The Magic of Council: Creating a Sacred Structure for Soul Communication

by Lynnaea Lumbard, Ph.D.

There are four basic guidelines for participating in council:
1) Listen from the heart
2) Speak from the heart.
3) Be spontaneous.
4) Be lean.

I put Listen from the heart first, for most of council and most of any real communication is about listening. The point is to listen fully to each person, staying present for what he or she is saying and not rehearsing what you are going to say. This has its own magic, for when you listen from your heart, it is like opening your arms and receiving the other person. They know it and feel it and something comes forward from them that wouldn’t otherwise. They unfold as deeper, more thoughtful, and more concerned people in front of your eyes. When you listen from your heart, you hear what’s going on underneath their words and it becomes increasingly difficult to judge them.

Speaking from the heart asks us to pause, slow down, breathe, and tune into our deeper self. We drop into our vulnerability and our truth, letting our souls do the talking and not just our heads or our reactions. Speaking from the heart could be a guideline for any utterance, at any time, anywhere. I use it as a mantra, continually reminding myself that my intention is to speak from my heart.

Being spontaneous is another way of saying, “you don’t have to rehearse to be yourself.” People are infinitely more interested in hearing our real, authentic feelings and thoughts than what we think we should say or have planned to say. Letting go of our “performers” and just being direct and honest with whatever comes up takes us into soul relationship with our listeners. We all long for places where we can just tell the truth without having to look good.

Being lean means saying what is essential, what needs to be said. Sometimes we need to say a lot, but we all have been in situations where someone in a circle loses consciousness of the others and rambles on and on. Less is often more. Lean is important whether we are in a dyadic council with our partner working on the issues of relationship or in a group sharing our responses to an event. It implies that you have listened to what else has been said and only need to say what has not been said. Your piece adds to a whole that emerges from everyone. One of the great mysteries of council is that the whole, when everyone has said their small piece, is infinitely more magical and beautiful than the sum of its parts might imply.
These four guidelines, coupled with offering a dedication to the council and insisting that only the person who has the talking piece can talk, create a sacred structure that transforms ordinary conversation into very different kind of dialogue which carries the quality of a soul communion. Suddenly one feels safe to speak the deeper truths. Everything is changed by these simple adjustments to our speaking with each other. It is amazing that something so simple could work so well.

Yet it does. I so trust the process of council that whenever I want to deepen the connection or open into a soul dialogue with someone or a group, I call for a council. This has taken me into some interesting situations and through some difficult territories, yet always the result is more understanding, more compassion, more love, and more connection with others. Ultimately, I come away from any council in awe of what fabulous, intricate, delicate beings we are and the power we have to learn and grow with and from one another.

I now open and close all workshops with a council. An opening council is almost always about where each individual is in their lives at the moment. I have come to learn that wherever it is, if you speak it, it will move and you will become more present and attuned to the whole. What unfolds through every one’s participation is always richer, truer, and more beautiful than I could have imagined. Even when someone brings up very difficult material for the group to deal with, someone later in the council will offer a completely different perspective that resolves the issue. The knowledge that everyone will be heard allows each individual to relax and be present. Even when you yourself are carrying the difficult material, just getting to speak your few words moves your energy and you can get on with what’s next.

An ending council helps integrate any group experience by allowing the learnings to be named. There is a satisfaction that comes from this naming that completes the energy of a group and lets it be released. In our Vision Fast work, where we take people out into the desert for 11-day wilderness quests[3], council is an essential part of incorporating the quest into daily life. Our being able to speak our stories makes them more real to us. Deep listening to another person’s story helps us understand our own experiences more deeply. A particularly moving ending council found me in a wooded clearing near a Hill Tribe village in Northern Thailand, after a 24-hour solo in the forest. Buddhist monks, American seekers, and activists from all over the world spoke their experiences in council at the end of a ten-day bearing witness walk. Whatever the depth and beauty of our own journey, it was magnified exponentially with every other person’s experience. A solidarity occurred across racial, ethnic, religious, national, and gender lines that remains to this day one of my most inspiring examples of hope for the human race.

