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HELP CREATE A REGENERATIVE SUB-CULTURE:EMPOWER YOURSELF TO FURTHER WALK YOUR TALK
Become a holistic force for personal, social and environmental health and learning.
Learn and teach enabling nature sensitivity activities that help people transform the hurtful ways of industrial society into constructive relationships.
Grant-funded, alternative courses, career training and holistic jobs and degree programs online for sustainable personal and environmental health.
"Most of our populace and all of our leaders are participating in a mass hallucinatory fantasy in which:
- the megatons of waste we dump in our rivers and bays are not poisoning the water, our body or our spirit.
- the hydrocarbons we pump into the air are not changing the climate or deteriorating our health.
- overfishing is not depleting the oceans, over-consumption does not hurt the environment.
- living separately from nature's grace and restorative powers does not reduce our resilience or create dysfunctions.
- fossil fuels will never run out, our fossilized thinking will produce social justice.
- Our natural senses and feelings are not part of the way natural systems work.
- wars that kill masses of civilians are an appropriate way to keep our hands on what's left, and to keep alive the half-truths we believe.
- we are not desperately overdrawn at the environmental or emotional bank,
- sensory activities that connect our thinking to nature's ways don't help us don't help us increase our well being,,
- and really, although by age seven our kids emotionally bond to this frightening mass hallucination and we have to put them on calming drugs, they are all right."
..........- Barbara Kingsolver.(edited)
"The human need for nature is linked not just to the material exploitation of the environment but also to the influence of the natural world on our emotional, cognitive, aesthetic, and even spiritual development."
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- Edward O. Wilson
Harvard University Pulitzer Prize Recipient (To the American Psychological Association National Convention)
PART ONE
FOUR FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS
What is nature?
Nature is an attraction energy growth process in which natural systems use attractions to organize, correct, preserve and regenerate themselves. Through this process nature produces optimums of life, balance, cooperation and diversity without producing garbage and with minimal abuse, stress and dysfunction..
What are natural systems?
Natural systems are the self-organization of natural attractions into more stable, mutually beneficial life-supportive relationships..
What do all things and life have in common?
They all consist of and are part of natural systems..
Can anything be part of a system and not be in some kind of communication with that system?
No, with one exception
PART TWO
OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND SENSORY NATURE RELATIONSHIPS
The percentage of our lifetime that natural systems try to nurture and heal people physically, emotionally and spiritually, as they do for all of nature.
.....100%The average percentage of a contemporary citizen's lifetime that is spent indoors, separated from the supportive wholeness, balance and restorative powers of nature and its systems.
.....95%The average number of developmental hours in nature-disconnected indoor study that are required to obtain cultural literacy and a high school diploma.
.....18,000 hoursThe average number of outdoor hours studying natural systems in people and places that are required for a high school diploma:
.....0The average percentage of a contemporary citizen's thinking that is separated from and not in tune with natural systems within and about them:
.....99.9%The average number of hours in a sixty year lifetime that our thinking is connected to nature-disconnected cultural stories.
.....540,000On average, the number of hours in a total sixty year lifetime that our thinking may be in tune with nature.
.....11.6 hours.Terms used to describe the results of industrial society's extreme estrangement from nature and the natural:
....."prejudice against nature"
....."nature bigotry"
....."bewildered "(wilderness-separated)Terms used to describe the type of estrangement industrial society has from natural systems:
....."addictive"
....."emotionally bonded"
....."habitually conditioned"
....".brainwashed"Terms used to describe industrial society's relationship with nature and its systems:
....."exploitive"
....."conquering"
....."abusive"The estimated percentage of the U.S. population who have had at least one beneficial or feel-good experience in nature.
.....99%The percentage of the U.S. population who at some level recognize that we are part of nature, that our basic ability to think, sense and feel is part of our inborn inheritance from nature.
.....95%The estimated percentage of the U.S. population who at some level recognize that the separation of our mind from the wholeness and powers of natural systems leaves us with a mental void as well as frustrated or disturbed thoughts and feelings.
.....95%The percentage of the U.S. population who learn to disregard good experiences with natural systems as an essential part of their path to well being.
.....99%The percentage of U.S. population who have used nature-connected education and counseling and have enjoyed an increase in their well being (Visit this study).
.....95%The percentage of Americans who agree with this observation made by Al Gore and many others:
"We are dysfunctional socially and environmentally because we are cut off and isolated from the world of nature and the natural."
.....percentage unknown
The percentage of Americans who agree with the following observation made by Gregory Bateson and many others:
"Our greatest problems result from the difference between how people think and how nature works."
.....percentage unknown
CONCLUSION
As planetary citizens, our omission of the ways and wisdom of natural systems from our thinking is similar to removing from our mind our ability to reason, learn and communicate in words and numbers. Both omissions render us sub-intelligent. However, prejudiciously, we accept the former as "normal" and reject the latter as "outrageous stupidity."
