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Five Yoga Poses for a Healthy Spine

Sonali Bansal
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Five Yoga Poses for a Healthy Spine

“It is the job of the spine to keep the brain alert. The moment the spine collapses, the brain collapses.” ~ B.K.S. Iyenger

A building without a strong foundation is bound to collapse. Similarly, a body without a healthy spine is headed for a downfall as it leads to illness, inflexibility and stress. The spine is responsible for the energy anatomy of the body, form and functions. Without the spinal cord it is impossible for us to function even for a second.

spine health

The head, the torso and the legs are all functioning in coordination with the brain, due to a healthy spine. The nerve endings in the vertebrae are connected to different body parts and any damage to the spine can affect the respective body part, resulting in paralysis or other problems.

In our previous article we spoke about the spiritual significance of spine, focusing on how we can with the help of meditation keep our spine supple, active and flexible. In order to speed up the process of spiritual awakening along with an active and healthy life, we can also incorporate specific yoga poses for a healthy spine.

These poses will stretch the spinal muscles like Iliopsoas muscles, Paraspinals, Piriformis, Gluteal group etc. along with strengthening the vertebrae & rectifying our posture.

Have a look at five yoga asanas for a healthy spine and hold it for five to seven breaths each.

Upward Salute and Side stretch or Urdhva Hastasana and Triyak Tadasana

Ardha-Chandraasana
How to: Stand straight with feet together, and joining both the heels and the knees. The body should be in a line with no abnormal arch in the lower back. Inhale and lift your hands up with palms facing each other and fingers interlocked in Namaste mudra.

The body is erect and the eyes are fixed in front or the face is lifted up with the gaze upwards. Stay here for a few breaths and gently bent to the right side without distorting the posture. Stay on the right side for a few breaths, come back to the center & go towards the left side. Again, hold for a few breaths, come back to the center and repeat the process five times.

Why to: A complete body stretch, the pose opens up the spine, alleviates back pain, increases the circulation of blood in the whole body and relieves mild anxiety. One can practice this pose anytime they feel a cramped back due to excessive sitting.

Salabhasana or Locust Pose

Salabhasana-Locust-pose-how-to-do
How to: Lie on your belly with your arms along the sides of your torso, palms facing up, forehead resting on the floor. Squeeze the buttocks and as you inhale, lift up the head, neck, chest, arms & legs together, while the abdomen is resting on the floor, stabilizing and bearing all the weight.

Raise your arms parallel to the floor with the fingers interlocked for an extra stretch in the shoulders. Keep the head in neutral position and lift the body as high as possible. Stay here for five to seven breaths and come back, rest and repeat two more times.

Why to: A preparatory pose for advance back bends, this pose is known to strengthen and stretch the spine. Elongating the latissimus dorsi, erector spinae muscles, this pose stretches the hip flexors, abdominals and chest muscles as well.

Bhujangasana or Cobra pose

 

Cobra-pose-Bhujangasana
How to: Lie on your stomach with your toes flat on the floor, place the elbows near the chest and palms facing down. Keep your legs close together, with your feet and heels lightly touching each other. As you inhale, slowly straighten your arms and lift your chest and abdomen from the floor.

Feel the stability in your pelvis, thighs and top of your feet. The tailbone is pulled downwards while the gaze is either in front or upwards. Deepen your stretch by keeping your shoulders relaxed and creating an arc in your back. Don’t overstrain yourself. Stay here for few breaths. As you exhale gently come down on the floor, and repeat two more times.

Why to: A great chest opener, this pose adds strength to the back and increases flexibility in your spine. It strengthens your buttocks, abdominal muscles and shoulders.

Ustrasana or Camel Pose

How to: Kneel down on the mat with the knees hip width apart. Place the hands on the lower back, lift up the spine and tuck the tailbone in with elbows bent and fingers pointing downwards. Inhale and lean the upper torso backwards and push the hips forward.
camel-pose
Press the shoulder blades down, lean slightly on the right side and place the right hand on the right heel and then place the left hand on the left heel. Ensure that the lower back is not compressed, the weight will be centered on the knees and the head is dropped back and gaze upwards. Stay here for a few breaths, slowly come back, rest and repeat two more times.