Another inspiration of hope is arising out of a Los Angeles pilot project that introduced council in a middle school eleven years ago. Based on a nineteen year old program begun at Crossroads School, council is proving effective in creating respectful and honoring communication amongst kids from diverse and often hostile backgrounds. There are now well over 3000 elementary, middle, and high school students experiencing council on a weekly basis throughout Los Angeles, with additional programs well underway in Boulder, Colorado and other cities.[4] Imagine being in the seventh grade and learning to speak to your peers about what was really concerning you in your life?

My most profound council experience happened last October at the first meeting of the International Wilderness Guides Council, held in Germany. In the center of a circle of 120 guides from all over the world, dedicated to restoring wilderness rites of passage, we held country councils. Ten people from each country would address the questions: What is the greatest challenge in being from your country and what are your greatest resources? The Germans went first, then the South Africans, followed by the Americans. The passion and power of each person’s struggle with pride and shame, frustration and inspiration, insecurity and determination linked all of us at a heart level that completely transcended any national boundaries.

Read the full article at Talking Leaves

The Ecopsychology Connection with Permaculture

Via: http://www.talkingleaves.org/node/138

In an age of overwhelming mistrust, insecurity, and inequality, humans are anxiously striving for a new way to live. People in industrialized countries have created a culture of fearful, ungrounded, disconnected, isolated human beings. Many individuals see these problems and desire a revolutionary social change in our “civilized” lifestyles. People from all realms of life are beginning to create ways to integrate a more relational and holistic worldview into their current lifestyles. Some people are learning how to change their lives by re-creating how they perceive the world and learning to practice sustainability in their everyday activities.

In this article I will discuss why there is so much discontent in the US, relate it to my experience of living in an intentional community in the summer of 2002, and explore the links between the human psyche and the Earth psyche in the emerging field of ecopsychology and in the practices of permaculture. Together, these practices offer one approach to helping create a socially and ecologically sustainable culture and world.

Our Culture

What do humans need? “Air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, clothing, affection, company, stimulating work, freedom from stress, health” (Bell, 37). I would add that humans also need feelings of connectedness, ways of expressing their unique creativity, and a sense of meaningful participation and contribution to something larger than themselves. Do people living and struggling in our current capitalistic society and consumerist culture have all of these basic human needs met? I think there are many people who are deprived of one thing or another. While I was living in the intentional community, Lost Valley Educational Center in Dexter, OR, and enrolled in a Naka-Ima (personal growth) workshop, a dear person shared this quote to help me trust in myself that one’s environment truly is key to their well-being.

“If a seed has to grow with a rock on top of it, or in deep shade, or without enough water, it won’t unfold into a healthy full-sized plant. It will try–hard–because the drive to become what you were meant to be is incredibly powerful. But at best it will become a sort of ghost of what it could be: pale, undersized, drooping… In the age of ecology, we ourselves are the only creature we would ever expect to flourish in an environment that does not give us what we need! We wouldn’t order a spider to spin an exquisite web in empty space, or a seed to sprout on a bare desk top. And yet that is exactly what we have been demanding of ourselves.” (Barbara Sher, Wishcraft, 1979)

What are we all striving for? Why are so many people unhappy? We live in a developed country where many of us find all our basic needs for food, air, water, and shelter easily at our fingertips. The only catch is that we just have to play the game: sell our souls to the global corporate economy and mimic the addictive behaviors of our consumer culture; alienate ourselves from truly sensing our feelings. We have enabled ourselves to hide our fears by learning to be numb and creating a culture of fast cars and movies to distract us from our hectic lives. What about trees, wind, and clear water? Do we not need muddy feet, soiled hands, fresh fruit, sunshine, and beauty? How many of us never fall asleep to the sparkly sky?–or wake up to the birds singing in the fresh air? Do we need mirrors, TV, shopping malls, French fries, sexy dates, and SUVs? Instead of fulfillment, the results of our culture are depression, confusion, alienation, searching, drunken nights at bars, chocolate, coffee to stay awake, credit card debt, obesity, heart attacks, cancer, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness.

