Edith and Randy Woodley invite us to rediscover our connection with nature, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of community-based ecological practices. Uncover their approach to land stewardship, communal living, and the rejection of individualism for a more holistic and balanced way of living.
Edith and Randy Woodley are passionate environmentalists and spiritual seekers managing the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice. They've dedicated their lives to promoting sustainable small-scale farming, earth justice, and community well-being. Their new book, "Journey to Eloheh" sheds light on achieving wholeness over mere happiness, rooted in the Cherokee concept of "Eloheh."
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Episode Notes:
Edith Woodley is a mentor/speaker on issues concerning Indigenous Spirituality and Creation. Edith is an Eastern Shoshone tribal member raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. She co-founded several organizations with husband Randy Woodley. Edith enjoys carrying on the tradition in her family of Native American beadwork with her jewelry. Many women across the continent now adorn themselves with the bracelets, earrings and necklaces she has gifted to them over the years.
Dr. Randy Woodley addresses a variety of issues concerning American culture, faith, justice, race, and our relationship with the earth and Indigenous realities. His expertise has been sought in national venues as diverse as Time Magazine, Christianity Today, The Huffington Post and Planet Drum: A Voice for Bioregional, Sustainability, Education and Culture. Randy identifies strongly with issues of eco-justice, diversity and racial justice.
You can learn more about the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice through their website.
In November of 2024, the Woodley's published Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being. The book invites readers to consider how to pursue a life of well-being over a life of happiness.
In this episode:
(00:00) Spirituality, environment, community: Edith and Randy Woodley.
(03:56) Difference between happiness and well-being discussed.
(09:34) Restore harmony and serve the community's needs.
(11:44) Influenced by environmentalism, nature, and Ojibwe teachings.
(16:19) Scrub forest, walkway, and roaming wildlife area.
(20:51) Integrating urban people in land-related ceremonies.
(25:24) Caring for wildlife, not just appearances.
(27:36) Inviting participation over appearance, embracing community chaos.
(29:39) Teach farming hands-on, storytelling, reflection, land connection.
(34:37) Embrace nature and creation, regardless of location.
(40:08) Compass Podcast by United Methodist Communications.
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This episode posted on November 13, 2024
Episode Transcript:
Ryan Dunn [00:00:01]:
Good day to you and welcome to Compass Finding Spirituality in the Everyday. I'm Ryan Dunn. In this episode, we're joined by Edith and Randy Woodley who share their unique journey in integrating spirituality, environmental consciousness, and community living. They manage the Eloheh Indigenous Center For Earth Justice on their 10 acre farm. And in this conversation, we're gonna talk about pursuing contentment over happiness as we explore ideas like sustainable land management, the interconnectedness of all living things, and serving the broader community of life. We'll hear about their farm's harmonious integration with nature, their advocacy for small scale sustainable farming, and their own practical advice for connecting with the environment even for urban dwellers. The Woodleys also discuss their book which is called Journey to to Eloi, and they share their personal stories that highlight the deep spiritual lessons they've learned along the way. Join us as we explore the profound insights of Edith and Randy Woodley on creating a balanced, harmonious life in tune with the natural world.
Ryan Dunn [00:01:13]:
We're going to talk about life and living well, some kind of light existential topics with the Woodleys. So as we are talking about life, we're recording this on a Tuesday morning for y'all. What does life look like for the Woodleys today?
Randy Woodley [00:01:29]:
Oh, my gosh. I'm not sure you really even wanna know that.
Ryan Dunn [00:01:35]:
You can give us the, the Instagram version if you so choose.
Randy Woodley [00:01:39]:
Yeah. So, well, I retired 2 years ago from teaching at Portland Seminary, and I I haven't been busier in my whole life since then. So, we have our farm here. We have our schools. We speak at places all around the country and Canada. I'm writing books. Edith's finally writing a book. We just got our book done together.
