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Personal Journey - The Art of Living With Earth

US Virgin Islands

So often I wonder how our world would be like if only we had spend more time in nature as children? How much more we’d value our great planet? How much healthier our forests, air, earth and oceans would be?

So long our ancestors have thrived on this earth, so much ancient knowledge has been preserved and passed on from generation to generation, but where in the story of our species am I? What art and earth skills can I pass on to the next generation, that is so preciously valuable in life?

I’ve often played with imagining how self-reliant I would be when out in the great outdoors. Would I be able to thrive and provide in my own needs while leaving my environment better then how I found it?

In recent years I’ve noticed within myself an immense and ever growing craving to immerse myself more in nature. To learn about wildlife, plants, animals, trees and their interconnectedness. To put my hands back in the earth and participate fully in the circles of life. I’ve always seen myself as a nature lover, yet realised quite recently still that I barely know which herbs, plants and trees are growing around me. Even in the environment I grew up in. Let alone being able to recognise species that can nourish me, provide shelter or become tools and medicine.

As a kid I was always imagining myself being a young native warrior, a peaceful tribal wonderer roaming the forests, jungles and deserts and in harmony with all that lives. I knew everything about the environment I was living in and was deeply connected to all that lives. I knew about every animal there was to know, its habits, how it moved and what it ate. I knew about every herb, plant or tree that grew and how it could provide me medicine, shelter or food and how I could support the ecosystems while providing for my own needs.

This envisioned past or future life lives within me still and was lit and awakened here like i could only dream of. From tasting and observing nature so closely, living with the season and in sync with the rhythms of the sun and the moon. To being immersed and surrendered in natures rawness, while tapping into ancestral wisdom and understanding better how we've been thriving for thousands of years. The wild man in me deeply nurtured; here’s a little peak into my journey:

Body Awareness, Earth Awareness

I’m capable of things still considered impossible yet by the mainstream when it comes to matters of physical capabilities and body awareness. Like being immersed in -20 degrees for hours, hiking up mountains in just a pair of shorts. Consciously controlling my own body temperature, working with and regulating voluntary the giant beautiful inner network of my own heartbeat, bloodflow, vains and arteries. I can breathe away physical pain, inflammation, stress and have so far recovered from injuries every time again 60 to 80% faster than normal. From physical injury to food poisoning, headaches and wasp-stings to healing the herniated disk in my lower back within two weeks, I know my body quite well in what is required to bring it back into a balanced state of healing. This freedom of voluntary control over my own physiology has well raised my self esteem and confidence in my own innate healing abilities. I’m confident how to be with nature using the power of my mind and through consciously adapting my mindset, breath and innersystem workings.

But when it comes to living in nature, with nature, I feel to say the least quite incapable, dependent and bound to so many modern luxuries. This is my search to expand that body awareness to a more harmonious relation with the outside world. If I can heal my own body with conscious awareness, how could I develop that same adaptive inner relation also more harmoniously when out in nature, with the body we live on; Earth?

Bridging the gap of romance and reality

Last year at the Tracker School I dove into the art of primitive skills and realised how big the gap is between my romantic, naive and optimistic idea that ‘I would easily thrive in the wild’. Reality confronted me like as if struck by lightning. How on earth was I going to make a fire without matches or a lighter for warmth and comfort? How to make a shelter in that wet forest for safety, rest and recovery? I looked at all the greens in the pine forest and had no clue if the leaf in front of me would be a lovely add on to my daily salad, could be a life saving medicine or would poison me to death after a little nibble. Feelings of powerlessness, being trapped (while freely outside!), disconnected, shame and sadness rose within me. Where did that little boy in me take another turn?

In the same time it was incredibly comforting, humbling and inspiring to experience how much ancestral wisdom is still present and kept alive today; that I’m still able to learn from people that have spent their lives in environments where every skill of living with the earth is practiced as a form of art and keeps on nurturing and strengthening their relation with the environment. Fire making, water filtering, shelter building, foraging, hunting, tracking, the very basic living arts that developed in the comfortable and easily accessible technology and products we now have and take so much for granted.

This year I aimed to bridge the gap between and merge romance and reality and decided to immerse myself for a whole month of into the art of Earth Skills, ending with a Survival Quest for 6 days. Being very inspired by Matt, one of the teachers at the Tracker School, I jumped on a plane to the US Virgin Island ‘La Croix’, to visit and learn from him and his wife at their beautiful wilderness school in the Carribean.

I hoped to build up on last years experience and get truly masterful in Primitive fire making. I’ll never forget that first magical moment, how I worked so hard for that gold glowing ember and blew alive my first ever fire. In that moment, holding the flames in my hands and looking into the fire, it felt as if going back into time. I visualised being the very first human that ever lit a fire at will somewhere around a million years ago. I instantly felt more connected to all ancestors and all human beings alive today. With everyone ever receiving that same quality fire has, giving that feeling of safety and comfort, and sitting safe and sound around the self created flickering flames of a cosy warm fire.

