Ted Packard on bodies as a multiplicity, coyote-trickster troubadour-ing, music as ecological channeling, kids and nature connection, & creating communities of mutuality

The Ground Shots Podcast

Direct link to episode with extra photos and Ted's poetry: https://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com/podcastblog/tedpackard

Ted studied History and Anthropology at Christopher Newport University, got a Master’s in Teaching, went on the road with the Momentary Prophets band, and then went to study with Alderleaf Wilderness College and Wilderness Awareness School. He taught various program for youth around the greater Seattle area for many years before relocating to Durango, Colorado to dry out, as he says. After some years of a break, Ted just started up a new nature connection program for youth in the Durango community. Ted does lots of things, including various handcrafts, refurbishing guitars and other instruments, music-making, writing, wood-burning and more. As college peers, we spent a lot of time together researching things like mushroom cults, the esoteric origins of Judeo-Christian religion, the anthropology of psychedelics, zen koans, and more. We both have lived in different places since and woven in and out of each others’ lives so we spent some time really checking in about how we think about things now vs. when we were radical activist driven neo-pagan coyote-trickster troubadour mind-melters.

In this episode with Ted, we talk about:

• Ted’s nature connection mentorship work with youth in Washington and Colorado

• Ted’s upbringing in northwestern Virginia

• Our experience in college of community: artists, philosophers, musicians, activists, and neo-pagans and our reflections on that time now

• seasonal ritual as a somatic map

• ways that Ted’s anger at an eco-cidal culture has transformed over the years to a yearning for finding points of connection vs. telling someone they are wrong or how to live

• what is a community of mutuality in a broken society that emphasizes hyper-individualism?

• activism can look many ways and can even be in small moments of advocacy

• awareness of the isolation of capitalism is often crippling

• the reality that financial security is generally not available to our generation (millennials)

• Ted’s musical projects which include Momentary Prophets from his early 20’s, that had a coyote-troubadour element with community driven instigation, as well as his own solo projects

• paying attention to ‘nature’ bringing you closer to crazy synchronicities that become signposts to keep going

• weaving a web of interrelated ideas and ecologies as a way of being

• trauma, neutrinos, quantum physics intersecting eastern philosophy, bodies as multiplicity, the mycelium nature of everything, music as ecological channeling

Links: The Emerald Podcast, mentioned on the podcast Daniel Quinn, author we mention on the podcast Mystic Moon of Norfolk, VA, pagan community mentioned Terence McKenna, mentioned on the podcast Mountain Justice: organization dedicated to ending mountain top removal in Appalachia Momentary Prophets on Facebook Momentary Prophets on Bandcamp (Interstitial music featured on the episode) Ted’s music on Bandcamp (he is putting out a new album RIGHT NOW, his individual music featured in the intro of this episode) Wilderness Awareness School Living Earth School Sophie Strand Ted’s Patreon for his music, art, writing Ted’s revived blog of writing (do yourself a favor and read and savor) Ted’s Venmo if you’d like to donate to help support his musical projects : @Theodore-Packard Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute monthly to our grassroots self-funding of this project For one time donations to support this podcast: Paypal : paypal.me/petitfawn VENMO: @kelly-moody-6 Cashapp: cash.app/$groundshotsproject Our website with an archive of podcast episodes, educational resources, past travelogues and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com Our Instagram pages: @goldenberries / @groundshotspodcast Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project Music: by Ted Packard and Momentary Prophets This episode hosted by: Kelly Moody Produced by: Kelly Moody and Ted Packard