Forest of Thought

How do we find ways of connecting to that which is sacred to us?
Can we learn to listen for that which brings us into attunement with our deepest selves and the living world? And how do we discern between true spiritual insight and wishful thinking?
In this conversation, eco-philosopher Per Ingvar Haukeland takes us on a journey that begins with his deep experiences of sacred connection to the trees and forests of his childhood. As an adult he travelled far and wide in his search for practices and words that could make sense of his experiences, ultimately finding that the answers were waiting for him at home.
Per Ingvar Haukeland is professor of Eco-Philosophy and Outdoor Life at the University of Southeast Norway. He has been active in the deep ecology movement, collaborating with the philosopher Arne Naess on two books Life’s philosophy (2003) and Deep Joy: Into deep ecology (2008). He co-founded the Alliance for Wild Ethics together with David Abram, Per Espen Stoknes and Stephen Harding.
PREVIOUS EPISODES WITH PER INGVAR:
Episode 7: Tree Teachings
Bonus episode for members: Coming into relationship with place
LINKS:
Per Ingvar Haukeland
Alliance for Wild Ethics
Arne Naess - Norwegian philosopher who founded the deep ecology movement
Carl Jung - Synchronicities
Spinoza - Deus sive Natura
Russel Duvernoy - Ecological Attunement
Thich Nhat Hanh on interbeing
Gregory Bateson - Steps to an ecology of mind
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🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com

How can myth and folklore help us find our way in the second half of life? What can we learn from the places we inhabit, and the stories that are rooted in the land?
Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, speaker and teacher. She’s a former neuroscientist and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore, and her work is focused on the mythic imagination and its relevance to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today.
She is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and in two of her recent books, Hagitude and Wise Women, she explores how folklore and myth help women reimagine the second half of life.
Sharon’s lates book, Ripening: why women need fairytales now has recently been released!
LINKS:
Sharon Blackie’s website
Hagitude and Wise Women, books by Sharon
The Soul’s Code by James Hillman
Cailleach, Irish hag deity
PREVIOUS BLOOD MYSTERIES EPISODES:
Pt 1: Embracing our cyclical nature with Jenny Koos
Pt 2: How we honor our nervous systems and cultivate pleasure as a pathway towards health with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Pt 3: Birth as a rite of passage with Kristina TurnerPt 4: In between worlds – on creating cultures of care after birth with Opokua Britton Cavaco
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The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.
🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.
💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ (per episode) or Substack (per month/year).⁠
🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com

The arrival of a new baby entails an opening between the worlds. It’s a liminal in–between space, where life is vulnerable until the baby has fully arrived and the window is safely closed. All over the world, people have developed traditions, rituals and practices to care for the new baby and parents during this special time, but many of those practices are being eroded and forgotten.
The conversation you’re about to hear is not just about the time after birth, but after any challenging transition in life, where we need to be held by those around us. And why is it that we find that so difficult in our culture?
Opokua Britton Cavaco is a doula, nurse and author. She has written books about birth and postpartum culture, and hosts the popular Swedish podcast Okrystat with her sister Asabea.
Opokua’s website
Opokuas book on postpartum culture, co-authored by Maria Borda (in Swedish)

Previous episodes in the Blood Mysteries series:
Pt 1: Embracing our cyclical nature with Jenny Koos
Pt 2: How we honor our nervous systems and cultivate pleasure as a pathway towards health with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Pt 3: Birth as a rite of passage with Kristina Turner
SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE
🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.
🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.
💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠
🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com

What does it mean to say that a river is alive? And if a river is alive, could it have legal rights that protect it from abuse and exploitation? What kinds of practices could affirm our interconnectedness with the rest of the living world? Do our Western ideals of enlightenment need to be complemented by ideas of enlivenment?
In this live podcast, writer Robert Macfarlane presents his book “Is a River Alive?” and is joined by ecologist Pella Thiel and podcast host Ingrid M. Rieser. This special episode is a collaboration between the Forest of Thought, the KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory and the On the Rights of Nature podcast.
Robert Macfarlane is internationally renowned for his writing on nature, people and place. His books include Underland, Landmarks, The Old Ways, The Wild Places and Mountains of the Mind . His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, won prizes around the world, and been widely adapted for film, music, theatre, radio and dance. He has also written operas, plays and films and collaborated closely with artists including Olafur Eliasson and Stanley Donwood. He is a Professor of Literature and the Environmental Humanities at the Faculty of English in Cambridge and is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Pella Thiel is a maverick ecologist, farmer, author and educator. She has co-founded Swedish hubs of international networks, including the Transition Sweden, End Ecocide Sweden and Save the Rainforest Sweden. Her current mission is to support the establishment of an Embassy of the Baltic Sea. She and Henrik Hallgren have written the book “Naturlagen: Om naturens rättigheter och människans möjligheter” (2022, Volante).
A big thank you to Robert Macfarlane’s Swedish publisher Ocean Books for making this event possible.
LINKS:
Video version of this talk
Robert Macfarlane’s books
Pella Thiel’s website
On the Rights of Nature Podcast with Pella Thiel
KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory
Ocean Books currently releasing “Is a River Alive?” in SwedishSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE
🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.
🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.
💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠
🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com

Birth can be difficult to talk about, because it's so complex and paradoxical. It can be beautiful and traumatic, often at the same time; it’s intensely personal and highly political; it’s something extraordinary that is also entirely ordinary. You give birth to a baby and you also birth yourself as a mother.
Another paradox is how birth has become much safer because of the advancements of modern medicine, and yet that very medicalisation has created new risks. Women who give birth in hospitals are more likely to have complications; the amount of women who have births without any interventions is rapidly declining.
Is it possible to build a culture of birth that takes the best parts of modern medicine and combines them with a deep respect for the wisdom of women’s bodies? Instead of seeing birth as a medical event, how do we honor it as a rite of passage?
In this episode, Ingrid shares some of her personal journey of pregnancy and birth, in conversation with author and birth activist Kristina Turner. They discuss how the view of birth has changed in the past centuries, and what ingredients are needed for a healthier birth culture to take root.
Kristina Turner is a writer, birth activist, and women’s circle facilitator with over 25 years experience. She is the author of Natural Birth – A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding and Revolution i BB-fabriken (Revolution in the Birth Factory). Across her work, Kristina returns to one central thread: the sovereignty of the woman’s body — its intelligence, rhythms, rites of passage, and its ability to transform consciousness. Kristina lives between Sweden and the UK and works internationally as a writer, birth educator, and Compassionate Inquiry practitioner supporting women healing from traumatic births.
LINKS:
Kristina’s Substack
Kristina’s book Natural Birth – A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding
Kristina’s book (in Swedish) written with Maria Bengtsson Revolution i BB-fabriken
Meta-study finding that births in hospitals gave more complications as compared to home births (in low-risk pregnancies)
Meta-study showing that risks for babies are not higher in home-births (for low-risk pregnancies)


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com