Being in Relationship with Nature and the Sacred with Nina Simons

#53 - Join us for a wonderful conversation with Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons on remembering and reclaiming our sacred relationship with the Earth.

In this episode, Nina shares wisdom on learning directly from Nature, rekindling sacred relationship, and how we can engage in the innovative work of restoration in each moment. She offers deep insights on how spaciousness and community allow for co-creating a culture of thriving in the world that is currently emerging and being born.

She also offers an experiential understanding of how leadership requires us to be in a dance of listening to address social, racial equity, and environmental challenges, and how we are being called into a new level of our humanity to meet this world in the most balanced and centered way.

Nina Simons is the co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist at Bioneers, and leads its Everywoman’s Leadership program. Bioneers is a nonprofit that uses media, convening, and connecting to lift up visionary and practical solutions for many of our most pressing social and ecological challenges, using a whole-system approach.

Nina is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about reinventing leadership, restoring the feminine, and co-creating a healthy, peaceful, and equitable world for all. She speaks and teaches internationally at schools, conferences, and festivals, and co-facilitates transformative workshops and retreats for women that share practices for regenerative leadership through relational mindfulness.

Throughout her remarkable career spanning the nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, corporate, and philanthropic sectors, Nina has worked with nearly a thousand diverse women leaders across disciplines, race, class, age, orientation, and more to create conditions for mutual learning and leadership development.  She produces and speaks at large-scale events to work intimately to help small, diverse groups of women leaders knit together to strengthen each other’s work pursuing intersectional healing and ecological justice.

Nina studied Theater Arts and Psychology at Cornell University. In addition to writing the first and second editions of Nature, Culture, and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership (Green Fire Press), Nina co-edited 2010’s Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart (Park Street Press), which explores the flourishing, passionate forms of leadership emerging from women on behalf of the earth through the prism of more than 30 essays from successful women leaders.

You can find Nina at: https://www.ninasimons.com/ and https://bioneers.org/
On instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1ninasimons
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Learn how to communicate with plant consciousness in the free workshop on How to Learn Plant Language: https://www.learnplantlanguage.com/

Transcript

Sara Artemisia: 0:05

Welcome to the Plant Spirit Podcast on connecting with plant consciousness, and the healing wisdom of Nature. If you'd like to learn more on how to communicate directly with plants, visit www.learnplantlanguage.com. To register for the free workshop, that's www.learnplantlanguage.com. I'm your host, Sara Artemisia and I'm deeply honored to introduce our next guest to the show today. Nina Simons is an author and the co-founder of Bioneers, which is a nonprofit that lifts up visionary and practical solutions for many of our most pressing social and ecological challenges to reveal a regenerative and equitable future that's within our reach today. As a social entrepreneur, Nina is passionate about reinventing leadership, restoring the feminine and co-creating a healthy, peaceful and equitable world for all. She speaks and teaches internationally at schools, conferences and festivals. And she co-facilitates transformative workshops and retreats on regenerative leadership through reclaiming wholeness and relational mindfulness. Nina is the author of Nature, Culture and the Sacred, and co-editor of Moonrise : The Power of Women Leading from the Heart. So Nina, thank you so much for being here. Such a joy to have you.

Nina Simons: 1:50

It's such a delight to be with you, Sara and with your listeners. Thanks for inviting me.

Sara Artemisia: 1:58

Thank you. So yeah, there's so many things I'm excited to dive into today. And the first thing really is this very core question of, in your experience, why is it so important for us to remember and reclaim our sacred relationship with the Earth?

