What Is Human ReWilding? 

You rock! It's TV and such that should be strange -- that we sit motionless (perhaps drooling slightly), staring at a screen for hours at a time. I hope someday that people look at you and think your actions are "normal", but it's going to take more of us paving the way for that to happen. Thanks for leading! =) Kenton

Maude, we've been talking about that lately! I think your words here will be just the encouragement we need to get out and do a few more of those family-style wild edible videos =) With love, Kenton

Craig Richardson So interesting that you bring this up, Craig! It's been a subject we've wanted to take on, and we've been slowly organizing our thoughts about it. I think that within the next year or two, we'll start putting it out there, perhaps on a dedicated YT channel. =) Kenton

I imagine I know you how feel -- this world can seem crazy, and then we go out into nature and things feel . . . right.

ReWildUniversity *Since this video was posted four years ago .. I don't know if you'll read this ... but here it goes.* *I'm disabled (spine injury), well ... I accidentally broke our television over a year ago ... and we ... (Me & My bride)... do not miss it at all.* *That being said ... I do use other forms of "technology" to remain in contact with the world and current events.* *The difference I do notice, is that now ... I have a choice. Now! I can watch what is relevant, what is real, and what is legitimate, as opposed to what is presented on the "network" and the terms of the FCC.* *There is a media bias & agenda ... and Kenton showing self-sufficiency and self-reliance us NOT at the top of that network agenda.* *One of the many reasons I like Kenton so much, is that he's not against technology ... rather, he sees that it has a place in our lives ... "in moderation" ... like all things.* *From experience, I've learned a few things. Two of those are ...* *1) Mother Nature wins 100% of the time.* *And* *2) Technology is great! ... but Mother nature wins 100% of the time.* *So ... in short ... enjoy technology and current comforts. But when Mother Nature decides to take those away ... you need knowledge, skills, practice and a mindset that will help you survive.* *So far ... I see that Kenton is one of those who can ... and will ... help you develop that mindset.* *You have a great channel & program Kenton ... keep doing what you do ... folks will need this to survive in the near future.* *Even if they don't know it yet.*

Thank you for this VERY thoughtful comment. I agree -- our bushcraft skills can be much more than just a means to start a fire or weave a basket. They can serve as a connection to a lifestyle that is nearly forgotten, and in stirring up those ancient roots, I think we can begin to connect with each other as human beings, instead of as races or nations or social classes. There is this essential connection we all have, and the more we reach out, share, inspire each other, and believe in the human species (I used to be very anti-human, believe it or not =) , the more we have a chance to come together and enter a thriving relationship with our planet, with each other, and with Self. I'm also with you on the technology front. Often, I look around and I think that it's the technology that's in charge. We sometimes treat our cars better than our friends, building a house just for the cars (garage), giving them frequent baths, polishing them . . . and I know even very thoughtful people who are so addicted to texting that they will pull out of an actual conversation (or pay it half attention) in order to tend to their text. In a way, I don't blame the people -- we just haven't been given the emotional/mental tools to deal with these highly addictive technologies. I think that with a shift in our way of thinking, we could come to use technology thoughtfully, in a way that enhances relationships and adds to our lives. Of course, to be honest, if I were World Emperor I might put all televisions to the gallows, but . . . ;) Seriously, though, I think you've pointed out some powerful, powerful points, and I would love to see every human come to realize that they are not inadequate and in need of brand name clothes, fancy cars, or the latest gadget to be fulfilled, respected, or loved. The true richness of life, I've found, is in our friends, our family, our extended tribe, in enhancing our awareness, and in seeing deeply into our self so that we are no longer waging self-violence. It sounds like we could have a good conversation over pine needle tea . . .

Absolutely! I agree 100% with your comment and look forward to your future videos and our future exchanges. Very happy I found your channel.

Thanks so much -- I'm honored to have you as part of the ReWildU channel!

