Riley Klein
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Searching for Bigfoot
Nov 13, 2024
Nathan Miller
A group of nearly 30 squatchers and skeptics gathered at David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village Thursday evening, Nov. 7, for a presentation from Bigfoot researcher Mike Familant.
Familant is the Bigfoot fanatic behind “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye,” a weekly show he produces to document his hunt for Bigfoot in the Eastern U.S.
Familant said he began his Sasquatch hunting career basically on a whim. In 2011 he bought tickets to join fans on a Bigfoot research expedition at Torreya State Park in the Florida Panhandle, put on by the crew behind Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot.”
That first trip was life changing for Familant. He and his friend Jimmy had set up their encampment away from the other guests on the trip, both to reduce the chances of bothering the other campers with late-night fireside chatter and to improve their chances of encountering the elusive Bigfoot. The woods were quiet until the last night of the trip. Early in the morning, as Familant and Jimmy were relaxing by the fire, they began hearing knocks on trees surrounding the tent. Frightened, Familant retreated to the car to avoid any wildlife that might want to hurt him. Undeterred, Jimmy coaxed him back to the campfire to experience the strange encounter. Shortly after returning, Familant said a series of fist-sized rocks flew through the trees and landed on the ground with solid thuds around their camp. Familant’s friend then picked up one of the fist-sized rocks, and in an attempt to communicate with whatever might be throwing them, threw it back. “I knew it wasn’t a person,” Familant said. “Because at that exact moment a 15 pound, laptop-sized boulder came crashing down and lands just five feet from us.”
Familant said during his talk that getting friends and families outside is his biggest inspiration.Nathan Miller
That night in the woods convinced Familant of the existence of Bigfoot, and he has been producing his show ever since. “I would still be sitting in an ambulance on the street corners of Tampa if that rock hadn’t been thrown at me,” Familant said.
Now, producing “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye” is Familant’s full-time job. He spends over a hundred nights camping ever year, collecting footprint casts, video and audio in his search for evidence of Bigfoot. Familant’s travels have taken him across the Eastern U.S. into nearly every state east of Ohio.
Familant’s mission in producing the show and touring the country for presentations is to “entice friends and families to get off the couch and into nature, to see something you wouldn’t normally see.”
“Growing up I was happiest in front of the TV playing a video game,” Familant said. But now, he spends most nights in a tent or on the road, hiking or on his way to the next hike to find Bigfoot in the Appalachian wilderness. Whether or not Bigfoot really exists, Familant said what’s important is discovery, curiosity and getting outside.
“Life with the possibility of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster,” Familant said, “is a hell of a lot better than life without it.”
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Transforming collective healing
Nov 13, 2024
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Rebecca Churt, a grief and death doula based in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, got her MBA at The MIT Sloan School of Management during Covid and immediately joined a Buddhist monastery.
“I think getting my master’s degree was an exercise in highlighting just how much of the current way of doing things isn’t working, is not meant for what needs to be happening going forward,” Churt explained.
Churt’s own journey into grief work has been shaped by personal experience, including moving from Germany to the United States at a young age. “Grief has kind of been a lifelong companion to me in lots of different forms,” she explained. This early experience introduced her to the nuanced ways grief can manifest. The pandemic deepened her commitment, highlighting the urgent need for collective grief spaces. Then, her time at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her exploration of the concept of “hospicing modernity” (a thought-provoking guide to facing global pandemics, climate change, and other modern crises as outlined in the book by Vanessa Machada de Oliveira), influenced her to embrace a model of grief work centered around presence, not answers. Her new company, The Grievery, was born.
The Grievery is a communal approach to grief, primarily a virtual space where people can navigate sorrow collectively rather than bearing the burden in isolation. Her philosophy and methods represent a rethinking of this work, aiming to transform individual pain into shared healing. “As a death doula or grief worker, I don’t interject solutions, I don’t interject a potential outcome. The idea is for a community to get there together,” said Churt. “Whether you’re experiencing the loss or you’re in the process of dying, the reality is we don’t do any of it alone. We can’t do it alone.”
The Grievery is mostly virtual to accommodate people’s busy schedules and minimize financial barriers, but there’s also a deeper purpose behind this very intentional choice. Churt spent years holding space at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, among other locations, and shared that “part of the idea behind The Grievery is that we want to remove the sense of someone else having mastery over another person’s experience. That’s very common in traditional therapy sessions, which is really the only other place that people can have time to tend to their grief.” Churt went on to describe a possible power imbalance in those traditional settings where “it’s also more within a setting that tends to pathologize grief, where there’s an intended goal or an objective to help a person get over something.” At The Grievery, there is a set of community guidelines that are reviewed at the beginning of every session— there’s no fixing, there’s no saving, there’s no implied approach to advice giving. “Most often, the way in which people respond is either with a hand on heart or a ‘thank you for sharing,’ and then they go into sharing their own personal experience,” said Churt.
In addition to communal gatherings, The Grievery also offers a specialized program called “The Grievery at Work,” which provides grief support within professional environments. Recognizing the complex, often unacknowledged grief many healthcare workers face, Churt’s team helps integrate grief literacy into workplaces, particularly in healthcare settings where grief training is often absent.
Upcoming offerings include an eight-week workshop exploring the “Gates of Grief,” a framework inspired by Francis Weller’s book, “The Wild Edge of Sorrow.” With five established gates—everything we love we will lose; the places that have not known love; the sorrows of the world; what we expected and did not receive; and ancestral grief—Churt adds a sixth gate, exploring the harms individuals and society have caused, inspired by the work of Rachael Rice.
Through The Grievery, Rebecca Churt not only offers solace to those grieving but is also actively contributing to reimagining grief care itself. Her mission is to build a future where grieving together is normalized, where grief itself becomes a gateway to belonging, wholeness, and communal strength.
For more information, visit https://thegrievery.com
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Troutbeck’s Luminaries Series continues this fall with a special appearance by acclaimed journalist and meditation advocate Dan Harris on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 3 p.m. in the Manor House Ballroom. Harris, a former news anchor who famously chronicled his journey to mental well-being in the No. 1 New York Times bestseller “10% Happier,” will explore the power of meditation, a practice he credits with fundamentally reshaping his life.
The event promises an engaging discussion between Harris and Sascha Lewis, Troutbeck’s director of culture and commerce. They will discuss harnessing the mind’s potential to improve overall well-being, blending the timeless principles of meditation with insights from modern neuroscience. Harris’s own journey to mindfulness began after a highly publicized on-air panic attack in 2004 as Former ABC news anchor, prompting him to confront his inner struggles and seek tools for mental clarity and resilience. His experiences ultimately led him to write “10% Happier,” which offers an accessible approach to meditation and self-awareness. Harris also developed the popular podcast and meditation app of the same name.
In addition to the conversation, the event will feature a brief guided meditation led by Harris, followed by a Q&A, allowing attendees to gain a deeper understanding of his approach to mindfulness. This event builds on the success of a previous Luminaries Series gathering, the recent talk by Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, who, in August, shared insights on human cognition and its evolution in conversation with Dr. Scott A. Small of Columbia University.
Tickets for Harris’s appearance are priced at $30-$40 and can be purchased through the Troutbeck website. Guests booking a room at Troutbeck for the evening will receive complimentary tickets to the event, enhancing the immersive experience. Troutbeck, known for its historic role as a gathering place for thinkers and visionaries, provides the ideal setting for Harris’s exploration of meditation’s benefits.
With the 2025 Luminaries Series calendar forthcoming, Troutbeck continues its tradition of hosting distinguished figures, drawing on its rich history as a hub for intellectual and cultural exchange.
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