Nature on my Mind

Take a minute and be calm.

The Medicine of Being in the Forest

Go to a Forest. Walk slowly. Breathe.

Open all your senses.

This is the healing way of Shinrin-yoku

Forest Therapy,

the medicine of simply being in the forest.

Photo By Lisa Wilson

Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world.

The idea is simple: if a person simply visits a natural area and walks in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits to be achieved.

We have always known this intuitively. But in the past several decades there have been many scientific studies that are demonstrating the mechanisms behind the healing effects of simply being in wild and natural areas. For example, many trees give off organic compounds that support our “NK” (natural killer) cells that are part of our immune system’s way of fighting cancer.

The scientifically-proven benefits of Shinrin-yoku include:

Boosted immune system functioning, with an increase in the count of the body’s Natural Killer (NK) cells.

Reduced blood pressure

Reduced stress

Improved mood

Increased ability to focus, even in children with ADHD

Accelerated recovery from surgery or illness

Increased energy level

Improved sleep

Just as impressive are the results that we are experiencing as we make this part of our regular practice:

Deeper and clearer intuition

Increased flow of energy

Increased capacity to communicate with the land and its species

Increased flow of eros/life force

Deepening of friendships

Overall increase in sense of happiness

Opening our senses to nature also develops our intuition. We learn to contact in new ways the world around us.

We recognize that forest therapy approaches such as Shinrin-yoku have roots in many cultures throughout history. John Muir wrote, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Wilderness is a necessity.” He is one of many people who we include when we think about the ‘conscious’ origins of the practice.

The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs combines leisurely walks on gentle paths under forest canopy with guided activities to help you open your senses, hone your intuition, and experience the forest as you never have before.

They draw upon mindfulness meditation practices, and the techniques of deep nature connection mentoring. They also use the Way of Council for group discussions at several points along the walk, which helps participants learn from and teach others as they discuss what we are experiencing together.

“You didn’t come into this world.

You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean.

You are not a stranger here.”

Alan Watts

Photo By Lisa Wilson

The key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses.

Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet.

Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees.

Look at the different greens of the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches.

Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in the natural aromatherapy of phytoncides.

Taste the freshness of the air as you take deep breaths.

Place your hands on the trunk of a tree.

Dip your fingers or toes in a stream.

Lie on the ground.

Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm.

This is your sixth sense, a state of mind.

Now you have connected with nature.

You have crossed the bridge to happiness.

We often get asked the question: Does the practice of nature and forest therapy only take place in the forest? Vicky Kyan, Mentor and Trainer with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, shares her deep connection with the healing power of water in this week’s featured blog. Vicky beautifully offers us a window into her practice of nature therapy at the “beach forest” near her home along the outer edges of New Zealand. We hope this piece inspires you to discover your own “forest”, in an ecosystem close to your home and close to your heart.

What Do You Mean…the Beach is a Forest?

I grew up in a village on the edge of Bath in England, nestled in the NE corner of Somerset in what is affectionately called “The West Country”. This small and lovely city is world famous for it’s Hot Springs “discovered” by the Romans, who settled on the preexisting Iron Age site dedicated to the Ancient Celtic Goddess Sulis. Traditionally, Sulis oversees all sacred wells and springs, which give healing and other blessings to those who pray at them. So thus I am connected to Healing Waters since the day I was born.

Ever since I can remember from a young child, I have loved nature and especially water in all forms, and most of all being close to the sea.

The highlight of my Summer holidays was always getting that very first glimpse of blue water, glittering in the sunshine and oh so deliciously tantalizing and inviting.

And the smell of the salt air, breathing it into my lungs touching a place deep inside that was full of remembering. Here I discovered my freedom and my ‘Happy Place’ – fossicking for endless treasures the tide brought in.

My growing sense of discontent and disconnection, and thirst for adventure as a young adult sent me first across the oceans to Africa where I rediscovered my Wild-Self and the raw power of Mother Nature, discovered that elephants can hide behind small trees and you don’t run when you encounter a bull in the wild (yeah right!). Further adventures took me later to the Far East and Australasia.

What I discovered on this journey was my passion for Islands, for the spirited communities of creative folk who choose this independent lifestyle, and the diverse seashore and ocean life surrounding on all sides.

So it was that in 1987 I made my family home on Aotea, Great Barrier Island – a remote off-shore and off-grid existence on a wild and forested volcanic rock of spectacular beauty on the outer edges of NE New Zealand.

