004 • Heeding the Call

Explicit content warning

07/07/24 • 63 min

At age 18 on a cross-country ramble Matt Cochran pulled over for an evening stroll in the middle of the New Mexico desert after a long days drive. It nearly scared the ghost out of him. Thus begins an odyssey of a wayward youth on the journey to a version manhood mentored by the force of nature itself.

From childhood memories of finding solace in nature during family gatherings to thrilling cliff diving adventures. Matt’s story takes us on wander down a path of self-exploration and healing beginning with stint as a geologist and serveying to later delving into depth and eco-psychology.

But it wasn’t until a return trip some decades later to that fateful place, Three Rivers Petroglyphs in New Mexico, that Matt truly heard the nature call him into something of a discipleship. Confronting deep-seated fears, that trtansform into significant personal growth and change, Matt’s journey intertwines personal reflection with the greater question of the human experience through messages from everything from the petraglyphs to the haunting significance of the White Sands Missile Range.

Listen in as Matt explores the the geologic impact of humanity, nature’s interconnected cycles of destruction and creation, and its crucial role in both personal and collective growth - and what it means to “heed the call” when nature comes calling.
__________________________
Music in this episode by:
Jesse Gallagher - The Anunnaki Return
Mini Vandals - Over the Mountain
Density & Time - GROWTH_DECAY

I'd love to hear from you!

Support the show

_______________________________
FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE INSIDE BY GETTING OUTSIDE!
You can reach Shawn through these links:
Email: [email protected]
Website: ourfirstnature.com
IG: @ourfirstnature
FB: FirstNatureFN

I'd love to hear from you!

Support the show

Previous Episode

003 • A Winter's Walk into the Ancient Past

On a winter morning’s walk at the foot of the snowcapped Sierra Nevadas in California’s Owen’s Valley, host Shawn Berry ponders how we may have experienced our consciousness as it began to come into being. This episode of First Nature considers the human development of self-awareness and how our ancestors might have experimented with the use of sound and rhythm to communicate this burgeoning inner, solo adventure while also developing the fundamental elements of ritual and ceremony as a strategy to maintain community cohesion, as the rise of the individuated self pulled at the communal seams.

Meanwhile, the backdrop of the mountains keeps Earth in the dialogue. Through expressions of admiration and blessing for the majestic peaks of the Sierras and Inyo Mountains, the importance of a reciprocated relationship with the planet is brought to the forefront as an offering to deal with our present human dilemma. How might each of us come into a more authentic, "right-relationship" with nature as our ancient ancestors had lived, treating all aspects of it with the same reverence we reserve for human life?
Music in this episode by:
Red Centre Blues, by Brendan Gallagher
Listen to Overtones, by ArtEffectAudio
Drums Battle, by Alban Gogh
Soft Coming Spring by Syouki Takahashi
First Nature theme song by Shawn Berry
Podcast Artwork by Shawn Berry

I'd love to hear from you!

Support the show

Next Episode

005 • Sun, Time, & Sustenance

Join host Shawn Berry on a walk through the wilds of Utah as he explores the relationship between the agricultural revolution and humanity’s connection to time, sustenance, and the rhythms of nature. The shift from hunter-gathering to farming brought abundance and stability but also introduced hierarchies, inequalities, and a new way of measuring life itself. How has this transformation shaped not only our survival but also our sense of fulfillment? Reflecting on these ancient rhythms offers insight into what we’ve gained—and what we may have lost in the process. How does our ancient methods of acquiring sustenance in the past inform our relationship to food today?
Music in this episode in order of occurence:
Placid, by Shawn Berry
Drums and Percussion, by Sofra
Samurai Relaxing, by Shakib Hasan

I'd love to hear from you!

Support the show