After passing through a fertile agriculture zone, one confronts the sand dunes of the Negev. In this dry, hot place, the evidence of human innovation is everywhere. With bold sweeps, the land rolls seemingly endlessly onward. Yet, human communities live within this the expansive collage of sand, rock, and the majesty of the maktesh, exemplifying the link between the possibility of geography and that of the human spirit. (more…)
“Don’t tell me what is going on with me, help me understand the how of me.” AJ, a 24 year old male.
photo by Maike Salway http://www.mikesalway.com.au/2009/01/13/sommersby-falls-photo-shoot
With the release of the proposed draft revisions (version 5) to DSM disorders and criteria, new questions have arisen about psychiatric diagnosis. Articles like the very in-depth analysis by Louis Menand in The New Yorker wonder whether or not the classification of mental disorders doesn’t pathologize the vicissitudes of human emotional expression. Jonah Lehrer’s recent piece in the NYTimes adds another element to the discourse about what is diagnosis: what if mental illness, like depression, has value? I would like to suggest another angle to this over-due debate: Diagnosis is a process, a fluid and mutable motion between body, mind, other people, culture and the environment. A diagnosis should not be construed as a territory with fixed boundaries nor a rigid categorical definition. A viewing lens can assist in the identification of a Downey Woodpecker but you can’t learn anything about the creature until you observe it flying and interacting with the trees. A psychological enterprise should always engage with a person’s process, and should aim to assist a person in the discovery of how all the pieces of their life come together. This work relies on experience and training, as well as science and art. It also depends on a deep understanding of the natural, evolutionary world in which we are all embedded.
from uk.canada.travel/ConsumerWeb/ExperienceDetail...
Some people have been debating whether or not scientists should become climate change activists or if they should stick to the data. The concern is that the general population seems less worried about environmental issues. Given our culture’s typical reliance on external solutions to problems, it doesn’t surprise me that journalists and pundits are looking to Obama, scientists, activists, politicians and economists to motivate change. As someone who helps people transform less than optimal behavioral problems into opportunities for accomplishment, lets begin with this fact: People don’t always act in their own best interest. Usually, what most motivates people to behave in a manner that affirms self and others is direct emotional enlivenment that connects to an inner conviction or memory. Let me provide an example from my work to illustrate how it might be possible to get people interested in climate change. (more…)
The temperature reached 50 degrees in New York City. Our dog was activated. He held his head high as he scanned the open field before him, looking for a playmate, sniffing the air replete with the odor of emergent plant life. A red-breasted robin moved his head side to side while hopping toward a fallen log. Will people begin to feel better now that the winter is recedes?
The longer days already invite more contact with other people.
We are not separate from each other, this earth and us. We impact each other daily.
Starting today, I will be tracking small everyday interactions that take place between humans and nature, between our ordinary selves and our ordinary earth, and thinking about what prevents us from taking care of ourselves, each other and our planet.
Ordinary Earth ™ 