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NatureConnect |
Eco Psychology with Dr. Michael J. Cohen
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_______________________________________________________________________________________ My Study's through Reconnecting with Nature Courses *I am available to instruct and perform in activities related to these studies with both children and adults*
NC Orientation Introduction | 'Ode to David' | NC Orientation Summary | 'Pond's Song' | NC Eco 501 NatureConnect: Orienatation Summary, February 2001. Unity, Part 6: Evaluation and Action. Sail Away with Me and other NatureConnected Beings And Number 5: I am not at all sure this is 3 pages, it is 8 and a half scrawled on 'hemp' paper. "I sense, therefore I am." One could also say "I am sensed therefore I am" or, "therefore you are." Without our senses we are nobody and nothing and could notpossibly indentify another being. One sense as important as the other particulary for wo/man kind. Expectations, goals, destinations, responsibilities, dysfunctionoften limit those more sensory moments. "So nature teaches me..." "What is calling my attention?" Nature is "all the time" present, where am I in all this connected bliss? Where are you? "just breath and all is..." "I like myself because I reflect all of the life around me." Not recognizing this before the NatureConnect Orientation Course has made that 'connection' for me. "I had to force myself into being, to head back to work" I am learning more and more that there are ways to lessen this affect on ones self, to bring ones work into the moment of natureconnected bliss. NatureConnected employment not only contributes to the well being of the individual, but also to the community and to Mother Nature! Often I walk with nature, settling on her ocean shores whee she sings to me of pebbles and sand dancing in her waves, or open seas and scents and treasures on the air. Or to the hilltops where eagles, ravens, hawks and a multitude of song birds fly with their own web designs and speak with their own voices. Or Keith wrote: "That when we live a life not being aware of our 'web connections' we become totally isolated from so much of ourselves that we are in effect crippled" Don't let your politics take you too far away from your webstrings, you write beautifully about connection! Cyrus wrote: "Taoist generally feel uncomfortable with artificial, unnatural human rules of behavior that are considered suspect or potential non-love strands. Non-interference of nature's way is wise non-action." I truly appreciate this 'non-interference belief' so validating of my own growing experience in nature. I wish Teresa wrote: "Cutting the 'strings' not only results in a dysfunctional system, but if the species that is eliminated is critical (and they all are) to that particular ecosystem known as a 'keystone species' in (human language) ecology, that ecosystem will crash..." I hope we meet someday, I'm sure we would have much human language as well as natural stillness to share! Elizabeth wrote: "This course of study may be the means to manifest my dreams of building gardens and community and life-long learning opportunities, a way to heaven on earth." Just change the 'may' in sentence number one to 'is' and see what happens! Mike wrote: "...I wonder if the lichen knows where it starts and the dead wood stops?" Keep it up Mike,YOU are a 'NATURAL'! My experience sharing in nature with all of you has helped me to sense that "I am a person who gets good feelings, from sharing the experience in nature, as well as being alone in nature. And that when connecting with nature, to take the time to be 'still' to be 'open', taking the time to be 'wholly' present in each moment. "My heart For this experience with all of you I am blessed in Nature. Thank You all for your spirits, hearts, souls and shared connected wisdom! integrate, validate, contribute, participate, connect, attract, attraction... Learning to walk with nature, each step a revelation in 'old brain' (genetic memory) thinking/connection. The sense of surroundings, environment, movement, how else would we grow to survive without old brain thinking, it brings to us those first steps and attracts us to follow through, to use 'old brain' thinking to protect and guide us and return us to our ways of connected living and dieing. We seem to have forgotten how to die. As a child takes her/is first step and teaches the 'new brain' the concept of walking through the genetic encoding of the 'old brain', so do 'natureconnected' activites teach the 'new brain' what it is to return to being with/in nature. For uninfluenced young children it is the 'natural' experience that leads to further attractions that leads to further experience... For disconnected individuals it is more like reteaching kinetic motion to disconnected nerve patterns (webs) after a stroke or paralyzing accident. We must reteach our body kinetic motion in nature connected ways. Experiencing permission, respect, validation of space, of all things, of all beings on this planet brings us to awareness to be able to sense and participate in the attraction without fear or stress or the other dis-eases of disconnected patterning. It brings us back to where we can sense the balance of ourselves in nature in our 'Global Community' of all beings and all things. When that balance is missing (gone) it breaks our bond with life and when broken, like a too soon cut umbilical chord bleeds us to a living death (ecozombism). Nature senses our state of mind, only disconnected beings feel discomfort in asking for permission, in taking time to be still and sensory. Our 'new brain' has been instructed in such a disarray of untruths and mythes and fairytales, only time and connected experience can recreate for us that pleasured sensory living of time shared in nature. We know our senses are intact when we feel accepted into that silken 'cocoon' of stillness and enhanced perception of our surroundings. When all is quiet and yet striking, obvious, calling out for attention and soothing ruffled feathers, sharpening the senses, lingering the breath, giving easy rhythm to our heart and soul. Still, with a multitude of voices singing nature's praise. Still, with the very breath (respiriting) of our very existense hanging on the edge in sheer delight. Human perception is generally flawed by 'new brain' experience and conditioning. Each step into a 'natureconnected' activity brings new webstrings (nerve stimulation) and helps the 'new brain' restructure it's reactions in pleasure and harmony with the 'old brain's' wisdom. Integrating the moment with our 'genetic memory' we record information for future generations good health and ease. Instead of pouring