In other words, our estrangement from nature produces vast problems and half-vast ways of solving them.
Act now: books, courses, degrees, grants, recovery, self-help
PART THREE
....................................................................................... The Myth of Gulliver's Troubles Like the limiting effects of the farmer's color blindness, our excessively indoor society numbs our senses, thinking and feeling with regard to natural systems within and about us. In this way, contemporary people are no different than the fabled Leadership and Wisdom Council of an island society that consisted entirely of non-sighted people, including the council members. Citizens on that island were content and adequate in their uniquely adapted ways, even though a disease optically numbed each person into blindness during the first year of their life. One day, Gulliver, a shipwrecked castaway, half-dead, washed up on the island. Compassionately, many community members of the blind society nurtured him to full recovery. Then he became the aggravating bane of their existence. He constantly nagged for things that were reasonable to him but unknown to the islanders in their blindness: windows, lights, books, television, painted colors and sunglasses. Upon due consideration, the Leadership and Wisdom Council discovered Gulliver's trouble. Gulliver had eyes that could see. During their profound considerations, the Council solved the problem; they removed Gulliver's sight. They surgically numbed his optical nerves so his life became similar to their own. To the delight of the island, Gulliver became less of a problem. With sadness, Gulliver adjusted to his loss of sight and his emotional hurt when he thought about the removal of its delights from his life. One day Gulliver accidently noticed that when he visited natural areas a few of his senses and sensitivities became stronger; they more energetically registered in his awareness. He seemed to be able to hear better, feel more relaxed, joyfully smell color and touch beauty. This was similar to the renewal anybody today experiences from a refreshing walk in the park or along a beach. Gulliver's discovery invigorated him; it sharpened his thinking as he became more sensitive. Over time, Gulliver scientifically developed a true nature-connecting art. It consisted of a series of safe, sensory self-help activities that created contact moments in which he could let natural systems reach into his mind and heart and strengthen his integrity as part of strengthening themselves. Otherwise, without the activities, his mind often drifted to social issues while he was in a natural area. As he improved his activity process, he increased his contact with the true grace, balance and restorative mental health powers of nature within and around him. Slowly his eyesight un-numbed and returned. Gulliver told his blind friends about his new safe connections with nature, sharing with them his delight in boosting his sensitivity and general well-being. However, when they and the community organization center learned that this connection was bringing back his sight, they became angry and alarmed. He had gone against their thinking, their authority, will and law; he might again become a nuisance. It was as if Gulliver had committed a illicit act or become a dangerous offender. He was fined and served jail time, all to no avail, for he continued his nature-contact explorations, as was his right under island law. Cautiously, with education, some islanders learned and used Gulliver's self-help nature-connecting process. They noticed that they did not become a nuiscance, rather they thrilled to its safe, holistic benefits and taught others how to gain its rewards. As additional members of the island community increased their sightedness and health, they felt and acted in thankful ways that further supported nature and its systems. In time activities were developed for use by the newborn and this often reduced or prevented "normal" childhood blindness. With gratitude and thoughtful passion the islanders became protective of natural areas. Consciously, unashamedly they expressed their love for nature within and around them and celebrated being it.
Act now: books, courses, degrees, grants, recovery, self-help
PART FOUR The Myth and the Parallel Industrial society blinds us from seeing that the birth of our life is a momentous gift from the natural systems of Earth's global community. On our first real birth day, together, all members of nature's plant, animal and mineral kingdoms "love" us so much that they are attracted to physically and spiritually become us. They supportively flow their eons of balancing life attractions, wisdom and experience through us. In time, they birth us out of our human mother and into the more supportive and universal womb of Mother Nature, so that, as part of the natural attraction process, we help support all of life as it helps support us. We are born as contributing planetary citizens with unique attraction contributions. We are also born as equals; every other member of the global life community has the same natural origins. Almost completely separated from nature, our mentality suffers a nature-defecit of great magnitude with respect to the natural systems that flow through and around us. To our loss, the nature-exploitive demands of industrial society require that our consciousness disconnect from the systems that help form and nurture our awareness. We no longer think or benefit from the balanced ways and wisdom of nature's perfection, even though we are born with it and as it. We have been blinded to nature and the natural, like Gulliver's Leadership Council was blind to the value of his sightedness. For example, we are blind to the fact that the love we have for our pets, and they for us, is the normal way their natural community works. When we "tame" them, what we really do is teach them to trust us and accept us as one of them. They welcome us into the unifying attraction way they would ordinarily live their natural system lives. When we are with them, we sense and feel our loving origins in action. Our nature-disconnected thinking rejects the scenario, above, until we ask ourselves "If nature is so horrible, why are our pets so