Belonging to the Wild

Dr. Vanya Leilani
  • 5.0 (14)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Conversations and reflections that help us remember and move into wildness~within and without. To be wild is to know what you are and to live from that knowing without shame. It is to remember that humans are nature too, that the wildness of nature is not only out there in pristine forests and secretive deserts, it is also right here in our unruly hearts, intricate minds, animal bodies, and in the vastness of the imagination. Here, we ask questions, tell stories, share knowledge, and wonder together about ways to belong ourselves back to the wild. www.drvanyaleilani.com

  1. 09/01/2025

    Ep. 26: Cultivating a Secure Existential Attachment with Mackenzie Amara

    In this episode, Mackenzie Amara and I explore the idea of cultivating a secure existential attachment. We talk about what that means and explore what it feels like to have a secure attachment to source, life, or existence itself.   In this fascinating conversation, we also explore themes of love and shame, the experience of spiritual bypass, and what Joseph Campbell really meant when he encouraged us to follow our bliss. We talk about the experience of gods dying and being born, as well as the necessity of living with what Mackenzie calls “crucifying paradoxes.”   Mackenzie Amara is a writer, researcher, consultant, & 5Rhythms® teacher. She is a Diploma Candidate at the International School of Analytical Psychology in Zurich, training to become a Jungian analyst, and she is a clinical psychology doctoral student at Saybrook University in Oakland, CA. She holds a Master's degree in Clinical & Counseling Psychology from Columbia University & a Bachelor's degree in Psychology & Spiritual Experience with a minor in Child & Adolescent Psychology from New York University. She is certified in Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (The New School & Center for Optimal Living), 5Rhythms® (The Moving Center), and Holistic Psychology (The Open Center). Her research interests include psychedelic psychotherapy, psychedelic integration, dream analysis, mythology & symbolism in clinical practice, and the application of nondual teachings to human growth.    Connect with Mackenzie: Website Substack IG Upcoming retreat Connect with Vanya: Website Join the Belonging to the Wild Collective Contact Vanya Instagram Download free eBook: A Guide to Leaving the Obedient Life

    1h 8m

  2. 07/23/2025

    Ep: 25: The Long Story of Our Souls & Calling on the Dead with Perdita Finn

    In this conversation, Perdita Finn and I talk about the generosity of the long stories of our souls, explore what it means to have meaningful relationship with the dead, and circle around deep questions of belonging and connection. Acknowledging that our species often feels lonely, bereft, and disconnected, Perdita invites us to wonder about what it would be like to live in an “economy of prayer.” She asks this beautiful question: How would we live if we all remembered we have been each others mothers? Her work invites us into a sense of deep belonging with all beings ~ human and more-than-human, living and dead.   Perdita Finn is the author of Take Back the Magic: Conversations with the Unseen World and the forthcoming Mother Spell: Summoning the Love at the Heart of the World. She is the co-founder with her husband Clark Strand of The Way of the Rose, an international fellowship of beings dedicated to the earth, the rosary, and the Lady by any name you want to call Her. They are co-authors of the book of the same name. They live with their family in the moss-filled shadows of the Catskill Mountains.    You can connect more with Perdita and her work at here: https://takebackthemagic.com/ https://wayoftherose.org/ IG: @perditafinn   Join the Belonging to the Wild Collective Connect with Vanya Sign up for Vanya’s Letters Download free eBook: A Guide to Leaving the Obedient Life