yourself that scotch, still your vibrating nerves with a refreshing gulp of moonslight poured freely from the heaven's for your jangled souls thirst. What is symbolic to humans in our return to nature needs to be seen as just that. An influenced 'human' need to create a 'material' connection in our realm of allowed and limited perception (sensory deprivation). And while that notion may seem unnecessary for some, for others it allows that first step, that first sense of acceptance,and connection that is required of us all to gain that moment we will chose never to leave again. However we link with nature, it is a human perception, neither judged nor even noticed by 'nature'. Our dedication, respect, and honor of each moment with nature is fulfilled by our personal honesty in the moment, allowing nature back into our souls, weaving fine webs of silken connection back into our bodies and freeing that 'old brain' to flaunt it's wisdom and devine joy in connection with the life force of all things. Destinations' and 'goals' often distract us from the simple beauty and rewards of moments in nature. Forgetting to breath, eating not because we are hungry but because 'it is the thing to do'. An insect with irridescent wings hovering in the air before you or landing on your sleeve. Before you brush it away, take a closer look, its fragile nature, difference, reason for being (no less, no more than our own reason for being). Just the right amount of breeze to catch the leaves and send them dancing at your feet (not just a job that has to be done, a pleasured, treasured moment in nature connected being). A baby bird chirping from a nest high in the frame of a skyscrapper, a weed struggling magnificently through a crack in the pavement, a whale breaching, caught between the clouds and ocean depths. The night sky inviting and still. Temperature changes speaking to us of our real needs,nudging us gently to see, feel, hear, sense, know the rewards of free and timeless connected living. Inspiring, creating natural bonds with likeminded individuals through 'natureconnected' experience brings health, happiness and balance into all aspects of our lives. These moments shared, engraved in our 'new brain' allow us to become holistic, contributing members of our 'Nature Connected' Global Village. In this way we also grow in wisdom, nurturing our planet in a natural cycle of life and death and life. Our 'real estate' does not belong to us. It is on lease from nature and no, not even that! For who signed the lease in Mother Nature's hand, who granted the possesion of something they never had to give? Who of us asked and gained permission to trespass on her heart and soul? Who asked, and who gave permission and how would you know if webstrings are invisible to you? Most adults today need to learn to trust again, particularly trust themselves. To listen and sense when there is 'dis-traction' and when there is 'a-ttraction' to come to know their influence in this sensory emotion. Which is speaking now, the 'old brain' or the 'new brain'??? The sensory wisdom will always be there for us, and continually trys to reconnect us. "The birds remained as if I were transparent..." Being with nature and not pitted against it, nature stills the moment for us to share, or rather we learn to 'still the moment' to let nature in! Into acceptance of what we are on this planet, being a part of something much bigger than ourselves and our kind. We can never depart from nature without losing ourselves. Distraction, dysfunction, are created by un-natural cause and effect. We are 'nature' driven and like a vehicle we sputter and chug along for while on the wrong fuel, while with the right fuel (natureconnected living) we purr and glow and glide across natures landscapes. Building trust in self,in community and in nature, builds integrity. We validate positive experience and complete the cycle of connected living, taking and giving and leaving no unused or unusable parts behind. Nature is not judgmental, 'Nature just IS' What we know and what we can know depends on ourselves, our desire to awaken all the sensory connections available to us. Without judgment, experience to our attractions teaches us daily and sometimes leads us by the nose when we object! And so is the process of 'natureconnected' activities, resturcturing the kinetic teachings of the 'new brain' reactions. Repetitive exercises teach and reteach until the door is open between the alternate brain fields allowing and influencing the shared growth and dependence of both brains. Convincing the 'new brain' to let the 'old brain' in is the hard part, but once the moment of connection is re-experienced it stay's with you forever, creating more urges and attractions to participate in connected living. Our sense of self worth is enhanced by our respectful actions towards ourselves, other human beings and nature. NC Orientation Introduction | 'Ode to David' | NC Orientation Summary | 'Pond's Song' | NC Eco 501 'The Pond's Song'
Eco 501: Educating and Counseling in Nature *Bold print are direct quotes taken from Dr. Michael Cohen's book, 'Reconnecting With Nature' (RWN) or *Italized print are direct quotes taken from students in the Blossums group of Eco 501. *Text in quotation marks are direct quotes of my own, taken from songs and poetry inspired by RWN. Introduction Reconnecting With Nature is about Educating and Counseling in Nature. Reconnecting our severed roots with our Mother Earth and the entire hurting Global Community, all races, all species, ALL of nature! RWN teaches of our disconnection with nature and how that affects our lifestyles, other species and our entire planet ultimately. Disconnection from nature is threatening our very existence as we know it today. RWN teaches a process through the Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP) using activities in nature with which we can learn to return to balance in nature and so a balance in our personal and community life. With global integrity, the seat of our survival, the ultimate goal, nature will survive, but will we? Educating and Counseling in Nature has influenced my style, approach and presentation as a visual/performance artist, and as an entertainer/story teller for young children. This NatureConnected vision supported in the overall vision for Global wellness and Community based in NatureConnected living reflects a lifestyle that teaches by example and exposure to others and in nature, allowing me to teach by my life style as well as by presenting and creating personal experience for others. Recording and drawing from the multi-sensory experiences and correspondence with the Eco 501 Group, Blossom's, has given me a reserve of awareness and support to draw from. Goals and Needs