Shane, I know that feeling, when we want to be out in nature but the world seems to be conspiring to keep us locked inside. It's clear that you have a real passion for the woods. May you be out in the forests more and more each day! =) Kenton

Erin, whenever I see your name in the comments, I get a smile even before I read =)

Thanks so much, Heather. This lifestyle has so much to offer, even if we're living in the midst of technology. At ReWild University, one of the most important things we try to pass on is the ability to keep this "rewilded spirit" even when living in a city. It's a challenge, but challenges are just adventures, right? Thanks for watching, and for your comment!

Ah! It's been the first idea that sums up the various things that are important to me -- from fitness to diet to nature appreciation to spirituality, and much more. =) Kenton

Jaime, I'm so excited to have you here on the channel! Welcome!! I definitely know that feeling of thinking about things that are "outside the box", and then finding others who understand those feelings. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel! Love, Kenton =)

kaf230able Thank you my friend. Always wonderful to find kindred spirits! =) Kenton

+Gemma Young Thanks for sharing this -- it makes our day to hear when a video inspires someone! =) Kenton

BlackenLight Of course!

I'm excited to hear more, Jim! =) Kenton

Thank you much! =) Kenton

Jeff Thompson You really seem to have a strong awareness of what is going on in your life, Jeff. I hope to see you out here sometime, since it seems like rewilding would fit into your life beautifully!

i really would love to come out for 2 or 3 weeks and i'm sure i would enjoy every minute and would leave fulfilled and refreshed, however i cannot afford the price attached to the "utopian escape".

Jeff Thompson We're always trying to bring our tuitions down. This year we're adding group classes, since the one-on-one is just out of reach for most people. And someday I hope to have something for people that doesn't involve a trade of money at all.

Thank you for sharing your valuable thoughts here, Hossein. I appreciate such thought-out comments! =) Kenton

I know what you mean -- the term 'rewilding' is still relatively unknown. I'd love to hear how you discovered rewilding, and what it means for you!

If you mentioned rewilding here in the UK, people might think you were talking about bringing back wild animals such as wolves, thanks to George Monbiot. www.monbiot.com/2013/05/27/a-manifesto-for-rewilding-the-world/

Janice Caldwell Thanks, Janice! It's one of my older ones, so it's nice to hear that you thought it was well done =)

I couldn't agree more about children and nature. I think all children have a natural curiosity and sense of adventure, yet it's so easy for we adults to pass on our own fears. Another good reason for all of us to explore our own fears and learn to transform fear into curiosity =)

I'm wondering where/how my daughters have developed a fear of spiders. Working on getting them out of it.

I'm not sure how old your girls are, but our 3 1/2 year old, despite growing up in a yurt and never meeting anyone who was afraid of spiders, developed a "shudder" at about 2 1/2 when she met an insect or arachnid. She still would hold them (usually), but not with total comfort. Now, the shudder seems mostly gone, and she's getting more comfortable with such critters, so it seems like a passing phase, yet we're not sure where it came from. Very odd. So perhaps they're just moving through a similar period that will disappear in a few months or years? Good to hear that you're being active in helping them through it!

Thanks! I've been using your "breakdowns" in the video descriptions. So appreciated! And it is a yurt indeed. That was our home for a year, and now serves as a winter home for students. =) Kenton

BlackenLight It's a bit unknown and definitely doesn't fit into the standard paradigm. It's a bit like trying to tell people that they're caught in the Matrix =)

BlackenLight Thanks for sharing that, BlackenLight. It means a lot to hear when someone finds these videos enriching.=) Kenton

Thanks Kenya!!! =) Kenton

+Joan Massey Thank you Joan! =) Kenton

Thanks, my friend.=) Kenton

Yes indeed, I've read "The Four Agreements". I think I sense the similarities you're alluding to! On the tobacco, it was definitely a powerful plant for many of our ancestors, including many of the native peoples of the Americas (as you well know! =) My issue is more with the way that it's marketed today, and the addiction that many people find themselves immersed in. I've had the honor of working with a number of people who were addicted to drugs like meth, prescription opiates, and heroine. With all the people I've worked with, some guidance and immersion time in nature has been able to give people the strength to overcome those addictions, but twice I've seen people who have been able to kick the heavier drugs, but not the tobacco, even though they wanted to quit. It's a powerful substance, especially here in the US where they often spike it with all sort of gunk. There are real tobacco products available, but most of them are loaded with flavorings and additives that in some cases make it hardly tobacco any more =) I love to see this plant being used consciously, but I'd also like to see a situation where companies aren't trying to hook people for profit. Obviously, there's lots to talk about here, but thanks for bringing up the issue!

