Posts tagged with "experience"

Changes and Gifts: Taking Stock…

Sea of grass = winds of change

It’s a few days until our next wilderness experience, so there is a natural focussing of the mind on next steps etc. I then thought that perhaps what I need to do is a bit of a “stop and take stock” exercise around the whole Natural Change experience so far. So, forgive me if this post is a bit of a random collection - but I’ll pick up the threads over the coming weeks hopefully.

So, what have I learned/experienced so far? What are the tangible changes and the gifts it has brought?

1. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, there is a definite change in my motivation relating to all things “eco”. I’m still coming to terms as to what is the potential scale and scope of the changes I can make, both personally and “professionally”, but there is a definite will that didn’t exist before, which now comes from my heart, not just my head.

2. I’m getting out more - much more. For a woman who previously thought the great outdoors was that space between the taxi and the front door of Harvey Nics, this is significant! My lovely walking boots - see my earliest posts - are no longer shiny and have seen good use in woodland, hills and seashore. I now crave the chance to be outdoors and the sense of perspective and wellbeing it brings me - and am prioritising it above other things.

3. I’m consuming less - and am seeing a noticeable reduction in my desire for “stuff” and the need to be validated by my purchases. That said, there’s still an Armani suit I’ve got my eye on… 

4. I’m wasting less food - through planning meals better and cooking more, as well as buying local and from farmers markets.

5. I’m striving to apply the personal learning that I’ve experienced - which is hard to quantify here - into my life and work, even if it’s just applying some of the tips and techniques for team building and simplicity of approach.

That’s the good stuff, but what are the challenges that remain? Well, aside from the ongoing nagging doubt about whether anyone except us is remotely interested in all this, there is one ”biggie”: I feel a strong sense of wanting to move on from the “personal healing” aspect of the project - which has been astonishingly powerful and an unanticipated gift - to how I/we/us can make a difference in relation to sustainability. But - and it’s a big but - there are so many people and organisations fighting this good fight - what contribution can I make? Believe me, my own sense of expectation around this is big enough, without the added expectations of WWF and co! I’m in the voluntary sector because I want to change the world…

But, most of all, the thing I keep coming back to again and again at this stocktaking moment, is the amazing - AMAZING - group of people who have been on this journey alongside me every single step of the way. It’s hard to communicate the deep bond that has developed between us without running the risk of doing it an injustice - I’ll leave that Herculean task to the final research report! But the trust, openness, intelligence, courage, respect, warmth and laughter that have been the hallmarks of our times together have reinstilled in me my oft-assaulted view that human beings are pretty wonderful creatures actually.

That, readers, gives me hope. And, if nothing else, that in itself is a beautiful gift.

Resources (ONE)

I have thousands (and I mean thousands) of references for material that supports the theories and practices that underpin the Natural Change approach. I’ve selected a few here and will post lots more in the next few weeks.

It’s that time, I feel, when we need to validate, contextualise and make sense of our experiences together. We’re not alone and we’re not mad! Human’s have been ‘doing Natural Change’, well, since we became human!

Nature is our home - makes sense to spend some time there!

Here’s the refs…

Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: perception and language in a more-than-human world.
New York: Pantheon Books.

Beringer, A. (1999). “On adventure therapy and Earth healing.”
Australian Journal of Outdoor Education 4(1): 33-39.

Birrel, C. (2001). “A Deepening Relationship With Place.”
Australian Journal of Outdoor Education 6(1): 25 - 30.

Brookes, A. (1994). “Reading Between the Lines - Outdoor Experience as Environmental Text.”
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance: 28 - 39.

Bucke, R. M. (1956). Cosmic consciousness: a study in the evolution of the human mind. New York: Dutton.

Capra, F. (1997). The Web of Life: A new Synthesis of Mind and Matter.
London: HarperCollins.

Chawla, L. (1998). “Significant life experiences revisited: a review of research on sources of environmental sensitivity.”
Environmental Education Research 4(4): 369-382.

Clinebell, H. (1996). Ecotherapy: healing ourselves, healing the earth; a guide to ecologically grounded personality theory, spirituality, therapy, and education.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Cobb, E. (1977). The ecology of imagination in childhood.
New York: Columbia University Press.

