful, they alsoencourage you to take your shoes
off.
So, being tender and beingsensitive to everything around
you, climbing a tree carefully,being mindful about how you put
your body in the weight ofyourself in that tree, and then
sitting with the tree andremembering that even those
(27:21):
kinds of things we've cautionedourselves away from trying to
circumnavigate getting hurt.
Well, you know what you gothrough the tree, you get a
little scratch, you'll survive,everyone will be okay, and it's
important for us to rememberthat we lived thousands of years
getting dirty and mucky andwe're still here.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, and you brought that up and it brings me back
to a picture of me and I was inmy early 20s and I was up in a
tree in Hawaii and I was justlike, yeah, it's been a long
time since I've climbed a tree,but I get what you're saying and
it's like, yeah, you might geta couple of scrapes, but you
survive.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
We've had parents try to stop us from doing that.
I won't do it.
I won't comply.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Tim's the ultimate rebel.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
I'll tell you a wonderful, quick story about how
to illustrate how this workworks is I was having an adult
advanced awareness class yearsquite a few years ago and this
one adult, very strong guy, big,strong, well-fitting guy.
Their job was to climb thistree about 50, 60, 70 feet up.
They were up there and the jobwas to give their energy to the
(28:32):
tree.
The teaching was that we'realways taking from nature and
the idea was to start to giveback, and you can give back
energetically too.
The idea was for them to climbthe tree and then give their
energy to the tree and wish it agood life, wish it health and
healing and a good life.
It's one way we say we give ablessing.
And he did this.
(28:52):
And then when it ended I calledeverybody back and everybody
came down and he wouldn't moveand I could just barely hear him
go Tim, tim, I can't move.
And he'd given so much energyto the tree.
He was like completely limp andhe was going to fall.
So me and two other guysclimbed the tree and had to
really literally carry him down,took like 20 minutes, and then
(29:14):
when he got on the ground, hegot grounded again.
He sucked up the energy of theearth and he came back into his
body, but he had forgotten howto suck back his energy into
himself.
He'd give it all to the tree,and it was just an illustration
of how incredible that is, youknow, and that we, oh, and
here's the finish of the story.
So then he, you know, hefinished the class, he left.
You know, we wished him well,and he's one of those you don't
(29:36):
always keep in touch with yourstudents.
So, like 10, 12 years later,just yesterday, julie heard from
him and he's now owns and runsa backpacking school in Montana,
taking people out into thewilderness, and so see, might
this land touched him.
He did it himself, but it'sconcentric rings.
We're a part of that, you know.
(29:58):
And and it could have allstarted right here on this land,
with that tree, you know, andnow he's changing people's lives
.
So it's really that's the kindof thing you want to see.
It fills your soul.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Absolutely.
That's lovely, absolutely so.
Going back to your YouTube'sand and your book, when I was
doing a little bit of researchon you and Looking at your
YouTube's, I found one fromthree years ago when you were
discussing the earth care takeaway and your book and you
actually discussed some of thedifferent chapters.
(30:28):
How long have you been workingon this book?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Yeah, well, I think I probably working on this book
my whole life.
But really seriously, where Idecided we're gonna do a book
and I started writing forprobably 10 years, and I always
have this getaway every yearwhere I go to the big island of
Hawaii and my wife and I we rentthis little place and I sit
there.
We go there for three weeks andthat's where I do most the
(30:53):
writing, believe it or not, andI just sit there on the beach
and it just like happens.
You know, there's somethinghappens there, mm-hmm.
And then I have this incredibleperson, julie betler, who
co-authored the book with me,who cleans up all my writing.
It makes me look great, youknow Cuz I she reads my
scribbles, but that's where itall comes from.
And and it's just an amazingthing, you know.
(31:14):
So it's been about 10 years andand boy, in this last year
where we really got focused onpublishing, we had no idea how
much work would say, yeah, it'sall and good, but we have spent
every minute on it.
You know, just just editing isa humbling.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yeah, it's exciting to watch and I've been able to
be kind of on the inside trackof that and we're so proud and
so happy that Tim and and Julieare creating this.
You know, this gift for all ofus that we can have, like their
legacy being passed on to all ofus that have come to the school
, that feel a connection to theland, that feel a connection to
(31:53):
the idea of an earth care taker,and even Tim could probably
tell you this year, I think,they're having an earth care
taker way class, a special classto help teach people More about
the specifics of being an earthcare taker.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Yeah, that's gonna be in June and that'll be like the
first, I'm hoping, of spawningmany of those into the future
and where the the headwatersoutdoor school too, will start
to morph a little bit into anearth care taker facility Mm-hmm
, or the idea of one to helpinspire people to go out.
