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PROGRAM OUTCOMES:
XXXXX an online program participant,
shares his results from a nature-connecting activity.
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I DISCOVER A MEASURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS THROUGOUT THE FIT BODY
I went to the same area as
I used for this activity, just outside the office. From there,
you can see the broad sweep of the mountains, the birch trees
close by, the wind blowing through the trees, shrubs and grasses.
It is a windy evening, perfect for playing with air! I read the
quote to the area: "There is a measure of conscious thought
throughout the body". I really felt, as I had a grand
view of a wide area, that there is a measure of conscious thought
throughout the body of the Earth. The webstrings/senses are the
Earth's consciousness. And I share that in my own body. The symbol
that goes with the quote, I found very powerful. Like the Mimbres
design, I sense a deep interconnection of all things; all natural
entities are reflected in and through each other.
As a former wildlife biologist,
and now a budding natural systems thinker/ecopsychologist, I
could relate to what "Dr. Blake" was saying. In northern
Canada where I live, one of the last "frontiers" (frontier
is a Western concept; to the First Nations indigenous peoples
here, this is their homeland, not a frontier), the same process
as what happened to the plains bison is happening here. Diamond
mines and their access roads have torn up the tundra, climate
change is pushing polar bears to the brink of extinction (and
they still hunt polar bears for sport!), environmental regulations
are loosening up instead of becoming more stringent. It seems
we have learned nothing. Such is the power of addiction.
When I think back to my undergraduate
education in Fish & Wildlife Biology, I realize how nature
(we were essentially studying the natural world) was compartmentalized
into many different subject areas, all supposedly separate from
each other: Mammalogy, Ornithology, Plant Taxonomy, Vertebrate
Anatomy, etc. etc. Nowhere did I learn anything about how it
all fits together into a beautiful, perfectly functioning whole
(when left alone by tampering humans, that is).
Secrets
of Nature Trail & Game is
a tremendous introductory learning exercise for anyone! I will
highlight just a few things that stood out for me:
"Air supports our ability
to live and feel". This
fact is completely overlooked by most people (I suspect) and
certainly by our culture. After this trail I have a renewed appreciation
for air and my connection to it.
"It is reasonable for
us and the environment to breathe together, to co-operatively
connect. That loving relationship helps support and sustain all
life. That's why it is intelligent, right and feels good".
My healthy sense of reason agrees!
I really feel that this work
(and play) we do - Reconnecting with Nature - will become the
foundation for a new society. It has to, if we and all of life
are to survive. As emphasized throughout this chapter, the choice
is ours - every day.
I agree strongly with Station
7: Words are our Destiny. Because we are wired to tell
a story in language, we have to be very careful what stories
we tell ourselves (nature-connected or disconnected stories).
As the breath-holding activity indicates, nature-disconnected
stories can be quite painful and life-denying.
The chapter reinforced for
me that one of the rewards for connecting with nature is simply,
feeling good! These rewards far outweigh the cultural rewards
and validation I have unconsciously sought in my life. The rewards
for connecting with nature are also free.
Act now.
Master Organic
Psychology by doing it.
Explore it from our homepage
Read
Additional Student Reports
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Contact us at 360-378-6313 mailto:nature@interisland.net,
http://www.ecopsych.com
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