My beach spreads out in a horseshoe shape fan facing North and the full day’s sun. The sun rises over the cliffs and rocks of the Sou’Eastern tip of the bay, travels anti-clockwise and sets over the hills towards the West. The South Pacific Ocean sits right on my doorstep, and I share it with an abundance of sea life, birds, forests and an eclectic Island community of around 950 people eking out simple livings on the land and sea, boosted by a relatively low key seasonal tourist industry. My nearest mainland neighbour to the West is Auckland City, 90 kilometers and a 4 ½ hour ferry ride away, and to the East lies Chile some 9,000 kilometers over the horizon. This special nature reserve of dark night skies with her road-map of Milky Way stars above my roof, bush clad mountains and hills, native forests, white sandy surf beaches and pristine clear waters has been my home and my front and backyard for the last 30 years. It is here that my absolute love affair with the Pacific Ocean seashore was born and has played out every day since.

My love of Nature and my experiences of being held and supported by her during times of stress and crisis throughout my life, and my discovery of Forest Therapy as a practice, led me to joining the Cohort 2 Guide training in Northern California in May 2015.

This profound Nature immersion experience took me back to such a familiar place inside myself, and re-awakened the Wild Child inside me, reminding me so much of days growing up in the hills and valleys of The West Country.

It touched in me a recognition of the importance of this deeply nurturing re-connection which is so essential to my daily well-being and to my relationships with all of life.

When I arrived back on my paradise Island home, it was a ‘no-brainer’ to start exploring the exciting possibilities of Forest Therapy, guiding in a totally different ecosystem. The one I was most familiar with and the one I was most passionate about. I instinctively knew it was possible to walk the ‘Way of the Guide’ embracing all core elements and principles of the practice right here on my doorstep and incorporate these fully into my life. This place is where my nature connection practice meets my love affair with ocean shores, and HERE is my Inspiration for offering Nature and Forest Therapy Guided walks ….. quite literally the Beach is MY ‘Forest’!

I would now like to offer you a taste of my ‘Beach Forest’ as I witness it, so come walk with me across the dunes on my Journey to Welcome in the New Day…..

I wander barefoot from my front gate across the dirt road, through wiry dune vegetation to my Sit Spot log above the beach where I meet the new morning, checking in with some ‘friends’ along the way: the wild grasses, herbs and flowers, springy muehlenbeckia, and my Lone Pine tree.

I sit on my log overlooking the ocean and the beach facing towards the early sun, greeting and feeling greeted by the many and varied lives that inhabit this edge zone.

Here are the waving Hare-Tail grasses that dance so joyfully in the breeze, my very special favourites. How can they know when to emerge from their plump stems all on the same morning?

Many Beings and sensations command my attention: native and introduced bees, bugs, and butterflies forage in the rich dune flora, and the pervading sound and shifting colours of the glistening Ocean.

From my log perch I watch from a distance the resident winged ones defending territory and feeding – Pied Oyster Catchers, NZ Dotterels, Shags and Gannets, Swallows catching breakfast on the wing, and the ever hopeful Seagulls.

I sometimes see a local dog plus owner on regular morning exploration of smells and ‘news’ gathering, and other occasional humans who also enjoy this freedom. I recognise almost everyone from some distance by their walk and the odd visitor sparks my curiosity. I notice tracks – some old, some new and I wonder who else has been visiting here and when, and what they have been discovering here at this edge place? On a lucky day, fins appear in the bay, and my heart leaps as our resident dolphins cruise along the shore playing in the surf, a rare treat on this exposed Eastern coastline !

. The tug of the water is compulsive so I slip down the sandy track and meander towards the Ocean, noticing more closely the flotsam and jetsam from the night’s tides – ‘Tangaroa’s Taonga’ – Treasures from the Sea God. Standing at the interface of land and sea, I formalise my daily ritual, acknowledging the Directions and the Elements.

I honour their support and offer Gratitude and Blessings in reciprocation and I send these prayers out on the ocean waters to transform and journey wherever they need to go ….. “Let it be so”.

I watch the tide for a few moments, observing the shape of the waves and the ebb and flow of this day, then wait at the edge for the water to kiss my toes. I always feel surprised by her warmth in the cool morning air. I bless and cleanse myself inside and out, refreshing my internal waters and splash water over my head and shoulders. This always sends tingles down my spine and I sense myself awake and vital.