Most of the environments people are surrounded by in America are fast paced, loud, competitive, isolated, and lonely, with polluted air, water, and food. “Sadly, the despair and the lack of supportive community that too many of us feel is common throughout America” (Cohen, 81). Can a human being truly find peace in such an environment?

If we are willing to listen to ourselves, an instinctive wisdom inside each of us reminds us that there must be more. The world is full of wonders. There is more to life than work and material possession. We need honest, real connection with humans, animals, trees, and ourselves.

So many of our feelings of confusion and disconnection stem from not realizing that we all have the sensory ability to connect with our natural environment. “Our incredible bewilderment (wilderness separation) blinds us from seeing that our many personal and global problems primarily result from our assault on and separation from the natural creation process within and around us” (Cohen, 82). Human psychological health depends on the health of the earth. If the air, water, and food are polluted, so are those beings trying to live in that environment. Yet, if beings experience the fresh air, clean water, abundant tasty whole food, and honest connection with other beings, those beings shall experience mental, physical, and emotional health. The new term, Biophilia, coined by Edward O. Wilson, refers to the innate emotional affiliation that humans have to other living organisms (Wilson, 1993)

Lost Valley Educational Center

My experience of living at Lost Valley Educational Center allowed me to have a full body and mind experience of love, support, and peace. About 30 adults and seven children have journeyed to this peaceful place in Oregon to create a new cultural lifestyle. In addition to a core organic gardening program that I participated in as an apprentice, they also have multiple other programs from vision quests, self-healing workshops, and meditation retreats, to eco-design construction. Being completely enveloped in this kind of environment created such clarity that I was able to see my vision and move in that direction without many restraints. I have learned to trust myself and experience life through not only my mind, but also my heart and soul.

Why was this possible for me? I believe it was because I was surrounded by a supportive, understanding, open, honest, and loving group of human beings who made me feel 100% accepted and never judged. I was in a place of security. Being surrounded by holistic, conscious people allowed me to practice interacting with others and myself in a more positive manner.

In addition to the healthy human relationships, the beauty and freshness I was surrounded by day and night was also key to my peaceful experience. Sleeping in a meadow surrounded by huge oak and fir trees, in my tent or just under the stars in the quiet fresh air every night, helped my mental health gain more balance. Cooking and eating in the outdoor kitchen, bathing in the outdoor solar shower, and working in the gardens among the many plants, chickens, and ducks created such a relaxed lifestyle. No cars, traffic, cement, dirty air, lack of shade, or rushing required! Just clean air, trees, open sky, wonderful healthy food, a community of trusting, open friends all around, and peace and harmony with great communication, yoga, meditation, dancing, singing, and swimming.

After I returned to the East Coast, I realized, when connecting my learning of permaculture and my experience of living in a community, that my experience could be encapsulated by the word ecopsychology. I learned how to simultaneously heal myself and practice sustainable farming and living skills, which, I found, innately work together. Social and ecological change happens in all aspects of life, and everyone is playing their unique role in the interdependent web of life.

What Is Ecopsychology?

People define the field of ecopsychology in various ways. The connection between nature and humans, which is being split in the modern world, is the basis for all the definitions of ecopsychology. Ecopsychology addresses the field of psychology and the field of environmental management by acknowledging that human health and environmental health depend on each other.

At the core of ecopsychology is the realization that our relationships with the environment directly affect our relationships with each other (Hodgson, 1). Theodore Roszak, who gave the first definition of ecopsychology, says it is a way of including ecological insight with psychotherapy in such a way that there is a “re-defining of ’sanity’ as if the whole world mattered” (Roszak, 1998). Roszak claims there is an ecological intelligence deeply rooted in each human being that is connected to the psyche of the Earth (Roszak, 16).