Randy Woodley [00:02:08]:
I'm writing I've already started a new one now. Just getting the contract for that. And, oh, we've got lots of things going on. I I teach every now and then at the Center For Action Contemplation down in Albuquerque. And then on top of that, family wise, we've got currently 3 of our 4 grown kids living on the campus with us here. So that's and and and a grandson. So, that makes life, interesting, you know, dealing with adult kids. Sure.
Randy Woodley [00:02:40]:
Yeah. I don't know. Life's a little bit crazy around here.
Edith Woodley [00:02:43]:
Well, you know, this morning, it was fine. You know, it's we're just kinda plugging right along. We got up. We had our coffee. We able to just do do our thing that we do in the morning, and, you know, just kinda get our day going, ate breakfast, you know, and just kinda get moving with the day, doing laundry. We're, getting ready to go to, Albuquerque on Friday. And so, you know, getting everything situated with, you know, the house and with our kids and with our staff and, you know, all those different things that you have to do to before you leave home.
Ryan Dunn [00:03:25]:
Yeah.
Edith Woodley [00:03:26]:
And, making sure our critters are taken care of while we're gone. We have a dog and,
Randy Woodley [00:03:35]:
4 cats.
Edith Woodley [00:03:36]:
Four outside cats that live outside, and then our daughter has 2 cats that are inside cats. And, so, yeah, it's just, you know, and chickens.
Randy Woodley [00:03:48]:
Mhmm.
Edith Woodley [00:03:49]:
So, you know, it's just, you know, all those basic every morning things that a person does.
Randy Woodley [00:03:54]:
Basic life on the farm.
Edith Woodley [00:03:55]:
Yeah.
Ryan Dunn [00:03:56]:
Yeah. I think we have to name that part of your existence is living life on the farm and, in feeling that sense of connection with the the life around something like that. You mentioned the books you're working on, the book that has brought us together is Journey to Aloha. And a lot of times when many of us speak about life, we defer to a language around happiness where, oh, well, I'll just be happy when blank happens or I just want to be happy in life. In journey to Aloha, you talk about life in a pursuit of well-being or pursuit of wellness. Can you talk to us a little bit about the difference between happiness and well-being?
Randy Woodley [00:04:41]:
Yeah. And, it's pronounced Elohay? Elohay.
Ryan Dunn [00:04:44]:
Thank you.
Randy Woodley [00:04:45]:
Yeah. Elohay. It's a Cherokee word, basically meaning a wholeness and, well-being and, and everything's kinda as it should be. Not it's not perfect, but, you know, there are remedies to sort of work things out. Yeah. So Elahay is our the name of our farm. We're Elahay Indigenous Center For Earth Justice and Elahay Farm and Seeds. And, and our, organization is called Eilahy slash eagle swings.
Randy Woodley [00:05:11]:
So that's our legal entity. Yeah. So, you know, it's kinda like, you know, that the thinking like, oh, I'll just be happy when I win the lottery. Right? Right.
Edith Woodley [00:05:27]:
Well, real quick on that note. This morning, I was sitting with my grandson. The lottery. No. Oh, I can't
Ryan Dunn [00:05:34]:
And you still made time for this. What noble people.
Edith Woodley [00:05:37]:
This morning, I was sitting with my grandson. He's got a head cold, and so he
Edith Woodley [00:05:41]:
didn't go to school this morning. And so I'm sitting with him. He's sitting at
Edith Woodley [00:05:45]:
the table working on some, Legos. And I'm eating my breakfast, and he's sitting there. And he just leans over, and he goes, you know what? Money don't bring you happiness.
Edith Woodley [00:05:59]:
I says, that's true. Money don't bring you happiness. He says, but family does. Mhmm. I said, yes. Family, you bring me happiness. Your mom brings me happiness. All my family brings me happiness.
Edith Woodley [00:06:15]:
And he goes, okay. And so, you know, he he just said it right there.
Edith Woodley [00:06:24]:
You know,
Edith Woodley [00:06:24]:
for me, family brings me happiness and the wholeness of my family. And even though they go through struggles every day, it's still they're my children. We have 4 children, 6 grandkids, and they all bring me happiness. And I don't see how a person can't be happy if they have family.
Randy Woodley [00:06:51]:
Okay. Well, all families aren't black.