On warm days I slip into the water, diving head first into the waves relishing the fresh embrace of the ocean on my skin, then indulge in the sheer pleasure of feeling every single cell tingle and shimmer of my body waking up as I dry off in the soft sun. I wander further along the beach fossicking, or head back up the dunes and home for coffee and breakfast with a smile on my face and peace in my heart. This is a Good Day…..

Vicki lives on Great Barrier Island New Zealand.

See her website for more information.

Photo By Lisa Wilson

Wolsko, C., Lindberg, K., & Reese, R.

2 July 2019

A variety of positive mental health outcomes have been linked with increased exposure to natural environments. However, there has been minimal investigation into how specific patterns of activity in the outdoors may be beneficial. Prior theory suggests that it is particularly nature-based physical recreation (e.g., hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing)—reflecting attempts to enjoy, observe, and exercise in nature without substantial technological mediation or alteration of the environment—that is positively correlated with psychological well-being. Data collected across a series of five surveys provides pervasive support for this association, even when controlling for age, gender, income, educational attainment, physical activity levels, other types of nature-based recreation behaviors, dispositional connectedness to nature, and mindfulness. Discussion focuses on the potential mechanisms that account for these relationships.

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/eco.2018.0076

One man’s passion.
“Botanist Philip Simpson shares why totara are one of the most amazing trees in the world”.

click to watch video

Ti hē mauriora

Ki te whaiao, ki te Ao Mārama

The breath, the energy of life

To the dawnlight, to the world of light.

Maori Karakia

Photo by Lisa Wilson

Wai o Tapu
When an orator rises to speak on a marae, he will often announce himself by saying the words above.
The words refer to a world constantly emerging from darkness into light.
The orator’s speech is considered to be a re-enactment of Tāne separating earth and sky, the means by which light came into the world. Tāne was the father of humankind. When he separated his parents, Papatūānuku (the earth mother) and Ranginui (the sky father), the sun was able to shine into the world that was created. If the orator’s words offer guidance and wisdom, he brings his audience out of the ‘night’ of conflict and into the ‘day’ of peace and resolution. This occurs when mana (a spiritual force) enters the person – just as the sun illuminates and brings forth the new day.

The cycle of the sun

The rising of the sun, the journey it makes across the sky, and its setting in the west is a cosmic mystery. Because this cycle is repeated every day, traditional Māori considered it the basic principle of the world. The sun represents the birth and growth of mana (power) in the world. The birth, rise and death of the sun came to be the primary model for all existence – all of life should in some way give expression to this pattern.

Mana, tapu and mauri

The concepts of mana, tapu and mauri relate both to people and to the natural world.

Mana

Mana refers to an extraordinary power, essence or presence. This applies to the energies and presences of the natural world. There are degrees of mana and our experiences of it, and life seems to reach its fullness when mana comes into the world.

The most important mana comes from Te Kore – the realm beyond the world we can see, and sometimes thought to be the ‘ultimate reality’.

Tapu

Certain restrictions, disciplines and commitments have to take place if mana is to be expressed in physical form, such as in a person or object. The concepts of sacredness, restriction and disciplines fall under the term tapu. For example, mountains that were important to particular tribal groups were often tapu, and the activities that took place on these mountains were restricted.

Mauri

Mauri is an energy which binds and animates all things in the physical world. Without mauri, mana cannot flow into a person or object.

The flow of mana

The idea that mana can flow into the world through tapu and mauri underpinned most of Māori daily life. For example, sacred stones possessing mauri were placed in fishing nets, where they were able to attract fish. The stones were placed in bird snares for the same purpose. When fish arrived in the nets or birds in the snares, Māori saw something more than just the creatures before them – they saw energy within these physical forms. The harvest of fish was the arrival of Tangaroa, god of the sea, which meant the arrival of mana.

Mauri stones were also used to prepare people who would receive mana. In the traditional whare wānanga (school of learning), small pebbles (whatu) were used in a student’s initiation ceremony. It was believed that when the student swallowed the pebbles, the mauri in them was taken into the stomach, establishing the conditions whereby mana in the form of knowledge and learning could come into the person. This is the theory behind Māori meditation practices, known as nohopuku (to dwell inwardly, in the stomach).

Taniwha

Taniwha are ferocious creatures or guardians, representing the life force (mauri) of a place in physical form. They were seen as a constant presence in waterways, ensuring that fish and other resources remain plentiful.

