In this conversation, Victoria Loorz connects with speaker, writer, and mentor Mac Macartney, founder of Embercombe, a UK educational charity and 50-acre retreat and rewilding site dedicated to the flourishing future of all species. In Victoria’s words, Mac is one of our generation’s true elders. He speaks from decades of lived apprenticeship, shaped by not fitting the dominant culture, by failure that became a gift, and by a lifelong search for home. His voice carries the embodied wisdom of someone who has moved through exile, betrayal, and the seduction of power, and chosen integrity.

Mac reflects on decades of learning and on the unlearning required to remember the value of the miracle we were born into. He speaks of decency over brilliance, of integrity in the face of power, and of offering one’s gifts for the sake of future generations. At its heart, this is a conversation about integrity, about remaining in the field as long as one is able, and about creating places where there is no hiding truth.

Connect with Mac:

• Website: macmacartney.com
• Talk Video: The Children's Fire

Mentioned in the episode:

• Organization: The Earth Elders theearthelders.org

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 05:15 – Interview Begins
• 12:09 – Embercombe
• 18:57 – Finding the Teachings We Need
• 24:30 – Letting the Gurus Go
• 26:58 – The Cycles of Human Becoming
• 29:53 – Born Into Cosmic Ceremony
• 32:14 – The Grief of Worldview Shifts
• 34:48 – Visited by Earth Elders
• 40:22 – A Benediction for Being Human
• 44:11 – Wild Invitation
• 46:12 – Credits

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz is joined by Barnaby Steel, artist and co-founder of Marshmallow Laser Feast, an experiential art collective devoted to awakening the senses and expanding perception through multisensory exhibits. Together, they explore how art, science, and imagination engage the illusion of separation, and how even controversial technologies like AI might be held in ways that deepen relationship rather than fragment it. In a time when technology often distracts and numbs, the conversation asks a different question: what if our tools could help us remember how to sense, feel, and belong in relationship?

Barnaby reflects on the roots of his creative life, shaped by deep observation, risk, and a willingness to let go. He shares stories about the collaborative experiences created when artists work with advanced technologies to translate scientific insight into lived experiences that extend our senses beyond their usual limits and inviting a felt experience of interconnection with breath, trees, sound, and the human body. Weaving themes of perception, ritual, grief, and awe, the episode considers immersive art as a modern rite of passage, not as an escape from the world, but as a return to it with softened defenses and renewed devotion to relationship.

Connect with Barnaby:

• Website: marshmallowlaserfeast.com
• Instagram: @marshmallowlaserfeast
• LinkedIn: @marshmallowlaserfeast
• Newsletter Signup: mailchi.mp/marshmallowlaserfeast/newsletter-signup

Mentioned in the episode:

• Book: Existence, A Story by David Hinton
• Video: Richard Feynman's story of "What's the name of a bird?"
• White Mirror - The Sensory Wellness Agency Website: whitemirror.studio
• Video: Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 06:57 — Interview Begins
• 08:24 — The Land That Raised Barnaby
• 11:17 — Existence Tissue
• 15:19 — Marshmallow Laser Feast
• 23:01 — Physical Reality Is Spiritual Reality
• 32:51 — How Experience Shifts Us
• 37:34 — Caring for Self Is Caring for All
• 41:40 — Virtual Reality & Expanding Empathy
• 45:56 — Changing Perception
• 49:26 — Patterns of Consciousness
• 53:19 — Falling in Love
• 57:11 — A Wild Invitation
• 58:58 — Credits

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz is joined by Rachel Fleming, climate scientist, former Environment Agency policy advisor, writer, educator, and part of the Animate Earth founding circle. Together they explore modern animism, the remembering of the “common wild tongue,” and what it means to rebuild intimacy with a living, intelligent world. Rachel shares her journey bridging climate science, holistic ecology, and spiritual practice, reflecting on the limits of purely technical or policy-based responses to ecological collapse. Through stories of place, trees, and faithful return, the conversation traces the long human exile from belonging and the quiet emergence of a different way of being human rooted in listening, love, and relationship. Weaving themes of grief, beauty, ancestral memory, and hope, this episode invites listeners to remember that transformation rarely begins with grand solutions, but with simple, devoted acts of attention that restore our capacity to speak with and listen to the living world.

Connect with Rachel:

• Website: animate-earth.org
• Substack: The Common Wild Tongue

Mentioned in the episode:

• Stephan Harding pioneering Holistic Science
• Colin Campbell: colincampbell.co.za
• Monica Gagliano: monicagagliano.com
• Anna Breytenbach: animalspirit.org
• Oxford Real Farming Conference: orfc.org.uk
• Nathanial Hughs & The School of Intuitive Herbalism: schoolofintuitiveherbalism.weedsintheheart.org.uk
• Patrick MacManaway-The Land Whisperer: patrickmacmanaway.com
• Dr. Lyla June Johnson: lylajune.com

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 07:26 – Interview begins with invocation
• 10:18 – The mountain that raised Rachel
• 14:37 – How Rachel comes to this work through science
• 19:57 – Holistic science
• 21:33 – Animate Earth
• 25:59 – The common wild tongue
• 31:10 – Bridging “woo”
• 35:09 – It is actually simple
• 38:20 – Evolution is a spiral
• 42:49 – The importance of subtle work
• 44:48 – Needed medicine
• 47:19 – Interconnection goes so deep
• 48:42 – The heart field
• 51:55 – Neighbor ash tree
• 55:38 – Rachel’s work
• 57:54 – Invitation to advocacy
• 59:53 – Credits