Blog
Read these short blog posts to explore the Conventional and Natural Paradigms, and what it might mean to you to Re-Align with Nature.
 It seems crazy that with our dramatically increasing population, we also have dramatically increasing rates of loneliness. We can be surrounded by people — including those we count as family and friends — and still feel alone. We might feel misunderstood, left out, out of synch, isolated, unable to trust. It’s not only a bad feeling, it’s bad for our health.
Given the characteristics of the “real world” — where behaviors and decisions are made based on a mindset of scarcity, individuality, competition, greed, resistance, and fear — it’s no wonder we feel lonely. Really, how could you not? It also seems crazy that many of us find solace by being alone — in Nature. But of course that makes sense, because Nature’s Paradigm is based on abundance and systems, synergies and trust, resilience and curiosity. When we’re immersed in Nature, we engage in the world from Nature’s Paradigm, so we don’t feel alone — we feel among. Every living being in Nature understands and is understood by all of the others. Every being is always included, in-synch, and engaged. It is impossible for a being in Nature to be alone. And guess what — you’re a being of Nature! You’re an active part of the big wonderful whole! Many of us don’t feel that way, at least not as often as we’d like. But we can, anytime, by learning to let go of the triggers and traps of the Conventional Paradigm and re-discovering our own innate Natural Paradigm. I’m calling the process “Re-aligning with Nature”. To give you a little sense of the insights that might emerge for you, try this activity, called Wild Wisdom: Go outside and sit in front of a tree. Be with the tree for a moment or two, recognizing how it exists in Nature with the Natural Paradigm. Silently, in your head, explain what is challenging, stressing, or triggering you, keeping you from living fully from your Natural Paradigm and being your best self. Pause and imagine what kind of clarifying questions the tree might ask you, keeping in mind that the tree doesn’t have much experience with the craziness that arises for humans living in the Conventional Paradigm. Answer these questions and imagine the next ones that might come up for the tree. Keep going, imaging and answering questions, until insights emerge. Pause for a moment to thank your friend for their insights. If you have time, journal about what emerged. If you’re curious, I invite you to request your [free] Tiny Transformation Workbook. If you want more, please explore the on-demand course Re-Aligning with Nature, Re-Discovering the Power of Your Natural Inspiration, Creativity, and Wisdom >>> Use the coupon code SUMMER-50 to get the course for 50% off, if you register by the end of August.
0 Comments
 There is so much written about the leaders, leading, and leadership. But most of us, most of the time, are followers. Most of the time, we don’t make decisions and take actions that are the result of our own original and independent reflection and thinking — we simply follow the thinking and the lead of others.
For example, we might pick out our own clothing, but we choose from what others have already designed and marketed, and what we believe to be socially acceptable (as determined by others). We might decide who to vote for, but we choose from among available candidates, most of whom are still white, male, and privileged. We might choose to eat local or use less energy, but those of us in the US live in a country that consumes 5 times more resources than the Earth can support. As followers, we may feel that our role is passive. We’re not the one responsible for making the big-impact decisions or making big things happen — we’re just one among many, going with the flow. We may not even recognize that we’re followers, who or what we’re following, or why. But following is not passive. Following is intentional. Following has consequences. I have been suggesting that those of us engaging with the “real world” are following the Conventional Paradigm yet are likely unaware that we do — and that’s a dangerous and unhealthy thing for ourselves, our society, and Nature. “Unintended consequences are the predictable result of intentional ignorance.” ~ Denise DeLuca, Re-Aligning with Nature | Ecological Thinking for Radical Innovation I believe that a core problem is that good people — meaning most of us — make choices that have bad, albeit unintended, consequences. We abdicate responsibility for consequences to the leaders. In our western capitalist society, many of the people we make into leaders — people we choose to follow — are driven to accumulate personal wealth and power, regardless of the consequences to people and planet. They lead from the Conventional Paradigm. Take a moment to reflect on who you are following, what they value, what paradigm drives their decision-making. I’m guessing they are not aligned with your values or Nature’s Paradigm, your Natural Paradigm. It’s an enormous issue, but you can start by being clear about your own values and begin the journey of (re)aligning with Nature and your Natural Paradigm. If you’re curious, I invite you to request your [free] Tiny Transformation Workbook. If you want more, please explore the on-demand course Re-Aligning with Nature, Re-Discovering the Power of Your Natural Inspiration, Creativity, and Wisdom >>> Use the coupon code SUMMER-50 to get the course for 50% off, if you register by the end of August.  You love Nature, you feel good in Nature, you want more Nature in your life. Of course you do — you’re human! According to E.O. Wilson, humans have an innate love of and desire to connect with other living things, with Nature — this is called biophilia. Experiencing biophilia has been shown to provide numerous physiological and neurological benefits.
