I saw this article in the New York Times – At This Clinic in Hawaii, Nature Is the Medicine.
It’s on a topic I have been passionate for a while: Regeneration of the land and people in the same process.
We are all damaged by a particular version of domination culture, one that has its roots in the agricultural revolution, and one that assumes separation, unlimited Earth, and so on.
We as individuals and humans are damaged by it, and the web of life we are part of is damaged by it.
So it only makes sense that the healing involves all of us.
We are still in the very early phase of regenerating Finca Milagros. Our focus is still on developing the basic infrastructure (solar, rainwater collection etc.), we need to rebuild the first small house, we are feeding the soil and developing the food forest around the houses, an organization planted 2000 native trees (20 different types) in the “wilderness” zone last year, we are developing connections with neighbors and other regenerators in the area, and so on.
Already, it’s very clear that the regeneration of Finca Milagros is also a regeneration of us. We feel deeply nourished by being there, being part of that recovering ecosystem, and doing what we can to help it recover. We are all recovering from this civilization and its separation mindset.
As the basics are in place, and things settle bit (if they ever will!), we are hoping to develop a community area. We already have a place set aside for it. It may include a large caney (tall with roof and no or one or two partial walls) for workshops, guests, a small kitchen, and so on, and also a camping area for visitors.
It may be a space for trainings, education, workshops, healing, and so on. And the focus will likely be on regeneration of the land, ourselves, or both.
For instance, we could combine Breema bodywork classes (simple, deeply nurturing), group healings (Vortex Healing), regeneration education, hands-on work on the land, and so on.
Even without that space, we can still organize different events – group healings, Breema workshops, hands-on regeneration work, regeneration education, and so on.
These are just some visions at this point, so we’ll see how it all unfolds.
Update: The day after writing this, I saw another mainstream newspaper article – in The Guardian – on the same topic. It seems to be in the zeitgeist, which is understandable. Nature nurture: the Devon estate where rewilding and mental health go hand in hand. It happens to be from Totnes which I love, and where I lived for six months some years back.