In the practice of ecopsychology, our sense of place and interconnectedness is strengthened, which results in becoming better “stewards of the land.” Therefore, healing the human psyche will lead to healing the earth (Scull, 2).

There is a plethora of diverse practices individuals can engage in to apply ecopsychology in their lives. These can include anything from studying indigenous worldviews and practices in order to cultivate an ecological self identity, or connecting inner and outer realities through experiencing breath awareness, to eschewing mass consumer culture and choosing to practice “mindful presence and loving connection” (Elan Shapiro, 2002).

The Permaculture Link

Permaculture, a design system that seeks to create sustainable living systems, is a field where much ecopsychological philosophy can be applied. Permaculture is practiced at Lost Valley Educational Center with an undercurrent of the ecopsychological worldview. Spiritual, ecological, and psychological thought and work allow people in all different realms of life to integrate ecopsychological philosophies into their lives.

Many people have offered definitions of permaculture. Bill Mollison, the founder of Permaculture, defines it as “a design system for creating sustainable human environments. On one level, permaculture deals with plants, animals, buildings, and infrastructures (water, energy, communications). However, permaculture is not about these elements themselves, but rather about the relationships we can create between them by the way we place them in the landscape” (Mollison, 1).

Once people gain an “ecopsychological” view of the world, many become interested in learning how to practice permaculture in all aspects of their lives. For some individuals it may be just simply recycling their waste every week; for others, it may be completely changing the value system that they live by and creating a new cultural way of life. Anyone can practice permaculture, in the way they garden, how they design their house, or just simply by being more conscious of the choices they make every day concerning food, energy, and water use. An ecopsychological view of the world sees the intimate relationship between the earth’s health and human health, both of which are enhanced by permaculture.

One must be centered, emotionally and mentally clear, to fully grasp the new paradigm of permaculture. From that place of awareness and intention, it is much easier to learn the related practical skills.

Back at Lost Valley

My experience at Lost Valley Educational Center as a garden apprentice learning permaculture practices also placed great emphasis on interpersonal relationships and self-healing through the application of an ecopsychological worldview. I and the other apprentices and interns learned about and practiced companion planting techniques, forest gardening, how tree guilds function, how to create alternative forms of energy, and how to use herbs for medicinal purposes. In addition to all of these practical skills, we simultaneously were engaged in non-violent communication skills, community living organization and functioning, interpersonal communication, and workshops on developing the inner self with all our relations: other people, our natural environment, and ourselves.

Lost Valley Educational Center is very focused on exploring human relationships and connections in the context of a peaceful, healthy, natural environment. I believe that experiencing all of this together as an interconnected web of life allowed me to move through one of the most personally transformative experiences of my life. As a result of the community’s emphasis on personal growth and connection with others and the natural environment, I have been able to move closer to my vision of living a lifestyle that incorporates permaculture principles. I can now trust my ecopsychological worldview as working for me in terms of being able to see my vision clearly.

Conclusion

There are numerous individuals and communities in this world working on achieving a social revolution to gain a healthy way of living with cultural and ecological connectedness. Be honest with yourself. Have you created a lifestyle that brings you true happiness? If you feel something is missing, maybe you should investigate ways in your own life to re-establish connectedness with yourself, with your friends and family, and with the natural environment that creates all life.