Edith Woodley [00:06:52]:
No. That's true. All families aren't, you know but we're not put together either. Right. We are far from being put together. We have a lot of ups and downs in our family. But, overall, my family brings me happiness.
Randy Woodley [00:07:09]:
So we're situated here on 10 acres. Part of that we leave for the, wildlife. We leave a we kinda have the middle section, and then we leave the the top end and the bottom end, both for the animals to wander and sleep and do all the things that they do. They're part of the picture here too. They're part of the whole context.
Ryan Dunn [00:07:33]:
The Yes.
Randy Woodley [00:07:34]:
The water, that we distribute and use to grow plants and then the plants themselves. And, you know, it's sort of, and then we we are part of a bigger family. We have a community that, we are involved with. And so being happy is not just about what I get out of it. Being happy is, how we struggle and live and come through and work through, the larger context. Right? With the whole community of creation, what I call the whole community of creation. And if, if that if we stick with it, right, if that works and we all work together, then my happiness actually becomes sort of a byproduct of that. But, it's certainly not, you know, the prime product.
Randy Woodley [00:08:26]:
We're not just trying to get what we can for ourselves. Yeah. And I don't think human beings were made that way. I think, you know, if we wanna look at the the Genesis stories in the beginning is a really good example of this perfect harmony and balance and this whole idea of, you know, the the the balance between, you know, the sun and the moon and the wind and the the waters and the animals and the flying things and all of those. And and then, human beings are created, to basically be caretakers of all of that. And we're the sort of most qualified for it. We've got these, you know, fingers and thumbs and and, the brain to do that. And and so the first command is, tend the garden, to toil the soil, to take care of the garden.
Randy Woodley [00:09:15]:
And, I look at the garden as the whole community of creation. So, the first command wasn't make yourself happy. Mhmm. The first command was, like, you're in this whole community of creation now. Serve it. Right. Find out, you know, what it needs. Bring the balance back.
Randy Woodley [00:09:34]:
Bring the harmony back when it goes out. And and if you wanna look at it, you know, this, the the the eating from the tree that we have, you know, this this we've mythologized so much is is really a misuse of our role as human beings. We it's a misuse of the land. There are certain ways that we're supposed to take care of the land and and something we're not supposed to do. And and so, that's a lesson for me. And so it doesn't matter if, like, I'm actually tending the soil and taking care of all the little critters underneath and all the ones above and and not trying to take everything for myself, but, you know, leaving for them as well. Or if I'm working on the problem of, human trafficking or missing and murdered indigenous women or or or making wells for people who need water or whatever it is, when I'm serving the, whole community of creation and whatever aspect I'm called to do that, then I'm fulfilling my purpose as a human being. That's what I was made to do.
Randy Woodley [00:10:31]:
And that's really more of what well-being is.
Ryan Dunn [00:10:36]:
Was there a point in each of your lives respectively where you had almost an realization that life was more than the pursuit of happiness, but life was more of the, circular encouragement of, of a sense of well-being, not just for yourselves, but for for the creation or for the world.
Randy Woodley [00:11:04]:
I'm kinda an old guy, so I'm a boomer. Right? And, and so but it was during our days, you know, when as a a young person in junior high and high school that the whole environmental movement started. The Earth Day started in I think it was 1969 or 70, something like that. And, and that's when I began to really be aware that, you know, there's something going wrong here. And so I've been concerned about that ever since. And, and that that was the the old hippie days. Right? So everybody were earthies back then. Everybody was like, I grew up in a community that had a lot of, hippies.
Randy Woodley [00:11:44]:
I was right next to Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is sort of like the hippie capital of the Midwest. And, and and so everybody was talking about it, you know, like, the ozone layer and how to not pollute and all those kinds of things. And and so but I think even before that, I was at a the only time I ever went to a church camp, and and there was a full blood native guy that was, a Ojibwe guy who was sort of taking me under his wing, and he was talking about those kinds of things and showing me, like, here's how you, harvest Sassafras root and and and to say a prayer and those kinds of things. And so, you know, I guess it you know, and and and actually, I'm kinda working my way back. My mother is very much what I would call an environmentalist before the anyone ever knew what the word was, I think. She's very close to, creation, the birds, and the animals, and the plants, and greenest thumb of anyone I've ever known, both indoor and outdoor plants. And we grew up with a giant garden, and and so I think, probably just, through osmosis watching her talk to plants and animals and birds and things was from as a kid, that was sort of, like, flew me in that there was something more than myself going on. I wanna help you.