Nina Simons: 2:21

Hmm. Well, I think, as you identified earlier, Sara, I'm a pattern seeker. And our relationship with the Earth is simply one of many octaves of relationship that we live within. So for some reason, I seem to have been born into this life, with a particular resonance with what creates healthy relationship. And what I've seen is that what's broken or not working in our world, is a lack of integrity in our relational fields, both within ourselves, because we all have so much conditioning to judge or beat ourselves up or limit our capacities, but also with each other, as evidenced by the high divorce rate and everything else that's happening in the world, and our relationship to the Earth, which of course, we're experiencing a wake up call from mother life right now, that's enormous and existential. And so my sense is that part of what Bioneers has taught me is that it's all connected, and it's all relatives. And there's a poem that my husband wrote to describe Bioneers, which is, it's all alive, it's all intelligent, it's all connected, it's all relatives. And so rekindling a sacred relationship with the Earth. And, really, the way I see it, is that rekindling a sacred relationship with Nature is one fractal of repairing our relational web. Because we are relational creatures, we are fundamentally social, by our Nature. And so the fact that our cultures and our civilizations have not really taught us how to be in right relationship means that whether we start with our relationship with ourselves or with Nature, we have to rekindle sacred relationship as the pathway to co-creating a healthier world.

Sara Artemisia: 5:04

Wow. Yes, that sums up so much. That is amazing. Could you share that poem one more time too? So beautiful.

Nina Simons: 5:14

Sure. It's all alive. It's all intelligent. It's all connected. It's all relatives.

Sara Artemisia: 5:29

That's beautiful.

Nina Simons: 5:32

Well, you know, one of the sort of early core lessons I learned from Bioneers, was that one of the worst systems errors that we've made as a species, is imagining that we're separate from Nature, rather than a part of Nature. And really, Nature is our source. For me, Nature is the home of the sacred. And when I imagine in to what some people call great spirit, or what's holy, and what's most sacred to me, it is embodied throughout Nature. And seeing Nature, as our mentor as our mother, as our source is very different than seeing her as component parts to be mined and harvested.

Sara Artemisia: 6:29

Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. So well said and I feel like so much of what you're doing at Bioneers really gets right to the heart of that. So would you be open to sharing a bit more about what Bioneers is? And if you're open to it, I would love a good origin story, maybe a bit about how it started and where it's evolved to today? Where do you see it going from here?

Nina Simons: 6:54

Sure. The short story is it started in a hot tub. My husband, who was then my boyfriend was researching all about biodiversity, and bio remediation. And he was discovering that there were amazing people and what bio remediation is, is using natural systems to help detoxify the air and soil and water. And he was finding that there were these amazing innovators from all walks of life, who are doing incredible things really modeled after the natural world. And, and he was bemoaning to a friend and a hot tub that he was finding out about these incredible people, but no one had ever heard of them. And the friend said, why don't you have a conference? And Kenny said, Well, I've never been to a conference. It sounds boring. Why would I do that. And the friend said, here's a grant, go have a conference. And Kenny knew that I had a theater background. And so he came to me and I had also never been to a conference. And together, we co-created this totally weird event that's three days long and happens every year. That it's called the Bioneers. And when we first began it, it was partly in response to James Hansen started sounding the alarm about climate change in 1989. So the first conference was in 1990. And it was happening a concurrent with a business we were shepherding called Seeds of Change. And a few years later, Seeds of Change went off in another direction. And we stayed with Bioneers and Bioneers has grown and evolved in many, many ways since. It's become a media company, really. We produce radio series and podcasts that win awards every year. And there are tons of videos and a wonderful newsletter. And we still have an annual event. Some of the ways that it's evolved, are not only in becoming a media company so that many more people can access the ideas and innovations that come out of Bioneers. But also, I would have to say that from the beginning, perhaps because we are based in the Southwest. And Kenny and I both had a deeper affinity for Indigenous peoples and cultures. We recognize that Native peoples were the first Bioneers. They are the ones who carry the wisdom of how to live in right relationship in sacred relationship with Nature. And so Native people have always been at the heart of Bioneers. And over time, we've had a has were friend and colleague who was on our board. A Native organizer came to us and said, I think you need to have your own program Indigeneity. And there should be its own forum within the conference. And so we now have an amazing program called Indigeneity. That's doing incredible work with communications and education and rites of Nature work. And it's led by Native women. And even though it's nested within Bioneers, they really have sovereignty over their own project. So it's a very beautiful constellation. And I think the role of racial justice and the absolute interdependence of racial equity and racial justice and gender justice, to making peace with the natural world, and finding new relationship has become more and more apparent. And so, you know, Bioneers is very unusual in that we cover everything from economy, to education, to arts, to women's leadership, and youth leadership. And how do we cultivate ourselves from the inside out, integrating spirit, because all of the behavioral activities are not going to be enough to transform our culture without a change of heart. And without our cultivation in this time, that is asking so much of us. So I think that's that's how, what Bioneers has become. And I'm incredibly proud and honored that we've managed to stay alive for 35 years. The conference is now in Berkeley, each year in the spring. And it's quite a magical experience and I'm honored to help shepherd it.