Why to: This is a therapeutic pose as it relieves backache. It opens up the chest, improves breathing, relieves stress and stimulates digestion. Camel Pose stretches the spine and strengthens it as well.

Downward dog & Dolphin pose or Adho Mukha Svanasana

downward-dog
How to: Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart, and feet are hip width apart and parallel to each other. Place your palms on the floor. Walk your feet backwards to form an inverted V. The heel will be pressed down at all times, and the tailbone is tucked in and pulled back and ensure that there is no extra arch in the back. The gaze is either downwards or on the navel centre.

Stay here for a few breaths and then gently place the entire forearm on the floor. The sitting bones are pointing towards the ceiling, while the heels are pressed on the floor, if possible, otherwise lifted in the air to allow correct posture formation. Stay here for a few breaths, come back and relax in child’s pose. Repeat two more times.

Why to: Downward dog is included in almost all yoga routines as it strengthens the arms, spine, back and legs. Both the poses are semi-inverted poses and increases the flow of blood in the torso and head. This improves balance, relieves stress, and stretches the entire body.

Few advanced poses that can be incorporated by advance level practitioners are – Natarajasana or Lord of the Dance pose, Tuladandasana or Warrior 3 pose, Prasarita Padottanasana C or Wide Legged Forward Bend Variation C, Chaturanga Dandasana or Four Limbed Staff Pose, and Urdhva Mukha Asana or Upward Facing Dog Pose.

Some of the common causes for spine inflexibility and ill health are poor posture, immobility in the muscles surrounding the spine, improper biomechanics, sedentary lifestyles, etc. So try to help & support your spine in whatever way possible, because you are as old as your spine.

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Ardha chandrasana
Locust pose
Cobra pose
Downward dog
Spine alignment

Life is What We Learn, Life is What We Teach

Gary Z McGee
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Life is What We Learn, Life is What We Teach

“You are only a disciple because your eyes are closed. The day you open them you will see there is nothing you can learn from me or anyone. What then is a Master for? To make you see the uselessness of having one.” ~ Anthony de Mello

We are all teachers, just as we are all students; life is what we teach, and life is what we learn. The wise understand this. Genuine students are open to understanding this. Both are needed for the cycle of mastery to remain a sacred cycle, rather than a degradation into base linearity.

The problem is awareness, or the lack thereof. Most of us are not aware that we are both teachers and students. The majority of us move through life in tiny comfort zones, paranoid and fearful about having our precious beliefs and/or worldviews questioned. We are content to remain the loyal subject of a tiny god.

Like Carl Sagan powerfully said, “How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant.” Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.”” Oh the delicious tragicomedy of it all.

But how can we expect to learn anything if we are not first willing to be vulnerable? How can we truly understand anything if we aren’t willing to get down to the nitty-gritty and really question things?

How can we learn something if we’re not willing to allow the defensive ramparts that surround our comfort zone to come crashing down so that it can be rebuilt further on, broader, less defensive, and even more robust than before?

And how can we expect our tiny god – the one that barely governs a tiny portion of our brains within a tiny portion of our culture within a tinier portion of our planet within an even tinier portion of our galaxy within an infinitely tinier portion of our universe– to ever become the Big God that is able to subsume infinity, if we’re never really willing to let that god be infinite?

There may not be an answer. But at least we have questions to play with. Or maybe it’s as simple as taking into consideration these words by Alan Watts: “Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”

Life is what we learn

“He who cannot bear doubt does not bear himself. Such a one is doubtful; he does not grow and hence he does not live. Doubt is the sign of the strongest and the weakest. The strong have doubt, but doubt has the weak.” ~ Carl Jung

Doubt is a thorny concept. We’re typically torn between wanting to seem confident to others, and wanting to be open minded enough to learn from them. Perhaps the best way to navigate through the brambles of doubt is to simply remember to use doubt as a tool toward leveraging knowledge, instead of becoming a tool to doubt, which merely compounds ignorance.

