...
...
Accredited Nature-Connecting Holistic Health and Wellness Degree Courses On Line: Natural Attraction Ecology Career Education Personal and Professional Whole Life System Training Grants and Jobs.
Project NatureConnect
Institute of Global Education
Organic
Psychology Applied Ecopsychology Ecotherapy
Special
NGO Consultant, United Nations Economic and Social Council
Practical distance learning remedy reverses nature deficit disorder
Natural Attraction Ecology Field Reports
Ecocounseling: A Paradigm
Shift
Beginning
Applied Ecopsychology in Action
Applied Ecopsychology in Action
| SYNOPSIS: These quotable field reports describe outcomes of the funded sensory paradigm of Natural Attraction Ecology. They are a sample of the results obtained by engaging in its organic ecopsychology process to remedy nature deficit disorders and reduce stress. It is a science that helps us improve health wellness and counseling by enabling our thinking and feeling to safely connect their natural senses with the green spirit of nature's grace, balance and restorative powers. Participants benefit from and strengthen their inborn love of nature as they share and master ecotherapy activities that strengthen their personal and professional relationships in a good way. The reports are empirical evidence that demonstrates the contribution of our sensory connections with natural systems, in people and places, to increasing personal, social and environmental well being. NOTE: If you are looking for a quote on a specific topic, apply your finder to this page. Use the Project NatureConnect search engine to locate additional pages with similar information PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Educating Counseling and Healing With Nature Supportive Degrees, Career Training Courses and Jobs On Line Project NatureConnect offers nature-centered distant learning that enables you to add the benefits of nature-connecting methods and credentials to your degree program and/or your skills, interests and hobbies. We honor your prior training and life experience by providing grants and equivalent education credit for it. You may take accredited or professional CEU coursework and/or obtain a Nature-Connected Degree or Certificate in most disciplines or personal interests. A partial subject list is located at the bottom of this page.
FIELD REPORTS: on-line program participants share their results from doing the nature-connecting paradigm activities found in The Web of Life Imperative and Reconnecting With Nature books. (Continued from Educating, Counseling and Healing With Nature where "Webstrings" are identified as the natural attraction strands of the web-of-life that hold it as well as each of its individual members together) For additional reports visit our Search Engine and Survey of Participants Ecocounseling: A Paradigm Shift Beginning Les Bloomenstiel Institute of Global Education At the beginning of the 21st century counseling programs were still defining psychotherapy as a process of engagement between two persons, both of whom are bound to change through the therapeutic venture (Corey, 2001). Earlier, scholars of Human Ecology had further driven a wedge between humans and nature by devising their own discipline of Human Ecology separate from bioecology (Hawley, 1986). This Ecopsychology Orientation course has offered a new, natural counseling defined differently than that above. This paper describes how the course fosters paradigm shift toward effectively using nature in counseling. An educational, living paradigm shift is beginning. This is obviated by the relatively new “Green Movement” as well as by my anecdotal evidence for genuine client acceptance of nature activities during counseling sessions. I found important parts of the course supportive of this enhancement and reformation of traditional counseling theories. At minimum the following Ecopsychology principles are necessary for such a paradigm shift: 48 additional natural human senses, realization of webstring connectedness, Natural Systems Thinking Process, NIAL, networking with webstring oriented people, and responsible openness of heart, mind and senses (Cohen, 2007; Cohen, 2008). This course alerted me to recall that humans have evolved with earth, with and within the natural environment (Nebbe, 1991). Except for recent history, humans have lived in total contact with and as part of the nature. Nature functions by interconnectedness, growth, and survival. Hence, survival in humans is not coincidental: existence, growth, meaning, direction, and purpose influence our survival and our connection