Edith Woodley [00:13:10]:
Let's see. I was my moment came when, later in life.
Edith Woodley [00:13:20]:
It it happened when I was outside with our oldest grandson. He was just maybe 2 years old. And I was picking, we have on our farm. We were we had some berry bushes, and I was out there picking some with him. And a story came to my mind. And in that story, is a story that my brother told me when I was a kid. And, within that story is where we were out picking berries, and my brother said, stop. And he said, you got to leave the top for the winged animals and the bigger animals and the bottom for all the smaller animals so that they have another day to live.
Edith Woodley [00:14:17]:
And we pick in the middle. And then we can there's a bunch of bushes here, so we can go on and we can we still get what we want, but we're also leaving stuff for the animals. All the animals. The bugs, birds, etc. And so it was like, okay. That's my brother. Okay. Yeah.
Edith Woodley [00:14:39]:
Whatever. He's always saying stuff like this. It was like, okay. Okay. Okay. We'll do what you said. And then yeah. You know, I was doing all this stuff already, you know, doing gardens with Randy and all this kind of stuff.
Edith Woodley [00:14:53]:
But and, yeah, I knew there was something going on with the earth, and I knew the weather's, you know, started to change, and, and it's not for the good. There's more hurricanes, more tornadoes, more earth you know, all these different things are happening.
Edith Woodley [00:15:13]:
And the summers are getting hotter. The winters are getting weird also. So, but I just didn't really think much about it until that moment when my brother told me that story, it hit me as I was picking berries with my grandson.
Ryan Dunn [00:15:41]:
I noticed that when talking about the farm, you say you live on the middle of it And and you leave the the top and the bottom. Is that where that terminology comes from? How did that story?
Randy Woodley [00:15:53]:
Well, I think that happened naturally. Yeah. It was just the way the farm was laid out. But And it wasn't a farm. It hadn't been a farm for 35 years. We're we're this is our 3rd farm. We've started from scratch. We're kinda experts at starting farms now.
Randy Woodley [00:16:06]:
And I'm not not talking about running them, just starting.
Edith Woodley [00:16:09]:
Let's start.
Randy Woodley [00:16:10]:
And so, but it kinda the way the the land is laid out is that there's a hardwoods and a big plum thicket up on the top end.
Edith Woodley [00:16:19]:
Part. Yeah.
Randy Woodley [00:16:19]:
And then a sort of a, scrub forest, if you will, down on the bottom. Probably, I don't know, 2 acres on each side maybe, and then we sort of had the The middle part. Yeah. The, 6 acres, 4 or 5, 6 acres in the middle and it's not exactly laid out that way. But then we've also created a a sort of a, a walkway about a probably about 20, 30 yards wide, section next to the road where we we fenced it off and put brush up against it. And so the animals who want can kinda walk up and down the property without having to, you know, worry about seeing humans. But like the deer now, they just they just kinda walk all over.
Edith Woodley [00:17:01]:
They just walk everywhere. But Yeah.
Randy Woodley [00:17:03]:
But that's just kinda how it happened. But, yeah, you brought that up. It's, it's interesting that it well, it kinda goes with her story, doesn't it? Mhmm.
Edith Woodley [00:17:10]:
It it kinda does.
Randy Woodley [00:17:11]:
Pick up the middle. Yeah.
Edith Woodley [00:17:13]:
But it's just something that, you know, it just hit us. It just hit me at that point in life, in my life. And that's when it was, as you were saying, that kind of little moment. And, from that point on, everything changed for me. Yeah. I started looking at creation in a whole different way, and I started looking at the animals and the plants and the trees and even the bugs and the spiders and, you know, all these things that, you know, I didn't like. You know Mhmm. Creepy crawly things and but they're all a part of creation.
