Such a perfect metaphor! We’ve been practicing “no till” gardening for years now and I can’t fathom ever doing it differently. But now, applying this metaphor to the indigenous inner beings, our own landscape of self, I’m excited on an entirely new level. It’s Unfixed, explained in the most practical terms: EVERYTHING BELONGS. And within Kairos time, the cycles are non-linear, some parts emerging while other parts decaying, but collectively serving the whole.
I thought you would resonate with the no digging (no tilling)metaphor. Isn't it astonishing how we can apply such ideas and concepts for years to our outer landscape, and it never occurs to us that our inner landscape might benefit from the same approach...
All of a sudden it becomes so much easier... Yes, EVERYTHING BELONGS. Sometimes we just have to help things along a little to find their right place (their 'natural habitat' as I call it in Synchronosophy)
Near the end of your interview with Mary T you defined ‘unfixed’ in terms of being fluid in identity and I about fell out of my bed in agreement (it was 2am and would’ve woken everyone up so fortunately I didn’t). I’ve been contemplating that lately — that when we fix our attention on something long enough, we begin to define ourselves by it. To attach our very identity — who we are — to it. An Unfixed identity means moving with CHANGE or as Veronika calls it Growth … becoming the natural flow of organic life. 💜
Yes! I've found the ocean waves and my physical experience of constant movement to be a cellular reminder of this "fluid identity." The truest meaning, or the core, of Unfixed and Growth. I also like the word "responsive." As I also mentioned in the interview (and then Veronika graciously reframed) I've never been able to strategize and thought this was a deficit. But I'm seeing now that this "deficit" puts me in a more responsive position with life—present, and always shifting and changing according to life's energy. Dancing, really!
I also found your reminder of 'fluid identity' intriguing as it resonates perfectly with my definition (in the context of Synchronosophy) of the 'ego' as 'ego-identification'. In many disciplines dismissed as something to 'overcome', I now see 'Ego as the great identifyer' who leads towards our identity on an ever changing trajectory. Identification often gets confused with 'identity' but it actually captures that fluidity you are describing (more about that in my next chapter on Experiencing...)
I’m not sure where to enter this beautiful conversation, so I’ll just reply here and hope for the best, (and thank you so much @Kimberly Warner for knocking on my door and inviting me to sit a while).
I’ve just read your amazing post (Growing a Human Life) and then subscribed, @Veronika Bond. It was excellent, so many ideas I feel attuned to, and phrases I loved - non-ideal ecosphere, mindscape, growth as grit, gratitude, and grace - all wonderful.
If I could add a thought to this conversation between you two (and @E.T. Allen - Hello pal), there was a sentence in Growing a Human Life that struck me as relevant here, where Veronika says - I was under the impression ~ in accordance with the zeitgeist of the times ~ that there are certain flawed aspects of myself which needed fixing or eradicating.
For me this beautifully encapsulates everything wrong with the Platonic idea of perfect forms where we are encouraged to seek out and fix or rid the imperfect (such a nightmare). Somehow the “self” has become another form to be worked on and purified (purity being another nightmare idea) instead of understanding (or recognising) that the self is merely a habitual state used to navigate the material world.
To weave a little thought between this conversation (on ego) and Veronika’s post, I often think of growth as the process of discarding the belief that there is a fixed self at all (the self, as I said, in my mind is more of a habitual emotional state we’ve become used to). For me growth is the constant welcoming of the fact that the self is actually attention in a shared sea of experience and love, it’s unfixed and fluid and cyclical. And that the ego is a really useful device for determining into which mouth food should be shoved, so to speak (an identifier as you say Veronika), a kind of survival device for the fundamentals of living in the physical/mechanical plane but not an indicator of the self, which is really just attention with a bunch of habits wrapped around it :)
Apologies for going on so much, just one more thing - I love your leaning toward fluidity and change and non-fixed cycles etc. I am so very comfortable with these feelings.
And thanks, it’s such a pleasure to read these sorts of observations :)
ohh, thank you so much for going on so much, Jonathan…
Thank you for the reminder of the Platonic idea of perfect forms, I hadn’t thought of that association, but of course!!
The ‘self’ and the ’ego’ = two central topics I am tackling in the next chapter. I’m in full agreement with you here, that the ‘self’ has become another ‘thing that needs to be fixed’ or the concept of ‘higher and lower, true and false selves’ etc… “the self is merely a habitual state used to navigate the material world.” You say.