ReWildUniversity You are right, very true when you say : "I've seen people who have been able to kick the heavier drugs, but not the tobacco, even though they wanted to quit." I agree, It is a powerful tool. It must be used with respect as most native peoples know. I am not a tobacco defender but i dont like to demonize it ( I am not suggesting you are doing that, quite the contrary ) It is a dangerous substance. I roll my own tobacco, smoke after meals, still, I did not grow it so... Well at least I am not smoking / inhaling the gunpowder they put on comercial cigaret papers to "keep them burning smoothly" or any fake flavoring "to please the taste buds". Anyway I am sorry, I did not mean to criticize per se. It's just that, as you know... many before us did it... Properly :-)

My friend, I'm glad you felt you could put forth your thoughts and feelings on this. I know some people can take offense and conversations degrade, but I also think that we can come together and all deepen our understanding through conversations like this. And in many cases, we'll discover (as we did in this instance) that we're standing on common ground! =) So glad to hear you're rolling your own and honoring the plant by keeping to the unadulterated stuff =)

:-) Thanks! Loved the last video. Thinking of a story to share

I can't wait to hear it!

Interesting question! I think in some ways rewilding is similar to the "awakening" spoken of in Zen and other traditions -- freeing ourselves from the concepts of our culture, including, in the deepest sense, our sense of ego or self. In some traditions, there is a focus on the "third eye" during meditation which some feel can lead them to a deeper connection with the divine, and in that connection, the sense of self diminishes or dissolves. Much more could be said, but I'll keep it to that =) Check out the Forest Monk community at patreon.com/forestmonk if you want to connect with a group of people exploring such things! =) Kenton

BlackenLight Hi Jack! I'd highly recommend making videos. It is a great way to connect with others who are exploring their relationship with nature and becoming more resilient. Plus, you get to refine your presentation skills, which pave the path for teaching person-to-person, if that is ever a vision of yours. =) Kenton

Earth+ This balance is what I hope rewilding can embrace -- finding a way to live in community with each other and the planet -- not just a sustainable way of living, but a THRIVING way of living. It's good to hear that you're on the vanguard of finding ways to make that shift!=) Kenton

Hi Joshua, I've always loved the idea of the druids -- it would be fun to learn more about this community! As for edible wild plants, there are TONS out there, but it would be useful to know where you are geographically before I named some. If you're in the north/midwest, I'd highly recommend Samuel Thayer's books -- AWESOME guides to wild edibles. He also has a companion dvd. I'll continue to do videos on individual species, but that will be slow in coming. If you can find a teacher nearby, that's probably the best way to do it -- getting out and actually getting to harvest them is so much easier than book-learning.

Oh yes -- I guess I should plug my own website, shouldn't I? =) It also has a few posts on some plants you might find in your woods. rewildu.com/

+PAPOOSELAKESURFER Ha! What a joy to read this. Lovely, poetic, and insightful! =) Kenton

Very good point =) Roots, Kenton

You're right on about the presentation. That was earlier in my video making, and I definitely wasn't comfortable with my equipment or editing or much of anything =) But I'm glad you liked the content! Comments like yours keep me making more videos!

Hi Maurice, I'll bet there are many similarities, especially in the sense of breaking free of many of our culture's unexamined mores and social expectations. Most of the people I guide in vision fasts come back and tell me that they ended up spending time without clothes, wandering the hills and fields. This isn't even by my suggestion -- just a natural development of being out in nature.