And one of the dreams is thatpeople all over the world Will
start to find little pieces ofland to save, with maybe a
(32:30):
building or two there in turn,and have their own little
educational Earth care takerfacility and kind of a place
where people can come togetherand with ideas, you know, and
then go out and Change the worldforever.
You know, that's I'm hoping.
This is gonna birth these ideasand they're gonna, at my age, a
lot of this I'm putting it outthere and then I'm gonna be
giving it away to the youngergeneration.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
That's yeah well, it's so funny because I was
gonna say, as we're wrappingthings up, what do you want to
come from your book?
But you just explained that sobeautifully.
So when does your book come out?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
the book comes out March 19 March 19, fantastic and
if, if anybody wants to Sendtheir email to info at h Woscom,
that's headwaters.
We'll take your email and we'regonna start sending out to
people Information about itcoming out and getting them all
prepped so that when that firstday two days, three days after
(33:26):
it comes out If everybody buysit, it'll really go up on the
best seller list and more peopleget to it.
The beautiful thing is it'sgonna hopefully spawn this
movement that's really what it'sabout and any money the book
makes will go into a foundationthat we're starting to help more
people come to the school andto save land and and really to
push the educational side ofwhat the earth care take away is
(33:50):
.
So it's a win-win and I wanteverybody to buy the book
because it's.
The book is designed to be thekind of book when you could open
it up to any page and getsomething inspirational, mm-hmm,
or it could be a reference book, or it can be also like a field
guide where you just take itwith you and you If jot notes in
it and you get it dirty, youknow, get some of the earth on
(34:10):
it, you know, and have it,collect the medicine of the
earth, press flowers in it,things like that.
And then eventually but a fewweeks later too, if you're
interested.
Right now I'm doing the audiblebook, but I want everybody to
have a physical book too.
But the audible is gonna bereally good too.
I, I've been putting hours indoing that that.
That's another very humblingthing.
(34:31):
Do it sitting in a little boothlike this, just speaking for
hours.
You know right, but I heard alittle bit of it.
It's pretty amazing.
I'm pretty impressed.
I'm excited like wow.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Well, I'm excited for your book to come out.
I know that I will becontacting you so that I can get
more information and be able topurchase that when it comes out
on March 19th.
That is the earth care takeaway by Tim Corcoran.
Tim, thank you so much forcoming on the show and giving
our audience just all of thiswonderful knowledge.
(35:05):
Daisy, thank you so much forcoming back.
I Appreciate the both of you.
This was beautiful.
So everybody go out and buyTim's book.
And that's it for today.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
So thanks, marlena.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Thanks Marlena, thanks Daisy.
What a gift to visit with youguys.
Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Yes, this was beautiful.
Thank you so much for joiningus on a witch, amistic and a
feminist.
Feel free to go to our websiteTo listen to past episodes and
we will see you next week.
Thank you, you.
Welcome to A Witch, a Mystic and a Feminist.
I am your host, marlena, and weare welcoming back our special
guest host, christine Daisy.
Today we are thrilled to have atrue Earth steward with us, tim
Corcoran.
From his early days in theCanadian wilderness to his
career in wildlife conservationand the owner of Headwaters
Outdoor School in Mount Chastica, california, tim's journey has
(00:29):
been intertwined with his Irishheritage and a deep connection
to Earth people's philosophy oflife.
Communicating with spirits ofanimals and enriched by the
teachings of renowned trackerTom Brown Jr, tim embodies the
Earth caretaker way, a path hehas dedicated his life to and
shares in his upcoming book.
Welcome Tim, and welcome backDaisy, so happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yay.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Good to be here.
We have a nice rainy day outhere and trees are happy.
They're soaking up the water.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Fantastic.
Well, I know that you're comingout with a book soon called the
Earth Caretaker Way, correct,correct.
But before we get into that, Ikind of want to go into the
school that you have.
You're the owner of HeadwatersOutdoor School.
Can you tell us a little bitabout your teachings there?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah Well, Headwaters Outdoor School.
We started the school I did in1992, which I can't believe it's
been that many years and I wasreally guided to find.
The land that it's on is at thefoot of Mount Shasta, about 10
miles from Mount Shasta.
So it looks at it and MountShasta is one of the most
spiritual mountains on theplanet.
(01:36):
On our earth.
People come from all over theworld to come and just be in the
presence of Mount Shasta and wehave this incredible view of it
.
It touches us every day.
And so back in the early, in1990, I was called to find my
land that I had dreamed abouthaving since I was a kid and I
thought it was actually going tobe in Canada, but I got called
(01:57):
to Mount Shasta.
I actually, when I was 12, I'ddone my rites of passage in
Mount Shasta, so I had aconnection to it, you know, and
I love mountains anyway.
