Educating The Next Generation With Ceremonies, Rites Of Passage, Nature Immersion, Wilderness Survival & More With Tim Corcoran & Jeannine Tidwell.

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Tim Corcoran is a leader of men’s groups, holistic rites of passage for boys, and wilderness quests, guiding and initiating men and boys into a new paradigm of the mature masculine.

Since 1999, Tim has dedicated his life to consciously furthering this vision of living in balance with the earth, community, family, and self.

He's been a previous podcast guest on the episodes:

As the founder of Purpose Mountain, Tim offers Nature-Based Purpose Guidance and Wilderness Vision Quests to support people with a love for nature who feel a deep yearning to discover their purpose and find their place in life. The quests are 10-day, in-person immersions that facilitate a deeper understanding and connection to nature.

Tim also serves as co-director of Twin Eagles Wilderness School, an organization he founded with his wife, Jeannine Tidwell. Twin Eagles Wilderness School is dedicated to facilitating deep nature connection mentoring, cultural restoration, and inner tracking. Jeannine is a mother, mentor, program leader, and coach. She offers programs for girls and young women in Rites of Passage. 

Jeannine Tidwell, Tim's wife, is a mentor and guide for people of all ages wishing to actualize their potential and reconnect with what's easily forgotten amidst the distractions and modern veneer of life. She is a mother of two sons and married to Tim Corcoran. Although she was born in southern Idaho, her ancestors are of European and South American descent. Jeannine offers 1:1 coaching and mentoring as well as leads Women's Retreats, Rites of Passage, and other programs throughout the Northwest.

Both Tim and Jeanine were featured in Boundless Parenting, and their incredibly unique approach to nature and wilderness-based traditions, habits, routines, and rituals are all featured in this episode. Tim and Jeannine live in Sandpoint, Idaho with their two sons.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Who are Tim and Jeannine Corcoran?…04:47

-How the Corcorans raised and educated sons River and Forrest…09:00

  • Life is one great journey of learning
  • Started Twin Eagles Wilderness School in 2005 
    • Creating a conscious community
    • Building long-term relationships
    • Mentoring programs
  • Bringing back the essence of village
  • Cultural context is crucial
  • Crafting a culture around their sons
  • Their inputs need to be nature-oriented
    • Having knowledge of beings around them
    • Excellent birders today
  • Birding is the study of birds; all the different species, history, and biology, tracking seasonal differences, etc.
  • Bird language
  • Predicting predator presence prior to their arrival based on bird sounds
  • Creating conditions for learning to occur
    • Maps in the corner
    • Journals and field guides
    • Surrounded by people who also shared his passion
  • Surrounded them with lots of possibilities
  • Math lessons on the beach when they were very young

-Ceremonies and rites of passage…25:30

  • Welcoming of Life Ceremony is one of many rites of passage for major life phases
    • Birth
    • Childhood
    • Adolescence
    • Adulthood
    • Marriage
    • Parenting
    • Becoming an elder
    • Death
  • Traditional and native Americans, indigenous mentors
  • Synchronicity – all of nature is witnessing the event
    • The birth of their first son Forest
    • The whole of nature welcoming
  • The Rite of Competence Confidence (at 7 years old)
    • Acknowledging that the child is one step out of childhood
    • Starting to be a contributor
    • Other important people from their lives leading the ceremony
  • Ben’s experience with his sons
  • Middle childhood rite of passage
    • Less formal
    • Includes hunting – procuring food directly from nature
    • Months and months of practicing with bow and arrow
    • Bringing people together, preparing the stew, and giving
    • Give and take nature with the earth, community, with spirit
  • Second podcast with Tim Corcoran:

-Other traditions and habits, routines, and rituals…46:22

  • Annual Ancestor Supper
    • Coming together recognizing ancestors
    • Creating dishes that our ancestors ate
    • Acknowledging and honoring ancestors
    • Powerful ritual of connecting with those before you
    • Developing a relationship with death and life
    • Gathering with other people for Ancestor Suppers
    • Has taken on an increasingly meaningful depth over the years
  • Ben’s family planning their memorial services
  • Ritual has become a way of living, not just an annual thing
  • Weekly family night
    • Putting food on the table
    • Talking about big matters and learning to communicate
    • It’s a safe space for more sensitive topics; strong emotions can come up
    • A simple and powerful routine
    • Fun and games, tasty desserts
  • Celebration of Seasons
    • Ricing in the fall – forage and gather rice in a canoe at the lake
    • Wedding anniversary – summer solstice
    • Winter solstice 
      • Candlelight ceremony and setting intentions for the year
      • Taking time and pausing and acknowledging changes
      • Slow down and pause in a culture that is obsessed with doing and accomplishing
  • Equinoxes and Solstices
  • Ben’s experience – seasons of the church calendar
    • Gives security and safety of predictability
  • Noticing changes and transformations inside themselves

-Their concerns about kids' futures…1:03:35

-And much more…

Upcoming Events:

  • Six Senses Retreat: February 27, 2023 – March 3, 2023

Join me for my “Boundless Retreat” at Six Senses from February 27th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2023, where you get to improve your functional fitness, nutrition, longevity, and the delicate balance between productivity and wellness. Complete with a healthy farmhouse breakfast, yoga spa sessions, and sound healing, you learn how to live a boundless life just like me, and I'd love to see you there. Learn more here.