Bibliography

Bell, Graham. The Permaculture Way: Practical Steps to Create a Self-Sustaining World. 1992: Thorsons, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Cohen, Michael J. Reconnecting with Nature: Finding Wellness through Restoring your Bond with the Earth. 1997: EcoPress, Corvallis, Oregon.
Hodgson, Cathleen, and Jill Heine. Shamanism and Ecopsychology. Copyright 1995: Sterling Rose Press, Inc. (World Wide Web–viewed 11-18-02–www.celestia.com/SRP/AM95/Html/Shamanism.html)
Mollison, Bill and Reny Mia Slay. Introduction to Permaculture. 1991: Tagari Publications, Tyalgum, Australia.
Roszak, Theodore. 1998. “Ecopsychology On-Line: With Earth in Mind.” Copyright 1998: The Ecopsychology Institute. (World Wide Web–visited 10-9-02–ecopsychology.athabascau.ca/).
Roszak, Theodore. “Where Psyche Meets Gaia.” In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. 1995: Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.
Scull, John. “Caring for the Land.” (World Wide Web–viewed 10-3-02–www.ecopsychology.org/gatherings3/land.html).
Sher, Barbara. Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want. 1979: Penguin Putnam.
Wilson, Edward O. The Biophilia Hypothesis. 1993: Island Press/Shearwater, Washington DC. (World Wide Web–visited 12-15-02–www.dhushara.com/book/diversit/restor/bph1.htm).

Myra McKenney submitted a longer version of this article as her independent paper at Cornell University. She will be graduating in May 2003 and is in search of what to do when she is free from college and where she can find places to start creating a new way of life. If you know of anything you think would be of interest to her, please contact her at mbm242003@yahoo.com or at (607) 272-6131 (at Von Cramm Co-op with a phone shared by 30 people).

©2003 Talking Leaves
Spring 2003
Volume 13, Number 1
Communication & Eco-Culture

Ageless Mobility – Scott Sonnon

Ageless Mobility Part 1

Ageless Mobility Part 2

Ageless Mobility Part 3

Ageless Mobility Part 4

Ageless Mobility Part 5

Intuflow Joint Mobility

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 1

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 2

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 3

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 4

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 5

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 6

Bust Your Bad Mood with Exercise

Use Fitness, Not Food, to Change Your State of Mind
— By Jason Anderson, Certified Personal Trainer

from http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/articles_print.asp?id=1276

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–>Some days, I am just in a mood. I don’t know what you call it, maybe stressed, bored, lonely, angry, sad, anxious, or tired. I call it “getting into a funk.” When it happens, I have allowed my circumstances to dictate my attitude and my thinking and then—bam! Before I know what hit me, I’m in a full-blown funk. While I like to exercise when a bad mood rises, others turn to unhealthy habits like emotional eating or smoking. When you’re upset, stressed or otherwise not feeling like yourself, exercise—and the mood-enhancing endorphins it produces—can be the best thing for you. Don’t you believe me?

The next time you feel that mood coming on, identify what you’re feeling and why. Are you bored because your best friend is out of town? Are you feeling lonely since the kids have left the nest? Or maybe you are stressing over finances. Whatever it is, pinpoint it. Then use the specific ideas below to bust your bad mood with a feel-good exercise prescription.

Your Mood: Angry
Your blood is boiling! You want to take this anger out on someone before you explode!
Mood Busting Exercises: Kickboxing, boxing, shadowboxing, or martial arts.
Whether you follow a kickboxing video or take a group class, you’ll release anger with every punch, kick and jab. Imagine the target of your anger as you do a set of 12 front kicks! Besides getting your anger out you’ll blast calories with these cardio workouts. Any form of martial arts, often overlooked as a form of exercise, will also work. Besides actually making contact with pads, targets, and shields (a major stress and anger releaser!), you’ll gain gaining confidence, discipline, and focus.

Your Mood: Bored
You’re stuck in a rut and want to do something interesting, but you’re not sure what.
Mood Busting Exercises: Spinning class, step aerobics, or a new fitness DVD
Beat boredom (without food) by taking a high-energy Spinning class at your local gym. Set to great tunes, you’ll be surprised how quickly an hourlong class flies by. Step aerobics is another great workout when you’re bored because it’s always changing. You have to concentrate on the choreography—sort of like learning a simple dance that involves a step. You’ll build skills and feel really accomplished when it’s over! Lastly, head to the library or video rental store and pick up the first workout DVD that looks interesting to you. Do it at home or invite a friend over to try your newest exercise venture!

