Boyd Varty is the founder of Track Your Life, which offers a limited number of premium retreats in South Africa’s bushveld, and author of one of my favorite books, The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life. As a fourth-generation custodian of Londolozi Game Reserve, Boyd grew up with lions, leopards, snak...
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Boyd Varty is the founder of Track Your Life , which offers a limited number of premium retreats in South Africa’s bushveld, and author of one of my favorite books, The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life . As a fourth-generation custodian of Londolozi Game Reserve , Boyd grew up with lions, leopards, snakes, and elephants and has spent his life in apprenticeship to the natural world. He is also the host of the Track Your Life
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Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Start. [00:01:59] Boyd returns. [00:03:14] Elite firefighting unit: Boyd’s French Foreign Legionnaire predecessor. [00:04:27] The paper mache lion incident and Lucky’s dramatic exit. [00:08:07] Firefighting drill disaster: When 50/50 failed spectacularly. [00:09:58] Leadership lesson: Bringing energy down when chaos climbs. [00:11:52] Story hunting and the natural world as meaning machine. [00:17:16] Uncle JV: Wildlife filmmaker with a dangerous drama meter. [00:19:10] Camera bearing adventures: Elephants, hyenas, and the red mist. [00:22:30] Zambia expeditions: Crocodiles, dead elephants, and shovel oars. [00:25:48] Orienting toward safety: Building capability versus childhood overwhelm. [00:29:11] Wilderness retreat lessons: Wordlessness and natural state. [00:31:40] The Londolozi time war: Tech detox and parasympathetic shifts. [00:39:49] Mystical animal encounters: Lions, southern boubous, and synchronicity. [00:43:11] Re-enchantment: Nature’s desire to help us heal. [00:45:25] Following non-rational energy and forays into wordlessness. [00:52:31] Diana Chapman’s Whole-Body Yes and avoiding the simmering six. [00:58:04] Toby Pheasant and the great black mamba escape. [01:06:09] Training for persistence hunting using Bushman Great Dance wisdom. [01:09:23] The desert as storehouse: Abundance psychology in action. [01:11:23] Persistence hunt mechanics: Heat, time, and the animal’s energy transfer. [01:15:04] Running into ceremony: 47 degrees and letting the body know. [01:21:31] The kudu gives itself: Profound respect at the edge of survival. [01:27:22] Seeking the wild man: Access to the full spectrum of presence. [01:29:20] Context and discernment: Armor in cities, openness in wild spaces. [01:34:55] Men need men: Collective exploration around the fire. [01:37:40] Relationship as practice: Moving from romantic myth to active work. [01:40:15] Dick jokes and raft building: The indirect work that does heavy lifting. [01:45:43] Lunch the baboon: Hand lotion, bloody handprints, and royal delays. [01:55:43] Living amongst the animals: Warthog intelligence and leopard relationships. [01:57:27] Parting thoughts. *
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