In my Bachelor Waiver I stated that my involvement in this program was based on an interest to create a manual/guide to NatureConnected learning for young children. That focus has changed and deepened into a more permanent attraction, that of presenting my teaching through my art. In this way I can expose others of all ages to this sense of NatureConnected well being and the Global Community, as well as follow my own attractions. Through visual and performance presentation of NatureConnected material in song, in painting, in sculpture and in the creation and presentation of printed and illustrated text, I am able to present a positive image of NatureConnected awareness and lifestyle for all ages. I am currently working on enough material for a NatureConnect CD of poetry and song as well as illustrated books of children's stories and an adult book of illustrated poetry that present the NatureConnect vision,. These NatureConnect paintings, songs and poems may also be made available as a NatureConnect Calendar and as Greeting Cards and Promotional Posters. My planned series of paintings of female nudes will incorporate interaction with the natural world. All of the above are intended to inspire dialogue and questions related to NatureConnected being. My presentation of song, poetry and art as a performance artist co-facilitating lifestyle workshops will also allow me to present NatureConnect activities again inspiring dialogue and questions of NatureConnected learning. Applying my studies through NatureConnect using NSTP has allowed me to pursue in depth my personal growth and development in nature and lifestyle, as well as that of the NatureConnect community and the global community as a whole. The influence of the program can be witnessed in my latest songs, visual art and poetry, as well as the recent invitations to bring my experience in NatureConnect to other workshops and presenters. These opportunities in sharing my art also allow me the Significant Aspects of Eco 501 A moment of truth We are born of nature with only five natural senses? No wonder we have led such a closeted existence, without being able to recognize our own fifty plus sense(s) of survival. Friends and family, having read some of my course material to date, agree easily with the garbage and recycling and even overpopulation issues presented; but to talk about 'connecting with nature', what does that mean? As we breathe earth, earth breathes us or "one breath one way." Thinking you are connected in nature because you spend time in nature is not at all the same thing as being 'natureconnected'; aware of your multi-sensory (fifty plus senses) experience in nature, aware of yourself as a nature being, letting go of the ego, self and just being as nature is, that is 'natureconnect'. Connected learning feels good, practicing NatureConnect activities guides us to our own healing, bonding and balancing attractions. Following our attractions in nature bring us to the moment, validation of those attractions allows the 'new brain' to participate, collect and memorize the experience. Validation also rewards the 'old brain' (genetic memory) encouraging more natureconnected experience, which in turn allows the 'new brain' more recorded information of this experience and so on Old brain VS new Brain. The old brain is the part of our body memory that carries our ancestors bonding with nature, instinct, all sensory awareness, survival, participation in a balanced global community. The new brain is the part of the brain that is programmed and conditioned and taught from birth onward and perhaps prenatal. Life Sustaining Integrity. The beauty, simplicity and intelligence of nature demonstrates that sustainable integrity works, no garbage, no insanity, no war or discontent in nature. Multi-sensory nature contains a consciousness RWN teaches fifty plus senses! I like finding out that I was right all along as a child. I like finding out that I have so much more to work with than just a box of 5 basic crayons. It is like coming from the box of 8 basic colors to the world of the 100 crayon coloring box. Life is a multifaceted rainbow. Back to Basics: return our thinking to our origins I call it 'genetic memory' or as referred to in RWN, 'old brain'. I love the notion that in my body lives the story of my ancestors, of ancient woman, who lived their wisdom in nature. It is like carrying my long lost great, great grandmother and sisters around in me always. If we do not activate and support sensations in nature in the moment, we do not trustably return to our origins That is, the difference between how I feel as, Wendy in Nature and Wendy as Nature. That is the difference between You in Nature and You as Nature. When we seek our wellness through the wisdom of nature we are whole and a desirable shining example for others to experience. When we seek wellness through our addictions we are suffocating individuals that distract from a wholeness experience. Addictions are so strong that one doesn't know that anything is missing, the craving for the fix disguising the reality. Many are drawn to a simpler life style/existence, coming from their disconnected living to a utopian community they bring with them their multi-car families, hair dryers, streetlights, sidewalks and parking lots, and personal masks; locking themselves away into their sterile, environmentally protected homes for safety and comfort. Gone are the stars they came to experience in the indigo night sky, gone are the soft treaded walkways, gone are the pristine old growth forests, filled now with the clatter and noise of human voice, busy feet, street lights and congested streets. Where nature does attract, it often brings the "Madding Crowd". "On our way to somewhere, somewhere we had to be, somewhere disintegrating with no integrity, for we have seen the enemy and the enemy is we" NSTP Basics The missing link in the way we think: Letting Earth Teach: How vulnerable we are to concepts and rules that divide us, competitive spirit disconnects from the beauty Permission, a distinct way of knowing, loving and feeling My experience in seeking permission and experiencing permission are always an overwhelming sense of acceptance of my being, or the immediate knowing that this is not where I want to be at this time. When the attraction provides for the permission then the experience is welcoming, calming, integrated and validated in multi-sensory experience. My experience in participating in consensual activities with nature returned me to an awareness of my own being in all aspects of my life. This resulted in allowing me to make supportive, positive life choices in career, relationship, creativity and lifestyle. SEVMRATC I S ense by responding to my attraction(s).
