Healing Your Inner Terrain Through Sacred Land & Wild Animal Stories with Lion Tracker & Author, Boyd Varty

Boyd Varty generously brings ancient wisdom from the South African wilderness to my Austin, Texas studio in an episode that connects the human heart to the wild and tunes us into the animal kingdom's divine messages.

As a child, Boyd Varty was raised amongst animals. Lions, leopards, snakes, and elephants co-existed with his family on the Londolozi Game Reserve, who resurrected the arid, unfertile lands into a sanctuary for wild animals to live in peace without fear of being human prey. 

As Boyd went through his spiritual metamorphoses, he gained a unique appreciation for nature's majestic intelligence and teachings. Even in life-threatening encounters, he returned to the power of presence, whether that was keeping his cool during a crocodile attack, while the world’s deadliest snake, the sacred black mamba, slithered along his body for three minutes, or alone in a treehouse for 40 days in deep contemplation. 

He wasn't the only one who could feel the energetic current sweep through the reserve. After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela visited to recover and re-connect to his surroundings. People worldwide make the pilgrimage every year to track wild animals, attend his retreats, and move through their personal blockages on his reserve. 

Boyd graciously shares his animal stories, spiritual gifts, and experience as a lion tracker with us today in an adventurous conversation about land connection, conservation, and the collective awakening that transpires through intentional encounters with Mother Earth and her wondrous creatures.

The Ceremonial Offering

This ceremonial offering will take you on a sacred voyage to the wild terrains of Africa. Where you’ll visualize a Marula fruit tree, absorb the energy from her trunk and share a moment with a wild elephant, who has traveled to your consciousness to share a special message with you. 

We talk about:

  • His fascinating childhood and the history of the reserve

  • Heightened sensibilities and realizations during plant ceremonies

  • Nelson Mandela’s experience on the reserve

  • Initiations with wild animals and how they healed his trauma

  • Near-death experience with bees

  • Finding his path

  • 40 days in isolation

  • Understanding tracking

  • Activating the village consciousness 

Thanks to Lotus Wei for sponsoring this episode. This beautiful brand works with the healing power of plants, flower essences, and elixirs to transform our bodies and mindset. I’ve experienced tremendous emotional support when I’ve used their infusions daily and am honored to share them with this community. Head to lotuswei.com and use the code “MYSTIC” at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

Resources:

Guest Bio:

Wildlife and literacy activist, Boyd Varty, author of the memoir, Cathedral of the Wild, had an unconventional upbringing. Born to a family of conservationists, Boyd grew up on Londolozi Game Reserve in the South African wilderness, a place where man and nature strive for balance, where perils exist alongside wonders. Founded more than 90 years ago as a hunting ground, Londolozi was transformed into a nature reserve beginning in 1973 by Varty’s father and uncle, visionaries of the restoration movement. But it wasn’t just a sanctuary for the animals; it was also a place for ravaged land to flourish again and for the human spirit to be restored. When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment, he came to the reserve to recover.

Since childhood, Boyd has shared his home with lions, leopards, snakes, and elephants and dedicates his life in apprenticeship to the wisdom of nature. Boyd survived a harrowing black mamba encounter, a debilitating bout with malaria, even a vicious crocodile attack, but his biggest challenge was a personal crisis of purpose. As a university student, he studied psychology and ecology, supplementing his education by learning martial arts in Thailand, hiking through the jungles of the Amazon, and apprenticing to a renowned tracker from the Shangaan tribe, deepening his intimate knowledge of the natural world. Boyd grew up speaking the local language and learning the true meaning of coexistence between people and with nature.

Alyson Charles