Cooper, G. (1994)”The Role of Outdoor Education in Education for the 21st Century.”
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership 11(2): 9 - 12.

Cooper, G. (1996). “Assessing the Value of Outdoor and Environmental Education Programmes Provided by Residential Centres.”
Environmental Education Research 23.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. and I. S. Csikszentmihalyi (1988). Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness.
New York: Cambridge University Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. and I. S. Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Adventure and the Flow Experience. Adventure Education. J. Miles and S. Priest.
PA: Venture Publications.

Deikman, A. J. (2000). A functional approach to mysticism.
Cognitive models and spiritual maps: Interdisciplinary explorations of religious experience. J. Andresen and R. K. C. Forman.
San Francisco: University of California

Duenkel, N. and H. Scott (1994). “Ecotourism’s Hidden Potential: Altering Perceptions of Reality.”
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance: 40 - 47.

Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism : archaic techniques of ecstasy.
New York: Bollingen Foundation; distributed by Pantheon Books.

Ellis, M. J. (1973). Why people play.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

Ewert, A. (1989). Outdoor adventure pursuits and self-concept: Foundations theories and models.
Columbus, Ohio: Publishing Horizons Inc.

Fox, W. (1990). Toward a transpersonal ecology: developing new foundations for environmentalism.
Boston: Shambhala.

Greenway, R. (1996). “Wilderness Experience and Ecopsychology.”
International Journal of Wilderness 2(1): 26-30.

Haluza-Delay, R. (2001). “Nothing here to care about: Participant constructions of nature following a 12-day wilderness program.”
Journal of Environmental Education 32(4)

Harper, S. (1995). The Way of the Wilderness.
Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind.
San Francisco: Sierra Club

Henderson, R. (1999). The Place of Deep Ecology and Ecopsychology in Adventure Education. Adventure Programming. J. Miles and S. Priest.
PA: Venture Publications.

Herbert, J. T. (1998). “Therapeutic effects of participating in an adventure therapy program.” Rehabilitation Counselling Bulletin 41(3) Mar 1998

James, W. (1902). The Varieties of Religious Experience.
USA: Longmans, Green & Co.

Kanner, A. and M. Gomes (1995). The all-consuming self.
Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind. T. Roszak, M. E. Gomes and A. D. Kanner.
San Francisco: Sierra Club: 77-91.

Kaplan, R. and J. F. Talbot (1983). Psychological benefits of a wilderness experience. Behavior and the natural environment. I. Altman and W. J. F.
New York: Plenum.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning : experience as the source of learning and development.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

Martin, P. (1999). Critical Outdoor Education and Nature as Friend. Adventure Education. J. Miles and S. Priest.
PA: Venture.

Maslow, A. H. (1959). “Cognition of Being in Peak Experiences.”
Journal of Genetic Psychology 94: 43 - 66.

Maslow, A. H. (1962). “Lessons from the Peak Experiences.”
Journal of Humanistic Psychology 2: 9-18.

Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being.
Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.

Maslow, A. H. (1970). Religions, Value & Peak Experiences.
New York: Viking Press.

Mezirow, J. (1990). Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: a guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Miles, J. (1995). Wilderness as Healing Place.
The Theory of Experiential Education. Warren, Sakofs and Hunt.
Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Mortlock, C. (1984). The Adventure Alternative.
Milnthorpe, UK: Cicerone Press.

Mortlock, C. (2001). Beyond Adventure.
Milnthorpe, UK: Cicerone Press.

Naess, A. (1989). “Ecosophy and Gestalt Ontology.”
The Trumpeter 5(4).

Orr, D. (1992). Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Palmer, J. A. (1992). “Life Experiences of Environmental Educators.”
Environmental Education Research 41.

Palmer, J. A., J. Suggate, et al. (1998). “An overview of significant influences and formative experiences on the development of adult’s environmental awareness in nine countries.” Environmental Education Research 4(4): 445-464.

Pirsig, R. (1974). Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
London: The Bodley Head.

Roszak, T. (1992). The Voice of the Earth: an Exploration of Ecopsychology.
Grand Rapids: Phanes.