So I came up and I found thisland in a really, really
incredible spiritual way.
With it I was just guided to itand it's just full of water and
trees.
It's the land itself.
(02:18):
Is a teacher.
If I did no teaching at all inthe school, the land would do it
for me, but with myself and mystaff and this land itself.
I mean, it's an amazing mixwhen people come here.
So I started the school in 92and it's been going ever since
and it started out mostly adultsand some kids and then it kind
(02:39):
of morphed into a mix and nowit's probably three quarters
kids and a quarter adults, sobasically anybody who wants to
go deeper into learning aboutnature and having a personal
connection to the earth.
This is the place to come andwe've touched a lot of people
and I hope to keep living for awhile and do more.
And this book coming out, I'mhoping it's going to carry on
(03:00):
the teachings.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Fantastic.
And so I have never actually,and I live in the Bay Area but
I've never been to Mount Shasta,so it put it on your bucket.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That's crazy, I know.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How can that be?
I asked myself the samequestion.
I'm giving you an openinvitation.
You now have an open invitationand a place to stay.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Well, thank you very much because it's definitely as
I have been healing and growing.
Nature has really helped mewith that growth and with that
healing, and so is that some ofthe things that you teach your
kids and adults.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, deep personal connection to the earth, not one
where it's like you're lookingin it, like in a museum looking
at something.
It's when you realize you are apart of the earth, you're not
separate from it.
I think it's one of the bigmistakes humans have made since
we came into the modern world iswe've pushed that sacredness,
connection to the earth away,not from any master plan, it
(04:03):
just happened and we're losingit now and so we don't feel what
the earth is going through andwe also lose our feelings with
everything else in between.
And one of the things aboutwhat we teach going back to, I
think, about the title of yourpodcast, it's, I think you'd
appreciate part of how I foundthe land.
And so when I was out with arealtor, driving around looking
(04:27):
for weeks and months, couldn'tfind the land all these dirt
roads and I finally come downthis dirt road and he gets a
call and a piece of land came upfor sale.
So I'm very I.
When things like that happen, Iconsider it like a message.
You know, like it happenedright.
Then he goes oh, just down theroad there, let's go look.
I said, yes, you know.
So we walked down the road.
At the time I couldn't even getdown the road in the car, it
(04:49):
was so rough.
As we walked down and Iimmediately heard the water and
the land started to call to meand I saw a tree that really
felt personal, like, like,really personal.
And as I'm hearing the water,I'm getting closer, and along
with me I had a wolf namedJoseph, who I named after chief
Joseph of the Nespierre Strybebecause he could appear and
(05:10):
disappear at will and he lovedthe land.
So he was one of the signs Ineeded to say yes, get the land,
he loved it.
I just let him go on itwandering around.
And then I get to the water andI was also at the time a
falconer and a bird rescuer andI had birds of prey and I had a
hawk for 40 years named Portia.
She was a red tailed hawk thathad been injured, and so I've
(05:33):
always again I'm going back to,I'm looking for signs saying get
this land, get this land, and Isee a center tail feather of a
red tailed hawk come floatingdown the creek.
I pick it up, I go whoa, nowthat is a sign.
So I'm pretty good, right then.
And then I look up.
I give you my word.
I look up in a tree like thatand it just brings tears to my
eyes.
(05:54):
My friend for the rest of mylife I call him the earthkeeper
looked down at me.
It was a spiritual being.
He looked down at me from atree and he just said get it.
And I looked at the realtor andthere was a couple of the
people with me.
They felt the energy.
I said, let's get it.
And that afternoon we got theland and that started the whole
(06:14):
thing.
And the earthkeeper a lot ofhis words are in the book the
earth caretaker way and a lot ofthe teachings come from him and
my relationship.
And this land is just full ofspirits from the earth, spirits
and spirits from the nativepeople who lived here.
I mean, it's just for sensitivepeople, it's like sometimes too
(06:34):
much, it's almost more than youcan handle.
Okay, yeah, it's really reallyamazing place, so you have to
come.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And Daisy, so you haveexperience.
You know Tim and you actuallybrought him to us, and so I was
like you gotta have Tim on.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
He's an incredible person and this book, I think,
is an incredible piece of work.
I've been honored to be apre-reader for it and to read
both what the caretaker of thespirit of the land has taught
Tim and from Tim himself.
My son and I have gone toheadwaters camp, actually the
first time I visited.
(07:12):
It's, of course, like Shasta'simportant to me, like it was
literally a place that I went toand had a spiritual awakening
when I was leaving kind of alife behind and I had my own
experiences with Shasta.
And so the owner of the crystalshop that I work at is actually
been childhood friends withJulie, who is also a teacher of
the land and helps to take careof the school and the land.
