E12 | Eric Haas | Wisdom of the Ancients: Reconnecting with Primal Nature
“Persistence hunting is the apex of human engagement with the natural world.”
Here is an audio version.
A video version can be found below.
Join us as we explore Eric’s journey through self-discovery, fatherhood, and service. He shares how caring for his son deepened his self-awareness and challenged the idea of being a ‘strong independent individual.’ Eric recounts his transformative path from travel and wilderness experiences to studying psychology, eventually leading to his time in the Kalahari Desert learning persistence hunting with the San people.
Eric emphasises the human need to help others, the challenges of supporting vulnerable cultures, and the importance of humility and learning from indigenous elders. He also addresses reconnecting with our primal selves amid concerns about AI and virtual technologies.
Through vivid stories of his persistence hunts and wildlife encounters, Eric reflects on his path from vegetarianism and veganism to ethical hunting, advocating for direct engagement with the world. He wraps up with his advice: "Be respectful. Be inspired. And find your own path."
Find Thematic Show Notes Below
Connect with Eric:
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Tei’s Instagram
Email - whr.link@gmail.com
Thematic Show Notes
Eric's Motivations and Self-Exploration:
Eric discusses his unique form of service and what motivates him to continue deepening into his practice.
Fatherhood as a catalyst for self-exploration and growth, enhancing his ability to recognize his sensitivity and take better care of himself.
Challenging the facade of being the ‘strong independent individual.’
Pathways to Transformation:
Eric's journey from travel, wilderness experiences, and relationships across continents to studying psychology to melding it all into a unique bundle of gifts to give in service to place and peoples.
How painful dynamics led him to prioritize self-exploration, healing, and growth, transforming his compulsive care for others into a conscious, reciprocal decision.
Connecting with the San People:
Eric’s belief in the essential human need to help others.
His transformative experience learning persistence hunting with the San people in the Kalahari Desert.
His goal to inspire clients to support the San and their cultural regeneration through persistence hunting experiences, connecting with ancient human roots.
The spiritual connection facilitated by persistence hunting and the San's deep knowledge of this practice.
Cultural Preservation and Ethical Practices:
The complexity of helping vulnerable cultures and the negative impacts of certain charitable actions.
Inspiring youth of dying cultures through humility and learning from their elders.
Preserving indigenous cultures as an essential thread of humanity’s fabric, with every loss diminishing our collective heritage.
Bodily Wisdom and Psychological Health:
Eric’s apprehensions around AI and virtual technologies driving his efforts to reconnect people with primal aspects of themselves.
The significance of bodily wisdom versus embodied wisdom and fully inhabiting the body.
The limitations of mainstream therapy compared to nature and indigenous psychology, emphasizing challenging physical activities as deeply spiritual growth opportunities.
Experiences in the Kalahari and Alaska:
Eric's sense of homecoming with the San in the Kalahari, emphasizing the importance of humility and respect.
Expanding one's sense of self to connect with the web of life for psychological health.
Vivid stories from his persistence hunts and wildlife encounters, including an encounter with a bull elephant.
Ethical Hunting and Real Knowledge:
Eric’s dietary journey from vegetarianism and veganism to ethical hunting practices.
Advocating for experiencing life firsthand to gain real knowledge, emphasizing "killing with love" as a 'land ethic.'
The essential difference between talking/thinking about things and truly understanding them through engagement with the world.
Personal Growth and Engagement:
Reflections on personal growth emphasize being alive, aware, and engaged.
Eric’s advice: "Be respectful. Be inspired. And find your own path."