Tohunga (priests and other experts) were able to harness mauri and cause it to enter a boulder, a tree or a fish. This had such a powerful effect that the object seemed to take on a life of its own. There are many stories of trees moving against river currents and having a supernatural aspect, leading to a belief that these objects were taniwha.

Taniwha and chiefs

Taniwha were closely linked to the local chief, who was also known as a taniwha. The fertility of a region was seen as directly linked to the mana of that land and its chief, who would control the taniwha in the river. This is important in the concept of tangata whenua (people of the land). Only tangata whenua could control the mauri, and therefore the fertility, of their region.

In traditional Māori knowledge, as in many cultures, everything in the world is believed to be related. People, birds, fish, trees, weather patterns – they are all members of a cosmic family.

Whakapapa

This linking was explained in tātai (genealogies) and kōrero (stories), collectively termed whakapapa (meaning to make a foundation, to place in layers). Experts recited the whakapapa of people, birds, fish, trees and the weather to explain the relationships between all things and thus to place themselves within the world. This helped people to understand the world, and how to act within these relationships.

Gods and their families

The entire world was seen as a vast and complex whānau (family). In the Māori story of creation, the earth and sky came together and gave birth to some 70 children, who eventually thrust apart their parents and populated the world. Each of the children became the god of a particular domain of the natural world. Their children and grandchildren then became ancestors in that domain. For example, Tangaroa, god of the sea, had a son called Punga. Punga then had two children: Ikatere, who became the ancestor of the fish of the sea, and Tūtewehiwehi, who became the ancestor of the fish and amphibious lizards of inland waterways.

The meaning of whakapapa

Whakapapa (genealogies and stories) express our need for kinship with the world. They describe the relationships between humans and the rest of nature. In one tradition, some tribal groups and the fish of the sea claim descent from Tangaroa, the god of the sea.

Whakapapa also explain the origins of animals, plants and features of the landscape. To tell a story about the origin of a bird, for example, is to invoke its true essence or character.

The value of oral traditions

Although many of the stories are myths, they also have a practical function. They can pass on knowledge about the natural world, such as where to find kererū (New Zealand pigeons) and how to harvest them.

Although science is another way of understanding the natural world, the traditional principle of interconnectedness is still important and meaningful to Māori. For example, the genealogy of fish and sea animals makes clear the kinship of people and other creatures. It also points out values that guide people’s interaction with other species, teaching respect and correct conduct.

The world of light and darkness

As the sun rises each morning and sets each evening, the world follows a daily cycle of light (Te Ao) and darkness (Te Pō). Māori creation stories emphasise this movement from nothingness and darkness to the world of light – Te Ao Mārama. It is said that the world itself is created each morning with the rise of the sun.

Te Kore – a world beyond

In traditional Māori belief there is something beyond the world of everyday experience: we do not live in a closed system where what we see is all there is. This other world or dimension is known as Te Kore, the ‘void’, in most tribal traditions.

Cleve Barlow has suggested that Te Kore means chaos – a state which has always existed and which contains ‘unlimited potential for being’. 1 Māori Marsden, a Tai Tokerau elder and Anglican minister, had a similar belief. He said that Te Korekore (a variant of Te Kore) was ‘the realm between non-being and being: that is the realm of potential being.’

Some believe that Te Kore is where the ultimate reality can be found. Others think that it is where Io, the Supreme Being, dwells. The idea of Te Kore is central to notions of mana (status), tapu (sacred and restricted customs) and mauri (life force)

Teara.govt.nz

Everything is full of gods.

Thales 6th c BC

Photo by Lisa Wilson

In philosophy, panpsychism is the view that mind or a mind-like aspect is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality.It has taken on a wide variety of forms. Contemporary academic proponents hold that sentience or subjective experience is ubiquitous, while distancing these qualities from complex human mental attributes; they ascribe a primitive form of mentality to entities at the fundamental level of physics but do not ascribe it to most aggregates, such as rocks or buildings. On the other hand, some historical theorists ascribed attributes like life or spirits to all entities.
Contemporary academic proponents hold that sentience or subjective experience is ubiquitous, while distancing these qualities from complex human mental attributes; they ascribe a primitive form of mentality to entities at the fundamental level of physics but do not ascribe it to most aggregates, such as rocks or buildings. On the other hand, some historical theorists ascribed attributes like life or spirits to all entities.
It has taken on a wide variety of forms. Contemporary academic proponents hold that sentience or subjective experience is ubiquitous, while distancing these qualities from complex human mental attributes; they ascribe a primitive form of mentality to entities at the fundamental level of physics but do not ascribe it to most aggregates, such as rocks or buildings. On the other hand, some historical theorists ascribed attributes like life or spirits to all entities. Dualism and Monism.