Brilliant! I’m so glad you said that here and am now very curious to see what you make of my (tentative) explanations of self and ego (to be published next Saturday)
“For me growth is the constant welcoming of the fact that the self is actually attention in a shared sea of experience and love, it’s unfixed and fluid and cyclical. And that the ego is a really useful device for determining into which mouth food should be shoved, so to speak”….
YAY! Absolutely. “Attention in a shared sea of experience and love” (sounds like a great quote for my next chapter!)
Or this “the self, which is really just attention with a bunch of habits wrapped around it.”
Love it! You are using different words with a resonating essential understanding. for me it’s a great pleasure too, to read such observations in someone else’s words. Thank you!!
I'm very much looking forward to your (tentative) explanations of self and ego, Veronika.
"‘higher and lower, true and false selves’"- a fleeting question strikes me as I read this, I wonder if these concepts of higher and lower are as prevalent in ancient pre-Neolithic Revolution mind, before the steep social hierarchical shape birthed ideas like legitimate and illegitimate and righteous and more (or less) deserving? Not that I'm platforming this early period as a more "pure" time of course, just a passing wondering.
A real pleasure to read your thoughts here Veronika, and I'll certainly delve into your previous writing, thanks.
Wonderful to have you join in on this @Jonathan Foster. I knew you’d have your two cents (or in this case, two immeasurable loaves of goodness). Distinguishing attention over some sort of fixed identity as the key is brilliant. In this vast sea of awareness we all inhabit, I think our only real agency within it is where/how we place our attention. We confuse that placing (or, ehem, “fixing”) of our attention with identity instead of identifying with our one true and shared constant—awareness/love. I do this little exercise with my kitties all the time, feeling how their awareness of me is arising from the same awareness I have of them. It delights me to no end (maybe bc I wish I were a cat) to recognize, in that space, we are one.
"I think our only real agency within it is where/how we place our attention" - yes I so agree, and this resonates with @E.T. Allen’s last post where he asks: if your attention was the most valuable resource you own, where would you put yours?
And this gorgeous exercise - I do this little exercise with my kitties all the time, feeling how their awareness of me is arising from the same awareness I have of them - reminds me of our conversation where I was talking about identity residing in the minds of others, maybe I should have said attention.
BTW, with all this madness going on these days, so much breakage and destruction, what a fine thing it is to have you rolling around in Oregon busily weaving people together with your sparks flying invitations and suggestions fixing the unfixed and unfixing the fixed. Thanks Kimberly :)
YES agree 1000% about the pitfalls of viewing ‘ego’ as something to overcome, something to eliminate, even and especially the dramatic concept of “ego-death”… it’s a communications vehicle for one thing… a temporary but necessary personality construct for another… We didn’t incarnate into a physical world, apply enormous amounts of energy to build up the necessary body/mind to create and interact here, just to throw that vehicle away. Baby, meet bathwater
Absolutely! Given how much the anthropocentric 'reasoning, enlightened' mind has messed up and around with emotions (and is still at it) I don't believe anything we are gifted with is superfluous or should be discarded. For this reason I also disagree with the negative assessment of the ego in Buddhist thinking (which may be influenced by anthropocentric views rather than the original thoughts of the Buddha, given that the Freudian concept of ego had not yet been invented). To dismiss any of the phenomena with which human Consciousness is gifted seems arrogant, presumptuous, condescending, patronising, and ultimately preposterous.