Intelligence of Natural Senses a distinct way of knowing. "We don't live in the real world when we ignore what we are feeling." Dr. David Viscott Our multi-sensory experiences are vital to our existence, our survival, our relationship to the Global Community as a whole. Questions: What happened to separate our means of communication and disconnect our consciousness with nature? Why are we the only affected species, or are we? Why do we continue to be obtrusively out-of-balance with nature and on a self-destructive course? Why is the obvious not obvious to all and why is common sense so uncommon? Thinking of TV with regards to the above: Often I set up to work on my paintings with talking books or movies for company. One time I just turned on the TV to a commercial station and was inundated with commercials and service programs about how to fulfill all these needs and desires I don't seem to be at all aware of having! Headline 'EcoZombies Plugged In' (see EcoPsych quote below). No wonder the general public is out of balance and riddled with chronic addictive behaviors! For a full explanation and cure for EcoZombism check out <http://ecozombie.com> . My 'reasoning brain' (Why did we ever give it the title of reason?) keeps telling me to 'get a real job,' 'take the one with the best money and benefits,' 'move to the city, it is the only way to productively support yourself.' All the while something inside of me is shriveling up and looking for a corner to hide in. My whole nature becomes tense and unfocused and I am overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and failure if I don't comply! The moment I step back into nature connected being, my focus becomes clear and supported. My attractions lead me home to nature where I live simply and happily, functioning powerfully in my creative spirit. "The 'old brain' knows when I have arrived!" Natural Attractions: It is as important to breathe in as it is to breathe out; it is as important to give as it is to receive. By placing myself in and entering into the presence of nature I give myself and the area a gift. unless there is exchange there is no life. the flow of water like a bloodstream We are born in love I wonder if this continues to be true. For so many years now our 'new brain' has been dominant/in-charge, influencing our lifestyle. So many of us are exposed prenatal to the hysterics of our society. It must have some influence/effect and may be the very reason so many shy away from connected being. It truly is a foreign experience to them, never mind the ongoing nature separated curve ball that is thrown to us from birth on. NIAL Natural Intelligent Attraction Love Nature is an Intelligent Attraction to Love. Each natural attraction awakens another sense, opening for another attraction, awakening another sense, opening, De-Nial. We THINK our way into destructive perceptions. Awareness is attraction, attraction is consent, consent is validation, "validation is awareness." UNITY: Although the daily insertion of an RWN factor into our nature-separated lives sounds ideal, it is within the grasp of any individual that knows of its existence. It is now a tested and proven vehicle to mental and environmental health, a responsible way of thinking and acting that most people learn in less than 6 months. It is also the core of societies that do not suffer from our problems To follow is my direct experience from a natureconnect activity relating to the sense of unity: "How many drops of water equal UNITY to make up the ocean? How many molecules of mineral in UNITY to make up this rock that bares my weight? How many particles of sand in UNITY to make up this beach? When I bring the essence of UNITY into my thoughts of my own species, it is just a darkness, and deafening silence. I do not have a sense of UNITY within the human race!" UNITY in nature demonstrates wellness in connected being; we humans can re-learn from this example and so live in natural; UNITY, HARMONY, BALANCE, and LOVE as part of our GLOBAL COMMUNITY. "Perhaps neon lights and plastic voices are the exact medium to use. Often people with important messages speak their truth in their selected language rather than the language of the audience." Dulling our Senses: So much of the time we cover our sensory experience in fabric, behind 'rose colored' glasses, with bottles of commercial scent, music over industrial/commercial/societal noise, stories and fantasies. Even the news struggles to invent new realities that are more inviting to their public. 'Big Brother is Watching' No wonder so many pursue addiction over their warped sense of reality. We wrap ourselves safe and warm into our blanketed existence while life, 'real life' goes on all around us. "The end of the human race will be that it will die of civilization." Ralph Waldo Emerson "The walls encourage us to dance on the deck of our sinking ship" Dr. M. Cohen I am not alone in my sense of human nature! Civilization is that soft warm cocoon that entices us in and then suffocates and burns all that it touches beyond sensory experience/recognition. Nature is contrast: shocking, provocative, gentle, nurturing, all faces The Greening of Psychotherapy 'the purpose of modern education, psychology and psychotherapy is to heal the sensory wounds inflicted by past education, psychology and psychotherapy' 'disconnection from the integrity of the global life community.' Green/Green experience teaches the opposite of Green/Other color teaching. Green/Green identifies and validates the correct response to the correct sense/intuition, while Green/Orange teaches disconnection and incorrect response, sense/intuition. When you see the word green written in orange, what color are you seeing and how do you feel about that experience. When you see the word green written in green, what color are you seeing and how do you feel about it. Green/Green (old brain experience based on intuition) identifies nurturing in patience and acceptance of what is. Standing alone but with community in trust and knowing is the difference, through validated multi-sensory experience. The use of 'nature-reconnecting' experience and reasoning allows for a whole sense of wellness, spirit, and the ability to interact with new information. This multi-sensory awakening allows us to register more information than our brain has been allowed before the experience. Without this re-connection in nature we do not allow ourselves the challenge and exposure that brings healthy release. I witness more and more people attempting this connection on a frantic level of Eco-Challenge instead of cooperative participation in nature. So, while the direction is right, the means to the experience has blown a fuse! 