Randy Woodley [00:18:04]:
Yeah. We've And
Edith Woodley [00:18:05]:
so it's like they all have this role to play.
Randy Woodley [00:18:09]:
Yeah. We've all been taught, you know, we've been taught over the years from our elders how to respect life in general, you know, even the spiders. When you see a spider in your house, grab a Kleenex and take it out and tell it not to come back in the house. You you're you're welcome, but not inside the house, you know, kind of the thing. And so and we talked to, you know, the hawks when, you know, don't eat our chickens. We need the chickens. You know? We need those eggs. You can eat all the mice you want, but, you know, not the chickens.
Randy Woodley [00:18:41]:
And so, yeah, it's just, we we realized that we're part of the we're just a part of this whole thing. It doesn't belong to us. We're not the central feature of it all, but we are a part of it all. And so when we go to a place like this, our land, we just sort of look and we say, how do we sort of bend it to our needs without breaking it from its other purposes, without robbing from, you know, all the other creatures that that share this land? Yeah. And, you know, there's it's just amazing what, the rewards that you have by Right. Seeing the different, birds, eagles and hawks, and woodpeckers, and songbirds, and hummingbirds, and, you know, deer and elk and all the rest that that come around just to to enjoy.
Edith Woodley [00:19:30]:
Not only that, but, you know, we're seeing, when we moved on to this property, we're seeing, nature, like, plants and flowers, you know, the original, what do you call it? Native plants. Native plants
Randy Woodley [00:19:45]:
Mhmm. Yeah.
Edith Woodley [00:19:45]:
Coming back onto the property because, you know, we've cleared areas and,
Randy Woodley [00:19:51]:
kind of some
Edith Woodley [00:19:51]:
invasive plants or just totally unwanted weeds and stuff like this. You know? We cleaned them all up and everything. And then all of a sudden, the next spring, boom. We're getting these beautiful native plants are coming back. And it's just like you know, this is all of creation, and, you know, we're just caretakers of it. We don't lord over it. We don't, you know, make it do what we want it to do. We let it be the way the creator made it.
Edith Woodley [00:20:22]:
So
Ryan Dunn [00:20:24]:
there's a sense of relationship in that. And in fact, the the ten values that that you lay out in the book, a lot of them center on being mindful about our relationships to different things. Has there been some ways that, running the farm or farms has impacted your relationships with people, especially in terms of building community or being part of community?
Randy Woodley [00:20:51]:
Yeah. I think it's, the the the hardest task has been to integrate people from the city to sort of, like, understand, like, for example, when we have our ceremonies out here, that they're they're so related to the land that we're on. Right? Rather than just being some sort of out of context thing. And so, some people kinda get that. Like, when we have our schools, for example, we have these 4 day schools, and and people connect with the land and each other, and they they understand the the whole, atmosphere of respect and reciprocity in our relationship to, you know, and the these this land being our relative and, but it takes a while sometimes for Western thinkers to sort of allow themselves to let that happen to when we first sort of started moving this direction, you know, we said you know, people said, well, what are you doing? We're like, well, we're giving people permission to love the earth again because we're all made to do that. We're all made to to learn from and love this, land that we've been put on by creator and, wherever that land is. And so, to to learn how to take care of it is really important, and to learn how to understand it as your relative is is really important. So I think that's the biggest sort of contrast and the biggest challenge.
Randy Woodley [00:22:17]:
But, for us for me personally, I I don't really see people as much as individuals anymore. I see them as people who are in a a context, a wider context, and and I always wonder what that context is and how it affects. Yeah.
Ryan Dunn [00:22:38]:
I wanna talk about he brought up the word individual, a part that pricked me or stood out to me. In what you wrote was, in paying attention to increasing friendships and in family. And within that you have a subsection about rejecting individualism, which is pretty counter cultural in, in the context in which we exist. Can you share what it looks like a little bit to reject or healthily reject individualism?