attracted to it that we must keep them leashed or caged? Is there a greater love out there?" Most nature-connected people(s) say "Yes." These people seldom cause or suffer our major problems. The reason we exploit natural systems is to fill the hurt and wants that arise because we have excessively removed nature's deeply satisfying attraction ways from our lives. Our participation in Earth's natural attraction community is replaced by our excessively indoor lives. Our leadership rewards us for learning this bad habit. It is civilized, progress and good economics for us to lose the unity of natural community and become competitors in the business community or science, art, education or sports community. Because we become wanting, we can always be sold something. Money replaces the natural attraction love that gives life its quality. A side effect, however, is that our whole-thinking abilities deteriorate. We grow up absurd, we can't think correctly with regard to natural systems. By placing 99 percent of our thinking out of contact with nature, natural systems and senses appear as dangerous foreigners to be feared and conquered, not embraced. Can you see why so many experts over the centuries say that our dysfunctions result from the loss of nature and the natural in our mind, heart and spirit? Do you see value of bringing nature back into our thinking, of not trusting leaders who are nature-disconnected, (and that's most of them)
To reverse our dilemma, we must provide continual support for learning how to enjoy the happiness of co-creating with natural systems. To this end I have formed a sub-cultural holistic self-help community that I call Natural Attraction. Anybody may enjoy it and help it achieve its goals by adding it to their life and thinking. The unique power of the Natural Attraction sub-culture is that it enables interested people anywhere to learn how to genuinely reconnect with intact natural systems and accomplish what Gulliver accomplished. Dedicated people and whole thinking, not nature-disconnected stories, lead, teach and mentor in Natural Attraction. Natural Attraction folks commit to introducing, whenever possible, nature-connection tools that help people transform dysfunctional thinking into constructive relationships and increased mental health. The holistic tools empower those of us who want to live sanely to walk our talk. We dedicate ourselves to help folks who are attracted to personal and global sanity benefit from learning to use the nature-connecting tools. Although over 130 nature-connection tools are readily available, only expertise in two of them is necessary to be Natural Attraction. As we learn how to use and invoke these two, we simultaneously join others doing the same. To remain part of Natural Attraction, it is taboo not to invoke these two tools when the opportunity arises. The rationale of Natural Attraction is like any sub-culture: "My extraction is Natural Attraction." "I am of Natural Attraction." Anybody can add Natural Attraction to any aspect of industrial society because that's how natural attraction works. It's attractive so it rewards those involved. And it's not necessarily new age, rather it's definately age old. Natural Attraction folks look forward to playing the role of Gulliver. We educate others how to beneficially connect with nature and enjoy personal and environmental rewards. We find the answers that we seek because they are "blowing in the wind." With our enabling tools we help each other discover and apply them.
Option: Read
true stories that parallel Gulliver's demise and recovery.
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PART FIVE:
........................................................................................ PURPOSE: To learn how to become part of Natural Attraction, a subculture that dedicates itself to increase the well being of people and natural systems. OBJECT: To become a walking human catalyst that enables any part of industrial society to begin to add the grace, balance and restorative powers of natural systems to its thinking and relationships. METHOD: Thoroughly engage in and learn to use and teach the two nature-contact steps listed below. Master their contribution to nature-connected thinking and relating.
INTRODUCTION (optional). Read this short article and visit its links if you feel you want further knowledge about the how and why of these two steps:
BECOME PART OF NATURAL ATTRACTION: Visit the "I Am Natural Attraction" page and sign up there to participate in the Natural Attraction Affinity Group. The group's purpose is to help you increase your ability to be a good citizen of the Natural Attraction subculture.
QUESTION: Our great problems arise because our thinking is locked in a nature-prejudiced strong box that it can't think its way out of. This prevents our thinking from making contact with nature's wisdom to help it increase enviromentally sound mental health and other relationships. Don't we need to participate in a vibrant holistic nature-connecting community organization if we are to help ourselves transform our society's disconnection from and prejudice against nature into constructive relationships? Can we expect to resolve our disconnection problems by using the same boxed-in methods and thinking that causes them?
Improve, Strengthen and Increase your Natural Attraction Competency and Skills. Natural Attraction uses two of the 130 nature-connecting organic psychology activities found in the books and courses of Project NatureConnect. The best way to become more proficient in the process is to take the accredited, funded, online, 15 activity, Orientation Course: "Psychological Elements of Global Citizenship." Many additional educating and counseling with nature training opportunities are also available. See our homepage. Appropriate Action? What do you think about this idea?
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 Readily available, online, natural science sensory tools for the health of person, planet and spirit 360-378-6313 <email> www.ecopsych.com ORGANIC ADVANCED ECOPSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION The Natural Systems Thinking Process Dr. Michael J. Cohen, Director send email
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