Another strategy is to keep in consideration two things: these words by Bill Nye, “everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t,” and these words from Carl Sagan, “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.” These two concepts alone can make us better students.

Or consider Richard Ogle’s explanation of reach & reciprocity; where one begins with the core knowledge in a field, then ventures out and learns something new, “then they come back and reintegrate the new morsel with what is already known.

Then they venture out again, back and forth, again and again. Too much reciprocity and you wind up in an insular rut. Too much reach and your efforts are scattershot and fruitless (Ogle).”

life4

What’s needed, it seems, is a healthy balance of expansion and integration. The breakthrough, of course, is the realization that learning is not linear, but exceptionally cyclical. We stretch, we learn; we retract, we integrate. We stretch further, we learn more; we retract, we integrate further.

And the cycle continues. With enough reach and reciprocity the cycle becomes a cycle of mastery. If life is truly what we learn, then it behooves us to seek and find mentors that can teach us about life. Our mentors become the giants whose shoulders we stand upon.

And since everyone has something to teach, anyone can be a mentor, and thus anyone can be the giant whose shoulder we stand upon. If we master what they have to teach, we’ll be able to see further and farther than they did.

If we don’t master what they have to teach, we can at least assimilate their knowledge and move one smartly.

Like Robert Greene succinctly put it, “Choose the mentor who best fits your needs and connects to your Life’s Task. Once you have internalized their knowledge, you must move on and never remain in their shadow. Your goal is always to surpass your mentors in mastery and brilliance.”

Life is what we teach

“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

True mastery is not mastering others; it’s mastering our former self. We all know this to be true, to a certain extent, but we also struggle with the cultural conditioning that competition trumps cooperation.

It doesn’t. Or at least it shouldn’t. Cooperation must be primary and competition secondary for any healthy evolution to occur. Whether that evolution is learning, teaching, or living.

The basis of nature is cooperation and democracy. It’s in our DNA. It can be seen in every organism from ants to primates. Indeed, even in The Descent of Man, Darwin mentioned “survival of the fittest” exactly twice, and he mentioned the word “love” 95 times.

Let that sink in for a second. Competition has always been secondary to cooperation; otherwise we wouldn’t have survived as a species. The problem is that we’ve had the cart (competition) in front of the horse (cooperation) for roughly 2,000 years. And we see, first-hand, the unhealthy state we’re in because of it.

There’s nothing wrong with competition, mind you. It’s still primary over everything else other than cooperation. But when we focus too much on competition we lose sight of the importance of self-mastery.

And there is this dangerous tendency to try and master others instead. But it’s always better if we focus on mastering ourselves rather than others. As I wrote at the beginning of this article, it’s all a matter of awareness.

Like Leonardo da Vinci said, “The average human looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting… and talks without thinking.”

expect the unexpected

A wise human realizes the difference between looking and seeing, listening and hearing, touching and feeling, eating and tasting, and talking and thinking. A wise human also realizes the difference between mastering others and mastering the self.

Self-mastery is the ability to self-overcome, to consistently and persistently ward off the master complex. The master complex is the false notion that we’ve somehow learned all we need to learn about a certain subject or even about life. It’s the idea that our expertise will suffice, and that nobody else can teach us anything.

Like Kathryn Schulz said, “Ignorance isn’t necessarily a vacuum waiting to be filled; just as often, it is a wall, actively maintained.”

Sadly, it spells the end of our journey of knowledge. Beginner-mind begets expert-mind begets master-complex which must be destroyed by beginner-mind in order to renew the cycle and in order to recycle the mastery. Recycling the mastery is the best way to self-overcome and to master our former self. And it keeps knowledge cyclical as opposed to linear.