Edith Woodley [00:23:17]:
For me, it's like individualism is you just say you take the farm. Right? And you're like, okay. I'm gonna make it the most beautiful, productive looking farm. So I am going to bring in, and I'm gonna clean it all up. I'm gonna get rid of, all these invasive plants. I'm gonna, you know, spray stuff on it and, kill all the weeds, and I'm gonna make it very pristine.
Randy Woodley [00:23:52]:
Spray fertilizer.
Edith Woodley [00:23:54]:
And I'm gonna make it so that everything grows the way I want it to grow. And then when I look at it as a group collaborative, whatever, you know, bringing other people in, we're not just bringing other people into our space, we're inviting them to be a part, not to look at the space and go, oh, look how beautiful I made this. No. It's like, oh, look what we as a group can do to make this a beautiful place and not pristine, because we're not just doing it for, you know, humans. We're doing it for the animals around us and the birds and the bugs and stuff like this.
Randy Woodley [00:24:47]:
So let me give an example what she's talking about. So so, people take their weeds out every year after the flowers bloom. Right? Well, there are lots of bugs, good good helpful bugs that make their winter homes in those stalks of those flowers and other things. The roots, in the ground start to deteriorate and go back compost back into the ground and create a richness for the soil, which creates more beneficial bacteria underneath. But you look at it and you go, oh, there's a bunch of weeds all over this place. Right?
Edith Woodley [00:25:23]:
Mhmm.
Randy Woodley [00:25:24]:
And and the the bottom line is no. We're concerned about everything, not just how we look or how for ourselves. Also, we don't really burn brush piles around here too much. We create these brush piles and, set them to one side and and so that the quail and the rabbits and the squirrels and the mice have a place to to go. And so, yeah. And and so the farm doesn't look like, when you see the pictures of, you know, the the couple with the pitchfork and the farm in the back and the red bars. Yeah. And and but, I think if we were individuals, you know, very individualistic about it, then that's what we'd be concerned with.
Randy Woodley [00:26:09]:
But so we're probably the most individualistic country that's ever lived in the history of the world. Right? We are just totally people about ourselves. Everybody's living, you know, 2.2 2 children in their with their garage in the suburbs. And, you know, and we've created spent so much money trying to create this nuclear family and, you know, and I think it actually has created sort of a schizophrenia, social schizophrenia. You know, everybody trying to get to work and back and and, you know, rush and beep your horns and just Get your kids to sports and
Edith Woodley [00:26:48]:
dance recitals and, you know
Randy Woodley [00:26:51]:
And it's like everybody's gotta have their own individual thing going on and and, just not I don't wanna be driven that way, you know. I mean, yeah, it feels good when I get something for myself. You know, I'm not saying that that doesn't feel good, but, that's not a very sustainable future when I just think about myself. It's when I think about everything else in context when I begin to go, oh, we may have a future after all.
Edith Woodley [00:27:20]:
And then
Ryan Dunn [00:27:20]:
And so it's not just a rejection of self, but it is a sense of participation in something larger than one
Edith Woodley [00:27:28]:
person?
Randy Woodley [00:27:28]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, happiness, like I said, is a is a byproduct of the big picture, not not the prime product we strive for.
Edith Woodley [00:27:36]:
And as we have schools and other people come on the property, you know, we we tell them about all these things, and we're inviting them into to be a part of what we're doing. Not to look at it as this pristine place, but as a part of this it may look chaotic. It may look Sorry. No. I can't. It may look chaotic or it may look, you know, not very well trimmed up and stuff like this, but it doesn't need to be that way. And people need to understand that when you come together like this, it's gonna be chaotic, and it's gonna be not, you know, pretty and sometimes. But, you know, as long as that togetherness is there and we're thinking together about the whole body of creation, then it just you kinda get out of that individualism.
Randy Woodley [00:28:34]:
And think about that sort of metaphor, if you will, for people. You know, we're messy. Right? Our lives are all messy and everything. But if we stick together, you know, in community together, it it it may not be pretty as, like, the outside appearance when we first met.