Panpsychism is one of the oldest philosophical theories, and has been ascribed to philosophers like Thales and Plato.

It can also be seen in ancient philosophies such as Stoicism, Taoism, Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism.

The term “panpsychism” has its origins with the Greek term pan (πᾶν : “all, everything, whole”) and psyche (ψυχή: “soul, mind”) as the unifying center of the mental life of us humans and other living creatures.”:Psyche comes from the Greek word ψύχω (psukhō, “I blow”) and can mean life, soul, mind, spirit, heart and ‘life-breath’. The use of psyche is controversial due to it being synonymous with soul, a term usually taken to have some sort of supernatural quality; more common terms now found in the literature include mind, mental properties, mental aspect, and experience.

Psyche comes from the Greek word ψύχω (psukhō, “I blow”) and can mean life, soul, mind, spirit, heart and ‘life-breath’. The use of psyche is controversial due to it being synonymous with soul, a term usually taken to have some sort of supernatural quality; more common terms now found in the literature include mind, mental properties, mental aspect, and experience.

Panpsychist views are also a staple theme in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy. According to Aristotle, Thales (c. 624 – 545 BCE) the first Greek philosopher, posited a theory which held “that everything is full of gods.”

Thales believed that this was demonstrated by magnets. This has been interpreted as a panpsychist doctrine.

After the closing of Plato’s Academy by the Emperor Justinian in 529 CE, Neoplatonism declined. Though there were mediaeval Christian thinkers who ventured what might be called panpsychist ideas (such as John Scotus Eriugena), it was not a dominant strain in Christian thought. In the Italian Renaissance, however, panpsychism enjoyed something of an intellectual revival, in the thought of figures such as Gerolamo Cardano, Bernardino Telesio, Francesco Patrizi, Giordano Bruno, and Tommaso Campanella. Cardano argued for the view that soul or anima was a fundamental part of the world and Patrizi introduced the actual term “panpsychism” into the philosophical vocabulary.

According to Giordano Bruno: “There is nothing that does not possess a soul and that has no vital principle.” Platonist ideas like the anima mundi also resurfaced in the work of esoteric thinkers like Paracelsus, Robert Fludd and Cornelius Agrippa.
In the Italian Renaissance, however, panpsychism enjoyed something of an intellectual revival, in the thought of figures such as Gerolamo Cardano, Bernardino Telesio, Francesco Patrizi, Giordano Bruno, and Tommaso Campanella. Cardano argued for the view that soul or anima was a fundamental part of the world and Patrizi introduced the actual term “panpsychism” into the philosophical vocabulary.

According to Giordano Bruno: “There is nothing that does not possess a soul and that has no vital principle.” Platonist ideas like the anima mundi also resurfaced in the work of esoteric thinkers like Paracelsus, Robert Fludd and Cornelius Agrippa.

Modern philosophy

In the 17th century, two rationalists can be said to be panpsychists, Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz. In Spinoza’s monism, the one single infinite and eternal substance is “God, or Nature” (Deus sive Natura) which has the aspects of mind (thought) and matter (extension). Leibniz’ view is that there are an infinite number of absolutely simple mental substances called monads which make up the fundamental structure of the universe.

Leibniz’ view is that there are an infinite number of absolutely simple mental substances called monads which make up the fundamental structure of the universe.

While it has been said that the idealist philosophy of George Berkeley is also a form of pure panpsychism and that “idealists are panspychists by default”, it has also been argued[by whom?] that such arguments conflate mentally-constructed phenomena with minds themselves.Berkeley rejected panpsychism and posited that the physical world exists only in the experiences minds have of it, while restricting minds to humans and certain other specific agents.

Berkeley rejected panpsychism and posited that the physical world exists only in the experiences minds have of it, while restricting minds to humans and certain other specific agents.

In the 20th century, the most significant proponent of the panpsychist view is arguably Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). Whitehead’s ontology saw the basic nature of the world as made up of events and the process of their creation and extinction. These elementary events (which he called occasions) are in part mental. According to Whitehead: “we should conceive mental operations as among the factors which make up the constitution of nature.

