Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D.
Greenwich University

Continued from preceding page

WEBSTRING CONVERSION
an essence of the Natural Systems Thinking Process

Here is a chance for you to try identifying webstrings. Below is a description of PNC students visiting a natural area. As you read it, see what webstrings you can identify using the list in Reconnecting With Nature, Page 48

You can check at the end of the page to see how it works out. Sooner or later you will no doubt find yourself facing the same challenge in real life. To get the most out of ECO502 Part One and Part Two, practice this skill with the course email postings and wherever else it will be helpful. It is an important aspect of webstrings work.

" That morning, we had visited four very diverse habitats. We explored a large wetland, a meadow and a forest of old growth Douglas Firs. Then we had stopped for a picnic in a beautiful mixed deciduous and conifer forest. I was leading ten of my students from a privately run high school back to our camp in the wilds of Michigan . Allen pulled me aside and said, "I want to share something with the group but I am terrified to bring it out in the open. On the other hand I am just as scared to keep it hidden inside of me any more." I told Allen that I could appreciate his dilemma and that only he could decide how to take care of himself. I also told him that I thought the group was ready and willing to be accepting and provide the support and confidentiality he needed. I supported his feeling that keeping bad memories a secret was harmful to our bodies, minds and spirits. I also mentioned that I suspected that others in this group of friends also had some deep secrets they would like to share and were waiting for someone to lead the way. At this point, Allen looked into my eyes and said,"I'm going for it."

Nature led us to a bridge that crossed a small stream. I asked the group to stop. I told them that Allen had something very important to share with us and my sense was that Allen was about to place an incredible amount of trust in us by making himself extremely vulnerable.

Allen slowly and painfully disclosed his sexual abuse by an uncle. These events destroyed not only his relationship with his uncle, but also with his grandfather, who had been a father to him in the way his biological father never had. The rest of the group listened in silence and then gathered around to show and speak their support of Allen. Not surprisingly, by the time we left that bridge two hours later, four more students had revealed their heart-wrenching secrets of sexual and physical abuse. As each secret was bathed in the light of day, the young people embraced each other with deep caring and understanding. At one point, a beautiful monarch butterfly flew all around the circle and perched right on my head long enough for all to see. The immense heaviness that was lifted from us on that bridge felt as if we were coming out of our cocoons to be transformed. We seemed to float on air back to our camp.

That evening I watched my students turn into young, happy, carefree children as they created the most awesome water fight I had ever witnessed. As I surveyed the scene, tears streamed down my face. I knew the playfulness was a result of the cleansing that had taken place on the bridge. I asked myself, 'What had brought these magnificent young people to this moment - a moment none of us would forget - a moment that could potentially change each of us forever?' "

Assignment: Add a Webstring Sensory Attraction (WSA) name and number to each webstring you find in the same three paragraphs in this box. Then check further below to see how what you locate coincides with others who have done this important translation exercise. The more you increase you skills in this new brain webstring identification process, the more you increase your ability to consciously improve and understand relationships. It is critical in validating the Natural System Thinking Process. Let us take the model and try to make some webstring sense of what happened there. " That morning, we had visited four very diverse habitats. We explored a large wetland, a meadow and a forest of old growth Douglas Firs. Then we had stopped for a picnic in a beautiful mixed deciduous and conifer forest. I was leading ten of my students from an alternative high school back to our camp in the wilds of Michigan. Allen pulled me aside and said, ìI want to share something with the group but I am terrified to bring it out in the open. On the other hand I am just as scared to keep it hidden inside of me any more.î I told Allen that I could appreciate his dilemma and that only he could decide how to take care of himself. I also told him that I thought the group was ready and willing to be accepting and provide the support and confidentiality he needed. I supported his feeling that keeping bad memories a secret was harmful to our bodies, minds and spirits. I also mentioned that I suspected that others in this group of friends also had some deep secrets they would like to share and were waiting for someone to lead the way. At this point, Allen looked into my eyes and said, 'I'm going for it.' When Allen first stopped me, he seemed to be deeply immersed in his senses of pain and stress. I also suspected, from my own experiences with revealing dark secrets, that he was experiencing a fear of death. Bringing up buried secrets easily gives rise to this sense, because we often believe that the secret is stronger than we are and if we let it out of its hiding place, we will be consumed by it. Also, we may spend so much energy keeping the secret hidden that hiding becomes who we are. Allen also expressed a sense of impending metamorphosis. This is the sense of the caterpillar, as it readies itself to transform into a butterfly. Allen chose to become a butterfly rather than to stay in his cocoon. What had given him the courage to take this incredible step? In order for Allen to be willing to descend into the dark pit of his past trauma, he needed a lifeline so that he could find his way back. It seemed obvious that he saw the group of young people surrounding him on the bridge as that lifeline. He had a sense of safety because he believed that these friends were focused enough to be there for him. Also, Allen must have found within himself a strong confidence in his power to be able to survive such a task. He had to have the strength to hold on to his lifeline. Somehow Allen had found a strong sense of trust and community as well as a powerful sense of self. The next question is 'Where did these senses come from?" And then, 'How did they get so strong?' "