I’m with Jamie, planning on devouring this wonderful post slowly. Soooo much rich food for pondering. I’m so glad for your next chapter. I recently read about “fix” as one of the stress-default F words, as in fight, flight, freeze, flock. Likewise, I think of the Courage & Renewal touchstone “No fixing, saving, advising or correcting” as a key to creating safe/brace space for inner work. The principle behind that is “true self already has the inner wisdom it needs.” I love your gardening and growing metaphor for cultivating the indigenous natives and tending to creatures stuck in the permafrost. I look forward to your other wordcasts unpacking the word Growth. (Loving all on the verbing in this post too!) Thank you so much for your wording and sharing! 🤗💕🌸✍️🌱
How lovely to know, Shelly! Thanks for noticing the verbing (this of course sprouted from careful choosing to emphasize our collective and individual reaching for the infinite aquifers of growing)
Like I mentioned to Jamie, if anything springs to your mind that might want to be planted into the beds of the resource sheets added to these chapters, I'd love to hear about it! I know you also have access to rich sources and resources from all the beautiful, encouraging, and nourishing work you do... xxx 🍃
Oh, Wow Veronika, so much here that resonates and much more to keep revisiting. I started taking notes, it helps me for when I come back to read it again ... and again. Our western society really isn't conducive to our inner landscape — growth — with all of the mandates. Perhaps mass migration has meant that access to our ancestral and community elders has been lack, which may reflect on some people's external search for what lies internally. The 'no dig' approach addresses these concerns, thank you. And the ancestral trauma patterns being something that is stored in our bodies as memories interests me immensely, as does the link between the emotional and physical well being, re my own story. The 'inner permafrost' and 'inner populations', to grow up through accepting the all of who we are, and knowing we hold the key to recovery — empathy brings a change of perspective — acceptance. Perhaps Western society is an adolescent in it's mainstream-ness. Perhaps western society may benefit from taking more than a perfunctory interest in First Nation's wisdom. Thank you.💜🙏
Thank you so much Simone for this feedback filtered through your own experience, journey with grief, and inner wisdom.
"Perhaps Western society is an adolescent in it's mainstream-ness" rings true. The ease with which so many people are manipulated. The gullibleness, after the same lies and empty promises have been peddled so many times...
I believe that the loss of indigenous communities and eldership, combined with the individualisation of our contemporary civilisation, calls us to cultivate those qualities within ourselves. We each have a whole community, a choir of different voices we can listen to within ourselves. And elderhood is something we can grow into, if we choose this 'heroic journey'. Communication and connection with the ancestors helps along the way. And yes, these ancestral trauma patterns stored in body memory are fascinating!
Hi Veronika, "We each have a whole community, a choir of different voices we can listen to within ourselves." So beautifully stated and yes I want to grow into elderhood with courage and grace, this journey. 🙏💜
Sooo good! I will devour this slowly today! Spiritually it seems many don’t grow past adolescence. Where are the elders in the west? We may be running out. Bill Plotkin goes deep on this. I’ll be back with lots more to dive into. Consciousness makes me think ontology.
Synchronosophy makes me think phenomenology.
Noctarine makes me think epistemology.
Thank you so much for the handout at the end. Thanks for diving into the next chapter. I can only say that I “grow” here. 🙏❤️
Thank you Jamie! I know, Bill Plotkin's wilderness work is very inspiring.
Ontology popped up in my mind too. I was thinking of the word 'ontotrophy' perhaps as a practice for 'nurturing our being' but in the end settled on 'kairotrophy' instead. It captures nicely the idea of 'giving the right food at the right moment'.
Synchronosophy is phenomenology.
The Noctarine can be seen as a model for the exploration of epistemology.
You are welcome. Any suggestions to add to the resources (now or at any point later ~ I am planning to add a resources sheet with every chapter in this part) I'll be happy to discuss, consider, incorporate them as appropriate. We all live and experience in different bubbles and have access to different sources.
This is designed to become a symbiogenic work in progress
For a plant to grow, it needs water, earth and sun. It can grow under harsh conditions, but it might not grow as strong as it could if lacks love and attentive care. Studies show that plants thrive and grow better when environnental conditions are conducive to growth and to reach maturity. Plants, for example, love harmonic music. In harmony there resides beauty and truth
It is not that different for humans, complex creatures with emotions, thoughts and feelings. If we did not receive the love, nurturing and attention when starting out as a "tender shoot," we will not be as strong as the individual who did. This is my observation.
Now, what happens to most of us who are in the former category. Terribly flawed humans aware of this early lack of love, truth and nurturing. My response is that we can't uproot ourselves; we can't change the past. We can, however, add nutrients to our soil. We can add water and go out in the sun. We can meet the birds and the bees who provide beauty and truth.
We can do what we can to better our environment. This is where Nature is helpful and honest. This, in my view, leads to healing. Not to perfection, which is not possible, but to a quiet maturity.
thank you for these insights, Perry. I understand where you are coming from. The concept that our past irreversibly determines our present and future is both true and erroneous. Of course it is part of our story, but it is also true (in my personal story and that of many others) that we can fundamentally transform our experience.
