Meet Telfer
"Never give a sword to a man that can't dance."
— Irish Proverb
Guiding the evolution from ego to eco.
What's a Telfer?
Telfer is my maternal name.
Of Scottish origin, Telfer arises from the French taille-fer — "to cut iron."
It is an old nickname for a fierce warrior, or iron-piercer.
Urban Dictionary defines Telfer as "one who destroys without malice."
To Destroy without Malice
The sprout means no harm as it cracks through the concrete.
Fruit falls when ripe, not out of animosity for the vine.
The butterfly destroys its chrysalis — emerging from that womb without any malice for the caterpillar's tomb.
And so it is with personal & planetary evolution.
My Name is Telfer.
I help wise people kindly destroy outdated identities.
I offer nature-based guidance to individuals navigating significant transitions.
I lovingly provoke those who are ready to shed their skin.
I invite seekers, wanderers & sacred fools to step off the edge of their evolutionary cliff and initiate the descent into soul canyon.
With courage & compassion, you can emerge into a more authentic expression of who you are and find where you truly belong within the web of all beings.
"For nothing can be sole or whole
That has not been rent."
— W.B. Yeats, Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop
NOTE: Rent in this case is the past tense of "rend," referring to something that has been violently or forcefully torn apart, split, or pulled into pieces.
Hi.
My name is Telfer, and this is Rigby.
Rigby is named after the Jerry Garcia Band version of Eleanor Rigby from Kean College, 2/28/80. Long story.
Rigby is a three-year old Golden-Spaniel. He is my primary therapist, social director, legal, financial & spiritual advisor.
Any accurate introduction of myself begins with him. He is a mysterious, mythopoetic presence in my life, a deeply sweet and cunning soul provocateur.
I will gladly talk about Rigs all day, but for now...
Let Me Tell You a Story
It is May of 2018. I am...
- 32 years old;
- graduating from a four-year Ayurvedic Doctor program;
- moving from Boulder, Colorado to an ashram in Northern California; and
- breaking up with a beloved partner.
Before I go, that partner gifts me with the book Wild Mind by Bill Plotkin — a detailed guide to cultivating holistic mental health using the nature-based map of the human psyche.
Wild Mind becomes an instant source of order in the chaos of this transition.
However, as it turns out, and as I might have known, an ashram is not the ideal environment for a single young man trying to start a career.
Within three dramatic weeks my three-year plan is abandoned and I am alone to roam the wilderness of the Western U.S. and deal with the wildness of my own mind.
I have surrendered my familiar physical home, refused a beautiful human with whom I might have made a home and consciously forsaken what had until then been my spiritual home.
I have no consistent source of income and few prospects. I am living out of my car.
Why?
What drives a man to dismantle every stable source of support in his life?
“What motivates a person to risk everything?
It might be an irresistible pull toward a felt possibility, or it might simply be that you've lost belief in the old life and no other choice can be imagined.
Others risk everything because they've dedicated their journey and their lives to something greater than themselves.
These wanderers don't embark upon the journey solely or primarily for their own personal reward.
They seek a vision, a revelation, a bestowal of knowledge or ability with which they can serve their people, their more-than-human community, or the beings of the future, the children of all species for many generations to come.”
— Bill Plotkin, The Journey of Soul Initiation
It is now August 2018.
To conclude a summer spent sleeping under stars, wandering in wild places, encountering mountain lions and conversing with black bears, I embark on my first Animas Quest — led by underworld guides trained by Bill Plotkin.
We set up camp for two weeks in the mountain-forest of the Four Corners region and spend our days engaged in all manner of wild experiments wisely designed to crack ourselves open to soul.
The adventure culminates with a solo fast — three days & nights alone in a chosen location with nothing but water and a variety of self-designed ceremonies to perform.
- I dig my own grave and sleep in it, naked.
- I dream of an indigenous elder on horseback unburdening me of a shadow that is not mine to carry.
- I tell my life story to a timeless tree. It takes all three days and I do not finish.
In the aftermath of this experience, my underworld guides offer a series of questions:
- Who went out?
- What happened?
- Who returns?
- What gifts do you bring for your people?
- What remains in the mystery?
Who went out? A man without a home — literally, physically, psychologically, romantically, professionally, spiritually, metaphorically, mythopoetically.
What happened? The part of me that has always felt randomly abandoned on a strange & dangerous planet found solace as a son of Earth; as a known and beloved participant in an intelligent ecosystem; as one who irrevocably belongs within the web of all beings. I surrendered every home I had in order to discover an inalienable way of belonging to the world itself, no matter where I go.
Who returns? The one who knows the difference between an authentic identity and a delivery system — that I am not what I do for work, or who I date, or where I live, but that any way in which I choose to move through the world can be the expression of who I truly am.
The gift I bring includes this identity as "one who destroys without malice." I am still learning the many things this can mean, expanding & deepening that definition, discovering novel forms of its infinite potential expression.
What remains in the mystery? So much. If my gift lives in the realm of creative destruction, what about maintenance, preservation, consistency, regeneration? What about tending to what is?
So — that's one abbreviated story. There are many more.
And! I would love to know your story.
If you'd like to add a wild chapter to your personal mythology, this is the sort of thing we do within Ecotone Academy.
Learn More about Becoming a Member of Ecotone Academy
Experience & Expertise
A summary of my formal training
Wild Mind Guide
Undone & remade by the Nature-Based Map of the Human Psyche and Eco-Centric Development Wheel as taught by the Animas Valley Institute, mentored by Brian Stafford (2018-present).
Ayurveda
Four years (4,000+ hrs) of immersive training in Āyurveda, herbalism & Vedic spirituality with Alakananda Ma & Sadananda at Alandi Āyurveda Gurukula (2014-2018).
Internal Family Systems
Certified as an "IFS-Informed" practitioner by the Internal Family Systems Institute. I remain enrolled in their Continuity Program, including Intimacy from the Inside Out.
Vedic Astrology
Formal & autodidactic study & practice of Jyotish with a range of master teachers including Sam Geppi, Komilla Sutton, Bill Sinclair, Simon Chokoisky & Freedom Cole (2009-2025).
Creative Writing
Bachelor's degree in English & Creative Writing from the George Washington University, with a focus on mythology, spoken word storytelling & musicology (2004-2008).
Doctor of Divinity
After my 2020 Master's degree in Metaphysics thesis on "The Periodic Table of Ayurvedic Elements," in 2026 I submitted my Doctoral dissertation titled "Internal Family Solar Systems."
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