Sara Artemisia: 11:50

Incredible. Well, thank you so much for that, and for listening to the different iterations of really how to honor the innovative, what is the innovative work of restoration at each moment, that is to really listen to what that is. And really to honor that it's so important, and I loved what you were sharing there about, it seems so connected to what you're sharing earlier about the fractal Nature of the relationship in our relationship with Nature, our relationship with people, our relationship with the self, that this is all connected, and I love how you weave that all together so beautifully in your work. And also what you were talking about really cultivating ourselves from the inside out that this is so important, and that when we do this, this comes through in every single one of our activities, relationships, ways that we orient to the world. And so it's really beautiful that you've, you've cultivated this and co-created it and just are stewarding it really into into reality. It's really, really beautiful.

Nina Simons: 12:55

Thank you, Sara. And I think part of the motivation for us also has been that the mainstream media really covers the bad news, but they don't cover the good news of the World that's being born. And we, and I'm sure all of your listeners are part of the world that's being born. And we need to feel ourselves in community, we need to recognize each other and the beauty of what's emergent, because otherwise it can be a pretty depressing picture out there.

Sara Artemisia: 13:29

Yeah, that is, I mean, that's huge, huge part of the why of this, why this podcast even exists, really, that in a world where so much of what we are seeing reflected back to us are these mirrors of fragmentation, that it is so important to have places that we can go to communities that we can connect with that reflect back to us mirrors of wholeness, so that we can remember again, what it means to belong to an experience of wholeness, both in our communities and by communities, I mean, human communities, communities with the Earth, and also within ourselves that we really belong here that we are here. And that that is really something incredibly beautiful to be celebrated. And so yeah, thank you just so so much for the work that you're doing. I'm curious for folks who are interested in getting involved with Bioneers, what would you recommend?

Nina Simons: 14:24

Well, the really simple thing is just to go to bioneers.org and explore, you know, sign up for the newsletter. If you go to bioneers.org/NCSbook, you can download a free PDF of the introduction to my book. And Bioneers is just a wealth of resource and it's an exciting place to explore. So I hope you'll go check it out.

Sara Artemisia: 14:49

Excellent, thank you. Yes. And I hope everyone listening that you do that. It's just an incredible organization. And so Nina, I was curious if you could also share if you have any stories have any specific relationship or encounter experience that you've had with a plant that's been really meaningful for you in your life?