Your vision is beautiful, and it's also, I feel, very realistic. The consumerism culture, I believe, has tremendous repercussions on human nature, and if we reworked that single element of our culture, I think some tremendous changes could be seen. Furthermore, as you suggest, I believe this can be done without fostering violence -- either within ourselves, or directed at others. Instead, I hope to see people become empowered -- to realize the freedoms they are losing when they accept, without question, the debt/work cycle our culture considers to be normal, and instead begin to pursue conscious ways of living that not only create personal well-being, but that creates a new relationship with the planet so that we can move toward a new, harmonious relationship with the ecosystems we inhabit. You and your wife are setting such an example, and I think that woods-time you speak of is a huge part of it. Thanks for doing what you're doing!

EVERYTHING is about consent and free will. if you don't like it...don't support it...That is where we have power as people...our votes seem to fall upon deaf ears and we are choosing our leaders out of the lesser of two morans..lol...Vote how we spend our money and who we support as people....We have truly dedicated, intelligent people that would volunteer to be president without financial compensation...that would do it FOR the people... with full transparency... Why would anyone be willing to spend Billions for a job that doesn't even pay Millions unless maybe there is special interest. Anyway, When we give our consent and support to people and things we choose to interact with, It helps shape our environment. As a child I wanted to become a police officer and join the air force... I've done both (thank you Air Force).and learned many things..Now I will not support anyone who doesn't support conscious, free will decisions and who will not stand up and honor their oaths to the people.. I will still respect them as a person...however each of us must do OUR parts and follow our hearts and not follow blindly the direction of society because no matter how many people know and understand the truth....it is still the truth.. You and I have spoke before..I was posting under "munchacrunch"s log in...so i added a channel to theirs...we are having some uploading issues...but we have many videos that we have been shooting over the last few years that will be uploaded to RU-vid University of Hawkshaven..thank you for your channel and your influence in this world.

RU-vid University of Hawkshaven Thanks for identifying yourself! I can't wait to see what you're posting with these videos. I'll be subscribed and watching! You're speaking powerful words that I think some would find difficult to hear, but you're pointing to an emancipation from self-imposed slavery. I'm interested to see how your videos approach this!

lol....you are correct...my words fall upon many deaf ears. they fear change.because of what has been promised and what we received... but this change is so revolutionary that it would be worldly....that when you free your mind your shackles of the work/debt consumer cycle fall from you..Even modern schooling teaches you how easy it is to grow a bean plant from seed in the school window....and how your bones are just like teeth...and what happens to your teeth when placed in sugary caffeinated drinks, so we have our FREE WILL to grow our own food in our own windows that builds our bodies OR go to fast food that may not be as nutritious We can drink things that are bad for you and are likely to lessen your lifespan ....OR ... drink water that builds your body....WE buy a big house and have lots of stuff and work a monontonuous job with too few vacations.....OR...live simply, be happy and see the scenery...experience many many aspects of life and various people ... Trust in NOW...live in yesterday you may have regret...live in tomorrow you may have anxiety... live today as it is a gift We throw away everything once were done with it...OR be creative and reuse or recycle or compost it... One of the aspects of our channel will be "Helping people understand CHOICE" We recycle, reuse, create and invent ...we as humans are creators...but we typically concentrate on someone else's creation....songs, clothing, views, movies, transportation, living space, etc....Creation is the polar opposite of Consuming, just like plants are our polar opposites.. they build life (fruits and veggies) from light and death (photosynthesis and inorganic nutrients in the ground) we expel the carbon dioxide they thrive on and return to us oxygen that brings us life. It is so easy that most people will look right past the answers. ..I've enjoyed coming to your channel.

RU-vid University of Hawkshaven Helping people understand choice. I think that's key. If you can create videos that help people realize the power of choice and awareness, they will be a powerful force for good change! I'll be watching!

