Natural
Systems Thinking Process Course Evaluation
Michael C.
LaFerney
This course was cognitively stimulating because of the readings,
but it is the group interaction and exercises that makes it so
attractive. One reads about NSTP and applies it through the exercises.
It pertains to so many disciplines: Psychology, Counseling, the
sciences as biology, ecology and environmental\studies, religion
or spiritual studies and the Arts-Poetry, Creative Writing etc.
that it could be included in almost all academic programs.
This course brings people together and has implications for the
vast population in that it has so many benefits. These include
health, mental health, peace, helps keep personal relationships
in balance, preserves the environment, unifies and creates connection
with others. It helps us in our interpersonal and internal issues
to problem solve better and promotes social interest. It helps
remove the negative parts to our psyche. It allows us to use
senses we never knew we had, or forgot we had to reconnect with
nature.Decreases crime, allows people to know each other better,
decreases drug and alcohol addiction. Eliminating these maladies
would bring relief to families and society as a whole. would
aid in eliminating prejudice by focusing on common connections.
Global Citizen
Psychology
Michael C.
LaFerney
Psychology
as an academic and clinical discipline has never lived up to
its potential. The field of Social Psychology has especially
disappointing. Although we have learned about conformity, cognitive
dissonance, group behavior, and other areas of interest in studies
of large groups there has been little effect in developing technologies
or ideas that could solve many of the world's problems. War,
famine, poverty, mental illness, health problems and the declining
environment are more existent than ever before.
Clinical and Counseling Psychology have contributed much to our
understanding of human psychopathology and behavior if you believe
the therapists and counselors whose livelihood depends on our
being "sick" Yet mental illness is as prevalent as
ever and acts of insanity (terrorism toward our fellow human
beings etc) seem to occur every day. The advent of new drugs
has been a boom for the drug companies. Yet they are expensive
with many side effects, rarely "cure" the mental illness,
and the incidence of depression in our world continues to grow.(2)
Experimental Psychologists, especially those who work with animal
behavior, would state they have learned much about animal behavior
through their experiments and observation. Yet a cage is not
a natural environment for an animal -life within a cage may be
all the psychologist or animal knows. Many of these experiments
are "controlled" in the lab with little if any real
natural surrounding. Unlike human research subjects animals do
not sign "consent forms". They have not given permission
to be there. Can we really accept these findings as applicable
to human life given the unnatural state they are researched in?
Why has Psychology
failed?. Could it be that in spite of all the research done in
the area of perception and sensation by Psychology it emphasizes
mostly the faculties of sight, reason, and language in its study
and practice? Could it be that by limiting itself to these senses
and the "stories, of those psychologists and researchers
who came under Upton Sinclair's observation: "It is difficult
to get people to understand something when their salary depends
upon them not understanding it."(3) How can they "heal"
us when they suffer from the same NAD (Natural Attractions Disconnect
)as we do ?
What then is
to be the future of Psychology in the treatment of human disease
and global social problems?(1) The future is now. Michael Cohen's
NSTP (Natural Systems Training Process) may be the psychological
process that finally lives up to its potential.
This process uses what many psychological processes fail to use-all
our innate senses (53 and growing)in a way that promotes respect
for the environment, creatures, our fellow human beings and ourselves.
Unlike psychotherapy and drug therapy it is not expensive and
can be easily learned. It is applicable on a global scale -allowing
people of all cultures to connect. It is grounded in not only
psychology but also the disciplines of biology, religion and
spiritual studies, science, and the arts. How is this process
taught? If you can read, hear, use the internet or breath you
can learn it. I recently participated in the 5 week internet
based course called ECO 500 Elements of Global Citizenship (that
is found in the book The Web of Life Imperative):
The Science of Connecting With
the Web of Life
The Art
of Thinking With Nature.
I will describe that process that the course participants took
and the change from Natural Attraction Disconnect thinking to
Reconnected Natural thinking that I observed. The e-mail based
participants were located in various places around the globe.
These included China, Brazil, Korea and the United States.
The basic process
in the course consisted of readings, experiments, exercises to
be done in a natural environment, and feedback sent among the
students to describe what they did and felt .These were expressed
as Thoughtful Verbalizations.
There were
different reasons people had for learning this process. They
included wanting college credit, wanting to be a peace mediator
and for individual growth. All were interested in the process
but 2 participants out of 4 did express some healthy skepticism
at the beginning -given the wide myriad of social and individual
maladies this process claims to help. As one participant proclaimed
she must "overcome my distrust of sensory experiences as
the sources of knowledge of self and the real world."
