ABOUT this podcast

We seem to be stuck in a rut; a better world seems impossible for most of us to imagine. How might we live more beautifully on this sparkling blue planet, in these complex human and non-human communities?

We don’t know. Most of us are so locked into our old patterns that we cannot imagine a different way of being in the world.

Perhaps one remedy is to be more philosophically and ecologically adventurous. The way I’ve come to think of it is that all our ideas, thoughts, concepts and experiences are interwoven into a complex ecology of ideas, that is always changing and developing. We might call this the Forest of Thought. And our lives are completely embedded in this ecology, whether we realize it or not.

As we move through the forest, we usually stick to our old familiar paths, casting cursory glances at the same old trees and bushes, the same species of ideas, day after day. We’re not really paying attention. And when, once in a while, we do stop to examine our surroundings more closely, it’s always from the fixed viewpoint of our old familiar trail. Rarely do we get down on our knees to poke around in the underbrush, or climb into the treetops to get an overview, or examine how networks of roots and mycelia might connect various ideas underground.

What would it take to gain new perspectives – re-examine the familiar and catch glimpses of the new?

Maybe we’ll have to risk getting a bit lost; risk getting caught in the thickets and bramble, but finding that it’s all worth it when we occasionally stumble into sun-dappled glades of insight.

The past fifteen years, I’ve been struggling to understand how we might live differently, in relation to other humans and other species in our magical blue-green centre of the cosmos. But I keep pushing up against my assumptions about the world, and about us as humans. I feel sure that there’s many more ways of thinking and being to be discovered – that the Forest of Thought is far from being chartered territory.

This podcast is an attempt to wander and wonder more freely in this ecology of ideas, together with others. You’ll meet artists, writers, thinkers, makers, and seekers of every kind. Occasionally I throw in episodes that are my own musings. Together we try to entangle ourselves in the ideas that we otherwise take for granted, and search for glimpses of the new ideas showing themselves as seedlings on the forest floor.

Join us in making the podcast happen!

This podcast is only possible through the support of my community: my family, friends and supporters on Substack and Patreon. And we would love for you to join us! As a paying subscriber/member you are able to comment on posts on Substack and receive the occasional perk and insider view. But the main thing you receive is knowing that you’re helping to make the podcast possible and available to everyone. If you’re not able to support the podcast at the moment, you can still become a free subscriber on Substack to receive updates on new episodes and events.

Support the podcast via Patreon

Support the podcast via Substack

About your wandering host Ingrid M. Rieser

Hosting a podcast is ideal for someone who, like me, is irredeemably interested in all kinds of different things. So I have a hard time providing the two-sentence bio that I’m usually so good at writing for my guests! But here’s a little bit about me.

I grew up in a very small mountain village in the Norwegian mountains. I believe the birches and lakes influenced me much more than I realized at the time. Even today, I get antsy and restless if I’ve gone too long without visiting the mountains. I also spent a few childhood years living in several big US cities. The contrast made me aware there are all kinds of different people in the world, and many different ways of living. I also began to realise that the world had many injustices that were not so visible in our little village.

Later, as a young activist, I thought the best way I could fix the world’s problems was to study economics, since “money makes the world go round”. (Turns out it was a little more complicated that). Disappointed with both the state of economics and university education, I was lucky to stumble into a like-minded community at the unique student-led Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS) at Uppsala University in Sweden. From there I made my way to an MA of Economics for Transition at Schumacher College, UK, which finally provided the kind of economics education that I could relate to, but also opened up whole new pathways of exploration into philosophy, ecology, community, and our relationships to the more-than-human. One of my main inquiries became how we as a species might find ways of being in the world that are less destructive, even beautiful, and that continues to be a guiding question for me.

Back in Sweden I kept working at the university, before going freelance to work in environmental communication, making films, animations and illustrations. That’s still my day job, when I’m not podcasting or writing. The rest of the time you’ll probably find me spending time with my young daughter and family and friends, walking mountain paths, crafting, cooking, and always, like the steady gurgle of a stream in the background, pondering the meaning of it all.

Thank you for reading and listening!

Ingrid

Get in touch at ingrid@forestofthought.com.

MUSIC: Christian Steen

Our amazing theme music is created by multi-talented musician and producer (and all-round incredibly nice person) Christian Steen. Please check him out at stoneproduction.no. Also, his band Moron Police has a bit of a cult following – check them out too.