I just spent most of the afternoon with one of the trauma therapists with whom I work. It was a magical time-the synergy kept sending chills up our spines. I’ll share with you the bursts of awakening that came to me during that sharing. A number of Native languages have no version of the verb “to be”. Curiously, nearly…
The Final Healing
Dementia is typically viewed as mental decline—the irrevocable disintegration of cognitive capacities that terminates with death. From our cultural vantage point, this makes perfect sense, and I am not here to deny or refute it. Rather, I would like to present an alternative reality: Dementia is the final healing journey, where the person becomes demented,…
Finding Clan in a Rack o’ Ribs
Lety and I just returned from an interplanetary voyage. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it did seem way out there to us. We were beamed down to Syracuse, New York, where we visited Lety’s eldest son. He took us to what could just as well have been Jabba the Hutt’s hangout: a place called…
How to Become Invisible
The following is an excerpt from my latest book, Becoming Nature: Learning the Language of Wild Animals and Plants which can be found in Step 7, Turn Invisible and Instill No Fear. I remember standing at the upper end of a shallow pool on a tiny stream early one morning and watching a large Snapping Turtle…
The Biology of Sexism
It is commonly believed that gender inequality is culturally rooted. We see it in institutionalized sexism and centuries-old practices of gender repression and exploitation. Gender-related violence, imposed limitations, and condescension (credibility differences, mansplaining, over-emotionalism, rescuing) are all entrenched in our beliefs, institutions, and everyday practices. At the same time, empowered voices are calling for change….
On Our Unholy Fear of Root Canals
People prefer cockroaches, colonoscopies—and even Congress—to root canals. Yet as dreaded as they are, 26% of us have had one or more, and 25 million of us get root canals every year. I recently had one, when my #20 premolar recently died. In layperson parlance, it’s the tooth between the lower canine and the first…
Remember Nature Speak, the First Language
The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Becoming Nature: Learning the Language of Wild Animals and Plants, scheduled for release on March 31st, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Every plant and animal is speaking all the time. They are talking to you, and me, and all we have to do…
Resolve Conflict by Becoming It
Common knowledge amongst emotionally intelligent people is that when there is interpersonal conflict, the two most helpful things the involved parties can do are to extend empathy and listen. These practices can truly be helpful, yet I see them as only a first step. By diffusing tension, they set the stage for what I think…
Rewilding is a State Of Mind
Shevik is a friend of mine from New York City. About thirty-five years ago, he came here to the Wisconsin wilds to join with a group of us latter-day Natives in a hunter-gatherer inspired community I founded that was called Coldfoot Creek. After a few months, the excitement of the new lifestyle wore off and…
Where is the Tracking Snow?
Here it is mid-December and it’s been so warm that we joke about getting out the Maple syruping equipment. Usually we tap the trees in mid-March when daytime temperatures reach the 40s, but we’re already there. Usually we have knee-deep snow by now, and at least we got a couple of inches recently, which hasn’t…