(07:35):
So she invited us one time whenwe came up to Shasta and we
went into the land and I met Timand the land itself is just.
You can feel how it is a powerspot, how it's important as a
teacher and as a piece of theearth For just being on the land
.
It changes you and I can seethat and my son has come, even
(07:58):
though he's like one of theyoungest people that always
comes to the camp.
He just it's like he belongsthere, it's like he just becomes
part of the community.
And I think it's such animportant reminder to all of us
that to go and to be on theearth and to, like we do
activities like cover ourselveswith mud and go and hide and
(08:20):
become part of the earth andlike you have bugs crawling on
you and stuff and that stuffthat maybe in our modern day we
avoid doing that kind of things,we're always trying to get the
bugs out or whatever.
But Tim and the teachings aretelling you how you're part of
that.
That's not separate from you.
You're part of the ecosystem.
This is all part of who we allare and it's a reminder and I
(08:43):
think why kids take that up, sothey like soak that up right,
and I know that Tim said he hasso many kids coming to the space
and this affects them as theyget older too, like we all
remember that that's all part ofus and that's something maybe
that we get disconnected from asa child because we live in
these cities and we live inthese places that are away from
(09:04):
everybody, so it's so essential.
If everyone could come toHeadwaters, that would be
incredible.
I feel like that would be a lot, but we want other places in
the world to be like Headwatersand to be sacred.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Who are many of them.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Exactly for it to spread.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Well, you just touched on that.
But when, tim, when you weresaying that it went from you
having a lot of adults to nowyou having more children coming,
I love that, because for themto learn that young and to be
able to take that with themthroughout their life and be
able to teach that as theycontinue, continue on with your
(09:44):
teachings, I think it'sabsolutely beautiful, absolutely
.
So I love what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So when I was younger , a few years earlier, in the
school for the school, my firstbook I wrote was called Growing
Up With a Soul Full of Natureand that book I wrote is kind of
for students to have who cameto the school and it's about how
a childhood really raised bythe earth.
And some of that book is now inthe new book, the Earth Care
Takeaway.
But I wrote that I was soinspired about how kids have to
(10:16):
learn when they're young.
And today the thing that's evenharder for kids is, with social
media, a lot of kids they'lljust never get away from their.
They won't even go out and sitby a tree.
And so much teaching fromnature doesn't necessarily come
from, like me, lecturing or evenhiking or anything else.
It comes from just being innature and soaking up the living
(10:38):
force of the earth and youcan't replace that with anything
but being out there and open.
And kids today, some kidsliterally never, ever, go in
nature, never, never.
It's scared me, but we'retrying to help.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
So you describe yourself as an earth caretaker.
Can you kind of describe?
You know and I know you've beenbriefly touching on that, but
what does that mean to you beingan earth caretaker?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well, an earth caretaker.
The idea that comes out of thebook is that it's one of those.
When you look at human beings,I find human beings fascinating.
And from an anthropologicalstandpoint, what are the few
things in the world that we allcan agree on and bring us
together?
And maybe, if we all begin towake up, caring for the earth is
(11:26):
a universal thing and it doesliterally with global warming
and overpopulation and what'shappening to the world actually
means life for us in the future.
That's quality, right.
So it's that developing thatpersonal relationship with
nature, the earth caretaker way.
We all have that universalthing in us.
So, no matter where you are Idon't care if you're the richest
(11:48):
person in the world, I don'tcare if you're the poorest
person or any type of person, orany religion or any political
belief or any of that we can allwake up every day and dedicate
ourselves to doing good for ourplanet with the resources we
have.
And if it's nothing but justour body, go up and clean up
creeks.
Talk to the people about nature.
(12:09):
Spend time with a tree.
You could always.
One of the biggest things I tellpeople today it's so huge is
vote for nature If you'relooking, if you're frustrated
with the way that the world isright now and politicians just
vote for the ones that save land, care for land, do good for
wildlife.
That's the most important thingright now.
(12:31):
It's huge, and being an earthcaretaker it has to do with when
you wake up in the morning.
It's not something you evenhave to think about, you just
know you love our earth, youcare about it and you're going
to dedicate your life to caringfor.
So it might mean joiningorganizations that are already
fighting for the earth, helpingclean up creeks and rivers.
If you have money, donatingmoney to good causes.
(12:53):
But the other half of thatbeing an earth caretaker, then
is developing your personalrelationship with nature, which
means you have to go out and bein nature go to the beach, go to
the mountains, go backpacking,go hiking, climb trees, get in
the water, get personal withnature.
That's a brief, a quick brief,but imagine what it would happen
(13:15):
if people start, if this earthcaretaker way idea started to
catch on and become a movementand people all around the world
started to wake up every day andthink what are we going to do
for our planet?