'Abandonment is at the heart of so much' Probably all, considering we have abandoned even ourselves in pursuit of a material world, abandoned our mother/host in the process. our stories prevent us from seeing things the way they really are, a form of cultural trance or collective hypnosis the subliminal that rules and regulations that govern our spirit, 'new brain' vs 'old brain'. Nature practices reality The 'old brain' brings to sensory awareness how we naturally feel, 'sensory wisdom. The ability to create an optimum of life, diversity and beauty without producing runaway garbage, insanity or war. "When I force myself to be still, my sense of language to be quiet, it is more peaceful and relaxing which brings a special joy." The 'NatureConnected Realm' is a different plane than our daily civilized experience allows. How many books and teachings are present today for educating the masses in self-healing, lifestyle, global awareness, of whose perception are these writings? We have become bonded to being conscious of our world through written and spoken stories. Yet these are only human words based on limited sensory experience in this repetitive pattern of disconnected existence. They are medicine for the symptoms and not healing for the dis-ease! "nature is a low maintenance companion who doesn't interrupt, compete or complain." What a satisfying basis for an attractive and sustainable relationship! Our 'new brain' story is not multi-sensory; we have no sense of natural limits. Nature has become our resource and not our source. Yet, we are born as attached to nature as our arm is to our body. Most of us don't realize that an intelligent fun part of us has disappeared "Man has mistaken his gift of reason for the divine right" 'For NIAL to exist and perform in human nature we need to reactivate the collective web of essential ecological balance' We need to reconnect the 'old brain' 'genetic memory' with the new brain in validated nurturing nature connected experience. Simple common sense, which for a common sense, there seems to be so little of in human nature. Collective Wisdom: we are warned about nature and the same story about our inner nature' 'we portray nature as evil with attributes of horns, tails, scales, fur, claws, fangs, cleft hooves' and yet 'when we eradicate an 'evil' predator an ecosystem deteriorates rather than improves Except perhaps for the removal of mankind; that just might be the blessing and not the curse. 'Our sense of consciousness begins to know nature as nature knows itself as many forms of attractions.' In relationship and experience in loving sensory attractions and not in cause and effect mechanic's we teach our 'new brain' the tricks of the 'old brain' and our essential earth's essence. Pain and discomfort are natures gifts for taking care of us, providing us with educated choices and not just leaving us out in the elements to perish. 'Nature teaches us to think macro, not micro' Pain is not a punishment, it tells us when we are out of sinc with our natural attractions. Pain as a natural sense attracts us back to a sense of caring, nurturing, response and commitment to survival. In concert our senses create individual wholeness, and in concert our collective wisdom creates wholeness in global community. Counseling In Nature: 'the essence of the singular process shared by nature, personality and wellness' 'Nature and people support each other.' 'This process goes to the source.' If people could re-learn to live their lives based on this one teaching how much lighter and clearer our lives would become. Come to the Mountain and let it teach you Come to the River, the Ocean, the Tree's, the Flora and Fauna and Insects and Microbes and Minerals and Cosmic wonders we witness in our skies. Come to the LIVING PLANET and let it teach you. Part of us was there from the very beginning it is part of our personality, our way of knowing ourselves Nature In Action: Because our disconnected thinking is missing many natural senses, often it can't make sense of the warning signals we receive. What we think of as 'common sense' today is not at all common. Most people aren't even aware it is missing, we make most of our decisions based on society fed stories and not 'connected' knowing. The only real commonality is the story(s) told and accepted as truths. Sensitive, personal, social and environmental relationships based in 'natureconnected' living are more nurturing, responsible and just plain more fun, based in trust and truth. "We cannot make sense of how society educates and governs us because it is not sense-able. Every year 5000 square miles of nature are being bulldozed into oblivion. nulcear generating plants are dangerous yet their total electrical output equals the energy this country uses just to run their hairdryers. two decades ago Rachel Carson showed the danger in using pesticide and chemicals. Since then we've introduced thousands of new chemicals into the environment every year. What kind of a world are you teaching my mind to build?" The above from a teenage dropout!? I only wish I had known as a young woman to ask these questions and to stand in the same posture of defiance and power that this young woman demonstrates here. It is not to late, not for any of us to make this stand in natureconnected being and community. Today's earthly concerns should be based on the percentage of species population declination, genetic integrity, topsoil conditions and availability, sustainable yield, human population growth, the integrity of our overall environment. Resource vs Source! An estimated 85% of connection to nature has been amputated from conciousness. Nature is now enjoyed through correct symbols and language as prescribed by today's civilization and not by actual living experience. Economically the world market is an unsustainable fiasco with no guarantees of safety or survival, this has been created by human nature and not by nature. We will perish as a species if this choice of living continues without natureconnected adjustments in our societies, and we will take down other species with our own demise. That is the unbearable sorrow of our human nature. The future of the environment, indeed this planet, is in natures hands ultimately. And with every weed I witness breaking up the pavement, the rusting metals and rotting materials we have created and discarded, the environmental storms and transitions that destroy manmade structures, the environment still wins and I cheer her on. Mankind are the ones moving towards self destruction, along a clear cut and paved pathway of disconnected living, of self, of relationship, of property and of community. Reconnecting with nature invites us to re-enter the beauty, wisdom and integrity of multi-sensory experience. Complimenting and working in harmony with our world, enhancing and sustaining ours and others existence on this planet we re-create the balance necessary to exist in harmony. "winds song blesses all Natural Senses, a root into common history. 'Old brain' (genetic memory) equals sensorial, instinctive, patterns of survival. Society teaches 'conquer nature' vs 'embrace nature' , Where do you participate? Most people smile at my so called eccentric nature of loving to be alone in nature and to live simply close to and in nature. They smile nervously, but I believe they truly want to know how to get here. I see our human community growing into two main societies: The Technological supported bubble society and the NatureConnect earth bound community. Always the Techie group will want (and attempt to create artificially) what the NatureConnect group has. No matter what theTechi's invent and create to fill their void they will always be empty, while the NatureConnect community may look poor in comparison they will be rich in smiles and dancing their life and death in nature. Nature As A Guide. 