Second I truly wanted to experience being on my own and mirror the reflection of myself, my awareness and skills when immersed in a wild surrounding. Learning to be as comfortably as can be with nature whenever and wherever, is a skill and way of being I’ve always dreamed having.

Next, I’m on a path of exploring conscious and sustainable ways of living since stepping out of my bubble as a professional soccer player more than 10 years ago. I see this practice as one of the arts closest to my heart that show me a way in reconnecting with the circle of life. Understanding better our relation as humans on this planet, with life itself. I really believe that my way to understand this relation better, is to spend more time with her, in it. To deeply reconnect with the balance and rhythm of life itself. To become aware of subtleties within the ecosystem and the harmonious tune of the land. To take part on a deeper level and awaken an ancestral wisdom, rhythm and awareness. Experiencing how to thrive With and actually learning From the land. A question that keeps coming back to me, is ‘how can I provide in my own needs, participate fully and actually leave the land better then I found it?.’

I want to highlight that my main aim for this trip wasn't ‘just surviving' and making it back alive, ‘yet another bucket list activity done’. Many survival shows on TV give an - in my eyes - very wrong impression that nature is something that has to be beaten, picturing the great outdoors as if we’re in a constant fight with it. A battle that has to be won. I recall the episodes of Bear Grylls or a show like Expedition Robinson where it all seems to be about ‘winning, outsmarting and magically and bravely coming out alive’. Heroic stories of people surviving ‘extreme or wild outdoors situations’ make fare well and are extremely popular - pushing through with our mind, past feelings, sensing and emotions. Regardless of the intention and without saying one shouldn’t be highly aware of any possible dangers present immersed in the wild, but I think programs like these contribute to an even bigger physical, emotional and spiritual gap with our natural world.

In my observation and many conversations with others, it often even seems people forget that we are nature ourselves. Talking as if nature is something out ‘there’. Somewhere in a far away world outside of us. Funny enough I see this mindset often quite present at first when people come on adventure with me during our deep dive winter expeditions, coming out the other side of that too. From a mindset of a great battle that needs to be won - man vs the cold - to going deeply back into feeling and oneness with it all from the inside out.

Survival Quest

In preparation for my Survival Quest, every day I would devote my time on working on skills and receive new teachings that would allow me to go deeper into the world of ancestral ways of living. I ended up with hours of dirt time in the art of friction fire making, plant knowledge, basketry, archery, bamboo bow and arrow making, stone and bone usage, cordage, tracking and practicing spiritual awareness. After extensive practice on my skills I felt prepared and ready to explore living and thriving in the wild on my own. Matt would check in on and be with me for the first and third day which did help massively to start up, stay on track and learn even more hands on while out there.

We where dropped off at the end of a dirt road, next to two rusty old cars. It felt a bit as if dropped off at the end of the world, knowing ahead and around us I’ll very likely won’t see, hear or experience any human activity for quite some time. We walk for about 30 minutes downhill to the beach, while playfully kicking a coconut ahead of us as our hands are full and the self made vine backpacks can’t carry no more. The sun at burning peak time. As Matt is leading us into higher grass and denser lush green, the sound of the ocean carried by the wind comes closer and amplifies as the waves crush against the shores. He explains this area is known to be a place where in Colonial times, some three hundred years ago when the Danes exploited these lands, slaves used to flee here as it was barely inhabited and thus a safe place to hide.

I notice feeling a little knot in my stomach hearing this story as my mind goes to my own family, my lineage. Around that same era a known ancestor of mine coming from the Island of Celebes (Sulawesi) in Indonesia, made it’s way as a slave on board a ship from Cape Town to Holland. How different times and lives can be. Now here I am, spending time in this place nurturing myself in this untouched wilderness. It seems unreal.

Settling in, first priority lessons

At arrival we start with reorganising the shelter, exploring the environment, learning about what grows where and which foods to gather. We collect possible usable materials and food, go through what dangers to consider during my stay and tune in to the basics of stalking, tracking and hunting. Matt asked me if I’d want to prepare with gathering materials for an evening fire prior to our wonder or when back on arrival. In my excitement to explore the land immediately and underestimating possible weather changes on a hot day on this tropical Island, I mistakingly chose the latter. By the time it started raining heavily on arrival and nightfall made its appearance, I’d learned a great deal about prioritising this matter. We barely got that fire going, and it sure did remind me in that moment why I wanted to learn this special practice in the very first place. What a feeling, even in the rain, being in good company, sheltering underneath giant palm tree leaves while cooking the first meal on hot glowing coals. On the menu; foraged sea snails, freshly picked Noni leaves, the first part of one roasted sweet potato we brought along and the downhill soccered meat of the Coconut; a delight!

Gathering, Hunting - living with the land

The next morning I wake up feeling like a king in the Jungle. While still laying on my Luxurious self made Royal Palm Leaf bed, I hear a Mongoose sniffing and snuggling around my shelter for his morning meal just outside on my left. A sign life around me is waking and I’m called and about to blend in to that pace myself.

