In this podcast, we ask questions, tell stories, share knowledge, and wonder together about ways to belong ourselves back to the wild, within and without. Rooted in depth psychological scholarship, an archetypal sensibility, and in the magic of the mythic imagination, we explore themes like wildness, belonging, spiritual sovereignty, myths, archetypal psychology, and more!
www.drvanyaleilani.com
Ep. 32: Spiritual Sovereignty & the Ground of the Soul with Dr. Mackenzie Amara
I am thrilled to have Dr. Mackenzie Amara back on Belonging to the Wild!
In this conversation, we talk about spiritual sovereignty, spiritual violence, and the embodied difference between knowing and certainty. We also talk about some of the experiences we might encounter as we step into more sovereignty, in particular the experience of being and feeling misunderstood.
Our conversation returns repeatedly to the importance of cultivating complexity and embracing the many stories as we navigate these big questions. I hope you enjoy this conversation!
Join the waitlist for my courses starting this fall (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/waitlist)
Learn more about Gathering Bones (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/gatheringbones)
Learn more about Wild Sovereignty (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/wildsovereignty)
Listen to our previous conversation here (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/belonging-to-the-wild/id1678148563?i=1000724560346)
Read my essay on The Violence of Certainty (https://drvanyaleilani.substack.com/p/the-violence-of-certainty-91e?r=2pba3z&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
Visit Mackenzie’s Website (https://www.mackenzieamara.com/)to learn more about her work and the School of Psyche-Soma (https://www.mackenzieamara.com/schoolofpsychesoma)
By trade, Mackenzie is a depth psychologist, guest lecturer, & 5Rhythms® teacher. By vocation, she is mama to a little wildling, a psychedelic facilitator, ritual emcee, & mythic mixmaker of alchemical sonic journeys. Mackenzie is a Diploma Candidate at the International School of Analytical Psychology in Zurich, en route to a fully-fledged Jungian analyst. She is a doctoral candidate at Saybrook University in Pasadena, CA, where she studies the use of Jungian techniques for integrating psychedelic experience. She holds a Master's degree in Clinical & Counseling Psychology from Columbia University & a Bachelor's degree in Psychology & Spiritual Experience with a minor in Child & Adolescent Psychology from New York University. She is certified in Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (The New School & Center for Optimal Living), 5Rhythms® (The Moving Center), and Holistic Psychology (The Open Center).
30 Jul 2026
Ep. 31: "The Whole World is Praying for Love" with Perdita Finn
“Life prays for life – and life grows from desire and love. The whole world is praying for love.” These are words from Perdita Finn’s beautiful new book, Mothers of Magic.
In this episode, Perdita Finn shares with us her expansive views on the many mothers. She talks about mother “not as an individual identity but as a collective reality” and dreams of a world where we all feel deeply mothered, not by one individual but by the whole world.
Our conversation includes topics like:
The many mothers
Appetite, desire, & eros
Learning what is enough
Prayer ~ it’s gifts and shadows
Dreaming about the world we want
The magic of the mothers
It was such a joy to have Perdita back on the podcast ~ I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Join the waitlist for my courses starting this fall (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/waitlist)
Gathering Bones Course (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/gatheringbones)
Wild Sovereignty Course (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/wildsovereignty)
Send me a message (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/contact)
Check out my Substack, The Mythic Fig (https://drvanyaleilani.substack.com/)
Buy my book about Eve and Creative Transgression: The Flesh & The Fruit (https://villagebooks.com/item/wyHncrCFxoAHXRswpYP7tw)
Connect more with Perdita:
Buy her new book: Mothers of Magic (https://villagebooks.com/item/ACsr0uACY4jBECvKfQx56A)
Visit her website (https://takebackthemagic.com/)
Check out her Substack ( https://perditafinn.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips)
Join her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/perditafinn?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==)
Perdita Finn is the author of Take Back the Magic: Conversations with the Unseen World and Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors. She is the co-founder with her husband Clark Strand of The Way of the Rose, an international fellowship of beings dedicated to the earth, the rosary, and the Lady by any name you want to call Her. They are co-authors of the book of the same name. They live with their family in the moss-filled shadows of the Catskill Mountains.
16 Jul 2026
Ep. 30: Myth as a Living Practice with Maria Souza
What does it mean to experience myth as a living practice?
In this episode, mythologist Maria Souza and I explore this question. Maria shares her profound wisdom and insight around the power of old stories to bring depth and meaning into our everyday lives. In our conversation we explore myth as:
spiritual practice
door for our initiations
way toward self-belonging and sovereignty
connection with the more-than-human world
invitation and opening to wilder questions
In the second part of our conversation, Maria tells us the Brazilian story of Jaci and Naia and we explore with this story together, diving into its complexity and metaphoric wisdom.
~~~
If you want to listen to the story of Bluebeard, you can listen here.
Bluebeard and the Power of Disobedience (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/belonging-to-the-wild/id1678148563?i=1000657830359)
And if you want another story, you can listen to the episode on the Ugly Duckling here.
Wild Belonging and the Ugly Duckling (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/belonging-to-the-wild/id1678148563?i=1000623831810)
Join the waitlist for my courses (https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/waitlist) and you will be the first to know when enrollment doors open for the fall courses.
More about Maria:
Maria Souza is a Comparative Mythologist, Poet, Educator, and Narrative Therapy Practitioner whose work explores the enduring relevance of myth, symbol, and story in contemporary life. Drawing from the fields of mythology, history, depth psychology, and spirituality, she offers a multidisciplinary approach to understanding ancient narratives and their significance for modern life.
She holds a postgraduate degree in Comparative Mythology from Instituto Dedalus, a Master’s degree in Ecology and Spirituality from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), and an Advanced Training Certificate in Applied Mythology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her academic and professional work bridges scholarship and practice, supporting women in engaging myth as a living tradition.
Connect with Maria and learn more about her work (https://www.womenandmythology.com/)
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