Edith Woodley [00:28:50]:
Right. You
Randy Woodley [00:28:50]:
know? But, but it's more real, and it's and something of more value comes out of it.
Ryan Dunn [00:28:59]:
When you have groups come out to work at the farm, are there certain activities that seem to awaken in them, a sense of participation in the whole community and that, that rejection of individualism?
Randy Woodley [00:29:15]:
Yeah. And and we don't just have work groups. We also have schools. So, but even in the schools, they we have them work an hour just so they kinda get their hands in the dirt. Right? So, yeah, I I think, you know, they there's when we I well, talk about what you do with the schools. That's a good example, probably.
Edith Woodley [00:29:39]:
So what I do is I I give them I talk. We on the day that I do a lot of teaching is, I have them sit around, I tell them my story, tell them about, how I view creation, And then, and then they go out, they get their hands dirty, and they get a sense of actually understanding what it's like to work a farm, work the land, and being not just that, but being a part of it. Right? Helping the plants have more space to grow within their beds of growing, you know, like getting rid of all those little unwanted, weeds and stuff, or whatever else needs to be done. And so they get that hour with their hands doing the actual work. And then then there's a break and then so on. And then later in the afternoon, I tell them that they, they're gonna go, and they're gonna sit on the land anywhere on the property that they want. They can just go. They sit.
Edith Woodley [00:30:54]:
They they have to leave everything behind. They can't take any bags. They can't take their phones, or nothing. Pencil, paper, nothing. They just go and sit and experience creation in its wonders. Listen to the wind. Listen to the bugs that fly around you, or that are crawling, the ants, you know, and sit quietly. Calm your mind.
Edith Woodley [00:31:22]:
Take deep breaths. And you've heard of that, that term, forest bathing, right? And that's what I have them do. I just have them go out. Do whatever you need to do, but just go out, empty your mind, and just experience creation in its whole, and see what the creator speaks to you. And it and it may not be, oh, here. This is what I want you to learn. No. It's gonna be in a form of a butterfly, or it's gonna be in a form of an ant, or even a spider.
Edith Woodley [00:32:03]:
And so that's, then they come back, and then I have them share. And the first time I did this, they were very reluctant to share. And there's this one guy, he, first time, he's like, yeah, well, he was very skeptical about it. But, he's the leader of this one group that comes twice a year, that brings a group here. And, but over the past several years that he has been coming and he's been participating in that every time, he has changed. He is like, this is beautiful. He's learning from all of this of creation, and just being able to sit quietly and listen to what the creator is speaking to him about. And, so it's just it's really amazing to see how people who live in the cities or in bigger towns and stuff like this, and don't really get out into nature, and what they come back and experience.
Edith Woodley [00:33:27]:
And they're just like, this is just beautiful.
Randy Woodley [00:33:32]:
Yeah. And if we think about our own happiness, you know, creator actually did some remarkable things that most people don't know about. But when you get your hands in the soil, there's, you know, there's something that releases hormones in us that, you know, that that make us feel good. And and it's the same thing with being out in the forest. The forest actually release some sort of, endorphin producing chemical that makes us feel better from being out there. And so, we're actually made to be doing these kinds of things.
Ryan Dunn [00:34:10]:
Are there some ways, that you can think of where maybe somebody is in an environment where they, they can't, on a daily basis, jump into a completely natural surrounding, whether you able to fully immerse in forest bathing, on a daily basis, are there other ways that they can begin to practice the harmony way or embody some of those values?
Edith Woodley [00:34:37]:
I, I have told people on several occasions that, you know, someone would say, well, you know, I don't live I live in apartments, and I live in the middle of a big city, and, you know, how do I do it? I said, well, you know, you have parks around you. And even if they're not accessible to you, sometimes just opening up your windows sometimes and getting some fresh air, letting that sun hit you, and try to quiet your mind through all that, sometimes you can do that also. Mhmm. And, you know, you'll see a fly come flying into your window, or you know, an ant or something on your windowsill or something, and that's a part of creation. Yes, you're in the city, but you know, I said, I've told people to look for creation no matter where you live.
