 . Web Site Navigation Project
NatureConnect: Introduction Education Information Validation Contacts  |
|
|
|
'
|
Project NatureConnect |
The Value and Outcomes of Nature-Connected Experiences.
Return to first page of this series
Profound Listening
"A small group of people gather in a park by a river. The cottonwood trees sway in the wind and brightly coloured leaves are everywhere on this crisp autumn afternoon. The group includes a woman recovering from chemotherapy and a man recovering from a stroke, a poet, a community activist, a First Nations musician, a secretary, a mental health professional, and a naturalist.
I give a brief talk based on change and impermanence in nature from chapter of "Reconnecting with Nature" by Dr. Michael J. Cohen and then explain today's activity. We silently separate, asking permission to learn from nature. Some sit by the river and meditate on the flowing current and standing waves, others move into the woods and consider the trees and falling leaves.
After about 20 minutes we gather together again and share our experiences and impressions. The talk is profound and the listening is respectful. Everyone's experience was different, but everyone's was the same, too. We say goodbye and return to our separate lives, feeling safer and happier and more connected than when we arrived.
I learned to share my connection to nature in this way through online courses with Dr. Cohen's Project Nature Connect. The process was the same in the internet courses as in these nature meditations. We read a chapter in a book, spent some quiet time doing an activity in nature, and then shared our experiences via email. As we repeat these brief sessions Cohen's Natural Systems Thinking Process helps people re-establish their connection with nature and learn to live more enriched and connected lives. Dr. Cohen's work has made a significant and enduring contribution to my life and to the lives of many other members of my community."
John Scull <jscull@ISLAND.NET>
I view clinical ecopsychology in general and the Natural Systems Thinking
Process in particular as valuable tools in therapy. In this respect they are
like exercise, socialization, relaxation/meditation, journal-writing, and other
aspects of a psychologically healthy lifestyle. Regular mindful connection with
nature (including the nature in ourselves and in other people) helps us to
function in the world in ways that are more compassionate, balanced, and
satisfying. It gives us tools for facing life's problems, but it doesn't
necessarily solve them.
I took some time pondering the question of whether I would agree with the statement "I sense and feel, therefore I am. I'm more attuned through conditioning to accept "I think, therefore I am. I finally realized that sensing and feeling are indicators that I am conscious; they are allies of intelligence. My mind has the capacity to quantify or qualify what I sense and feel according to preprogrammed standards. This is both helpful or harmful, depending on the authorities whose stories place meaning on the world can determine how and what you perceive. I am realizing that my mind, as well as a host of preconceived ideas and cultural standards, are ruling my life. I seldom allow my senses or feelings to teach me. My mind usually dispenses with them as useless, not acknowledging them as truth. I see that I am limiting myself by allowing this to happen. And, I think when people in general do the same thing, we are capable of destroying environments and civilizations.
Robert L.
Quiet Attention
"I took a question into my nature meditation today, asking about any other lessons I could include in my Earth Day presentation in a couple of weeks. After I asked I became very still and quiet, waiting to perceive if there would be any response from nature that would attract and guide me. Then after a few moments, I realized that the gift I was receiving was the 'stillness of
waiting' itself, the experience of calming down of my body and mind in the process of quiet attention to the natural world while I sat there. This was a good reminder of how slowing down and resting in Nature's rhythms, our deepest inner rhythms, can bring feelings of well-being."Mark Brody <Markbrody@aol.com>
I went out to run this morning and, feeling tired, decided to walk, instead. It was very quiet, being Saturday and early. There was no traffic, no one else in sight, no wind. Just an incredible stillness. I put myself into the moment, to just fill my senses with the magic and beauty of nature around me. I am so profoundly grateful that I have learned how to consciously connect and be present with NIAL. Yes, it makes sense for me to feel peace and happiness. Since starting my NTSP work, I have lost an nagging sense of some missing piece that would be the ultimate source of happiness. Nothing much has changed around me, but I don,t feel that unease and yearning. Yes, it makes sense for people to feel a global local personal unity. This is just what I am describing. I feel more connected to myself, to my family and friends, to my community and a sense of responsibility to the whole planet. So yes, it makes sense to experience nature's essence and no it does not make sense to support wranglers and the war against nature. So, I will do my best to increase my awareness of how to do soMore and more, I am finding ways to incorporate NTSP into my therapy work. My long-term goal is to move my office to the middle of lots of land, so I can take clients outside to do the bulk of the therapy. I want to identify myself as an eco-therapist, rather than a clinical social worker or psychotherapist. I have just made contact with two women who are building a retreat center, nearby. They have built a labyrinth, are offering Reiki classes and life-coaching. They have offered me the possibility of doing my workshops there and even more exciting, the opportunity to see clients out there one day a week. This would give me the chance to try it out, before having to make a financial commitment to buying a place of my own. I am thrilled about making this connection!