The philosopher David Chalmers, who has explored panpsychism as a viable theory, distinguishes between microphenomenal experiences (the experiences of microphysical entities) and macrophenomenal experiences (the experiences of larger entities like humans).

For more reading on the mind brain problem see,

https://philosophyandpsychology.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/neuronal-panpsychism/

Our only intelligible notion of an object in itself

is that it should be an object for itself,

and this lands us in panpsychism and

a belief that our physical perceptions

are effects on us of ‘psychical’ realities.

William James

Photo by Lisa Wilson
The mind–body problem concerns the explanation of the relationship that exists between minds, or mental processes, and bodily states or processes. The main aim of philosophers working in this area is to determine the nature of the mind and mental states/processes, and how—or even if—minds are affected by and can affect the body.

Our perceptual experiences depend on stimuli that arrive at our various sensory organs from the external world, and these stimuli cause changes in our mental states, ultimately causing us to feel a sensation, which may be pleasant or unpleasant. Someone’s desire for a slice of pizza, for example, will tend to cause that person to move his or her body in a specific manner and in a specific direction to obtain what he or she wants. The question, then, is how it can be possible for conscious experiences to arise out of a lump of gray matter endowed with nothing but electrochemical properties.

A related problem is how someone’s propositional attitudes (e.g. beliefs and desires) cause that individual’s neurons to fire and muscles to contract. These comprise some of the puzzles that have confronted epistemologists and philosophers of mind from at least the time of René Descartes.

Intentionality is the capacity of mental states to be directed towards (about) or be in relation with something in the external world. This property of mental states entails that they have contents and semantic referents and can therefore be assigned truth values. When one tries to reduce these states to natural processes there arises a problem: natural processes are not true or false, they simply happen.It would not make any sense to say that a natural process is true or false. But mental ideas or judgments are true or false, so how then can mental states (ideas or judgments) be natural processes?

It would not make any sense to say that a natural process is true or false. But mental ideas or judgments are true or false, so how then can mental states (ideas or judgments) be natural processes?

Philosophy of perception is concerned with the nature of perceptual experience and the status of perceptual objects, in particular how perceptual experience relates to appearances and beliefs about the world.

Humans are corporeal beings and, as such, they are subject to examination and description by the natural sciences. Since mental processes are intimately related to bodily processes, the descriptions that the natural sciences furnish of human beings play an important role in the philosophy of mind.

Neurobiology

The theoretical background of biology, as is the case with modern natural sciences in general, is fundamentally materialistic. The objects of study are, in the first place, physical processes, which are considered to be the foundations of mental activity and behavior. The increasing success of biology in the explanation of mental phenomena can be seen by the absence of any empirical refutation of its fundamental presupposition: “there can be no change in the mental states of a person without a change in brain states.”

Within the field of neurobiology, there are many subdisciplines that are concerned with the relations between mental and physical states and processes. Sensory neurophysiology investigates the relation between the processes of perception and stimulation.Cognitive neuroscience studies the correlations between mental processes and neural processes. Neuropsychology describes the dependence of mental faculties on specific anatomical regions of the brain.

Lastly, evolutionary biology studies the origins and development of the human nervous system and, in as much as this is the basis of the mind, also describes the ontogenetic and phylogenetic development of mental phenomena beginning from their most primitive stages.

Evolutionary biology furthermore places tight constraints on any philosophical theory of the mind, as the gene-based mechanism of natural selection does not allow any giant leaps in the development of neural complexity or neural software but only incremental steps over long time periods.

This world is indeed a living being

endowed with a soul and intelligence …

a single visible living entity

containing all other living entities,

which by their nature,

are all related.

Plato.

Image by Robert Fludd, note the central image of humanity is depicted as a woman.

The world soul (Greek: ψυχὴ κόσμου psuchè kósmou, Latin: anima mundi) is, according to several systems of thought, an intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet, which relates to the world in much the same way as the soul is connected to the human body. Plato adhered to this idea and it was an important component of most Neoplatonic systems.

The Stoics believed it to be the only vital force in the universe. Similar concepts also hold in systems of eastern philosophy in the Brahman-Atman of Hinduism, the Buddha-Nature in Mahayana Buddhism, and in the School of Yin-Yang, Taoism, and Neo-Confucianism as qi.

Other resemblances can be found in the thoughts of hermetic philosophers like Ralph Waldo Emerson who published “The Over-Soul” in 1841, which was influenced by the Hindu conception of a universal soul.