Nina Simons: 15:10

Oh, I'd love to, you know, early in the pandemic, I'm someone who receives guidance from many different sources. And I have long studied with many Native teachers. But also, there is a channel that I consult with some regularity and have learned to really trust. And that resource said to me, you need to find a species mentor in Nature. And I thought, Ha! Well, that's an interesting assignment. Okay. And since we were all in quarantine, and I live on the edge of a national forest, and our dogs walk us twice a day, I began listening for who is my species mentor supposed to be. And I wondered if it was a bird or a creature. And I, I practice patience, as I am always doing. And eventually it came through really clearly that it was a plant that wanted to be my species mentor. And the plant was one that I have seen on our land before. It's actually endogenous to the region of the Southwest that I live in. And it's called an Apache plume. And Apache plume is a very beautiful plant when it's seeding, because the ends of its branches, turn into these pink powder puffs that look kind of like Cindy Lauper's hair. And when it's not in bloom, it's not colorful, and it's not particularly pretty. But when it's in bloom, wow. And so I started watching it, and observing it and listening for its guidance. And what I saw Sara, was that over the course of a year, I watched as this land that has been is in the midst of a hundred year drought, and it's bone dry, where I live. Somehow the Apache plume was proliferating all over the land. And I thought, oh my gosh, this plant is here to teach me some lessons about resilience. And, and I found myself learning about, oh, things like camouflage from the plant. Because when it's not in bloom, it has sort of sharp pointy ends, where the seed heads usually sit, that look unfriendly to birds, you know, and the seed heads, because they're so light and fluffy, the wind can carry them. And so they spread across the landscape. And it was just amazing to me to, to feel humbled by the brilliance of this plant, and by how grateful I am to be in a partnership with it. And it wound up just being a fantastic thing to do. So I would heartily recommend it to anyone listening.

Sara Artemisia: 18:20

Oh, I love that. Oh, my goodness, yes, learning directly from the plants. Being in partnership in that way. Just there's so many lessons that we can learn from the plant realm and how we can apply that to the human realm. And I'm curious in that experience, was there anything in particular in the lessons of resilience or other things that you witnessed with the Apache plume that you felt could be applied directly to the human experience?

Nina Simons: 18:49

Well, yes, I mean, you know, a lot of it has to do with the uniqueness of its plumes. And, and the fact that what I began to realize was that those plumes are both an attractant when they're in blossom, because I think they attract birds to them, who helped carry the seeds on their feathers. But also, when they're not in bloom, they act as a repellent. So birds don't land on them because they look sharp and pointy. So being a person who's so focused on relationship, as you might imagine, I'm highly empathic. And it is a practice for me for many years now, to explore and strengthen my understanding about boundaries, and to learn how to value myself as an instrument of service as much as I value what I'm serving, because as I'm seeking to redefine, reinvent and model new forms of leadership, what I'm aware of is that the old form came with a lot of self-sacrifice. And I think it's one of the things we need to change. And as we seek to rebalance the masculine and the feminine within ourselves, regardless of what gendered body we may be in the feminine I have learned, thrives in spaciousness. And in this active doing doing doing culture, I'm practicing giving myself permission to listen for what my body needs and to pay heed to it.

Sara Artemisia: 20:33

Oh, that is so profound, and so important for each of us to connect with. Yeah, that it's really out of the spaciousness that new forms can be created, and that it's so important to honor that part of our being that part of the cycle, that part of existence to really allow new forms, new ways of being to come through, there are so many things that you've already shared, that just, I feel chills all over when you're saying it, because it just resonates so deeply. What you're, what you're sharing here, and and you were talking also, as well about how in your work, that you really are connected with reinventing, redesigning new forms of leadership, and something that you've previously said that I resonate really deeply with, as well as how leadership at this time requires us to be in a real dance of listening, over speaking, practicing humility, and actively cultivating our collaboration skills. And I'd love to hear a little more about that if you're open to sharing. And really, how do you see listening and learning from the strength of diversity in Nature, as playing a role in how we address social and environmental challenges moving forward?