What if our past is not where our roots are?
True, those who received all the love and nurturing they needed when they were young, mostly do better (in the conventional ways) than those who didn't. But not always. Some people find the strength and resources to nurture themselves and heal their past. I assume you are saying that not everyone can, and that's most likely true as well.
Yes, this is what I am saying, Veronika. Yes, some can nurture themselves, find the love that they require and, yes, thrive. But this is rare. And kudos for such people, including to you. You and others are truly extraordinary. 🕊🐦🦜
Thank you Perry. I know it's hard. I know many people who struggle with this. I also don't know from where I've got these extra-ordinary resources. But I do know that it is possible, once you find access to that inner source. I am sharing this work to offer such resources (not as a method to follow) and to discover access to the inner 'well of being'.
So many concepts I resonate with here Veronika. Especially growth being a given — but the ‘direction’ or the ‘how’ of growth being a choice.
And the reimagining/clarification of “growth” as organic maturation within the heartbeat of life - the Pulse. Less destination and more destiny unfolding.
The Synchronosophy principle of embracing ALL negative everyday experience as a trigger or pointer towards something asking for attention in the permafrost is fundamentally brilliant and 100% true, in my experience. To the point where just to say that often acts as a trigger — which is an ironic validation of the principle itself. And IMOP an indication that humanity is traumatized at the collective level.
Now we'll dive deep into the experience of Synchronosophy in everyday applications. I'm so glad it resonates with you. I know, I've had many people get mad at me in the past, just by suggesting they could do something about (or with) their negative experiences 😅 (funny perspective that...)
Absolutely, all humanity is traumatised at the collective level, and we are all traumatised at some level individually. That's what ultimately motivates me to put my work out (finally)
First of all, thank you for the free download! Secondly, I feel the garden metaphor is a perfect one because the work different depending on the seasons. A lot gardens become neglected because it's hard work to maintain one, too!
Constant growth sounds/is exhausting which is why, I suppose, we plateau or give up. Some folks are good about certain areas, but not so much regarding others, and I guess this is because of our values (and maybe ease? or resources?) But I hope to see the day where inner work is cherished over outer wealth because, boy howdy, we should use it!
Absolutely. Gardening can be exhausting. But gardens themselves can (and should) be a source of recreation too.
Constant growth sounds / is exhausting, only if and when we translate 'growth' in our minds into 'constant progress, hitting one successful stride after another, infinite increase of efficiency, and higher standards of perfection'. THAT is exhausting. It's not only exhausting, it's impossible!!!
True growth shouldn't be exhausting, but also recreational, more like being in a state of 'flow' most of the time. Plateaus are natural phases within that flow of growing. They should be welcomed, enjoyed, and celebrated!
I know, this is not how the word 'growth' is understood in our anthropocentric culture. To clarify those misunderstandings I have a wordcast (or 3) on the word family of 'growth' coming up soon. (I had planned to publish them before this chapter on growing, but things got into a bit of a muddle...)
…oh and another thought…in my interview with Mary she brought up forgiveness, seeing, perhaps my memoir is ultimately a story of forgiveness. I’ve reflected on this some more and I agree, though if I could answer again, it’s clear the ultimate forgiveness is toward “life itself.” Finally opening arms wide to greet the wild duality, the extremes, the pain that lives alongside the joy, all of it. That’s where the true forgiveness lives in me, and boy is it freeing.
Such a perfect metaphor! We’ve been practicing “no till” gardening for years now and I can’t fathom ever doing it differently. But now, applying this metaphor to the indigenous inner beings, our own landscape of self, I’m excited on an entirely new level. It’s Unfixed, explained in the most practical terms: EVERYTHING BELONGS. And within Kairos time, the cycles are non-linear, some parts emerging while other parts decaying, but collectively serving the whole.
Veronika thank you for your endless insights!
I thought you would resonate with the no digging (no tilling)metaphor. Isn't it astonishing how we can apply such ideas and concepts for years to our outer landscape, and it never occurs to us that our inner landscape might benefit from the same approach...