A good point, Paco. I have come to honor people's personal choices regarding food, though I do not always agree with everyone's choices. Thank you for choosing to be vegetarian or vegan, whichever you are! =) Kenton

Thanks for your reply. I would just like to mention that I have learned that when it comes to taking the life of someone else the choice stops being "personal" as my decision clearly affects the rights of another individual. I understand that animals should also have rights and are not humans´ "property". Their legal situation now is pretty much the same as the one POC had not too long ago as they were being sold and exploited as commodities.

=) That's about it. All of us have hunter-gatherer ancestors, and I don't think it takes much to rediscover that wild human inside us. Just watched your wushu video. Beautiful and powerful.

Yurgen Pervana I explored such things a lot in my younger years, but now have sort of moved into an approach to life that is really difficult to define in any certain way. It seems quite magical, but it just sort of flows without definition. I definitely have prophetic dreams, and "see" things that others would probably consider woo-woo =) So I haven't consciously concentrated on opening my third eye in any specific sense, but it may be at least partially opened in the context of my whole approach to life. I hope that makes some kind of sense. Tell me about your experience, if you would! =) Kenton

That's my daughter =) Roots, Kenton

Jub Jub...

Tissie twee yo he responded to me, that’s actually amazing

Hahahaaha, he responds to most people

He responds to almost everybody actually

Hi Mike, Great point! Although some modern (past 200 years) "primitive" societies are indeed warlike, there is evidence that others were more peaceful. Rather like us today -- both sides of the coin =) To me, this isn't necessarily about 'going back', but going forward, and in our current state of culture, I've found over and over that people who spend time in nature, develop mindfulness, and gain in personal health also begin to exhibit traits of peacefulness, compassion, and curiosity (instead of judgment). Interestingly, this seems to be tied to a feeling of personal empowerment. My feeling is that through advertisements, etc., our culture keeps telling us that we suck (and need their products to fix our lives). Once we begin to discover our own capabilities and the depth of our ability to roll with the sometimes intense situations that nature provides, our "civilized" feelings of stress, anxiety, anger, and judgment seem to shift. I really can't say what our ancestors, 10,000+ years ago, were really like. And of course, we can only surmise based on the objects they've left behind. As you probably know, that makes for a lot of surmising, and probably very little "fact". Perhaps they were more peaceful than today's "primitives", and perhaps they were violent beyond our comprehension. I'm more comfortable with looking at today's modern culture, noticing that many people report feelings of anxiety, unhappiness, and insecurity, and seeing that the combination of nature/health/mindfulness seems to help people make profound shifts in their lives. As I'm guessing you've experienced in your own bushcraft and time in nature, these old skills and time outdoors has a powerful effect on our lives. I think that's why we do this stuff =) We recognize that we feel more "alive" making a camp in the woods than we do sitting in front of a television. The skills you've developed, that you share with others in person or through RU-vid, are powerful tools for shifting our psychology away from dependence on our culture's offerings and toward self-empowerment and exploration, a sense of adventure, and a sense of being Alive that is tough to accomplish when we're insulated in our culture's offerings of seeming comfort, ease, and quick fixes. Do you agree? Does time in nature shift your way of being in a positive way? Thanks for this though-provoking comment, Mike. This is what makes RU-vid such a powerful tool.

ReWildUniversity To a point. At least for me, it makes me look at nature in a different light and feel more connected to the earth but not to the rest of humanity. I still feel humanity is best served by not looking towards nature but towards what is best for our species as a whole and how we can survive the coming climate crisis without destroying ourselves in the process. As well as managing our resources so they are not over used. Now, resources are a major part issues humanity as with itself. Yeah, 10,000 years ago, they have have been a bit more peaceful but not so much that they didn't kill each other for one reason or another. It's inherent in our DNA, hat's just the way we are and that is the way nature is as well. No aspect of nature is peaceful if you think about it in a objective manor. It is violent and destructive, in either death or birth. The circle or life is really the circle of death as everything must die for another to live.