Nina Simons: 22:00

Such a good question, thank you for asking me that. You know, what I've learned, again, from Bioneers is that in Nature, the ecosystems that are the healthiest and the most resilient, when, when confronted with disease, or weather issues, or, or other trauma, the ecosystems that rebound the fastest are the ones that are most diverse. And the places of greatest innovation, are also the places where two or more ecosystems meet. So where the river meets the ocean meets the forest. That's where newness arises. And certainly, in this time, when so much about our civilization, and culture is falling apart in big chunks, and dying, and in need of rebirth. That, you know, understanding diversity as central to our survival. And not just as something that has political correctness attached to it. But as a core principle of how we co-create a culture of thriving is really, really central. And I have to say that as someone who, really, in my work with women in leadership, I turned towards racial equity learning, and really peeling back layers of denial, and of protection, and of insensitivity blindness, really, as a result of my White privilege. What I've noticed is that, while there are lots of people talking about the hardship of doing that work, and how you have to be sort of strong and tough, and you know, you have to be focused and persevering to do it. There aren't a lot of people talking about how much joy it brings, how much life and vitality and I mean, I am part of communities that I am so deeply honored, to be loved and held by and it's because I chose to do that work. And one of the people I am inspired by a woman named Camila Majeed says that in order to cultivate a pro social world, we need to cultivate discomfort resilience in ourselves. And I think that's true, you know, we're just not that fragile. And the discomfort is so worth it. So a lot of what I find, I feel called towards, is to share with people. Wow, how much joy and enlightenment and rebirth and love is available to us if we faced into those kinds of relationships.

Sara Artemisia: 25:19

Ohh, so beautiful, so powerful, what you're just sharing about this experience of connecting with the joy and enlightenment, when we connect with different types of people, different communities, the diversity, how there is so much joy in the diversity, I feel like Nature really reflects this back to us that, honestly, anytime I have a question about how I should do something, I just look to Nature. And I say, how would Nature do it? And then that really helps to answer the question. And so when I look at all of these incredibly challenging, social, political, just the many challenges that we are up against right now, that when we can look deeply into the mirror of Nature, we can find incredible solutions to this. And so I just love that you shared that in your own experience of connecting with different communities, and just how much richer and more full all of life can become as a result of that when we go into the edge zones of the ecosystems when we really connect with the biodiversity of the ecosystems on all layers physically, socially, you know, in many different realms of life, just how incredibly powerful that is. And clearly, your work in relationship spans so many different realms. And I'm curious to hear how would you say that Nature really supports you in your life's work?

Nina Simons: 26:45

Well, I think of Nature as mother life. And for me, Mother life is the divine, it's the sacred. And so in many ways, I feel like mother life keeps bringing me relationships and connections and experiences that grow me towards who my soul brought me here to be. That's a little vague. Let me see if I can clarify with an example. Well, you know, one thing I was thinking about, in relation to your earlier question about diversity is that I have a mother-in-law, who's 103 years old. And one of the things that I have learned from her is the value of maintaining friendships with people of all ages. And, you know, when we look at our culture, there is such a, an epidemic, of ageism, and of tending to segregate us within our pods of people who look like us, whether it's age wise, or ethnicity wise, or interest wise. And so I feel like she has taught me something about aging well, just by witnessing how she maintains circles of relationships of all ages and backgrounds. And I think that's kind of a beautiful example. The other thing that I was thinking about, and this may be taking us in a slightly different direction, Sara, but bear with me, I was thinking that one of the teachers that has had a really profound impact on me, was a Peruvian Native teacher, who taught me that he taught me two major lessons. And one was he said, you know, that expression as above so below, he said, In my culture, we see it reversed. That as below, so above. And the way I understand that is in relation to what we were talking about earlier about cultivating ourselves to meet this time, how our lives are as important as our outer lives. And I think that's one of the places where the imbalance between how our culture values things they associate with the masculine and d values, elements associated with the feminine. Carl Jung said the feminine is interiority. And so that was one thing that I love that because I have Zack Bush about how we have depleted the microbial life of the soil. And that's part of why we're having climate change. It's part of why we're so susceptible to illness. And there's something about that, that our inner lives reflect our outer lives. And I've been so aware recently that as the outer world is going through so much change, I've been noticing a lot of change happening within myself. And part of my guidance from Nature has been to notice that when creatures are going through metamorphosis, they're not doing other things at the same time. So when a snake is shedding its skin, or when a bird is molting, its feathers, they're not hunting or eating or multitasking. At the same time, they're focused on their own change. And I thought that was a really valuable thing to recognize. Because it feels to me and this could be my projection, forgive me if it is, it feels to me, like we're all being called to change in this time, that the Earth is going through so much change, and the cosmos, that actually, we are called into a new level of our humanity. And so I'm finding myself deeply motivated to focus on the inner cultivation to become who I most aspired to be, and who can meet this world, in the most balanced and centered way. And the other thing, here's one other lesson I would offer that, I think is so valuable, it's only nine words, and it comes from the same source from Oscar Miro-Quesada. And he said, at the end of an eight hour ritual, we had been up most of the night, it was like three in the morning. And he said, if you remember only one thing from this time, remember, this, consciousness creates matter. Language creates reality. Ritual creates relationship. And that has been a profound teaching for me. And because I consider that Native peoples are carrying wisdom that's almost more directly derived from the natural world. That's why I offer it in relation to your question, Sara, which was such a good question. But it's, those nine words have been such a compass point for me and such a, an incredible teaching. And every time I noticed that I have a pattern that I want to change, I make up a ritual to change it. Like, I noticed that when I got out of the shower in the morning, I would look at my body in the mirror, and I had all these voices going on in my head. This is like, Oh, your hips are too fat, or your bellies to round. You know, those critical question. I'm doing violence myself every day when I do that. And so I simply made up a ritual where I create a skin oil. And I put essential oils from plants that I really love into the oil. And I spend three to five minutes when I come out of the shower, anointing my body with that oil, and pouring love and gratitude into my body. And eventually, what I found is that if I do those rituals every day for six to eight weeks, and I'm really rigorous about holding myself accountable, I can alter that pattern and myself and it's a wonderful way to peel away self-defeating stuff that we don't want to carry forward and to strengthen those parts of ourselves that we do.