'Following and enjoying natural attractions enhances 'new brain' ability to trust sensory messages from the natural world.' From a Student Recovery Project: "As we remove garbage, we work on removing the toxins from our lives. As we plant healthy tree's we learn new healthy ways to survive. By protecting this ecosystem we find the strength to open our minds, hearts and souls for the survival of our Mother Earth and for ourselves" When I walk in nature I am not a tourist, I am a part of the landscape, as wild and free as the deer seeking eye contact with me, yet ready to flee at any sensory threatening moment. I am a willing, breathing, consenting individual in the moment in the community of nature. The characteristics of a person and Earth are so identical that one might suspect earth to be sentient. I can gift myself with this opportunity at any time, anywhere, in health and in connected being with my own individual nature involved. All of nature is a green/green experience, humans are the only out of color sensation I have experienced. 'Every other species survives through the cooperative consent of their environment our teachers, our lesson plan, all of nature.' 'Our 'new brain' becomes more consenting to make sensory connections with Earth when it recognizes Earth acts like a sensory, reasonable, living being.' My response to a multi-sensory experience from a NatureConnect activity: "A symphony of creature life and worldly motion following sensory attractions. Knarled weathered tree's with roots seeking for deep sensory fulfillment, while branches open to receive the gifts from above. Nature pulsing in the wave and tidal motion of its body fluids and rhythms. The bark of an injured tree curling over to bridge the inflicted wound, healing and sculpting its essence back into nature. As a grain of sand or a star of the Universe, yet pouring through my fingers loose and falling free without thought. Experiencing in my connection with earth my own body rhythms and sense-sations. Napping in the warm breath of nature, a sense of wakefulness detached, another dimension another time. The wrap of soil and mineral and wood and water, regenerating life, like a skin stretching to protect the core of Mother Earth. The heart beat and blood rhythm of the planet. Flowing with the nutrients, protecting with its layers, generating the shared breath and motion of all living things!" Moment by Sensory Moment: the gift and the giving. How healing nature can be when we just allow ourselves to participate. Nature can and does define for us (through shared connected experience) what life here is all about.
Nature here and now brings me the gift of refreshing acceptance, peace and a sense of community. Also a reminder that I am responsible for this experience. My shared focus, breath, energy, multi-sensory experience opens doorway's to continued growth and sensory experience. I deserve this gift of nature because I am a part of this gift; a part of nature, a participating, conscious member in a cycle of gifting, like the rings of water spreading across a pond. Acknowledging the gift, gifting the gift, participating in the moment of gifting and receiving, returning the gift in the moment of receiving I am connected in nature. What we give we receive in nature and it is shared around the world. Celebration/partying is an attempt at becoming more a part of something an addictive response to need and not being aware of what that real need is, so trying to fill the emptiness with anything and everything Participating in natureconnected experience is a celebration in itself. To follow, three nature connected haiku poems from my RWN/WMWE experience: 1. over pond shallows Nature teaches us through practical sensory attractions. 2. ponds light reflects life We use camouflage to hide from ourselves as well as from others. Reflections are a response to reality, they can only reflect what is truly there. 3. if we allow it I trust my experience/celebrations in nature to open doorways to myself and allow the moment to come through and teach me. CONCLUSION In conclusion RWN Eco 501 has assisted me greatly in the process of healing myself from my human based disconnected learning and life experience. This holistic approach to reclaiming our heritage in nature has allowed for and encouraged me to continue in my lifestyle of natureconnected being. My creative instincts and talents are inspired to new heights in my reconnection with nature through multi-sensory experience. It is an ongoing opportunity that will bless the rest of my life on this planet and hopefully positively affect others to participate in a like fashion. Benedicto May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples, and castles, and towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl Through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, Where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dream waits for you Beyond the next turning of the canyon walls
Einsteins World by Dr. M Cohen Introduction: Paragraph 4: 'through transformation everything belongs' a line from my song 'One Breath One Way', "through transformation to new dimensions, draw inspiration from our ocean cousins, awake together a desire for a greater liberty..." Some of it borrowed, some of it my own. What this means for me: the ever evolving state of nature recycling through life and death and life. Transforming one life into another, complimenting another chain of action/reaction and so on The inclusion of all life/mineral/cell/and unidentified existence revolving in a constantly changing environment within the certain definitions of Earth's character, with or without the inclusion of humankind, which is defined as just another species. This gives me hope for survival of humankind on some level of existence in relationship with nature. I watch the leaves fall and be transformed where they mix and blend with the soil and mud at my feet. I watch the plant bud and grow, flowering, sensual, inviting for fertility, creating its seed and then dieing to provide that seed with the nourishment to grow yet again and again and again. I watch the cloud form of the steam rising from our planet, building to bursting with each drop until it spills its content back onto the planet, into the rivelets, to the river, to the waterfall, to the oceans and cast back upon the shore. I watch things die to create new birth. I inhale the breath of each plant and share my breath in return, my water, my nourishment recycled to my planet, regenerating new life, new growth, forever wisdom and knowledge on a simple basic level available to all, and yet humans have somehow become so far removed from this natural conceptual vision of sustainable, regenerative life. Why, where and how did this difference occur. Was it some 'freak' of nature that biologically divided our thought process, developed our differing brain, was it a visit from the universe, a genetic blending of an alien life form gone wrong??? Einstein's Web of Life: 'a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness..' 