Hi Mike, I wish we could sit down on a log somewhere and talk about this -- so interesting! I come from a pretty different background, I guess, so I don't necessarily see the cycle of death and life as destructive or violent. I feel that we humans have put that label on what is really a perfectly natural and normal process because for whatever reason (probably because as civilized humans we have developed a sense of self, or ego, that we fear to lose) we have developed a fear of death. As you know, we kill to live, and we all get to die -- we can look at any natural process, from a wolf taking down a deer to the decomposition of a body, to our own immune system killing in order to keep us alive, and we can see that system as violent, or we can see it as harmonious. I'm not a moose, so I can't say what it feels as it dies, but some biologists report a strange ritual that seems to occur between wolf and moose. They say that the animals look at each other in the eyes, seem to come to an understanding, and then the moose either trots off or the wolves move in. I think we humans have learned to break down our world into good and bad, suffering and pleasure. Yet those of us who have gone without food, either voluntarily or because of circumstances, know that it can be viewed as suffering, or it can be viewed as a sort of emancipation or sorts. Even people who have been tortured have sometimes come to a different perspective on their torturers. I know I'm talking about pretty radical compassion here, but to me this is actually the truest aspect of human nature -- our capacity for compassion, love, connection, and the knowledge that we don't have to see our relationship with life as a battle, but rather as a dance. I've used this philosophy to create great happiness and harmony in my own life and relationships, as well as to weather "tragedies" with a sense of compassion for all involved. It's been used to break up fights between cagefighters I was training with, and to actually enjoy some pretty intense situations in nature. To me, I have to test something over and over before I accept it as viable, and this way of living has proven again and again to bring adventure, fun, excitement, and wonder into my life. In earlier days, when I saw things as A against B, I usually found myself having inner conflict and tension, which then bled out into the relationships and circumstances around me. This is just my experience, and it's what I do with students here at ReWildU. It has a great track record, but it may be that I'm just weird and that I've attracted similar weirdos =)

ReWildUniversity Ending a life is destructive and violent, no matter how you try to put it. That's just nature doing its thing. Nature is indifferent to the needs and wants of living things. It doesn't care if you or I live or die, that moose feels fear and stress when it is attacked (violence again). That fear of death is self preservation. A natural instinct in all living things. It's the fight or flight response that we see in wild animals and ourselves. Yeah, good and evil are human constructs, much like time and morality (all for that one by the way). Now suffering and pleasure are natural, not human constructs. A dog likes to be scratched, it is being pleasured. But when it is beaten, it is suffering in pain. The whole torture thing, that's actually a form of psychosis. It has been studied extensively. So, no, it's not compassion. The real problem is that you are trying to apply human attributes to nature and not see nature as it actually is. That's anthropomorphism, and not a good thing. Now, don't get me wrong, we are apart of nature and we need to find out place in it but we must look at it objective and as caretakers of this planet. And it seems to work for you, but when you start to justify what the aggressors have done, then you start going down a slippery slop into madness. You cannot show compassion to all involved. What if compassion was shown to Jeffery Dommer and he was let go? More people would have been killed and consumed. See the problem with that line of thinking? Some times a line must be drawn and compassion suspended for the good of all. Remember what Spock said in "Wrath of Khan", "The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few". We do tend to attract those of like minds.

Hi Mike,Thanks so much again for this thoughtful dialog. I think we're both trying to characterize nature, me as nurturing, you as indifferent. Of course, I think we're also both wise enough to realize that we're seeing only the tiny slice of the world available to human perception, and that slice is highly colored by our own biases and past experiences. As the saying that is sometimes attributed to Socrates goes -- "The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing." As far as the content of our dialog, I don't think we'll come to an agreement on this one, but I think that's what makes the human world such an amazing place -- we come with so many opinions, perspectives, and ways of approaching life. I find that I can respect your viewpoints, though they don't accord with my own. I'm just a "test and figure out what works for me" kind of guy, and I've applied that to my martial arts practice, to my lifestyle, to my relationships, and to my day-to-day living. It's worked well for me, even though my way of doing things is usually fairly radical to most viewpoints. =)