#832: The Return of The Lion Tracker — Boyd Varty on The Wild Man Within, Nature’s Hidden Wisdom, and How to Feel Fully Alive

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
podcast.


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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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