In Jewish mysticism, a parallel concept is that of “Chokhmah Ila’ah,” the all-encompassing “Supernal Wisdom” that transcends, orders and vitalizes all of creation. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov states that this sublime wisdom may be apprehended (or perhaps “channeled”) by a perfect tzaddik (holy man).

Thus, the tzaddik attains “cosmic consciousness” and thus is empowered to mitigate all division and conflict within creation.

Mysticism, then, is the perception of the universe and all of its seemingly disparate entities existing in a unified whole bound together by love.

I’ve just started reading Total Harmonic by Case Adam’s.
Pythagoras, Plato and Ptolemy introduced the concepts of harmonics to the western world some 2000 years ago. Here Dr. Adams, a naturalist, herbalist, and health educator, combines the latest research into the natural world with centuries of scientific exploration and ancient wisdom to illuminate and validate these concepts. This insightful journey into the mysteries and rhythms of nature unveils an undeniable link to our own health and well-being. The science of nature’s elements-advanced by ancient traditions around the world for thousands of years-reveals various strategies for building immunity, reducing toxicity and increasing vitality. Total Harmonic provides an unforgettably profound and unprecedented vision of health and well-being for both our planet and ourselves.

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on,

long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

~ Anonymous

A visit to the beach always leaves you feeling alive and cleansed – physically, emotionally and spiritually. The combination of sun, sea and sand is the most natural and easily accessible form of therapy available to mankind.

In ancient times, the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians understood the therapeutic properties of seawater. Hippocrates, Galen, Plato and Aristotle recommended the use of hot baths to not only clean wounds but also for preventative purposes.

My grandmother came from Ischia, a volcanic Island in Italy, known for its therapeutic mineral waters. In the 16th century these thermal waters were first studied and categorised according to their chemical properties and healing powers for various parts of the body.

This family link strengthens my affinity for water, warmth and time in nature.

Modern research has proven the fact that the sea helps us restore our physical, mental and emotional well-being. A 2012 research stated that sea water strengthens the body against viruses, low defences, bacteria and pathogens.

Seawater in particular assists in strengthening the cellular immunity and one of the doctors involved in the research added that it plays a key role in the elimination of many tumours. Another research said that there are multiple benefits of being by the sea – the sound of the crashing sea waves has a healing effect on our mind and body as it induces deep states of relaxation.

Let’s delve deeper to unravel the benefits of the sun, sea and sand.

Continue reading “The Big Blue Space” →

Nature has a way of keeping balance and promoting health.

Our body, when in balance, has natural healing power.

Learn how to restore your body’s natural healing mode

with these tips from The Solar Body, by Ilchi Lee.

According to The Solar Body, here are the three steps to restore your body’s natural healing mode:

1. Feel your body heat

Body temperature is related to the immune system. The optimal balance for body temperature is to keep your head cool, and lower abdomen warm. Your lower abdomen is the core of your body, so keeping your energy in that area promotes health. The author recommends to raise your body temperature at least once a day, either by getting some daily sunlight for a few minutes or exercising to warm up your body.

2. Control your breathing

Practice breathing deep into the diaphram & lower abdomen. Deep breathing is healing, and relieves your body naturally. While it’s difficult to raise or lower blood pressure, pulse, or body temperature intentionally, we can control them indirectly through our breathing. You’ll also notice that your thoughts and emotions settle down when you focus on your breathing, and your body recovers its balance.

3. Observe with your mind

Practice daily meditation for a calm and clear mind. Observe your thoughts and emotions, and learn not to let them overwhelm or control you. When you observe your breathing, it automatically deepens and slows. When you observe your body temperature, it recovers to a healthy range.

These three actions: feeling your body heat, controlling your breathing, and observing with your mind all intertwine to create a natural way to calm your body and restore your natural healing power.

Getting out in nature provides a wonderful escape from stress, anxiety and negative thoughts. It has been long thought that frolicking in the ocean has even more health benefits; historically doctors would recommend their patients go to the seaside to improve their various illnesses.

Make time for nature,

learn to appreciate the world around you.

Ecotherapy takes advantage of the calming and balancing benefits of the human-nature relationship.

The sounds and rhythms of the natural world have a physical and mental calming effect.

From lowering blood pressure and pulse, to slowing our breathing and giving us increased mental clarity.

When in nature, mindfully focusing our awareness on the experience of the natural world around us is the best way to access these therapeutic benefits. Water flowing in streams or birds chirping seem to naturally alleviate human stress and anxiety.

