164. Nicole Masters & Meagan Lannan

On training the wayfinders

Nicole Masters is a globally recognised agroecologist, speaker and author of the book ‘For the Love of Soil’. Meagan Lannan is an award-winning rancher at Barney Creek Livestock in Montana, within the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Nicole and Meagan toured two sold out education programs in Australia last month. First up, 126 people convened for 4 days near the town of Orange, and I was fortunate to be welcomed along for the ride.

“These ventral systems are what the body needs to produce anti-bodies. We think about immune system, [it] only really functions when you’re in this ventral vagal system, which is play, it’s gratitude, it’s feeling grounded and connected, it’s being surrounded by laughter and love. And for how long have we kind of poo poo’d that, and made that wrong and weird.”

— Nicole Masters

It was actually Nicole’s first time back in Australia since her scheduled book tour of 55 dates was cancelled due to covid. We last spoke for the podcast during that time in 2020, when Nicole was in the midst of her own transformations. A few years on, and this program is touring the world, with its focus on training the wayfinders in regenerative soil, systems and life-giving practice. No surprise in that sense, we end up talking polyvagal theory, regenerative finance, shifting consciousness, the education processes that cultivate all that, and a bit of song and dance.

This conversation was recorded at Tombarra near Braidwood in NSW, on 22 April 2023.

With great thanks to Dave Murphy and Farmer’s Footprint Australia, for supporting my journey to the Orange intensive. Thanks also to Grahame Rees, local co-host of that intensive, and Martin Royds, co-host of the Tombarra gathering, for your great generosity. And Martin, for showing us around your extraordinary regenerative work at Jillamatong.

See more behind the scenes pics by becoming a subscriber via the Patreon page.

All photos below by Anthony James.