to nature (Hinkle, 1999). Cohen (1993) holds that stress, disorders and irresponsibility “arise from abandonment, real or remembered, causes by living closeted from nature” (p. 51) (Hinkle, 1999). In more recent times, separated and shielded from contact with nature, people grapple for ways to fill emptiness left by lack of experiential nature contact (Nebbe, 1991). People of America live indoors more than 95% of the time (Hinkle, 1999). The result has been a “closeted consciousness” which assumes indoor living best copes with life and world. Cohen (1993) finds that personal, interpersonal, and environmental problems occur because of differences between natural and indoor programming (Hinkle, 1999). Children grow up learning about life from what they observe (Nebbe, 1991). Most have had to observe contrived life experiences on a screen [indoors], transmitted by flickering lights and carefully selected by someone else (Nebbe, 1991). Bookshelves are filled with information about nature and information about humans. However, according to Ian McHarg (1969), “There is still only a small shelf of books that deal with man’s relation to his environment as a whole” (Nebbe, 1991). This Orientation course and associated works are stimulating interest in ‘how-to” information and books. Recently, I received an email from a counselor in Holland who is writing a book in Dutch about using nature in counseling. Had I not grown in openness through this course work, the counselor would not have known of me, nor started our ongoing discourse about references for her upcoming book. Other indicators of my growth outcome from the coursework are my responses to questions on pages 20-22 in the Course Description Section of Dr. Cohen’s (2003) text book The Web of Life Imperative. Pre-course, I could not intelligently answer a third of the questions. Post-course, I can confidently answer all of the questions as well as effectively relate the information to others. Interact Group participants’ statements illustrate how the course helps people become involved with ways of thinking and relating that benefit earth and humans. Generally we all pledged to do more to limit personal amounts of pollution as well as advocate to others. More specifically, Mike M. wrote on August 28: The three most important things I feel I learned from the chapter are 1) the futility of comparing nature with other ways of knowing, 2) examples of how preconceived objectification of nature ruins our relationship with it, and 3) that simply observing openly can be powerful. In creating a moment that lets the earth teach, I noticed that an organism (a tree) is a wonderful indicator of which way the wind is blowing. I had previously overlooked the whole tree for only noticing parts of it, and feeling my body sway with the tree was an invitation to connect with the wind. So perhaps that is a 4th important lesson – that stepping back and seeing the whole organism is powerful in addition to seeing pieces of it. The question of how it enhances self-worth is important. I have seen our self worth as defined as us being “human doings” rather than “human beings”. Nature allows us to be “beings” when we are vessels for what it offers without needing to control it. My own self worth is very attached to the loss of “doing” enough. I feel inadequate in not being able to fix things, to attain more material items, and in not being present enough with others. Ironically in being mindful with nature and “being” with it, I become freed to value myself more for the privilege of being part of nature rather than fighting against it. Trusting nature to provide what I need is critical in finding my own self-worth. Dan S. wrote on September 6: I slowly turned my head to the left making eye-to-eye contact with a full-grown Bobcat on the dike and within fifteen feet. I remember it’s beautiful gray fur with black spots, bobbed-tail and yellow eyes looking at me. I was not afraid but felt a great wave of peace sweep over me when we made eye contact. I have had many previous close and spiritual experiences in the wild with Bobcats, Owls and many other wild animals. We stood there for a long while, maybe ten minutes, and all the while I emanated peace and love to this beautiful cat as well as thanking it for our shared trust. When this cat slowly walked away in the openness of the dike, I too felt it was unafraid. It did not look back once or run. Thoreau expressed our need for wilderness and wild animals (Thoreau, 1982): Ben Jonson exclaims, “How
near to good is what is fair!”
So I would say,“How
near to good is what is wild!”