Roszak, T., M. E. Gomes, et al., Eds. (1995). Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind.
San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Sessions, G. (1995). Deep ecology for the twenty-first century.
Boston: Shambhala

Stringer, L. and L. McAvoy (1995). The Need for Something Different: Spirituality and wilderness adventure.
The Theory of Experiential Education. Warren, Sakofs and Hunt.
Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Tanner, T. (1980). “Significant life experiences: a new research area in environmental education.”
Journal of Environmental Education 11(4): 20-24.

Watts, A. W. (1990). The Way of Zen.
New York: Arkana/ Penguin.

A-gendered Wilderness

I have been reading some papers on women and wilderness for the literature review of the report on Natural Change.  They have been very interesting, pointing out the power that wilderness experiences, solo time, and therapy can have for women.  Equally they write eloquently how these experiences can challenge particular issues that women face in modern societies…  However there seems to be an underlying assumption, or perhaps a question unasked - ‘are women’s experiences of wild places different to men’s?’ It seems that all the benefits these authors talk about such as raised self-esteem, change in perspective, mental clarity - are things taken from the men in this project (including myself, and confirmed in my wider experience doing this sort of work).

Steven Harper writes about the way that gender comes out on his wilderness programmes - he feels that both the biological facts and the socialized roles of gender emerge, but he doesn’t claim that gender affects the nature of the experience.  Robert Greenway notices some difference between men’s and women’s approaches - men looking more towards challenge and conquering fear, and women tending to feel that they have ‘come home’ to nature.  But these points aren’t expanded.

From my perspective, bringing together the research findings, i would be reluctant to make any claims about differences between men’s and women’s experiences, i would be happier to talk about the difference between people’s experiences…  

What do you think? 

I have included some references for those interested:

Angell, J. (1994). The wilderness solo. Women & Therapy, 15(3), 85 - 99.

Greenway, R. (1995). The wilderness effect and ecopsychology. In T. Roszak, M. E. Gomes & A. D. Kanner (Eds.), Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club.

Harper, S. (1995). The way of wilderness. In T. Roszak, M. E. Gomes & A. D. Kanner (Eds.), Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club.

Pohl, S. L., Borrie, W. T., & Patterson, M. E. (2000). Women, wilderness and everyday life:  a documentation of the connection between wilderness recreation and women’s everyday lives. Journal of Leisure Research, 32(4), 415 - 434.

Powch, I. G. (1994). Wilderness Therapy. Women & Therapy, 15(3), 11 - 27.

Spaces in between

I’ve started noticing how often there are adverts in the in-between places - magazine ads in train stations, airports, doctors’ waiting rooms; commercial breaks in a TV programme; billboards next to roads.

These are places where we’re in transition – where the flow of experience is interrupted or suspended, places where our sense of self can be a bit shaky - where we need to grab on to something and say ‘this is me!’ These spaces can feel empty and lonely.

But if we stop and stay quiet in these spaces, there’s a chance to open out into what’s going on right now, and to catch a glimpse of ourselves at a deeper level. That’s a place where there’s a great potential for healing. And we have to be tender with ourselves - and each other - in that place.

Expressing the inexpressable

I’ve got my work cut out! On one hand, and i think you’ll agree, these blogs give a window into an amazing and stimulating experience for all of us, on the other there will always be the struggle to communicate the deep heart of the experiences we have had. Everyone is finding their way through that challenge. For the research it is doubly interesting: I have the privalidge of recording a lot of what people say and do during the workshops (though leaving the notebook outside of the personal sessions), i also get to bring this together with all the blogs and look at the progression and change that shines forth from them. Somehow though i have to unite all this together into a report that will do justice to the life of this project - the beating heart - the group process, and experiences of all of us. Hmmm - its going to be tough

Capturing the a series of instants in the research - a flash photo

There are a series of instants - blogs, words, actions, and these are recorded to the best of my ability - with time put aside for the participants to make sure they are happy with what i have recorded. In some ways these might capture the inexpressable.

a slow exposure - capturing the flow of change in the research

The changes in language, actions, feelings, the changes in the focus of the blogs, the evolution of the word cloud (that series of words down at the bottom right of your screen gives an indication of the topics of interest - the bigger the word the more important) - all these things indicate change and flow - where we have come from and where we might be going to.

uprising - currents welling up from under the surface

This leaves lots of interesting questions - can you do justice to experience in words? Should all experiences be easily describable? How much are we interpreting the land and how much is the land speaking through us? How do you say what is happening mid-way through a process? Getting under the surface of the issues of sustainability, of ecology (the pattern that connects), of relationship, puts us into an evolving river of meaning which might lead to many places. Even a year later we might not have understood the full impact of the project. All these are good reasons to do things we can’t quite find the words for…

So instead of writing a report maybe i will just submit this video!