Sara Artemisia: 33:56

So powerful. Wow, that is so beautiful. How the rituals can create new patterns on so many different levels. Would you be open to sharing that teaching again from Oscar Miro-Quesada?

Nina Simons: 34:13

Sure. What he said was, if you remember only one thing, remember this. Consciousness creates matter. Language creates reality. Ritual creates relationship. And it has been such powerful medicine for me to recognize the power of words and the power of a friend of mine who's a beautiful writer and wordsmith and singer. I've learned over time that I I can't call women guys anymore. I have to say either guys, or ladies You know, and whenever she hears someone say, killing two birds with one stone, she says, how's about we feed two birds with one stone. So we're all in this moment of reinventing our culture. And it helps me give more weight to why having a moment of meditation is so important. And why taking a few minutes to rest and listen, when I need to pass value. Because, as you know, I mean, listening is just the most important thing I know how to do right now. And there is so much guidance coming from so many different directions. If only we can quiet our minds enough to hear it.

Sara Artemisia: 35:54

Incredible. Well, Nina, thank you so much. And so tell us how can people find out more about you your work and your book as well?

Nina Simons: 36:03

Oh, well. The book is available wherever books are sold. There is a Kindle version and an audio version. But the print version has discussion guides and embodied practices for each essay that's in it. So I think it has special value. And many women and educators have told me that they're either using it individually or using it with a women's circle, or a book circle to help cultivate themselves. And I'm doing more and more teaching online. Bioneers has a new program called Bioneers learning where we're offering online programs and you can find out about me there. And I also have a website. That's ninasimons.com. So easy, easy.

Sara Artemisia: 36:56

Well, thanks so much, Nina. And for everyone listening. I mean, his book is Nature, Culture and the Sacred. Absolutely incredible. Highly recommend you check it out. And yeah, Nina, thank you so much for being here for bringing your presence, your wisdom, this joyful connection that you have with life and really deeply listening to what is wanting to come forward and honoring that. Thank you so much. And thank you for being here today.

Nina Simons: 37:27

Oh, gosh, Sara, being with you is soul nourishment. So thank you. I'm really grateful to have shared this time. And thank you all for listening. And if you do read the book, please give me a review on Amazon because it

Sara Artemisia: 37:42

Well, thank you so much. And thanks so much for matters. listening and joining us today on the Plant Spirit Podcast. I hope you enjoyed it and please follow to subscribe, leave a review and look forward to seeing you on the next episode.