Imagine if half the populationof the world just decided to put
water out and take care ofbirds Right Overnight, a problem
would disappear.
(13:36):
If we all took our front yardsand our backyards and cities and
suburbs and turned them intowildlife habitat, we'd have more
land saved than all thenational parks.
And imagine cities would becomea waste for animals and people
would come out and see theirneighbors and talk and visit and
imagine what it would be likefor a bird to fly over a city
where the front and back yardswere designed for wildlife and
(13:59):
not just grass.
Imagine overnight.
The other thing too is we'retrying to push really hard is
saving land.
About 50% of the land in theworld needs to be set aside as
wild for the soul of humanbeings in the earth, but for all
wildlife to have space.
And it's starting to happen.
There's people doing it.
(14:20):
I'm feeling this energy buildand every day I read and study I
see there's a new person doingsomething big.
So that's what gives me hopeand often a very hopeless time
for a lot of people.
It gives me hope and you can'tfunction without hope.
You can't do anythingAbsolutely, but it has to be
real hope and that's what givesit to me.
(14:42):
Just to wrap up here, so thebottom line is everybody can do
something.
We all can do it.
It doesn't have to be, oh, thatguy can do it or that guy.
No, you can wake up in themorning and care for our earth,
and part of it is educatingyourself.
Learn how you can do it, beinterested, and again, that book
will help with that to somedegree.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Well, I can't wait for it to come out and I can't
wait to read it.
And it's funny because you werejust talking about if everybody
were to turn their backyardinto something for wildlife.
So I have a neighbor who wasliving next door and because of
what she's done with herbackyard, there are hummingbirds
(15:24):
that come into my yardfrequently and dragonflies and
butterflies and everything.
And then there has been a fewtimes where hawks perch up and
I'm in the suburbs so hawksperching up on the fence in
between our two yards where I'mjust like, oh my god, this is so
beautiful, like there's a hawkright there.
(15:44):
So the fact that you said that,and because I've had the
opportunity to experience itthanks to my neighbor, I get
what you're saying oh yeah, no.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
In moments like that, when you see that hawk, just
know that hawk speaking to you,Spend time with it.
Like one thing people do a lotis they'll see something neat
and then they'll just move on,Spend time and soak it up and
then it really lives in you.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
No, I am fascinated, and so it's almost like I'm
constantly looking now, wheneverI'm walking, driving, you know,
looking for hawks.
Hawks are definitely my spiritanimal, I believe, and so, just
and especially after having thatrelationship with that hawk and
(16:30):
that meeting with it, so, yes,I definitely sat there and just,
and sometimes I was even ableto get pictures, and I go back
to that picture and I'll reflect.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, I think, when we personally become Earth
caretakers, we're finding whatconnects with our soul, that
connects us to the soul of theEarth and the elements and the
ethereals, and even to rememberthat, like the book, there's a
chapter in the book that talksabout elementals and it talks
about how we can connect tothese spirits.
(17:02):
And I think that that in thisday and age, we're just
awakening and the young ones areall like, more open for that
idea where there was a time thatthat we were disconnected from
even those more sensitive andspiritual topics.
I think nowadays we have thisopenness when it comes to
listening.
You know, this is.
(17:23):
And then the book, it even saysit's like remembering our
future by going backwards.
Right, so we're remembering ourmore indigenous, the more
native ways of, you know,connecting and actually being
with the Earth and rememberingthat as an entity, as an energy,
there's so much for us to learn.
Just by slowing down, just bystopping, and like when you sit
(17:47):
by a creek, when you, you know,have a moment with the tree and
you place yourself, you know,put your back to the tree, and
you become one with that spiritof that energy, you get a lot of
information, you get a lot ofcomfort, you get a feeling of
groundedness when you sit with atree.
You know, when I'm working withmy clients and I, we do
(18:11):
grounding, we're always becominga tree just because, like, we
need to honor these, theseentities and these energies for
the wisdom that they've held.
You know, when you sit and youobserve like when I it's been
windy and I'm observing trees Igo.
What is this tree teaching me?
And it's about flexibility.
It's about how that storm orhow that wind doesn't break a
(18:33):
tree, but the tree becomesflexible within it.
So what is that?
A lesson for me?
Right, earth caretakers arepeople who reflect and see the
Earth as not separate from you,as something that is about you
and for you and takes care ofyou.
So don't you naturally want togo and take care of it?
I think, like Tim said, it'sreally important that we start
(18:53):
to either in a especially in ourday to day lives, moments of
connecting, even just looking atthe sky, looking at the clouds,
saying thank you to the sun forgiving us all this vitality and
growth, the rain for giving usthat water, that nourishment and
that clearing, but also, how dowe expand that so that we can
(19:14):
preserve this for the longevityof our children and our
children's children and otherpeople's children, right?