Your Mood: Lonely
When you feel lonely, throwing a pity party for one will only make it worse. Sometimes the best thing for you is to get out and socialize.
Mood Busting Exercises: Any group fitness class
Exercising with a group of people who are all following the same routine and all have similar goals can really make you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. No matter what type of class you choose, there are plenty of reasons why group classes are so popular: They offer social support, a friendly environment and an opportunity to meet people who have similar interests.

Your Mood: Depressed
Depression is no joke. Millions of people suffer from depression that is debilitating and emotionally painful, but exercise is scientifically proven to help treat depression. While finding the motivation to take the first step is the hardest part, the right activity can help.
Mood Busting Exercises: Outdoor walking, biking, or running
There’s something restorative about nature. Getting outside to breathe in fresh air and admire the scenery can make a world of difference in your perspective. Plus, regular exposure to sunlight can boost your mood and ward of seasonal depression, too. No matter what outdoor pursuit you enjoy (think outside of the box and try canoeing, climbing, or team sports, too), moving your body can help improve your outlook and symptoms.

Your Mood: Stressed
We’re all busy, often taking on more responsibilities than we can handle. When life gets crazy and you want to throw in the towel, you can wind down without giving up on your obligations.
Mood Busting Exercises: Mind-body exercises like yoga, Pilates, or Tai chi
Mind-body exercises take focus, patience, and attention. Because of the complexities of maintaining the correct form and breathing, which connects the mind and body, it’s almost impossible to think about your to-do list while you’re in the middle of a good yoga or Pilates class, for example. The quiet, meditative atmosphere in these classes (and videos) allows you to tune in to the present moment—something that the overly stressed should do more often! If you’re thinking that you’re too busy or overwhelmed to try a class, then take advantage of short video workouts that are often broken up into 10- to 30- minute segments.

Have you ever finished a workout and thought to yourself, “I wish I hadn’t done that! I really just wasted my time.” Probably not. Chances are you feel better physically and mentally. Regardless of your funk, exercise can be a useful tool to get you back to bust your bad mood and get back to your normal self. What are you waiting for?

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What does it mean to “hold space?”

via http://www.mythic-cartography.org/category/podcasts/

What does it mean to “hold space” for emerging social technologies, like Non-violent communication, Consensus decision making, Agile Teamwork, and Open Space Technology gatherings? What skills do we need to do so? What happens if we don’t choose to hold intention and attention around the social spaces that we create?

I interview Diana Larsen, of FutureWorks Consulting,  a world-class facilitator in teamwork and social technologies (and coincidentally, my mother). Together we explore the world of “holding space”.

Holding Space With Diana Larsen – COMC Podcast Episode 22 [59:46m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Yoga and Mediataion to where it is Needed

The NYC based Lineage Project supports at-risk & incarcerated youth, their families & communities, by offering yoga, meditation and other awareness-based practices. We are called Lineage Project because we believe that we all share the same Lineage: the lineage of the heart, and that wisdom teachings must continue to be passed down from one generation to the next. www.lineageproject.org

The Tantric Sex Teacher (Sex Health Guru Real Stories)

A Japanese tantric sex teacher talks about discovering tantra, her new sexual awareness, and what it did for her life. See more real stories: http://www.sexhealthguru.com

Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions…

If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A Guide to Life’s Most Important Skill and from the research in neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.

Speaker Bio: Matthieu Ricard, a gifted scientist turned Buddhist monk, is a best selling author, translator, and photographer. He has lived and studied in the Himalayas for the last 35 years…

Mindful Eating

from The Center for Mindful Eating

Mindful eating has the powerful potential to transform people’s relationship to food and eating, to improve overall health, body image, relationships and self-esteem. Mindful eating involves many components such as:

• learning to make choices in beginning or ending a meal based on awareness of hunger and satiety cues;

• learning to identify personal triggers for mindless eating, such as emotions, social pressures, or certain foods;

• valuing quality over quantity of what you’re eating;

• appreciating the sensual, as well as the nourishing, capacity of food;

• feeling deep gratitude that may come from appreciating and experiencing food

read more

Mindful Eating Practices