Most of us seek to experience biophilia by spending time in Nature, gardening, growing plants indoors, and cooking with fresh produce, herbs, and spices. We may also use natural products and patterns to adorn and care for our homes and ourselves. Biophilic design invokes the experience of biophilia in the built environment. This may take shape as a living wall, undulating surfaces, views of nature, or something more subtle like changes in indoor air and lighting throughout the day. Biophilic design has been shown to increase everything from productivity and test scores to creativity and healing. I believe there is yet another way for us to experience biophilia — we can intentionally express our Natural Paradigm [ https://www.wildhazel.net/blog/what-is-natures-paradigm ]. Most of us spend most of our time in the “real world” where we experience and express the Conventional Paradigm: scarcity, individuality, competition, greed, resistance, and fear. Living in this paradigm leads us to feeling too busy, too stressed, too consumptive — and too disconnected from Nature. Most of us only express and experience our Natural Paradigm in our personal time, when we have a chance to engage with the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of Nature. This is when we view the world with a sense of abundance, systems, synergies, trust, resilience, and curiosity. It’s a wonderful, expansive feeling that is curiously both calming and exciting. Learning to intentionally shift your mindset — and associated behaviors and decisions — from the Conventional Paradigm to the Natural Paradigm allows you to experience the benefits of biophilia any time, from the inside out. What might that look like? I’m guessing you walk around with a sense of scarcity — that you never have enough time or money. That feeling, that assumption, is stressful and makes you act greedy and selfish (though you wouldn’t characterize yourself that way). What if instead you walked around with a sense of abundance? What if you realized that you have enough, probably more than enough? What if your day-to-day goal was to seek more love and beauty, joy and delight, imagination and inspiration — rather than more time and money? If you’re curious, I also invite you to request your [free] Tiny Transformation Workbook [ https://www.wildhazel.net/resources.html ]. If you want more, please explore the on-demand course Re-Aligning with Nature, Re-Discovering the Power of Your Natural Inspiration, Creativity, and Wisdom [ https://www.wildhazel.net/programs.html ] >> Use the coupon code SUMMER-50 to get the course for 50% off, if you register by the end of August.  I recently re-read Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning. When I read it this time, something new stood out to me — his exploration of The Existential Vacuum:
-- At the beginning of human history, man lost some of the basic animal instincts in which an animal’s behavior is embedded and by which it is secured. Such security, like Paradise, is closed to man forever; man has to make choices. In addition to this, however, man has suffered another loss in his more recent development inasmuch as the traditions which buttressed his behavior are now rapidly diminishing. No instinct tells him what he has to do, and no tradition tells him what he ought to do; sometimes he doesn’t even know what he wishes to do. Instead, he either wishes to do what other people do (conformism) or he does what other people wish him to do (totalitarianism). -- Many of us today talk about our desire to reconnect with Nature, to spend more time in Nature. Many of us believe that if all of us spent more time in Nature, felt more connected to Nature, we would take better care of it. Perhaps what Frankl is saying is that the deeper problem is our disconnection from Nature’s Paradigm and our simultaneous adherence to the Conventional Paradigm. When adhering to the Conventional Paradigm, we are driven by conformism and totalitarianism rather than our own instinctual values and priorities. Under these conditions, the choices we make, individually and collectively, are not only harmful to the planet, they are harmful to our individual sense of self as well as to society as a whole. What is the answer? According to Frankl, we need to search for meaning in life. -- … the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world, rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. … being human always points, and is directed, to something, or someone, other than oneself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all … it is only possible as a side effect of self-transcendence. -- I believe this means that we need to let go of — transcend — our collective value of individuality, competition, greed, and fear, and re-discover our instinctual and natural value of systems, synergies, trust, and curiosity. We need to let go of the triggers and traps of the Conventional Paradigm and re-discover Nature’s Paradigm. I’m very curious what you all think. |
AuthorDenise DeLuca Archives
October 2023
Categories |
RSS Feed
(C) 2023 Wild Hazel LLC