My Heartsongs

I have been blessed with many wild encounters and wish to share a few of them today. I am left wondering about the tales you might tell, dear listener, of your encounters with the wild, and how they inspired, nourished and spoke to your deepest yearnings. What a magical planet we inhabit!

I Am The Sum Of My Experiences. I am wondering if this is really true or just a very lovely compelling phrase. I guess I don’t believe it is a simple sum game. Certain experiences seem to have much more impact on us as humans, especially those during critical periods of development.

Last week I offered 5 external aspects of crafting a good life, including where one lives, discover one’s passions, find a compatible mate, engage with one’s tribe, and finally, travel to broaden and deepen oneself in many diverse ways. Today I want to share the complementary five inner domains to develop and embody for a good life. They are gratitude, forgiveness, mourning, joy and healthy boundaries.

What constitutes a good life? What choice points, and perhaps the use of intuition in decision making as described last week, might get one there?

In our age of bewilderment, is human intuition merely an advanced form of pattern recognition? A biochemical collection of perceptive algorithms? What might stimulate and enhance its development?

VUCA characterizes and reflects upon the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of general conditions, and how enterprises might flourish despite those challenges. The military also found the term useful, and incorporated it into their training as well. Here I attempt to make it relevant to personal challenges.

My body is a good messenger, inviting me to grow in ways that are not always pleasant but on some spiritual cosmic level, most necessary. Freedom appears when I can embrace that truth, no matter what unpleasant feedback my body might be offering.

Down mood most of the time.                                                          Energy decrease, fatigue, and a slowed-down feeling. Pleasurable activities are no longer enjoyed.                Remembering, concentrating, and decision making are more difficult.                                                                                                          Eating problems.                                                                                        Sleep problems.                                                                                            Sense of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, guilt. Ever recurrent aches/pains don’t respond to treatment.      Death thoughts, or a suicide plan.

Symptoms of depression in young men may manifest as aggressive acting-out, irritability, low impulse control with inability to tolerate stress, and a greater willingness to take risk.

Drugs –most often seen in this culture as hedonism, escape, or dulling the senses thru self-medication – are viewed in many cultures as “doorways of perception” to borrow from the excellent work of Aldous Huxley. There has been a significant resurgence in the use of psychedelics to treat a variety of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, often with excellent research results.

So this is my formula for listening to the body: continue to move naturally, pay attention and be curious about early warning feedback, occasionally do a habit inventory, remember the body feels better when grateful and mindful, and find your tribe and connect regularly.