'to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.' Is it optical delusions or engineered conditioning that has cut us off at the roots. What purpose is there to this dysfunctional 'civilized' notion of humankind as different, as better, removed from nature. When the obvious is, that once we are removed from nature we die a hundred deaths. For each deprived and witnessed sensory experience we die a little more until the vital sensory experience is snuffed like a candle. Even as our body prepares with age to recycle with the mother planet our sensory awakening sustains life and connection, even more so than in youth, I believe we are drawn to our source, to gift with our last breath that sustainable nature... What is this manmade need for an artificial 'God' who demands artificial worship, if not of idol's, then of manmade teachings. Controlling the masses through fear and confusion. What is this need to be fed idolic worship foreign to our nature, this need to be lead and the need to be in control that removes us from the harmonic balance of living with nature, the only way we truly can live. Again I have to ask what made this difference. Our difference is not a bad thing, it is just a difference (all species have differences and similiarities), until we use it as a tool against nature and then like a parasitic monster we destroy our host. The Lie of Omission: We are bleeding at the roots because we are cut off from the earth and sun and starsplucked from its stem and expected to keep on blooming in our civilized vase on the table.' DH Lawrence How long does a flower last without artificial support once it is plucked from its stem. And with artificial support is it still a flower or an image of the flower filled with foreign bodies to create the image of a real flower. How many human's walk this planet filled with the poison's of manmade religions, educations and factories thinking (or not thinking) they are real, they are alive and yet consuming and consuming and consuming at an ever increasing rate to try to fill the void created by their lack of roots, and destroying the sustainability of our ever so generous host, in our dysfunction. We are expected to keep on blooming in our ever increasing civilized homes, driving our ever increasing (fossil fueled) civilized cars, on our ever increasing civilized freeways to where. Where are we all going in such a hurry 'We paved paradise to put up a parking lot' Joni Mitchell. I think that the more disconnected we become from our roots, the more bleeding that takes place. We scurry around like ants whose nest has been destroyed looking for that necessary connection to make our lives REAL, our source, filling ourselves with whatever 'things' we can find and then running to find more, because the life fulfilling link is ruptured. We hold that line 'web' in our very own hands and have no idea where to even plug it in, nor a knowing connection to that knowledge that we even hold it. How DID we come HERE??? 'On intimate sensory levels, nature has become a stranger to us,' 'Unlike our human womb, biologically and psychologically we remain attached to nature throughout our lives for food, water, air, place and safety' 'viewing nature as dangerous is an unwarranted prejudice.' Our societies have built a disconnected vision of humankind so that there can be more control towards a corporate life style. A life style based on need, need created by disconnection that no one understands or honors anymore. We are running rampant on our own host, destroying more than we create, and creating things we don't need to honor our existence. Nature has not 'become a stranger to us' more that we have estranged ourselves and become a stranger to nature. Viewing nature as dangerous is an important aspect of corporate society, keeping people centered in the 'civilized' community and requiring corporate designed articles of protection 'against' the 'dangers' of nature, linking people in fear and distrust so always needing more and better products to protect us from, quite simply, ourselves! More and more I witness people drawn to the countryside, drawn to nature and the simplistic lifestyle it represents, drawn to the humble existence of natureconnected individuals, drawn to move away from their cities and freeways. Then I watch while they move in the pavement for parking and the streetlights for protection, and watch as they clear cut their lots and bring in manmade gardens where nature had created 'natural wonders', I watch them create busing and housing and 'better roads' and recreate the unnatural environment they fled from in the first place. I watch them fence their 'better school' and busy their children with every disconnected activity available and then I watch them slump into their outdoor hammocks to rest and rejuvenate without even understanding the wonderful 'natureconnected' principals behind that experience. The umbilical is still attached but the knowledge of it's existence is not. 'advanced intelligence arose in part from thoughtful contact with nature, It is so good to hear this statement, as intelligence (our brain) to me has represented that division between humans and nature and not a connection at all. And yet I have personal experience in being gifted while 'natureconnected' with highly motivating words/songs/poetry, visions for paintings, visions of expressions, attractions in relationships. There is a wisdom in nature that teaches, that reaches out to stroke and reinforce the 'right' connections and I have witnessed and enjoyed the intelligence of others before me, and current, through their expressions of joy and connection in life and in nature. All 'natureconnected' individuals. All loving caring and nurturing souls. All wise people with inherent wisdom created and shared in their contact with nature, all promoters of our return to 'natureconnected' living, intelligent attractions, healing and motivating in nature. What exactly is 'advanced intelligence'. Is it human language, the ability to speak and express in advanced dialogue. Is it curiosity that attracts us to continue and seek a constant learning experience, as life truly is when it is being fully lived. And yet these attributes are also the very weapons we have turned against ourselves and nature, destroying our true hope of wisdom, peace, and harmony, living in balance. We in our 'advanced intellect' have turned this gift against ourselves, why? What is the flaw in human nature that distracts us from our true purpose, how have we become so blinded to the results. 