Raei Bridges, founder and lead guide at The Rusty Anvil, shares some of their story of integrating circle in reconnecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to nature through mindful wilderness trips and ancestral skills workshops.

More about The Rusty Anvil’s vision, from their website: “Our goal is to empower people of color with the knowledge, gear, and support they need to feel confident taking their own backcountry trips and find new ways to feel a sense of belonging in the wild. By integrating mindfulness and forest bathing practices into our programs our intention is that people of color will not just learn how to survive in nature, but thrive.”

Above photo from The Rusty Anvil’s website.

English captions are available on the video

Video transcript:

Raei Bridges:

All right, you're live.

Sarah MacDougall:

Welcome Raei, Raei Bridges, so delighted to be with you for a little bit of time and for you to share some story about circle and how it is impacting what you are doing right now. And very, very grateful for your organization, for the work that you're doing, so aligned with equity and justice. So let's start and just tell us a little bit about who you are and how circle has emerged in your life.

Raei Bridges:

Yeah, thank you for that question. So I'm Raei Bridges, I use they/them pronouns. And the first time I was introduced to a circle practice or a circle council or a space where circle was held with intention was when I participated in a rite of passage quest with folks up at Wild Mountain. And that was the first time that I had experienced the practice of mirroring and being seen in a way that was just so life changing and I can't imagine it happening any other way, but in that space of all of us sitting in circle together with the altar in the center.

So that was the first time that I was introduced to it. And since then, it's just been an integral part of when I'm with holding workshops or spaces that I'm in, just the way that it brings people together, whether that's through conversation or just time around the fire. And it's very clear that being in a circle and being able to see everyone in that way is a natural part of what we as humans are drawn to. It's like a way that we connect that's so ancestral, I guess I'll say.

Sarah MacDougall:

And the term mirroring, I'm not real familiar with that. So can you just describe what happens in that process? I think I know, but I'd like to hear it from you.

Raei Bridges:

Yeah. So mirroring, I have only experienced it through the lens of a rite of passage. So someone will go out and have a four day solo where they are participating in ceremony, and when they return, we sit in a share council and the person shares their story. It's like a storytelling moment. And the practice of mirroring is when you have two guides, maybe three guides who know your intention and why you're going out onto the land, they know what you're bringing with you. And when you return and they hear and witness you share your story, they're able to mirror back to you the lessons, the magic that is within that story in a way that can be so overlooked when it's just you reflecting on that experience yourself. And so it's this way of being seen that is so just so powerful.

Sarah MacDougall:

Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. So tell us a little story about The Rusty Anvil and the work that you are doing in the world right now. How did that come to be?

Raei Bridges:

Yeah, so The Rusty Anvil is a platform that connects folks of color to nature, and we do that through mindful wilderness trips. So that looks like backpacking trips and ancestral skills workshops. And so that's looked like fire workshops, friction fire workshops. This year we'll be doing some basket weaving workshops. And yeah, I started The Rusty Anvil and started the Forest Immersion Program really because I had my own experiences of being in wilderness spaces and never quite feeling like I fit into the space or that there was a space that could hold the complexity of what my experience was, and the different intersections of my lived experience, and how it allowed me or didn't allow me to show up in that space. And after being in conversation with other folks in the community, recognizing that it was a similar shared experience.

And so it really just became clear that having a wilderness space that teaches these survival skills or as we refer to them as ancestral skills, having a space that can really hold just the depth of what a lot of folks of color are arriving with, and without there being any sort of level of competition, or folks having to know things, or to be respected or feel like they belong in this space. And so it really just became a place and a space for folks to just connect with nature and just show up as they are.

So we've been running the BIPOC Forest Immersion Program for the past two years, and that is a four day backpacking trip in the Green Mountains of Vermont. And it is a very simple introduction into backpacking and camping. So we get a lot of folks who've never packed or who've never camped, and it's a really sweet introduction into both of those things while engaging in forest bathing activities, and meditation, and journaling, and very intentional movement, and sitting in circle, and sharing stories and sharing reflections and things like that. And so that's been a very fruitful program that we have and just what it's been able to offer folks and the connections that it has been able to make or the connections that have formed from folks in that space.

Sarah MacDougall:

Well, that's a good segue into do you have a story of a particular circle or maybe a combination of circles, and what are the components maybe that you used to set the sacred space, and maybe some learnings or insights that you've gotten along the way, along the journey?

Raei Bridges:

Yeah, I think the moment that comes into mind was during the August immersion last year and the space that we hold the first day of the program is, or was in the process of potentially being sold on the market. And it was this very complex situation around this land, and this land being Indigenous land, and just the complexity around having it being sold off, and what that meant for our community. And there was a moment during the immersion when all of it was happening where we sat together and we had our altar in the center, which we had set the previous night. And we sat together and we talked about what that meant for us, whether that was for us as folks who, like the folks who live here and care take the land, or for folks who come through in programs and just what that means for our community in that experience historically. And it was a really beautiful space where everyone got to share their concerns around what was happening and folks were crying and sharing. It was a very emotional space.

And I think for me, what my takeaway was from that moment and that experience and being in that space with other folks really was just the level of vulnerability that's able to be present when you create that space for it to exist. And I think sometimes when we're running programs or we're in this space of business, I think that the culture that that we live in, it doesn't allow for that vulnerability to always coincide with doing the work or doing the business, the whole capitalist side of it. And so it was just a really beautiful moment of we're really all here with this shared experience, and we're able to talk about it, and break it down, and show our emotions around it, and it can all be held, and we can all be there to support one another. And then we can continue and go out into the woods and continue with this program having had this really beautiful and intimate shared experience.

Sarah MacDougall:

Thank you. Thank you for that. I'm really hearing the piece around the culture in which we live and how it's quite amazing to me that at times one is told you can't bring your whole self to those kinds of business meetings or whatever. And how can you leave part of yourself behind? That's always been my question. Anyway, well thank you so much for sharing about this. It's The Circle way. We are so excited about the work and very grateful for the work that you are doing because we are very committed to expanding the use of circle, particularly into BIPOC and into LGBTQ spaces. So having the privilege of being connected and in relationship with you is very gratifying for us. And so any last thoughts you'd like to share about?

Raei Bridges:

I just want to also express my gratitude and appreciation for the support that y'all have given us. It's been really, really helpful. So thank you.

Sarah MacDougall:

Well, thank you so much, Raei.

Raei Bridges:

Yeah. It was great.

Raei Bridges (they/them) - Founder & Lead Guide with The Rusty Anvil

I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley in California and always sought out ways to deepen my connection to nature. As a child, I could be found playing in the mud, climbing trees, and observing insects in any way that was accessible to me. Now, I am the founder of the Rusty Anvil,  a wilderness first responder, a Kripalu mindful outdoor guide, and work as an outdoor instructor at Flying Deer Nature Center. I enjoy carving spoons, tracking wildlife, birthing friction fires. skinning and hide tanning, wildcrafting, and finding radical rest in the forest. ​

"My journey of coming back into relationship with the land has been liberating in so many ways. I have learned  how to trust my body to carry me not just through the landscape, but throughout all of life's paths. I have learned about deep connection in moments of divine guidance, and challenged myself through fear. My intention is to provide a space for people of color to do the same as they step into the unknown of the backcountry with trust in themselves. I aim to serve as a midwife for folks to learn skills that can make them feel confident in crossing the threshold into wild spaces and to provide a safe, fun, and adventurous environment that supports in bridging the gap.