There was education
in the area of sensory bias -showing us how the perceptual observations
of traditional psychologists are often based on faulty thinking.
There was education in how and why this process works. Yet these
readings would be meaningless unless we had a way to validate
them through our own experiences. Traditional psychotherapy has
relied basically on 2 senses-cognition and feeling. Psychotherapy
is essentially a verbal process. Although silence can be used
as a therapeutic tool rarely are any other senses utilized.
The process undertaken involved going to a natural area, identifying
what was attractive to you, asking permission to be there and
share in the interaction. One was to reconnect with nature and
sense the intelligence.Through a process called webstrings these
connections were shared with others -meant to inspire. As we
feel the positives of nature and realize these natural attractions
also exist in us we have improved self-esteem and respect for
ourselves, others, and our environment.
Did it work? Here are some quotes from students describing their
experiences and observations.
Marcia: "Since
ours first days we are induced to do things not to learn and
develop ourselves but to be rewarded with familiar approval,
social recognizing, and even to reward the others (like parents).
I guess the destiny of all human being has been largely ( and
badly) influenced by how we have learned to separate from nature
and its values, because the consequences are in front of ours"
Madelyn: "most important things I learned were that words
run my life way too much; that the nonverbal world is primary"
Revalyn: "Non-verbal experiences have as much meaning and
validity as verbalized, rationalized ones"
These statements
indicate that through the exercises experienced an awareness
of NAD was developed. The stories and words were seen as too
prevalent in their lives-more sensory contact with nature was
needed.
Was self esteem (positive feeling about self) and concern for
others and nature developed or enhanced? Observations:
Revalyn: "I did not want to rationalize too much, I did
not want reason to detract from the satisfaction and good feeling
the activity left within me."
"It seems to me that I went through consent, contact, feeling,
trust, and recognition of my ability to experience pleasant and
meaningful sensory experiences."
Jackie: "I
love me because I am imperfect but beautiful"
Madalyn: "The three most important things I learned from
the chapter were: don't let categories such as "dangerous"
and "safe" cloud the moment's sensibilities; begin
to believe in and perceive in terms of the larger entities of
natural community; begin to permit/encourage myself to get good
feelings from the earth more often. When I ask the other one's
permission to do anything I'm
really recognizing them as my equal, and expressing my respect
for them."
Were new senses aroused -were things seem in a new way? Were
new insights discovered?
Jackie: "Deep inside me a joy has awakened because I can
find myself having so much in common with a broken shell on the
shore."
Lastly was
there a global connection -concern for others world wide? A concern
for the environment?
Jackie
"I thought, I am a person who has seen what the "end
of the world" might look like - am someone who is grieving
for the loss of so much that is natural and loved in my immediate
world"
Revalyn: "Into my room of trust I have placed: global consciousness
as a search for unity of all endeavors and acceptance that webstrings
exist,that the unseen can exist and be felt, that the untouchable
can touch me. By feeling and responding to attractions in Nature,
we do not reject or run away from human relationships but learn
how to approach them in a more open, balanced way."
I observed growth in all participants. Participants were able
to experience new senses, find joy in things previously unnoticed,
share feelings with "strangers", recognize their disconnected
feelings and thoughts and change them, and relate in new ways
to their environment. An awareness of the world as one was evident.
As for my own experience I experienced a new awareness of things
once unnoticed, little things that brought me joy like an acorn
in a snow pool, felt relaxation and stress reduction, found value
in things once undervalued (the influence of pets, plants, and
nature in general), felt new senses and a connection and concern
for the other participants and our world. A world terribly disconnected
from nature -destroying its self in the name of Peace. I don't
think Traditional Psychotherapy could have done that in 5 weeks!
So in summary, the promise of Psychology to truly help others
is here. Individually and globally. Sound too good to be true?
I invite you to decide for yourself. Remember the writing in
this paper is made up of words. We are aware of the individual
letters intellectually, but not in sensory way. To truly understand
NSTP you must experience it-not just read about it! (By the way
I was one of the 2 students who voiced skepticism at the beginning
of the course!) If you want to experience this process go to
the website www.ecopsych.com. You will find that you (and the
Earth) will be glad you did!
(1)"Psychology's Dilemma-
http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa042400c.htm
(2)Author: Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH ,Medical Writer: Nancy Russ Addressing
Both the Emotional and Physical Symptoms in Depression
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450695
(3]Elements of Global Citizenship:
The Science of Connecting With the Web of Life
The Art of Thinking With Nature. -www.ecopsych.com
(4)Cohen, Michael J. Reconnecting With Nature, Ecopress 1997