And so that the animals and theinsects continue to have an
ecosystem that's thriving andnot one that's dying, where we
turn our back from it.
It's difficult, it'soverwhelming.
I think sometimes we getoverwhelmed in the feeling that
(19:36):
the climate change and this isstuff that we've been talking
about since I was a child.
It's a stuff that we know right.
If we don't find tangible waysof actually doing things to
preserve it and inspiring peopleinto preserving it, then we are
going to be at a loss and it'sgoing to be a really great loss
for humanity as a whole.
(19:57):
One way or another, the earthwill take care of herself and
she will survive.
Now, for humans, I don't knowif it's going to be the same
success story, but I know, likeTim, like we have hope, we have
to.
You know, right, we are here tobe visionaries, and I'm a
visionary for peace andconnection and community for the
(20:18):
entire world.
I feel like if we can't evenbelieve that we can have a
worldwide peace, how do we haveworldwide connection to earth?
You know how do we do thosethings?
Well, we believe that it'spossible, and then you go from
there and you do things thatwould make that possibility
happen.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
So yeah, Beautiful, I agree.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Exactly, I'm just like yes, yeah, we inspire each
other.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Yeah, and one of the ways that it happens too and
people just don't realize howeasy it is is if you just show
an interest in something like aplant, like a flower, like a
hummingbird, like a mountain,like a creek, just like the
earth.
If you're just showing interestis a way of saying through your
(21:01):
body, through your actions,that you love this thing, that
you care about this thing, thatyou find it important, and
that's an energy that goes out.
Remember, the earth is a livingbeing and every single thing on
the earth is living.
I really think it's the humantime right now.
This is what we're supposed todo is be your caretakers is care
for this precious planet.
(21:21):
That's one of the reasons wehave these incredible brains,
these incredible hands that canmake and build things.
Yes, with this incredibleintelligence we built the H-bomb
.
We can do bad things, but wecan also build and create
incredible things.
That's always a choice and wehave it both of it in us and
(21:42):
that deeper connection to theearth taking the time, letting
her come in keeps us morecentered and balanced to make
better decisions.
Often it's the light, it'sright.
Some of the worst moments, likeit seems now in the world, it's
so bad right now.
In so many ways it's that justbefore that darkness comes more
light and it all changes.
(22:04):
I really believe we're buildingup for a more awareness, this
younger generation now very muchinspiring me.
There are earth caretakeradvocates out there in their 20s
, early 30s, all over the worldkicking.
But they are out there Everycountry in the world.
It's happening.
You just don't hear about it inthe news.
You've got to research it tofind these people and things.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I've been watching some of your YouTubes.
We've been actually trying toconnect for a few months.
I've been watching your TimTalks on YouTube.
There was one that you recentlydid, a few weeks ago Living
Simply where you were talkingabout forging your own food and
stuff like that Something thatmy husband and I were putting
(22:51):
together a garden so that wehave our own, not always having
to go and get groceries andthings like that.
Also.
I'm really excited because it'sa way for me to connect with
the earth and be able to watchsomething grow.
I've always said I have a blackthumb, but I think it's more.
(23:11):
I just wasn't knowledgeable.
I don't want to say I didn'tcare, but I didn't care in the
way that I care.
Now that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
That's neat that you're doing the garden.
That's a great way to get youout Growing plants.
It becomes personal.
When you start them from a seed, say, and you grow them, you
want to protect them.
The natural protection part ofyou comes out.
You protect them from insectattacks.
You watch them grow, you getcloser, you watch them finish
their life and they're all thewhile they're filling you up,
(23:43):
feeding you and giving you life.
That's another thing.
In doing the front and backyards as wildlife habitat, you
can also add into their personalgardens and it's actually been
done.
In World War II there waswhat's called victory gardens
which, because most of the foodhad to go to feed the troops
overseas fighting.
(24:04):
It was asked of the Americanpublic to grow their own food
gardens and millions of peopledid that.
It's been done.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, it's essential for us to grow our own food.
I think, with the cost ofeverything going up, we can
recognize that growing our ownfood and turning areas that were
long or whatever within ourpersonal properties or even pots
, if you live in an apartment oryou live in a small space, like
, put some pots out with thingsthat you can grow that are
simple, right, we have kind oflost touch with that part of
(24:35):
ourselves.
And the gardens at.
You know, headwaters areincredible.
There's entire greenhouse butthen there's small little areas
that they grow just herbs andthings.
And even when I come for class,like at headwaters, there's a
woman, rosie, who does.
She goes a tea garden walk inthe morning and will go and pick
the herbs that we make a teawith and everyone can enjoy that
(24:57):
tea.
