Leah Rampy on eco-grief and the paradox of reconnection to the more-than-human world

As we mourn human-induced ecological loss and violence to the more-than-human world, what space do we hold for grieving what we have lost in ourselves by creating walls that were once blurred boundaries between our bodies and the ecosystem? How do we create joy from what remains of our lost capacities to communicate and connect to other bodies through languages of the heart?

This month we bring to the space Leah Rampy, a writer, retreat leader, and educator who weaves ecology, spirituality, personal stories, and practices to help others deepen their relationship to the natural world. With experience as a teacher, professor, corporate and nonprofit executive, and leadership consultant, she began a decades-long journey to understand what lies beneath our unwillingness to change our interactions with the natural world.

Her growing commitment to reweaving soul and Earth has been informed by leading over a dozen pilgrimages and many more retreats, extensive reading and research, her contemplative practice, and she shares her wisdom of the living world through her book Earth and Soul: reconnecting amid climate chaos. Leah has taught in public schools and universities, held leadership roles in Fortune 100 companies, offered executive coaching and leadership consulting through a company she founded, and led a nonprofit organization. Leah holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum from Indiana University.

The episode explores the complexities in grieving ecological loss and degradation community fragmentation and environmental inaction, particularly bringing focus on the paradox of reconnecting to the natural world we were never apart from. Our conversation invites moments of reflection on how we see our ecological crises through a human lens but also how we see ourselves placed in the ecosystem, from moral responsibility to collective identity.

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