I started thinking deeper about how exactly, the rhythms of nature have this effect on us and how can we maximize their therapeutic benefits?

Your body’s natural healing power is related to a part of your nervous system called the autonomic nervous system. This is made up of two balancing parts: the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic system controls the “fight or flight” body response, and the parasympathetic nervous system controls the “rest and digest” body response.

The sympathetic nervous system is useful for survival for when we have to escape danger in short bursts. But people today allow themselves to get stressed constantly, which activates the sympathetic nervous system for no real “danger.” When our body thinks it’s in danger, our hearts pump faster, our blood drains from the organs and into our muscles to prepare to fight, our analytical thinking comes to a stop, among other reactions. In other words, conditions of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and indigestion stress and fatigue are temporarily created.

The body’s natural healing mode is turned on when the body is calm and relaxed. In this case, the parasympathetic nervous system is in dominance. The function of the parasympathetic nervous system is to prevent disease in the long term; it regulates your digestion as well as other vital functions that promote balance in your body.

Have you noticed that some people are “always” sick, while others are rarely sick (even if they do get sick, they heal quickly)? Those people who are “always” sick are most likely always stressed or busy—they don’t give their bodies a chance to rest and heal itself naturally.

In our hectic daily lives, we get occupied and distracted with work, relationships, and other activities of living and we forget about the comfort found in Mother Nature. We should consciously strive to spend time outside.

Make intentions to walk to work, when and if possible. Spend time at sea, in the mountains, or in the forest. Plant a garden. Swim in the ocean, hike, cycle, have a picnic and spend time with your family or pets outdoors. All of these activities provide quality time with our Earth Mother and hold us in her naturally healing embrace.

Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth or the Earth-Mother) is a Greco-Roman personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of the mother.

Photo by Lisa Wilson

In Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the land. She is a mother earth figure who gives birth to all things, including people, trees, and birds and then nourishes them. Traditional Māori culture aligns women with the land, because the land gives birth to humankind just as women do. As the world was born from Papatūānuku, so humankind is born from women. The Maori word for a woman’s womb, translates to mean “the house of humanity”, and is regarded as the same as the womb of earth.
The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or “essential qualities, innate disposition”, and in ancient times, literally meant “birth”.

Nature, in the broadest sense, is the natural, physical, or material world or universe. “Nature” can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general.
Within the various uses of the word today, “nature” often refers to geology and wildlife. Nature can refer to the general realm of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects—the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth.

It is often taken to mean the “natural environment” or wilderness—wild animals, rocks, forest, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention.
Earth has evolved through geological and biological processes that have left traces of the original conditions. The outer surface is divided into several gradually migrating tectonic plates.

The interior remains active, with a thick layer of plastic mantleand an iron-filled core that generates a magnetic field. This iron core is composed of a solid inner phase, and a fluid outer phase. Convective motion in the core generates electric currents through dynamo action, and these, in turn, generate the geomagnetic field.
Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and historyof Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed.

Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction. Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms.

Properties common to terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria) are that they are cellular, carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. An entity with these properties is generally considered life. However, not every definition of life considers all of these properties to be essential. Human-made analogs of life may also be considered to be life.

The biosphere is the part of Earth’s outer shell—including land, surface rocks, water, air and the atmosphere—within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere(rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere(air).

Although natural wonders are celebrated in the Psalms and the Book of Job, wilderness portrayals in art became more prevalent in the 1800s, especially in the works of the Romantic movement.

British artists John Constable and J. M. W. Turner turned their attention to capturing the beauty of the natural world in their paintings. Before that, paintings had been primarily of religious scenes or of human beings. William Wordsworth‘s poetry described the wonder of the natural world, which had formerly been viewed as a threatening place. Increasingly the valuing of nature became an aspect of Western culture. This artistic movement also coincided with the Transcendentalist movement in the Western world.
Also in the realm of ideas about beauty in nature is that the perfect is implied through perfect mathematical forms and more generally by patterns in nature. As David Rothenburg writes, “The beautiful is the root of science and the goal of art, the highest possibility that humanity can ever hope to see”.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

I’ve been thinking about the connection between nature and humans. I want to start by looking at the definitions and compositions of the natural earth as well as human response to nature over time. This is the first of my exploration into natures ability to heal and wellness of mind. Enjoy.

All information is generally found online in the public domain or written by me for reading pleasure.