All of a sudden it becomes so much easier... Yes, EVERYTHING BELONGS. Sometimes we just have to help things along a little to find their right place (their 'natural habitat' as I call it in Synchronosophy)
Ah! And this gorgeous Trommer poem just landed in my inbox this morning, echoing your "love" as the only food that nurtures consciousness:
How We Are Held
When my arms were the most empty,
when my hands were unable to hold anything
and I was most unselved,
that was when I felt the most gathered up
by love. An immeasurable and wildly precise love.
Even when I wanted to push love away.
Even when I felt too broken to be found.
I felt love gather all my pieces.
Not to fix them.
Not to put them back together.
Love simply held every shattered thought
and every ruined dream and cradled me
just as I was. Not because I deserved it.
Just because that is what love does.
I am learning to trust this feeling of belonging
to the world, broken as it is, broken as I am,
learning to trust I need not do a thing to belong.
I do not know how it all works
or why I was able to receive it.
But I can’t unknow this unfathomable truth:
how love holds us when we cannot
hold anything, gentle as silence,
fierce as a flood, true as the breaking itself.
The way the ocean forever holds every wave.
The way the shore forever changes to hold the ocean.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
wonderful. Thank you!!
Near the end of your interview with Mary T you defined ‘unfixed’ in terms of being fluid in identity and I about fell out of my bed in agreement (it was 2am and would’ve woken everyone up so fortunately I didn’t). I’ve been contemplating that lately — that when we fix our attention on something long enough, we begin to define ourselves by it. To attach our very identity — who we are — to it. An Unfixed identity means moving with CHANGE or as Veronika calls it Growth … becoming the natural flow of organic life. 💜
'Growing'... I see it as an ongoing journey, changing and transforming continuously...
Yes! I've found the ocean waves and my physical experience of constant movement to be a cellular reminder of this "fluid identity." The truest meaning, or the core, of Unfixed and Growth. I also like the word "responsive." As I also mentioned in the interview (and then Veronika graciously reframed) I've never been able to strategize and thought this was a deficit. But I'm seeing now that this "deficit" puts me in a more responsive position with life—present, and always shifting and changing according to life's energy. Dancing, really!
I also found your reminder of 'fluid identity' intriguing as it resonates perfectly with my definition (in the context of Synchronosophy) of the 'ego' as 'ego-identification'. In many disciplines dismissed as something to 'overcome', I now see 'Ego as the great identifyer' who leads towards our identity on an ever changing trajectory. Identification often gets confused with 'identity' but it actually captures that fluidity you are describing (more about that in my next chapter on Experiencing...)
I’m not sure where to enter this beautiful conversation, so I’ll just reply here and hope for the best, (and thank you so much @Kimberly Warner for knocking on my door and inviting me to sit a while).
I’ve just read your amazing post (Growing a Human Life) and then subscribed, @Veronika Bond. It was excellent, so many ideas I feel attuned to, and phrases I loved - non-ideal ecosphere, mindscape, growth as grit, gratitude, and grace - all wonderful.
If I could add a thought to this conversation between you two (and @E.T. Allen - Hello pal), there was a sentence in Growing a Human Life that struck me as relevant here, where Veronika says - I was under the impression ~ in accordance with the zeitgeist of the times ~ that there are certain flawed aspects of myself which needed fixing or eradicating.
For me this beautifully encapsulates everything wrong with the Platonic idea of perfect forms where we are encouraged to seek out and fix or rid the imperfect (such a nightmare). Somehow the “self” has become another form to be worked on and purified (purity being another nightmare idea) instead of understanding (or recognising) that the self is merely a habitual state used to navigate the material world.
To weave a little thought between this conversation (on ego) and Veronika’s post, I often think of growth as the process of discarding the belief that there is a fixed self at all (the self, as I said, in my mind is more of a habitual emotional state we’ve become used to). For me growth is the constant welcoming of the fact that the self is actually attention in a shared sea of experience and love, it’s unfixed and fluid and cyclical. And that the ego is a really useful device for determining into which mouth food should be shoved, so to speak (an identifier as you say Veronika), a kind of survival device for the fundamentals of living in the physical/mechanical plane but not an indicator of the self, which is really just attention with a bunch of habits wrapped around it :)
Apologies for going on so much, just one more thing - I love your leaning toward fluidity and change and non-fixed cycles etc. I am so very comfortable with these feelings.