  • Shine Event / VIP Dinner: March 10th – March 12th

I want to personally invite you to an intimate VIP dinner experience with my family and I in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. I'll be in AZ during that time presenting as a keynote speaker at the Breath, Body & Beyond ‘Shine' event from March 10th to the 12th, and I'd love to see you there for my formal dinner on the 11th. At this dinner, you'll be presented with an exquisite home-style dinner personally prepared by the entire Greenfield family, a free signed copy of Boundless Cookbook, a personalized Q&A with me, and entertainment by local vocal artist and my younger sister, Aengel Greenfield. Learn more here.

 

32 Questions For Boundless Parenting

The following questions were posed to Tim Corocran and Jeannine Tidwell, and the rest of the wise parents interviewed for my upcoming book, Boundless Parenting.

  1. How many children do you have, how old are they, what is their profession or passion, and why, in particular, are you proud of them?
  2. Are there any elements of your parenting approach that you would consider to be particularly unique?
  3. What books, systems, models, or resources do you rely heavily upon or consider to be indispensable in your own parenting?
  4. What traditions, habits, routines, or rituals are most important, memorable, or formative for your family?
  5. What rites of passage or significant moments of maturation to adolescence or adulthood have your children experienced, if any?
  6. Who do you look up to as parenting mentors?
  7. What have you taught your children about raising their own children?
  8. Do you have any philosophies or strategies for educating your children outside of traditional school, such as homeschooling, unschooling, self-directed education, or other alternatives, creative, or “outside-the-box” forms of education?
  9. What has been your proudest moment as a parent, and why?
  10. What do you wish you had known before first becoming a parent?
  11. Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome as a parent? If so, how have you coped with that?
  12. How have you achieved a balance between mentoring and passing on wisdom without “living vicariously” through your children?
  13. Have you ever faced any big parenting decisions that kept you awake at night worrying or that you feared you would mess up?
  14. What do you regret, if anything, from your experience as a parent?
  15. What is the biggest mistake you have made as a parent?
  16. What, if anything, from your parenting experience would you go back and change or improve?
  17. If you had multiple children, what did you think was right at the time with one child that you then went back and changed with the next child or future children?
  18. Have you ever sensed or feared that your children would grow up too different or weird as a result of any “outside-the-box” parenting approaches you used? If so, how did you deal with that?
  19. Have you ever differed from your spouse on parenting principles, techniques, or approaches? If so, how did you manage that?
  20. Warning: This question is long but important: As a parent, have you ever felt conflicted about wanting to share a book, teaching, resource, or method with your children as a means of impacting their future success, but feared that it might “overload” them, especially at their age? If so, how did you balance bestowing this valuable knowledge to your child without causing them to worry too much about adult concerns? How did you decide when to just “let a kid be a kid” versus nudging them towards responsible adulthood and the attainment of valuable wisdom?
  21. How have you balanced being a present, engaged parent while preserving your own identity, taking time for your own self-care, tending to your career, or pursuing other interests that did not include your children?
  22. How have you engaged in one-on-one time or created space for dedicated time with your child, especially if you have more than one child?
  23. If your children have grown up and moved out of your house, what strategies have you found most helpful for maintaining and building your relationship with them?
  24. If your children have grown up and moved out of your house, do you often miss them, fear for them, or think of them? If so, how have you coped with any loneliness or desire for their presence?
  25. Do you have non-negotiable rules for your children?
  26. How have you disciplined your children, if at all?
  27. How have you helped your child to establish responsibly, moderated, or conscientious consumption or use of books, media, entertainment, screen time, and social media? This is not my favorite question because the focus on “limiting screen time” seems a bit blown out of proportion these days and I think causes kids to get obsessed with the “forbidden fruit” of screen time, but it seems to be on the minds of many parents today, so I’d be remiss not to include it.
  28. Have you emphasized or encouraged any health, fitness, or healthy eating principles with your children? If so, what has seemed to work well?
  29. If your child or children could inscribe anything on your gravestone, what would you hope that they would write? What would you most want them to remember about you?
  30. What do you most want to be remembered for as a parent?
  31. What do you think your child or children would say is their fondest memory of being raised by you?
  32. What message for parents would you put on a billboard?

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

– Tim Corcoran and Jeannine Tidwell:

– Other Resources:

Episode sponsors:

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Shine Sedona: Join my family and me in Sedona Arizona from March 10-12, 2023 at an amazing event hosted by SHINE. I'll be giving a keynote talk on breathwork and biohacking, and hosting a VIP Greenfield-style home-cooked dinner prepared by my family. For tickets to the Shine Event where I'll be a keynote speaker visit bengreenfieldlife.com/shinesedona.  To book your spot for our VIP dinner visit bengreenfieldspeaking.com/sedona-dinner.

Boundless Parenting: Everything you need to know about family, parenting, and raising healthy, resilient, free-thinking, and impactful children. Go to boundlessparentingbook.com and pre-order your copy now.

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Tim, Jeannine, or me? Leave your comments below, and one of us will reply!

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