I am only joking, but it does raise the question of what constitutes a record of a project - why do we need words and what type of words would be best?

How much do you share?

If you know me you know that I love people and talking lots.  But during this experience I’ve quietened down.  And I don’t like it. 

The people I’m sharing this with are amazing.  I mean, like REALLY amazing – and inspiring.

So all I’m doing here is listening and observing.

And although I normally react immediately to experiences, this time I’m confused, so I’m being quieter and I’m finding that I need more time to process what’s going on.

I’ve become an involuntary observer in this group – listening to others with awe and although I’m trying not to think about it because I don’t want to let the group down, I can’t help but feel disconnected.  Because to feel connected I need to share emotions and experiences – disclosure, pain or joy – or anything in between.  And if my experience is shallow, is that still authentic?

What’s it like to be part of a group where you feel disconnected, or different?  How does it affect your experience?  And do we need to do things or talk lots in a group to contribute?

How much does this happen in our society and what are the effects of this disconnect?

If we don’t all agree, can we still have a shared vision?

The most amazing thing

Woke up with a horrible ugly sty in my eye this morning. But once outside I enjoyed the smell of the sea and grass, the subtleties of the autumn colours and the light on the beach. And then we broke the silence and listened to each other’s stories. And every story told a story about their encounter with nature. And every single one was unique.

And it sounds clichéd, but the most amazing thing was that these stories about nature gave us permission to share who we are with the group as if we’d been together for a very long time. And that was a gift to give and a privilege to receive.

So what happens next? What are the answers? Well, I don’t even know what the questions are yet. But this is only a few days into a 6 month experience. So you’ll just have to slow down, be patient and wait and see what story unfolds. Just like I will.

Beyond cynicism

One of the key questions of this whole project is: what does it feel like to experience change? The “change” we are talking about is our sense of the world around us, the context of the destruction we are wreaking on the planet. But – and as I order my thoughts this is becoming clearer – any change has to start at an individual level. So, that’s the process we are going through – and I have to say it feels challenging; and it feels difficult, but it also feels like a reconnection with something “right”. Oh dear, verging into “new age” territory there, and that’s a danger with this whole exercise I suppose – so much if the language about our respect for the earth and existing alongside all other life forms, shares a lexicon with that movement. I’m sure that must be a barrier to this kind of work and approach. But you get a sense that this (whatever this is) was here first – centuries ago – and that it has been hijacked in some way – with charlatans and those seeking to make profit from people’s vulnerabilities meaning the true message has been lost. So, I’m trying to keep my cynicism at bay, and also trying to find a way of expressing all of this which would pass the “Glasgow taxi driver” test – try explaining to him in a way that rings true!

Someone help me!

Spending time with nature can be anything, walking in the park is something my brother compares with a dawn till dusk solo experience in the wilderness. So how did I end up here and why am I here?

These are questions one can ask at anytime and at any stage in their life and you don’t necessarily have to be on a WWF project in the middle of nowhere and be on your own for a whole day to be able to ask these questions or answer them. A day that was so powerful in more ways than I can ever explain and the initial thoughts were ‘wow, I can’t wait to just stop and be on my own’. These things are easy to think about and knowing that you need to stop however, how often does the chance come along to stop and have ‘me time’? The time may come along, however, are we willing to really let go of everything and anything that we hold onto in our daily lives. I felt as though I was ready, ready to go on a solo experience, off into the hills and work things out. (sounds cheesy and all tree hugging but that’s what I thought)

God was I wrong. The night before I felt really scared, unsure and afraid of everything that was going on. To an extent I didn’t feel ready for this solo experience and I wasn’t too sure of the area I was in and I just had all these questions. I really didn’t want to do it…someone help me! I was asking.