    1h 4m

  3. 06/17/2025

    Ep. 24: Finding Inner Permission with Amy Wilding

    In this episode, Amy Wilding joins me in this wonderful conversation about finding inner permission, cultivating body sovereignty, and decolonizing our inner landscapes as we walk into more fullness and freedom. Amy shares about how her body led her into a powerful awakening of her wise and wild knowing. We talk about ways patriarchal consciousness uses our disconnection from our bodies as a tool of oppression, emphasizing the importance of body autonomy and cyclical literacy. As we weave our way through this conversation, we explore the significance of finding the voice of our pleasure and honoring what feels good right now as powerful ways of knowing, guidance, and liberation.   Amy has been leading women's circles and mother-daughter circles in the Louisville area for over 15 years. Her soul work is, first and foremost, dismantling patriarchy by creating safe spaces for women to access their wild wisdom and reclaim their inherent power. She supports people of all ages in cultivating body sovereignty, cycle literacy, and empowered embodiment. She is passionate about guiding menstruators in connecting with their inherent wisdom, and unlearning the shame and taboo related to our amazing, powerful bodies. Amy is a queer and inclusive feminist, author, and National Board Certified Integrative Women's Health Coach. Her first first book, Wild & Wise: Sacred Feminine Meditations for Women's Circles & Personal Awakening, was published in 2017, and her next book, Period of Change: Welcoming Your Daughter's Period with Care and Confidence will be launched in March of 2026.   Ways to connect with Amy: www.periodofchange.com www.redtentlouisville.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/amywildingofficial Insta: www.instagram.com/amywildingofficial Insta: www.instagram.com/periodofchange Ways to connect with Vanya: www.drvanyaleilani.com IG: @drvanyaleilani Download Vanya's free eBook, A Guide to Leaving the Obedient Life Check out Belonging to the Wild Collective Order Vanya's book, The Flesh & The Fruit

    46 min

  4. 02/11/2025

    Ep. 23: Eros, Creative Transgression, & Imaginal Theology with Dr. Thomas Moore

    In this conversation, Dr. Thomas Moore and I explore the experience of creative transgression and the relationship between Eros and transgression. Deeply grounded in the archetypal sensibility and perspective, we discuss the role of obedience and disobedience in the soulful life and the importance of being faithful to the creativedaimon. In this intimate conversation, Dr. Moore shares his views on what he calls “imaginal theology” and what it means to live in spiritual sovereignty. Thomas Moore is the author ofCare of the Soul, a bestseller on the New York Times list for almost a year. Since then he has written thirty books on matters of soul and spirit. He lectures in many parts of the world, recently online in Rome, Brazil, Argentina, Romania, Malta, Russia, Serbia, the United States, and Canada. In those years he has also been a psychotherapist influenced mainly by C. G. Jung and James Hillman, his close friend for four decades. He has won many awards, including an honorary doctorate from Lesley University and the 2003 Humanitarian Award from Einstein Medical School. He has been an archetypal analyst and an unaffiliated theologian. Thomas’s most recent book is The Eloquence of Silence. Thomas Moore's website Vanya's Book: The Flesh & The Fruit Download Vanya's Free eBook: A Guide to Leaving the Obedient Life

    1 hr

  5. 12/10/2024

    Ep. 22: The Mythic Quest to Find Your Heart with Ben Katt

    In this conversation, Ben tells us the story of realizing that at some point his heart had snuck out the back door. In that moment he heard these powerful words: “if you don’t have your heart you have nothing.” He tells us about how this experience launched him into a mythic quest to find his heart again, a journey he shares in his book The Way Home.   We talk about his experiences with synchronicities, vision quests, and the power of images to guide us on our mythic journeys. We explore practices that help us find our heart and Ben encourages us to find practices that “we feel charm around” as we court our hearts back to the center of our lives.   Ben Katt is a meditation teacher, hospice chaplain, and coach. He is the author of THE WAY HOME: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife. Ben teaches meditation in prisons and facilitates wellbeing experiences for companies and organizations. He is a certified advanced meditation teacher, holds a Master of Divinity degree, and is a former ordained minister. He lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and three children.   website: www.benjaminkatt.com book link: thewayhomebook.com IG: @akabenkatt   Here is the episode with Cherie that I mentioned: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Self-Belonging with Cherie Katt I would love to connect with you! Website: www.drvanyaleilani.com Check out my new book: The Flesh and the Fruit Download my free eBook: A Guide for Leaving the Obedient Life Offerings in The School of Wild Knowing Find me on Instagram @drvanyaleilani