And thanks, it’s such a pleasure to read these sorts of observations :)
ohh, thank you so much for going on so much, Jonathan…
Thank you for the reminder of the Platonic idea of perfect forms, I hadn’t thought of that association, but of course!!
The ‘self’ and the ’ego’ = two central topics I am tackling in the next chapter. I’m in full agreement with you here, that the ‘self’ has become another ‘thing that needs to be fixed’ or the concept of ‘higher and lower, true and false selves’ etc… “the self is merely a habitual state used to navigate the material world.” You say.
Brilliant! I’m so glad you said that here and am now very curious to see what you make of my (tentative) explanations of self and ego (to be published next Saturday)
“For me growth is the constant welcoming of the fact that the self is actually attention in a shared sea of experience and love, it’s unfixed and fluid and cyclical. And that the ego is a really useful device for determining into which mouth food should be shoved, so to speak”….
YAY! Absolutely. “Attention in a shared sea of experience and love” (sounds like a great quote for my next chapter!)
Or this “the self, which is really just attention with a bunch of habits wrapped around it.”
Love it! You are using different words with a resonating essential understanding. for me it’s a great pleasure too, to read such observations in someone else’s words. Thank you!!
Yay! Sparks are flying!
I'm very much looking forward to your (tentative) explanations of self and ego, Veronika.
"‘higher and lower, true and false selves’"- a fleeting question strikes me as I read this, I wonder if these concepts of higher and lower are as prevalent in ancient pre-Neolithic Revolution mind, before the steep social hierarchical shape birthed ideas like legitimate and illegitimate and righteous and more (or less) deserving? Not that I'm platforming this early period as a more "pure" time of course, just a passing wondering.
A real pleasure to read your thoughts here Veronika, and I'll certainly delve into your previous writing, thanks.
Wonderful to have you join in on this @Jonathan Foster. I knew you’d have your two cents (or in this case, two immeasurable loaves of goodness). Distinguishing attention over some sort of fixed identity as the key is brilliant. In this vast sea of awareness we all inhabit, I think our only real agency within it is where/how we place our attention. We confuse that placing (or, ehem, “fixing”) of our attention with identity instead of identifying with our one true and shared constant—awareness/love. I do this little exercise with my kitties all the time, feeling how their awareness of me is arising from the same awareness I have of them. It delights me to no end (maybe bc I wish I were a cat) to recognize, in that space, we are one.
"I think our only real agency within it is where/how we place our attention" - yes I so agree, and this resonates with @E.T. Allen’s last post where he asks: if your attention was the most valuable resource you own, where would you put yours?
And this gorgeous exercise - I do this little exercise with my kitties all the time, feeling how their awareness of me is arising from the same awareness I have of them - reminds me of our conversation where I was talking about identity residing in the minds of others, maybe I should have said attention.
BTW, with all this madness going on these days, so much breakage and destruction, what a fine thing it is to have you rolling around in Oregon busily weaving people together with your sparks flying invitations and suggestions fixing the unfixed and unfixing the fixed. Thanks Kimberly :)
YES agree 1000% about the pitfalls of viewing ‘ego’ as something to overcome, something to eliminate, even and especially the dramatic concept of “ego-death”… it’s a communications vehicle for one thing… a temporary but necessary personality construct for another… We didn’t incarnate into a physical world, apply enormous amounts of energy to build up the necessary body/mind to create and interact here, just to throw that vehicle away. Baby, meet bathwater
Absolutely! Given how much the anthropocentric 'reasoning, enlightened' mind has messed up and around with emotions (and is still at it) I don't believe anything we are gifted with is superfluous or should be discarded. For this reason I also disagree with the negative assessment of the ego in Buddhist thinking (which may be influenced by anthropocentric views rather than the original thoughts of the Buddha, given that the Freudian concept of ego had not yet been invented). To dismiss any of the phenomena with which human Consciousness is gifted seems arrogant, presumptuous, condescending, patronising, and ultimately preposterous.