Randy Woodley [00:35:37]:
Yeah. You're part of a ecological, you know, environment, no matter where you are. You you look around you, there's gonna be birds, there's gonna be, you know, other kinds of maybe rodents or whatever else. But there's there's there's an environment where you're at and you're part of it. So the question is really, like, how do I actually make it more beneficial for all of us? So, but I've also told people, hey. You know, just I mean, if nothing else grow a tomato plant on your backyard, in your backyard. Port. You know, porch or whatever patio
Edith Woodley [00:36:06]:
or that. Yes.
Randy Woodley [00:36:07]:
Yeah. Because you're you're a part of of making something come to life and help nourish it, and and it nourishes you too. And so now there's a relationship. Right? Then you save the seeds from that, and you pass them on to your neighbor, and and you have them do it, you know. And now you've got a community of people growing tomatoes or whatever it is, you know. Yeah. So, we shouldn't let the fact that all people don't live in, you know, have 10 acres out in the country like us stop us from enjoying creation.
Edith Woodley [00:36:37]:
There's always ways to find creation if you really wanna find it because it's everywhere.
Ryan Dunn [00:36:47]:
That is good. Farming is, is communal work and certainly you're inviting more people into, the practice and the awareness. Where are some spaces where people can, in a sense, visit what what you're doing or find out some more information?
Randy Woodley [00:37:09]:
Yeah. Well, we're Eloheh.org. Elohay is spelled Elohehheh. And, Eloheh.org is our our website, and we have actually volunteer sign ups there. And people can reach us through email, the Elohehseeds.com. That's seeds, plural, elohseeds.com. You can order our seeds. We grow open pollinated seeds that are plants are loved and none of them are GMO or genetically altered or almost all of them are, heirloom breeds, and a lot of them are Native American heirloom breeds.
Randy Woodley [00:37:52]:
And so, yeah, you can find out more about our farm there too. And and then people who aren't near us, you know, there's something called, WOOF, World Wide Organization of Organic Farming, I think it's called something.
Edith Woodley [00:38:06]:
WULFF F Farming. Yeah.
Randy Woodley [00:38:07]:
In, WULFF USA. And, anybody can go volunteer on a farm. If you don't have one around you, look up WULFF and become a Wolf volunteer. And even if it's just for a day somewhere, a lot of farmers need help. So and now the other thing is that, you know, farming is, there's farming and there's industrial farming. And you don't even have to be a large place. You can be just small place like ours and still be an industrial farmer. That means you're using chemicals.
Randy Woodley [00:38:33]:
That means you're not concerned about the rest of the community of creation. And, you know, that that's kind of farming we don't need more of. Don't volunteer for those places. But find people who are doing, organic or organic practices, small farms. United Nations did a study. It says we no longer need industrial farms. The false small farms can actually save the world and feed the world. They produce more, nutrient rich packed foods.
Randy Woodley [00:39:04]:
They produce less, chemicals and less destruction to the overall community creation. They employ more people, etcetera, etcetera. So if, if we all would put our lobbying efforts and our, our energy into small farms, we could feed the whole world.
Ryan Dunn [00:39:22]:
And healthy non depleted soil is a great carbon capture as well. Yeah.
Edith Woodley [00:39:27]:
Definitely.
Ryan Dunn [00:39:30]:
Yeah. Well, Woodley's, thank you so much for joining us on the Compass podcast. Look forward to touching base more with you in the future.
Randy Woodley [00:39:39]:
Okay. You take care.
Ryan Dunn [00:39:40]:
All right. Thank you so much. Bye. All right. Well, blessings to you on your own journey to Eloheh and towards contentment. Do you want more compass? Well, check out another episode, episode 125 with Abigail Broca about everyday spirituality is going to be a good one. So is episode 93 about experiencing God in nature with Victoria Lors. While you're listening, leave a rating and or review.
Ryan Dunn [00:40:08]:
The compass podcast is brought to you by United Methodist Communications. You can check out all of our episodes and get show notes and relevant links at umc.org/compass. And that's all for this week. We'll be back with a new episode in 2 weeks time. So I'll chat at you then. Peace.
