Welcome to my blog in which I will be exploring the idea of "rewilding" as a way to be in balance with my environment. I'm looking forward to the process and feel it will be an opportunity to find balance between all the energy output for school and some needed internal replenishing by shifting into non-verbal or heart-centered awareness. I will start with the following texts to get ideas of how to practice rewilding myself.
Earthwalks for Body and Spirit: Exercises to Restore Our Sacred Bond with the Earth by James Endredy
Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices of Unity, Power, and Earth Healing by James Endredy
Reclaiming the Wild Soul: How Earth's Landscapes Restore Us to Wholeness by Mary Reynolds Thompson
Wild Earth, Wild Soul: A Manual for an Ecstatic Culture by Bill Pfeiffer
Throughout this process, I hope to attend to cultural appropriation and orientalism in the tone or scope of these texts, which is related to a paper in critical environmentalism that I will be researching for another course this semester. I am curious about whether unacknowledged harm could undermine the benefits of these practices by cultivating an oblivious, narcissistic, or greedy attitude toward other cultures and a self-promoting or self-congratulatory attitude toward one's own culture. I am also wary about claims within ecopsychology, such as potentially giving a false impression of activism, establishing a condescending power-structure in the heroic or martyr rhetoric of "saving the world," or fostering a self-centered view in which personal stress management is more important or mysteriously connected to the well-being of others. My goal is to take benefits and harms into account as much as possible through careful introspection and research.
One major problem I have so far is trying to find a place in nature to practice. I am hoping not to have to drive far, and in Georgia, I have been more fearful of the other hikers I meet when I'm deep in the woods by myself. Yet nothing in my crowded, immediate vicinity seems adequate for even a bare minimum of nature immersion. This dilemma seems very fitting to the overarching theme of unaltered wildness in industrial society - there isn't any! So far I have started reading about a wide range of walking practices in Earthwalks and I appreciate the centrality of kinesthetic and sensory awareness. I am looking into some options for a location this week and hope to start practicing very soon!
Until then, here is an inspirational video to get things rolling. This is an impression of me hearing the call.
No comments:
Post a Comment