Supporting and strengthening "at risk" students through webstring connections

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name
- Confucius

Below is a sample of converting the above experience into webstrings to demonstrate how contact with nature is a valid therapy since it energizes as many as 53 Webstring Sensory Attractions (WSA) into consciousness where reason can review stories that block sens-ible information from our thinking.

" Let us take this webstring attraction model to the bridge and try to make some 'sense' of what happened there. Making sense in this case means having our WSA of reason (Webstrings Sensory Attraction #42) combine with our WSA #43 of consciousness in order to bring other attracted webstrings onto the screen of consciousness. Reason then consciously permits the WSA #31 of time to let many webstrings meld their information with each other into a multisensory balanced conscious consensus. The WSA #43 of consciousness registers this consensus as rational thought. Reason (WSA #42) then permits our WSA #39 of verbal language speak or write it.

That morning, the WSA of reason had drawn us to visit four very diverse habitats (4 places where WSA balances were quite different from each other.) We explored a large wetland, a meadow and a forest of old growth Douglas Firs. (WSA Reason #42 encouraged many of our different webstrings to connect with and register the four different life communities.) Then heeding the WSA #21 of hunger, we had stopped for a picnic in a beautiful (WSA #45) mixed deciduous and conifer forest. I was leading (WSA of nurturing#, community#, place#, reason#, place#, mental anguish#, ) ten of my students from an alternative high school back to our camp in the wilds (place where WSA are free to connect with their origins in the web of life and be nurtured) of Washington State. Allen pulled me aside and said, ìI want to share something with the group (WSA of community#, language#, trust#) but I am terrified to bring it out in the open(WSA of reason and language squelchs WSA of time thereby triggering WSA of fear and mental anguish). On the other hand I am just as scared to keep it hidden inside of me any more (WSA of community#, trust#, nurturing# being missing engages WSA of fear #). I told Allen that I could appreciate his dilemma (WSA of empathy#) and that only he could decide (WSAof reason#) how to take care of himself. I also told him that I thought the group was ready and willing to be accepting and provide the support and confidentiality he needed (WSA of reason#, trust#, community#, belonging#, play#).

When Allen first stopped me, he seemed to be deeply immersed in his senses of pain and stress (WSA mental anguish). I also suspected, from my own experiences with revealing dark secrets, that he was experiencing a fear of death(WSA fear of death ie attraction to life). Bringing up buried secrets (WSA attraction to being nurtured plus WSA rejection story) easily gives rise to this sense, because we often believe that the secret is stronger than we are and if we let it out of its hiding place, we will be consumed by it. Also, we may spend so much energy keeping the secret hidden (WSA verbal story) that hiding becomes who we are. Allen also expressed a sense of impending metamorphosis (WSA metamorphosis immenant change). This is the sense of the caterpillar, as it readies itself to transform into a butterfly. Allen chose to become a butterfly rather than to stay in his cocoon (attracted by WSA nurturing, community, safety-place). What had given him the courage to take this incredible step?

In order for Allen to be willing to descend into the dark pit of his past trauma, he needed a lifeline so that he could find his way back(WSA community, nurturing, place, time). It seemed obvious that he saw the group of young people surrounding him on the bridge as that lifeline(WSA community, trust place.) He had a sense of safety because he believed that these friends were focused enough to be there for him. Also, Allen must have found within himself a strong confidence in his power to be able to survive such a task (WSA consciousness). He had to have the strength to hold on to his lifeline (WSA reason, place,). Somehow Allen had found a strong sense of trust and community as well as a powerful sense of self.