Just small little things likethat.
If you have some lavender orlemon balm or whatever you want
to have, you know you can growyour own rosemary for when you
make chicken or whatever right,like to flavor your own herbs
and seasonings, right.
It makes those small littleefforts just really.
It gives us back thatsimplicity.
Like you were saying in the TEDtalk or the sorry, the Tim talk
(25:19):
, it's all about returning tothat simplicity, and I know that
Tim has turned the gardens andthe area around his house.
Even there's apples that aregrowing there, like I remember
when we were there last summerthat I think there was cherries
growing and all the kids got togo and pick cherries and then we
(25:40):
had fresh cherries, it's likethe joy of just being able to
pick a fruit for yourselfinstead of picking it up at a
grocery store.
That's the kind of connectionthat you need to remember that
you are capable of that samething.
We've lost that, so now let'sremember that that's part of who
we are Just growing those herbsor those, if we can.
(26:01):
A cherry tree right, go bigRight.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
That cherry tree on our property every year.
Every year it gets about fivegallons of cherries and they
come about when they start toget ripe.
I have the kids climb the treeand pick it and they just go
nuts.
They love it so much and Icould teach for days that tree,
holding them, letting them pickcherries and having the
(26:25):
community and then eating themand preparing them.
That's the teacher.
That's the real teacher.
I don't need to get my egoinvolved.
Believe me, the cherry tree isthe master teacher and that's
what we do a lot here.
And you see it, it's lettingthe tree be the teacher and the
experience.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Can I say, when we climb trees.
So in the school they actuallyhave us climb these large trees.
We even had an activity whereall of us went up in the tree
and sat on a branch.
Now, these are things that andI've been a teacher for 20 years
, so they don't want you, as achild, climbing up into a tree
because it's a liability issueor whatever.
You're going to get hurt.
(27:00):
Well, you get to remember that.
Being careful, they alsoencourage you to take your shoes
off.
So, being tender and beingsensitive to everything around
you, climbing a tree carefully,being mindful about how you put
your body in the weight ofyourself in that tree, and then
sitting with the tree andremembering that even those
(27:21):
kinds of things we've cautionedourselves away from trying to
circumnavigate getting hurt.
Well, you know what you gothrough the tree, you get a
little scratch, you'll survive,everyone will be okay, and it's
important for us to rememberthat we lived thousands of years
getting dirty and mucky andwe're still here.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, and you brought that up and it brings me back
to a picture of me and I was inmy early 20s and I was up in a
tree in Hawaii and I was justlike, yeah, it's been a long
time since I've climbed a tree,but I get what you're saying and
it's like, yeah, you might geta couple of scrapes, but you
survive.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
We've had parents try to stop us from doing that.
I won't do it.
I won't comply.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Tim's the ultimate rebel.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
I'll tell you a wonderful, quick story about how
to illustrate how this workworks is I was having an adult
advanced awareness class yearsquite a few years ago and this
one adult, very strong guy, big,strong, well-fitting guy.
Their job was to climb thistree about 50, 60, 70 feet up.
They were up there and the jobwas to give their energy to the
(28:32):
tree.
The teaching was that we'realways taking from nature and
the idea was to start to giveback, and you can give back
energetically too.
The idea was for them to climbthe tree and then give their
energy to the tree and wish it agood life, wish it health and
healing and a good life.
It's one way we say we give ablessing.
And he did this.
(28:52):
And then when it ended I calledeverybody back and everybody
came down and he wouldn't moveand I could just barely hear him
go Tim, tim, I can't move.
And he'd given so much energyto the tree.
He was like completely limp andhe was going to fall.
So me and two other guysclimbed the tree and had to
really literally carry him down,took like 20 minutes, and then
(29:14):
when he got on the ground, hegot grounded again.
He sucked up the energy of theearth and he came back into his
body, but he had forgotten howto suck back his energy into
himself.
He'd give it all to the tree,and it was just an illustration
of how incredible that is, youknow, and that we, oh, and
here's the finish of the story.
So then he, you know, hefinished the class, he left.
You know, we wished him well,and he's one of those you don't
(29:36):
always keep in touch with yourstudents.
So, like 10, 12 years later,just yesterday, julie heard from
him and he's now owns and runsa backpacking school in Montana,
taking people out into thewilderness, and so see, might
this land touched him.
He did it himself, but it'sconcentric rings.
We're a part of that, you know.
(29:58):
And and it could have allstarted right here on this land,
with that tree, you know, andnow he's changing people's lives
.
So it's really that's the kindof thing you want to see.
It fills your soul.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Absolutely.
That's lovely, absolutely so.