My learning moments to hold on to were: 1. Nature is a nameless, nonverbal process= evidenced by interaction between armadillo and human. 2. Natural senses and nature are intelligent=both armadillo and human peacefully negotiated an unspoken relationship of belonging to the same forest. 3. Natural senses in people are attractions to parts of nature=apparently armadillo and human found common attraction in one another. 4. Natural senses are forms of love that we feel=this human felt it. In conclusion, my counseling paradigm is shifting toward one encompassing natural environment therapy. This therapy is to help participants seek personal identity and “optimum” development of personal resources (Nebbe, 1991). This therapy includes many nature experiences both in backcountry and in backyard (Cohen, 2008). In a relatively short time period the client can practice these natural attraction experiences without or without a counselor, facilitator, friend or family member. To get started, all one needs is awareness of webstrings, trust all 53 natural sensibilities and believe in natural attractiveness (Cohen, 2007). References Cohen, M.J. (2003). The Web of Life Imperative (pp. vi-148). Friday Harbor, WA: Institute of Global Education. Cohen, M.J. (2007). Reconnecting With Nature (pp. 49-51, 61). Lakeville, MN: Ecopress . Cohen, M.J. (2008). Educating, Counseling and Healing with Nature (pp. 13, 19, 20-29). Friday Harbor, WA: Institute of Global Education. Corey, Gerald (1998). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (6th ed.) (p.5). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Hawley, Amos H. (1986). Human Ecology: A Theoretical Essay (p. 125). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hinkle, Scott J. (1999). A Primer to Outdoor Education and Therapy Philosophy. In Scott J. Hinkle (Ed), Promoting Optimum Mental Health Through Counseling: An Overview (p. 188). Greensboro: CAPS Publications, Inc. Nebbe, Linda L. (1991). Nature as a Guide: Using Nature in Counseling, Therapy, and Education (pp.ix, 6, 9, 66). Minneapolis: Educational Media Corporation. Thoreau, Henry D. (1982). In C. Bode (Ed.), The Portable Thoreau (p.611). NY: Penguin Group. ^^^ There is a lot here for me. Oh boy. While there is no shortage of theoretical teachings about the oneness in this world (the “We are all one” theory), being able to experience it is a very different story. It does have to start with an openness to a whole different story, one that for me personally – it was a challenge to embrace. Yet, due to several very profound and very recent experiences, I am beginning to see a crack in my past stories and past programming; I am really and truly beginning to see the “no separation” concept of our existence. It is still hard to accept, yet I am clearly moving into the direction of embracing this sentence as truth – experientially. The webstrings here – all of them. It is like the ending of The Matrix, when Neo is beginning to see everything as flowing energy. I think I am beginning to see the same, and it is all webstrings. Much like Quantum Physics teaches us – everything here is relationships (webstrings); there are no objects. Statement: “Somewhere a short circuit in our thinking says that we are going to learn to swim without getting our feet wet” (p. 1-4). Yes. This statement resonates in the sense that I am very familiar with it. I have had times in my life of taking the easier road, of “talking about” while holding back from actually engaging in the experience. These past years have been an ongoing alignment of the many areas of my life to “walking towards the talk.” As I write this paragraph and think about my past, I can sense and feel various webstrings – of shame and guilt (“yes, I have done it myself”), of humility and appreciation (“I can see how it gets in my way now”), and of joy and fulfillment (“no more of that”). How interesting – all that from one innocent sentence... Statement: “... we learn to know the world in different ways depending on what story we use to think about it” (p. 1-7). Extremely relevant for me, for many reasons. One of them is that just yesterday, I finished teaching a series that includes many elements of NSTP, as well as some personal sustainability principles. We actually spent quite a bit of time talking about the stories we carry, subconsciously, and live our lives accordingly. One of the homework task in-between the classes was to watch the movie “Sharkwater” which sparked a powerful and engaging conversation about stories. As an example, the poachers in the movie might carry a story that a shark fin will feed their family, whereas the movie makers might have a completely different story – of ruthlessly eradicating a species from the planet. There was quite a bit of agreement about the importance of becoming aware of our own stories, primarily through education. Statement: “Because we hurt ourselves, each other, and the environment by not knowing how the world really works” (p. 1-7). This one really connects to the above one. While ignorance might be bliss, it does not work in reality, if we accept the premise that everything here is a part of the Web of Life. Every action has ripple effects, and not knowing about them does not mean there is no impact to what we do. It also brings up a dilemma – how feasible it is to stop and analyze each and every one of our actions and all the consequences, to become aware of all the impacts something can make, from buying a cup of coffee, to going for a hike, to eating a meal. Statement: “People just need an opportunity to consciously feel their senses connected to Nature’s wonderment” (p. 1-10). No reason and no analysis here. Just because. *** Act
now.
Master
Organic Psychology by doing it. http://www.ecopsych.comAchieve a Degree or Certificate to strengthen your professional interests, or your hobbies or pastimes, by connecting them with nature. Implement your strongest hopes as you increase personal and global well being. Topics, subjects or leisure pursuits can include those listed below or other areas of interest: |
|