Slowly but surely, my life is starting to be centered around my connection with natural systems thinking process.
Cathy P.
What stands out about my solo hike up "Grotto Mountain" was the intensity of all my senses during the hike - it was like I was right at the edge of all things and taking in the full experience of my inner and outer nature at a much higher level than usual. I was seeing the magick of everything from the delicate lichen on the rocks, to the occasional hawk soaring overhead, the mischievious call of the ravens, and the pikas scrambling across the rocks. The air was pure, clean and fresh and the smell of the lodgepole pines and spruce are still with me as if it were yesterday. The colours, smells and textures are just as vivid today as they were on the hike.the only thing I can't seem to recall is the general temperature. The overall sense of connectedness and well being from the hike was profound: it was challenging in terms of route finding, altitude gain and being on my own. I also know that it was important for me to do this hike solo - at the time I was looking to assert my ability/desire to be in the wilderness by myself and reaching the top was a precious success. I would absolutely wish to repeat the heightened sensory elements of the experience.
Ingrid L.
"The more I was most natural, the more welcome I felt in nature. I became part of nature discovering both my capacity to hear and feel nature as it goes about its business and my capacity to hear and feel my own systems of breathing, sweating, cooling, hunger, and itching as I moved through grass, dust, shade, and water. . . . This process is one way to find the self."
Lynda Wheelwright Schmidt
The Long Shore: A Psychological Experience of the Wilderness
"This morning I drove to a park about five miles from my home. The trees are bare from a recent windstorm that helped the last of the leaves fly from their branches. My immediate reaction was that the forested areas looked "messy, with tangles of vines, dead leaves, and fallen branches. I felt prompted to photograph "ugly scenes. I shot a tangle of limbs and dead leaves from a tree that had fallen atop another. The camera shutter was slow, so I stared through the lens for 10 or 15 seconds. In that time, the ugly sight became intriguing, and I realized my perception was shifting. Messiness was becoming art. The lesson I received is that I have let my 5-leg perceptions determine a sense of order and beauty that has nothing to do with the beauty of nature. Nature is. We say it is beautiful or, in my case, ugly, based on artificial standards. However, it just is. As a photographic example for myself of the juxtaposition of 5-leg and 4-leg thinking, I shot a photo of a sign along a roadway in the park, blaring "Do Not Enter. It sums up my tendency to shut off, and often mistrust, my own nature, particularly my senses and feelings."
Susan W.
Share this website with a friend:
,
INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL EDUCATION Special NGO consultant United Nations Economic and Social Council
PROJECT NATURECONNECT
Readily available, online, natural science tools
for the health of person, planet and spiritP.O. Box 1605, Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360-378-6313 <email> www.ecopsych.com
ORGANIC ADVANCED ECOPSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION
The Natural Systems Thinking Process
Dr. Michael J. Cohen, Director
send email
All programs start with the Orientation Course contained in the book
The Web of Life Imperative.
.
