Intuition
As a young girl, I was definitely in tune with energies and often would whisper questions out my window, for things I was curious about. It was comforting to me and it was clear that I knew something or someone was listening and I could share how I was feeling or receive answers. Looking back now, this was me connecting to my intution. I disconnected from this aspect for myself for many years. Recently, specifically the past 6 months, I have reconnected with intuition, or what was what described in the video Multiple Ways of Knowing and Environmental Decision-Making as“ knowing without knowing how you know”. In the video it was referred to as a marginalized knowledge system and I had never thought of it that way, but wow is that ever on point. My journey to reconnecting with intuition actually began with an intuitive reading in December 2019. The intuitive was a friend of a friend and I had been wanting to meet her for about a year. The timing lined over the holidays to see her. The reading was very intense, lots of energy exchange and although many aspects of the reading were not super clear to me, often I have moments come up where I instantly know what just happened make sense for the reading and my journey.
This is a photo of the intuitive reading cards that were pulled during my session. I keep this photo on my phone so I can look back on it and make connections.
The intuitive provided some practices for me to begin reconnecting with my intuition which I now use daily. Using my intuition has led me to some great experiences, interpersonal connections, incredible learning outcomes and most importantly a better connection to self. I have learned how to be more present, slow down the constant mental chatter and listen, look and feel for guidance from the universe. I always felt connected to this way of learning in some form but really never understood it. I think it’s so important to consider various epistemologies and I truly believe we cannot rely on one way of thinking. The universe is so complex, and our planet is facing complex problems, therefore we need to balance our mindsets (yin and yang) and have a holistic approach. I think indigenous ways of knowing and the western mindset are two ways that can be included in this holistic approach but I personally feel it can be even more than that.It’s been interesting learning this great divide of indigenous vs western, when in my mind, we are all indigenous to the planet, we just have different ways of going about things, and perhaps in western culture we simply disconnected from nature and more traditional ways of knowing more rapidly.
TWO EYED SEEING
I recently watched the video Two-Eyed Seeing which provided great insights on the importance of incorporating both western and indigenous ways of knowing. It has been interesting learning about this big divide among " western" and "indigenous" practices, cultures and knowledge. In my mind we are all indigenous to planet earth therefore we all have equal value. In the video it highlights an issue in society that I believe really needs to come to surface which is that “we don’t question things”. This has come up a lot for me lately and it definitely re-sparked a passion in me. As humans, we barely question at all the ways our societies function and our roles within them. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about healthcare and how we are so quick to take a drug, a vaccine or medical procedure without really knowing anything about it. Furthermore, we barely glance at the ingredients in our food or attempt to understand where it comes from. Finally we barely have any relationship to the environment, yet ironically it is common knowledge that we need food, water and oxygen to live on this planet, which is directly received from the natural environment. The takeaway I received from the video is that a shift in mindset, attitude and awareness is the catalyst for change. If we can achieve this, we can start embodying other ways of knowing and start creating regenerative solutions to the complex problems are world faces today and in the future.
Nature Affluence
Have you ever heard of the term " Nature Affluence"? I hadn't either until I took Dr. Catherine O'Brien's Sustainability, Happiness and Wellbeing Course. Essentially having a connection to nature promotes positive emotions and wellbeing and supported by research. This concept of nature as healing or supports health is not a new concept, and a connection to nature can range from walking in a park, paiting a tree to immersing yourself deep into a forest. I have known for many years now that a connection to nature is vital for my own happiness and wellbeing and believe for others as well. It's a hopeful and inspiring topic that I like to integrate in my personal life, relationships and career. A great activity to connect to this term nature affluence is by completing the nature affluent chart that is a simply chart with three columns with the titles connecting to nature, impact on my happiness and well-being and increase nature affluence. You simply plug in nature activities in your life and reflect on how they benefit you and how you can further enhance nature affluence. I did the activity and my connections to nature include running and walking in the trails, meditating in nature, shopping from local farms and producers, and traveling locally and globally to beautiful and exotic nature escapes. These impact my well-being in various ways from regulating breathing and physiological stress, connecting micro to the macro from what I see or experience in nature and generating more gratitude for the interconnection and vast natural networks that create the food that I eat. The more time I spend connecting, the more I want to increase my knowledge and share its beauty and abundance with others.
Living Soil Pedagogy
As a regenerative agriculture enthusiast, I have been immersed in understanding the role of soil and its importance for keeping natural cycles in balance, increasing biodiversity and sustaining interconnected ecosystems and finding a correlation between soil health and human health. I am currently developing an online, open access course on this and includes a section on regenerative education where I highlight how soils can be used as pedagogy in education. I was so captivated by the reading “ Learning Gardens and Sustainable Education” by Williams and Brown because the concept of soil as an educational pedagogy is brilliant. Having a more metaphorical approach to concepts such as interconnection, diversity, circular economy and sustainability. I often reflect on the expression the micro is the macro and looking at soils and the micro level for guidance we can create the macro level we want. Soils are so alive and are so essential for life on this planet.
meno-bimaadizwin- healthy bodies
meno-bimaadizwin is an objibway philosophy of living that roughly translates to 'the way of a good life' ( Deer & Falkenberg, 2017). I discovered this term through reading chapter 6 of Indigenous Perspectives on education for well-being in Canada ( Deer & Falkenberg, 2017). The chapter describes a case study of meno-bimaadiziwin healthy bodies for young, off-reserve Aboriginal children that used Indigenous methodologies and DBR methods. I was interested in this reading as the study takes place in Northwestern Ontario. I live and work in Northeastern Ontario, so right away I felt a bit more connected and curious about an indigenous health perspective in partnership with a research study on the current negative health trends taking place. The study highlights barriers, to which the most prominent is lack of land. This honestly was not my first thought as my perception of northern Ontario is that land is available and not sparse, especially comparing it to urban centres. However it’s clear that lack of land is causing food sovereignty issues, physical activity programming issues and traditional ceremony issues. I suppose a lot of this comes from not having resources to develop the lands in the way they wish such as community gardens, recreation centres and ceremonial locations. I recognized my privilege when the article discussed the financial barriers to accessing these health and well-being needs as many can’t afford to travel to locations that do offer these services. The other aspect I found interesting from the study was lack of policy. This definitely broadened my perspective around policy as policy gives that legitimacy and power of a community to ensure certain things happen or criteria are met. I imagine with proper policy, opportunities for funding might be available which could begin shifting the health and well-beings of community. It's important to step outside your living bubble and learn what is going on outside and where you can be of service, learn more and contribute to change. I firmly believe that if these communities were given even the slightest bit of support to use land effectively and regeneratively, they health of all the communities would be drastically increased.
References
Deer, F., & Falkenberg, T. (Editors). (2017). Indigenous perspectives on education for well-being in Canada. Winnipeg: Education for Sustainable Well-Being Press.
Williams, D.R. & Brown, J.D. (Editors). (2012). Learning Gardens and Sustainability Education: Bringing Life to Schools and Schools to Life. New York: Routledge.