'Einstein's World' 'offered me a greater wisdom,' Nature offers us all a 'greater wisdom' a way to grow and pursue our intellect and relationships in 'natureconnected' ways. A way to aspire to be that is in balance and harmony, sustainable within our growing community, a 'greater wisdom' than we do not possess as separated individuals. A simple one step program of outdoor wisdom that just waits for someone to open its pages and begin the learning, ever present, ever patient, ever in the moment. One step, because one step is all it really takes to sense the pleasures awaiting the next step, and the next step and the next step, until one finds ones self truly encapsulated in nature, breathing with nature, drinking and eliminating in nature, aroused by nature, soothed by nature, challenged by nature, schooled by nature, recycled by nature, who/that truly is 'all powerful' and 'all being'. I have read and witnessed the fear of the general public to this 'gift of life' it is not a religion, it is not a philosophy, it is not even a 'way of life'. Nature just is, inescapable, you can spend a lifetime in concrete and not escape the bounds of nature, for whether in denial or not, we are all a part of nature it is a human choice to live our life in conscious, sensory connection with this nature that belongs to, is a part of us. Or to spend our lives pursuing answers to unending questions and needs created by attempting to disconnect from our own 'human' nature. Burning the witches at the stake for their difference and wisdom in nature, threatened by their vary nature of peace and goodwill. Which is wise, seeking to connect with our natural element which provides us with peace and harmonic living, or seeking to disconnect and pretend we are something that we are not, creating crisis and destroying our host in the process? Nature offers a 'greater wisdom' than we with our 'superior' brains can possibly conceive We live 'in the earth'. 'Earth's atmosphere bathes us' I like very much this concept of living in earths aquarium. Earth's atmosphere indeed bathes us and provides for us like the glass barriers of the aquarium for the fish and the master who regulates the temperature and the feeding program. We are held in regulated comfort, given choices and freedom of movement within that realm. beyond that realm we are challenged and forced to create unnatural means to carry these walls with us, and in the process we create more garbage, more conflict, more separation. Makes me think of the saying: 'if it works, don't fix it'. Why when nature works so well for us do we strive to alter nature, to provide for 'manmade' alternates that contribute to our own demise. Why do we strive to move beyond nature when we have yet to learn to fully experience our own world, our own nature. Why do we allow ourselves to be governed by individuals who consult and study and connive and make their decisions in their insulated rooms, divided and removed from nature, without consulting nature or noting the overall environmental impact on nature and so on ourselves. When will we as a species demand that our leaders govern with a 'natureconnected' hand and brain, when will we accept the confines of our planet to be the freedom of our human nature. Why would we think to travel beyond this world knowing the destruction and ill health we create in our wake. Where do we think we are going and with what attractions that others may care to know us or to shun us? 'Our disconnection from nature teaches us to think with only 15% of our 'natural' mentality' Frightening concept that we could think with more than 15% of our 'natural' mentality, just think of the damage we could do then! Actually I consider this a balance with nature. The other 95% awaits us when we pursue this knowledge in and with nature, perhaps a safeguard to our own self destructive nature. When one's thinking is in connection with the greater wisdom of nature we learn to be connected, to know what our attractions and so our distractions are. We learn to open the windows and the doorways to that insulated room before making decisions. We learn to acknowledge true needs and not ones based on addictive behaviors from unfulfilled lives and misdirected dreams. Our intelligence is reinforced by positive, nurturing experience in nature. I find my mind expanding with each moment in nature. It is exhilarating the idea's that dance in my mind in full living color , the lucid clarity of my surroundings and sensations when not deprived of nature. Of course our mind expands with 'natureconnected' experience, we are exposing ourselves to so many more elements of life, of sensory experience and awareness and beyond. Dreams and expressions are heightened with heightened and enhanced experience. Each new sensory moment another doorway open to our dreams and aspirations, each new step in nature a revealing experience to record and relate to, opening the mind to record and respond to each moment and beyond, to express in the language and experience of our planet! 'The only source of knowledge is experience' I know 'professional students', colleagues, peers who have no knowledge of their reason for being except what words they have read by others in books, in human language, translated perhaps from natural experience but less connected to this knowledge than a fly held captive in an opaque box. And I know individuals with personal experience in 'natureconnected' activities; activism, research, exploration, travels I choose the truly experienced individual for my teacher with nature as my guide. The students of books and human language are crippled by their lack of enthusiasm, unable to share personal enlightened moments of experience. The student of nature is glowing with inspiration and need not even pretend to teach to be able to share their knowledge and experience. They live their experience and it is expressed through their living. Just look around you at the people you see. Which ones draw your attention with energy and curiousity. Is it the ones with their heads in the latest newspaper or journal or fiction novel, or the one with shining eyes, humming a merry tune under their breath while seeking connection with nature. Drawing your attention to where their hands reach, touch, where their eyes follow the flight of a bird, where their tender expressions expose the wonder of a spring bud. Whose discourse would you choose to listen to, the repetitive lecture on today's downfalls, war, poverty, or the poetry and song of a 'naturegifted' individual whose words glow with the awe of the shared experience. What voice would you choose to listen to, the constant busy disconnect hum of civilization or the cherished notes of mother natures symphonies. NC Orientation Introduction | 'Ode to David' | NC Orientation Summary | 'Pond's Song' | NC Eco 501 On our way to somewhere Somewhere we had to be Yet in the spell of the sensuous, I find a mirror of myself like little smiles just waiting to be born. And blossomings of wonder, a sense of what is lost, still carrying within us the seed without the cost. When I become the rainbow, dressed in earth, fire, water, and air, When I grow conscious roots of wonder, and anchor them with care then I rejoin the mystery, On our way to somewhere Somewhere we had to be
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NC Orientation Introduction | 'Ode to David' | NC Orientation Summary | 'Pond's Song' | NC Eco 501 | 'Einstein's World' | 'Einstein's Song' | 'i'' |