I’m with Jamie, planning on devouring this wonderful post slowly. Soooo much rich food for pondering. I’m so glad for your next chapter. I recently read about “fix” as one of the stress-default F words, as in fight, flight, freeze, flock. Likewise, I think of the Courage & Renewal touchstone “No fixing, saving, advising or correcting” as a key to creating safe/brace space for inner work. The principle behind that is “true self already has the inner wisdom it needs.” I love your gardening and growing metaphor for cultivating the indigenous natives and tending to creatures stuck in the permafrost. I look forward to your other wordcasts unpacking the word Growth. (Loving all on the verbing in this post too!) Thank you so much for your wording and sharing! 🤗💕🌸✍️🌱
How lovely to know, Shelly! Thanks for noticing the verbing (this of course sprouted from careful choosing to emphasize our collective and individual reaching for the infinite aquifers of growing)
Like I mentioned to Jamie, if anything springs to your mind that might want to be planted into the beds of the resource sheets added to these chapters, I'd love to hear about it! I know you also have access to rich sources and resources from all the beautiful, encouraging, and nourishing work you do... xxx 🍃
Oh, Wow Veronika, so much here that resonates and much more to keep revisiting. I started taking notes, it helps me for when I come back to read it again ... and again. Our western society really isn't conducive to our inner landscape — growth — with all of the mandates. Perhaps mass migration has meant that access to our ancestral and community elders has been lack, which may reflect on some people's external search for what lies internally. The 'no dig' approach addresses these concerns, thank you. And the ancestral trauma patterns being something that is stored in our bodies as memories interests me immensely, as does the link between the emotional and physical well being, re my own story. The 'inner permafrost' and 'inner populations', to grow up through accepting the all of who we are, and knowing we hold the key to recovery — empathy brings a change of perspective — acceptance. Perhaps Western society is an adolescent in it's mainstream-ness. Perhaps western society may benefit from taking more than a perfunctory interest in First Nation's wisdom. Thank you.💜🙏
Thank you so much Simone for this feedback filtered through your own experience, journey with grief, and inner wisdom.
"Perhaps Western society is an adolescent in it's mainstream-ness" rings true. The ease with which so many people are manipulated. The gullibleness, after the same lies and empty promises have been peddled so many times...
I believe that the loss of indigenous communities and eldership, combined with the individualisation of our contemporary civilisation, calls us to cultivate those qualities within ourselves. We each have a whole community, a choir of different voices we can listen to within ourselves. And elderhood is something we can grow into, if we choose this 'heroic journey'. Communication and connection with the ancestors helps along the way. And yes, these ancestral trauma patterns stored in body memory are fascinating!
Hi Veronika, "We each have a whole community, a choir of different voices we can listen to within ourselves." So beautifully stated and yes I want to grow into elderhood with courage and grace, this journey. 🙏💜
You are doing it, Simone! Delighted to meet you in the circle of aspiring elders 💗🙏 around the fires of transformation 🔥
Brilliant 🙌. Thank you 🙏🏼 💜 🔥
Sooo good! I will devour this slowly today! Spiritually it seems many don’t grow past adolescence. Where are the elders in the west? We may be running out. Bill Plotkin goes deep on this. I’ll be back with lots more to dive into. Consciousness makes me think ontology.
Synchronosophy makes me think phenomenology.
Noctarine makes me think epistemology.
Thank you so much for the handout at the end. Thanks for diving into the next chapter. I can only say that I “grow” here. 🙏❤️
Thank you Jamie! I know, Bill Plotkin's wilderness work is very inspiring.
Ontology popped up in my mind too. I was thinking of the word 'ontotrophy' perhaps as a practice for 'nurturing our being' but in the end settled on 'kairotrophy' instead. It captures nicely the idea of 'giving the right food at the right moment'.
Synchronosophy is phenomenology.
The Noctarine can be seen as a model for the exploration of epistemology.
You are welcome. Any suggestions to add to the resources (now or at any point later ~ I am planning to add a resources sheet with every chapter in this part) I'll be happy to discuss, consider, incorporate them as appropriate. We all live and experience in different bubbles and have access to different sources.
This is designed to become a symbiogenic work in progress
For a plant to grow, it needs water, earth and sun. It can grow under harsh conditions, but it might not grow as strong as it could if lacks love and attentive care. Studies show that plants thrive and grow better when environnental conditions are conducive to growth and to reach maturity. Plants, for example, love harmonic music. In harmony there resides beauty and truth
It is not that different for humans, complex creatures with emotions, thoughts and feelings. If we did not receive the love, nurturing and attention when starting out as a "tender shoot," we will not be as strong as the individual who did. This is my observation.