    53 min

  6. 12/03/2024

    Ep. 21: The Revolution of Lying Down with Molly Remer

    In this conversation, I am joined by the wonderful Molly Remer, MSW, D.Min. We discuss the dance between effort and ease that our days bring. We explore what she calls, “the revolution of lying down” and the importance of recognizing when we are on the edge of too-muchness. We talk about honoring our limitations and finding places of restoration. Molly also shares her beautiful insights on cultivating the sacred experience in everyday life and on the magic of power spots.  To connect more with Molly and her work: Etsy shop for books and goddesses: http://brigidsgrove.etsy/com Daily practice and everyday magic: http://30daysofgoddess.com Power Spots kit: https://www.30daysofgoddess.com/power-spots-resource-kit Permission slips for allowing: https://brigidsgrove.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Permission-Slips.pdf Also Find our more about my book, The Flesh and the Fruit Find out more about The School of Wild Knowing enrolling now!

    1h 3m

  7. 06/25/2024

    Ep. 20: Following the Ways of Water with Erin Chalfant

    In this conversation, Erin and I explore what it means to follow the ways of water. She shares the significance of her lifelong relationship with water, and we talk about how water remembers where we come from and where we belong. We also talk about desire as a key to our belonging and the power to create and re-create worlds by following what we want.     As we follow the ways of water, Erin helps us re-member ourselves as part of Nature and invites us into re-membering our belonging here in these bodies and on this Earth. She shares suggestions for ways of practicing embodiment and staying close to the lived experiences of our bodies.     Erin Chalfant, MA, MFA is Program Director and Core Faculty at Alliance Avalonia a Published Author, Holistic Coach, mother, adventurer and mystic. She is the founder of Wild Sage Path, where she supports women in reconnecting with themselves through Earth-Based Spirituality Practices in the Indigenous Celtic Traditions. She facilitates deep and powerful work in ceremonial spaces with plant medicines and supports the integration process for a variety of profound journeys. She is completing a Doctorate in Depth Psychology and is rooted in Indigenous Earth-Based Wisdom Practices, Western Herbalism, Hatha Yoga, Hakomi (Mindfulness-based Somatic Psychotherapy), and Buddhist Meditation.  She offers 1-1 integrative counseling sessions both in person and remotely in California, and also teaches online class immersions that open seasonally, including The Song of the Dragon ~ a collaboration with her teacher and dear friend Holly Hamilton at Alliance Avalonia.   To connect with Erin: Visit her at WildSagePath.com IG @Erin.of.the.wild To connect with Vanya: Visit www.drvanyaleilani.com IG @drvanyaleilani

    59 min

  8. 06/04/2024

    Ep. 19: Bluebeard and the Power of Disobedience

    In this episode, I tell the story of Bluebeard and explore this archetypal figure. Bluebeard exposes the nuances of a kind of archetypal experience where we may be charmed into believing that what keeps us too small is beautiful, and that what offers us favor is also keeping us safe when in fact, it is plotting our disappearance. Bluebeard forbids knowing and demands unquestioned obedience. In this story we find a powerful example of how disobedience can propel us out of harm and falseness and into safety and freedom. Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote that learning to recognize Bluebeard is an initiation into becoming someone who know how to see beyond the overt. Learning to recognize Bluebeard in our lives is crucial as we transgress out of obedience into more freedom, sovereignty, and belonging. www.drvanyaleilani.com @drvanyaleilani Download Ebook for free: A Guide to Leaving the Obedient Life

    36 min
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5
out of 5
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About

Conversations and reflections that help us remember and move into wildness~within and without. To be wild is to know what you are and to live from that knowing without shame. It is to remember that humans are nature too, that the wildness of nature is not only out there in pristine forests and secretive deserts, it is also right here in our unruly hearts, intricate minds, animal bodies, and in the vastness of the imagination. Here, we ask questions, tell stories, share knowledge, and wonder together about ways to belong ourselves back to the wild. www.drvanyaleilani.com

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Vanya Leilani
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dr. Vanya Leilani
  • Show Website
    Belonging to the Wild