And so it happened that every day I’d wake up with morning rituals. Starting with sensing meditations, presence practices, collecting fire materials, working on skills and going out onto the landscape to learn yet another day on how to thrive with the earth. I only gathered from the land what I needed, using materials as effective and worthy as possible, leaving no waste. Learning about wildlife, respecting the animals and tuning in on how to take the best possible care for the land while trying to feel my own bodies needs.

When killing an animal or finding a dead one I gave thanks and used whatever possible still making new tools from bones, shell & skin. The fine line between greed and need as much as possible in mind. As taught I tried to hunt only invasive and abundant species like Iguana, Goat and Mongoose with my bow and fishing spear, while catching Lobster with my bare hands was the other alternative. I didn't manage to catch anything apart from picking sea snails from the rocks and used dead deer sinew and bone for my arrow and fish hook. The art of hunting is a big next sustainable practice I’m very much inspired to go deeper in. I’ve been vegetarian and even vegan for years, mainly due to big industry reason and the way we abuse animals, but I’ve always believed that when needed - human beings are supposed to hunt, gather and provide.

Changing perception - from mind to embodiment

In our western world we tend to look at animals only as food, but here I learned how vital they are to us. We can use and need them in so many ways. To make clothes to protect and keep us warm day and night. For important nutrients, materials we make tools from or even medicine. Next to this there is a balance in every ecosystem that we too are a part of. The Goats and Mongoose on this Island where invasive and had no natural predator. When doing nothing birds species here will probably go extinct soon as Rats and Mongoose can roam and kill freely easily birds and their eggs. While Goats happily enjoy eating the young saplings and greens that sprout from the ground eradicating the fauna slowly but surely. By hunting these animals I’d actually support the ecology and bio-diversity.

So rationally I could come to terms and I believe that we are meant to hunt. We can even play a huge role by participating in that dance more consciously. For me there’s no question about that, but my own attempts to actually fire a shot on a baby goat or trying to spear an Iguana came still with much resistance and high emotions. Even as my stomach was absolutely raging, my body craving and feeling the need for animal protein and fat - and my mind knowing it is a good thing to hunt these animals - all my old judgements and conditionings came up still. Even a playful Bambi showed up briefly in my mind right before trying to spear that magical Iguana.

Eventhough I made the commitment within me and had a hard time repatterning myself to actually hunt these beautiful animals, something did change from the inside out as I went through all of these processes. I felt deep down inside of me an immense overwhelm of wonderment for these animals. A kind of respect and awe that I’ve never felt before, a renewed preciousness for their lives. If you know me well you know I’m already quite a sensitive guy when it comes to other life forms, but I feel that my respect for them have grown so much bigger.

From the whole process of putting so much love into gathering materials from the land, to actually making my bow and arrow, to the actual act of trying to hunt them. Words don’t do this justice how much more connected I felt with the circle of life. I was as part of the landscape as much as every other animal. I participated and shared in it felt equally. I wasn’t more, better or smarter, nor was I less. It just was a state of coexistencing from a very equal place. Together living on the land while sourcing, providing, taking and giving. This experience of interconnectedness is a feeling

Living in a time where much of wild life is under such heavy pressure, ecosystems disrupted, deforestation and desertification are going strong, our climate flaring up, the oceans full of plastic, air, earth and water polluted, I feel deepening the relationship with nature and understand it better is needed more than ever.

Tapping into states heightened states of awareness and presence, using intuition, breath, body and the full qualities of my senses for day 6 days straight while providing in my needs, working on primitive skills, taking care for the land, hunting and gathering felt like newly received gifts. I felt so Alive, felt so much Care, Clarity, Love and Awe with Life. The awareness that this is home, that I am responsible to take care an actually able to do so feels greatly nurturing.

I tasted new layers of what it means to be self-relient, what is needed to thrive in nature, how to apply ancient skills in this tropical environment, what priorities to set and how to multi task my needs. I learned many new Skills, but realized more and more along the way how it wasn’t about actually learning those. They where the bridge leading to an awareness, feeling, connection and new understanding of our natural and spiritual world. One I’d never experienced before and I’ll bring home with me, inspiring others too. For that I’m most grateful.

Special Thanks

Even before going on this quest I’d say my time spend at the Mnt. Victory Wilderness Camp was so rich and all worth it already. I could probably write a book about my time here, but maybe that is for another time.

A special thanks to Matt & Carmen Corradino from the school of Carribean Earth Skills. I’m super grateful for your years of devotion and dedication in preserving and offering these valuable lessons, and for hosting and guiding me during this awareness expanding experience. I learned a bunch from you.

As I'm overseeing the Carribean Sea from the Island of La Croix on my last night of #surthrival, I'm giving my gratitude to our great Earth and her unconditional giving. Reflecting on all the valuable lessons learned, having so much to digest and to contemplate on... My fascination for living With the wild, the awe for our heavenly beautiful, bright and deep dark planet has only grew more.

With Love,

Joren

My name is Joren de Bruin and I’m a passionate Adventurer, Musician, Life coach and highly experienced Wim Hof Method instructor active since 2012. I teach various self-awareness, care and health practices and share years of experience having coached thousands of people.

To join in one of my upcoming adventures see here the Winter Expeditions 2019!