Now, what happens to most of us who are in the former category. Terribly flawed humans aware of this early lack of love, truth and nurturing. My response is that we can't uproot ourselves; we can't change the past. We can, however, add nutrients to our soil. We can add water and go out in the sun. We can meet the birds and the bees who provide beauty and truth.
We can do what we can to better our environment. This is where Nature is helpful and honest. This, in my view, leads to healing. Not to perfection, which is not possible, but to a quiet maturity.
thank you for these insights, Perry. I understand where you are coming from. The concept that our past irreversibly determines our present and future is both true and erroneous. Of course it is part of our story, but it is also true (in my personal story and that of many others) that we can fundamentally transform our experience.
What if our past is not where our roots are?
True, those who received all the love and nurturing they needed when they were young, mostly do better (in the conventional ways) than those who didn't. But not always. Some people find the strength and resources to nurture themselves and heal their past. I assume you are saying that not everyone can, and that's most likely true as well.
Yes, this is what I am saying, Veronika. Yes, some can nurture themselves, find the love that they require and, yes, thrive. But this is rare. And kudos for such people, including to you. You and others are truly extraordinary. 🕊🐦🦜
Thank you Perry. I know it's hard. I know many people who struggle with this. I also don't know from where I've got these extra-ordinary resources. But I do know that it is possible, once you find access to that inner source. I am sharing this work to offer such resources (not as a method to follow) and to discover access to the inner 'well of being'.
“What if our past is not where our roots are?” 🎯
YESSSS Synchronosophy is back! ⭐️
So many concepts I resonate with here Veronika. Especially growth being a given — but the ‘direction’ or the ‘how’ of growth being a choice.
And the reimagining/clarification of “growth” as organic maturation within the heartbeat of life - the Pulse. Less destination and more destiny unfolding.
The Synchronosophy principle of embracing ALL negative everyday experience as a trigger or pointer towards something asking for attention in the permafrost is fundamentally brilliant and 100% true, in my experience. To the point where just to say that often acts as a trigger — which is an ironic validation of the principle itself. And IMOP an indication that humanity is traumatized at the collective level.
Thank you for the warm welcome 🫶
Now we'll dive deep into the experience of Synchronosophy in everyday applications. I'm so glad it resonates with you. I know, I've had many people get mad at me in the past, just by suggesting they could do something about (or with) their negative experiences 😅 (funny perspective that...)
Absolutely, all humanity is traumatised at the collective level, and we are all traumatised at some level individually. That's what ultimately motivates me to put my work out (finally)
First of all, thank you for the free download! Secondly, I feel the garden metaphor is a perfect one because the work different depending on the seasons. A lot gardens become neglected because it's hard work to maintain one, too!
Constant growth sounds/is exhausting which is why, I suppose, we plateau or give up. Some folks are good about certain areas, but not so much regarding others, and I guess this is because of our values (and maybe ease? or resources?) But I hope to see the day where inner work is cherished over outer wealth because, boy howdy, we should use it!
Absolutely. Gardening can be exhausting. But gardens themselves can (and should) be a source of recreation too.
Constant growth sounds / is exhausting, only if and when we translate 'growth' in our minds into 'constant progress, hitting one successful stride after another, infinite increase of efficiency, and higher standards of perfection'. THAT is exhausting. It's not only exhausting, it's impossible!!!
True growth shouldn't be exhausting, but also recreational, more like being in a state of 'flow' most of the time. Plateaus are natural phases within that flow of growing. They should be welcomed, enjoyed, and celebrated!
I know, this is not how the word 'growth' is understood in our anthropocentric culture. To clarify those misunderstandings I have a wordcast (or 3) on the word family of 'growth' coming up soon. (I had planned to publish them before this chapter on growing, but things got into a bit of a muddle...)
Excellent, because you’re right, growth has become part of the hustle culture. Funny how words become loaded and reflect the times we live in!
…oh and another thought…in my interview with Mary she brought up forgiveness, seeing, perhaps my memoir is ultimately a story of forgiveness. I’ve reflected on this some more and I agree, though if I could answer again, it’s clear the ultimate forgiveness is toward “life itself.” Finally opening arms wide to greet the wild duality, the extremes, the pain that lives alongside the joy, all of it. That’s where the true forgiveness lives in me, and boy is it freeing.