Amphibious
Soul
Finding the Wild
in a Tame World
This original series of twenty-seven short films created over two and half decades highlight some of the most compelling moments in my book Amphibious Soul, from diving with crocodiles to meeting the San tracking masters of the Kalahari to learning the secrets of the animals of the Great African Seaforest.
Amphibious Soul is my wholehearted attempt to describe what it’s like to be inside the original womb of Mother Nature, and how to get in. There is no better feeling than to be in dialogue with the wild, to be able to speak the oldest language on earth.
Watching this short film series is a bit like tracking an animal. By themselves the films seem a random series of ideas, like a random set of unconnected footprints. When the book has been read, then the footprints can be joined, and the tracking story emerges.
When we can live like this, within the bounds of our original design, our entire human ecosystem sparks with joy and life. I hope these short films give you, the reader, a felt sense of our amphibious nature.
Introduction
IN SEARCH OF WILDNESS
“For much of my life I searched for wildness outside of myself.”
Page 1
Into the Dragon’s Lair
Chapter 1
Inheritance
“All things that molded me from childhood and young life—the people, animals and plants that define my dreams—are my inheritance”
Page 16
Isopod Intuition
Page 23
The Milkwood
Page 30
Cosmic Africa
Chapter 2
Cold Cure
“You can’t think of the cold; you just have to think of the gifts it brings you.”
Page 53
The Cold Cure
Chapter 3
Track
“When I first returned to the Seaforest, it was like a deep immersion into pure sensation—I had to give myself fully to the elements, open myself up to the mysterious discoveries hiding under every rock.”
Page 83
The Great Dance
Page 91
Curiosity Is the Key
Page 101
Establishing a Connection
Chapter 4
Love
“She was like a creature to me, a giant of many parts.”
Page 120
Hunter’s Heart
Page 136
Mother of Mothers
Chapter 5
Ancestry
“It hit me like a tidal wave—five thousand generations of people had lived in this place.”
Page 144
Origins of Innovation
Chapter 6
Fear
“Fear is my savior and my teacher.”
Page 177
Africa’s Underwater Seaforest
Page 193
An Altered State
Insert
Tracking journal
“This is a small glimpse of my tracking journal that comprises thousands of notes and pictures, my way of learning from wild creatures and getting inside nature.”
Insert - Tracking Journal
Jellyfish Swarm
Insert - tracking journal
Patchwork Cuttlefish
Insert - tracking journal
Octopus Reflection
Insert - tracking journal
Baboons Underwater
Insert - tracking journal
Octopus Thief
Chapter 7
Connect
“All the animals of the Seaforest eat the wind.”
Page 212
Guardians of Breath
Chapter 8
Play
“The first encounter with the ocean is like a soul remembering its amphibious nature.”
Page 256
Ancestors
Page 245
Cannon Rock
Page 259
Seaforest Instrument Creation
Conclusion
The Healing Wild
“It felt so good to be in a place so wild.”
Page 273
Near-Pristine Island
Page 277
Silver Tornado
“What can each one of us do in our own small way to support biodiversity? What can each of us do to support the Mother of us all? She has fed us from the beginning; it’s not much to ask that we now support her. All of our lives depend on it.”
Learning the Wild Language
How to start your own tracking practice
“For most of human history, tracking was a primal language that all humans could speak. As natural as breathing or walking, tracking is how we survived. Every wild child knew how to track. Most of us have forgotten this language, but it’s one we can relearn.”