Going back to your YouTube'sand and your book, when I was
doing a little bit of researchon you and Looking at your
YouTube's, I found one fromthree years ago when you were
discussing the earth care takeaway and your book and you
actually discussed some of thedifferent chapters.
(30:28):
How long have you been workingon this book?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Yeah, well, I think I probably working on this book
my whole life.
But really seriously, where Idecided we're gonna do a book
and I started writing forprobably 10 years, and I always
have this getaway every yearwhere I go to the big island of
Hawaii and my wife and I we rentthis little place and I sit
there.
We go there for three weeks andthat's where I do most the
(30:53):
writing, believe it or not, andI just sit there on the beach
and it just like happens.
You know, there's somethinghappens there, mm-hmm.
And then I have this incredibleperson, julie betler, who
co-authored the book with me,who cleans up all my writing.
It makes me look great, youknow Cuz I she reads my
scribbles, but that's where itall comes from.
And and it's just an amazingthing, you know.
(31:14):
So it's been about 10 years andand boy, in this last year
where we really got focused onpublishing, we had no idea how
much work would say, yeah, it'sall and good, but we have spent
every minute on it.
You know, just just editing isa humbling.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yeah, it's exciting to watch and I've been able to
be kind of on the inside trackof that and we're so proud and
so happy that Tim and and Julieare creating this.
You know, this gift for all ofus that we can have, like their
legacy being passed on to all ofus that have come to the school
, that feel a connection to theland, that feel a connection to
(31:53):
the idea of an earth care taker,and even Tim could probably
tell you this year, I think,they're having an earth care
taker way class, a special classto help teach people More about
the specifics of being an earthcare taker.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Yeah, that's gonna be in June and that'll be like the
first, I'm hoping, of spawningmany of those into the future
and where the the headwatersoutdoor school too, will start
to morph a little bit into anearth care taker facility Mm-hmm
, or the idea of one to helpinspire people to go out.
And one of the dreams is thatpeople all over the world Will
start to find little pieces ofland to save, with maybe a
(32:30):
building or two there in turn,and have their own little
educational Earth care takerfacility and kind of a place
where people can come togetherand with ideas, you know, and
then go out and Change the worldforever.
You know, that's I'm hoping.
This is gonna birth these ideasand they're gonna, at my age, a
lot of this I'm putting it outthere and then I'm gonna be
giving it away to the youngergeneration.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
That's yeah well, it's so funny because I was
gonna say, as we're wrappingthings up, what do you want to
come from your book?
But you just explained that sobeautifully.
So when does your book come out?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
the book comes out March 19 March 19, fantastic and
if, if anybody wants to Sendtheir email to info at h Woscom,
that's headwaters.
We'll take your email and we'regonna start sending out to
people Information about itcoming out and getting them all
prepped so that when that firstday two days, three days after
(33:26):
it comes out If everybody buysit, it'll really go up on the
best seller list and more peopleget to it.
The beautiful thing is it'sgonna hopefully spawn this
movement that's really what it'sabout and any money the book
makes will go into a foundationthat we're starting to help more
people come to the school andto save land and and really to
push the educational side ofwhat the earth care take away is
(33:50):
.
So it's a win-win and I wanteverybody to buy the book
because it's.
The book is designed to be thekind of book when you could open
it up to any page and getsomething inspirational, mm-hmm,
or it could be a reference book, or it can be also like a field
guide where you just take itwith you and you If jot notes in
it and you get it dirty, youknow, get some of the earth on
(34:10):
it, you know, and have it,collect the medicine of the
earth, press flowers in it,things like that.
And then eventually but a fewweeks later too, if you're
interested.
Right now I'm doing the audiblebook, but I want everybody to
have a physical book too.
But the audible is gonna bereally good too.
I, I've been putting hours indoing that that.
That's another very humblingthing.
(34:31):
Do it sitting in a little boothlike this, just speaking for
hours.
You know right, but I heard alittle bit of it.
It's pretty amazing.
I'm pretty impressed.
I'm excited like wow.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Well, I'm excited for your book to come out.
I know that I will becontacting you so that I can get
more information and be able topurchase that when it comes out
on March 19th.
That is the earth care takeaway by Tim Corcoran.
Tim, thank you so much forcoming on the show and giving
our audience just all of thiswonderful knowledge.
(35:05):
Daisy, thank you so much forcoming back.
I Appreciate the both of you.
This was beautiful.
So everybody go out and buyTim's book.
And that's it for today.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
So thanks, marlena.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Thanks Marlena, thanks Daisy.
What a gift to visit with youguys.
Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Yes, this was beautiful.
Thank you so much for joiningus on a witch, amistic and a
feminist.
Feel free to go to our websiteTo listen to past episodes and
we will see you next week.
Thank you, you.
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