At the end of the day, there is no such thing as a true master. We’re all ignorant about something. Socrates realized that no one was wiser than he because no one understood their ignorance as well as he did. As Shakespeare imparted, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Indeed, we are all ignorant, but the smart thing is to become wise to it. The closest we can get to being a true master is understanding that there will always be something we don’t know, and some things we can never know, and then laugh about it. In the end, cultivating a good sense of humor is probably the closest we’ll ever get to “true mastery.”

Like Alan Watts said, “When you attain Satori, nothing is left for you in that moment than to have a good laugh.”

Image source:

If you’re not willing to learn
Best teacher

The Significance of Your Spine on a Spiritual Journey

Sonali Bansal
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The Significance of Your Spine on a Spiritual Journey

 “So, spine is one dimension of you, which determines which direction you go. How your spine is functioning; how the energies in your spine are functioning right now determines almost everything about where you go.” ~ Sadhguru

The seat of major energy meridians, chakras, and neurons, the Spinal cord defines the quality of our lives. In a mother’s womb, the spine is the first thing that is formed, and then the body, limbs, etc., take root.

Let’s find out the significance of your spine on a spiritual journey

Spine, the Source of all Energy

Significance of your Spine on a Spiritual Journey

From a physical point of view the spinal column is an important channel for all the bodily stimuli that are transferred via the nerves to the brain. It is part of our central nervous system along with the brain. But also on a spiritual level, the spine is the source of all our energy. It is where the three major energy channels or nadis in our body lie.

Starting from the base of the spine, the Ida and Pingala nadis move in spirals like the DNA helix, crossing at each chakra or energy portal. The third nadi, Sushumna, is the central channel of energy in the human body that runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head and carries Kundalini energy, the primal evolutionary force within.

The seven major chakras, on the other hand, are located at the intersection of the Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna. These chakras are further responsible for our relationship to ourselves, others, and define our spiritual growth, our nature, thoughts, and so on.

Spine is referred to as Meru Danda in Sanskrit, where Meru also means the sacred mountain Meru from the Hindu Mythology, which was considered to be the axis of the Earth, having an entire solar system revolving around it. In other words, the spine is the axis for the human body, which acts as a connecting link between Earth and heaven.

According to Hindu mythology, once the gods and demons wanted to extract the nectar of immortality or ‘amrita’ and so they gathered near Mount Meru and started pulling the serpent coiled around Mount Meru back and forth. Thus churning the ocean of life to bring out the nectar of immortality. According to the Vedas, our spine is like Mount Meru, and when churned, the nectar of immortality and bliss, in terms of a disease-free & blissful life, can be extracted.

The Sacrum – The center of gravity

The spine has five different parts, cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum and coccyx, out of this the most significant one is the sacrum. It lies at the base of the spine and joins the upper and lower halves of the body.

Judith Harris in her book, ‘JUNG AND YOGA: THE PSYCHE BODY CONNECTION’ said, “The center of gravity is located at the top of the sacrum, which thus makes sacrum the focal point of our relationship to the ground, to the body, and to our human reality. “

As the gravity passes through our body from the head to the knees and the feet, the sacrum acts as a pivotal center for the flow of energy in opposite directions. Harris added, “Gravity will draw feet into the floor, giving us the anchor that we need to live in the world” yet it is “counteracted by the tendency of living things to expand and grow upward toward the sun.”

sacrum

In Hatha yoga, the sacrum is considered a sacred bone, because it literally connects the lower half of our body to the upper half. It is seen as a place of transformation, where the union of upper and lower, of above and below, of the divine and the human occurs.

The fact that most of us are suffering from lower back pain is because of neglecting this area and being disconnected from ourselves. Here is a simple spinal meditation to keep your spine healthy and free of blockages, with healthy wiring and firing of neuron transmissions.

Keep our spine straight and in line with the head and neck. Therefore, ensuring a proper posture for the uninterrupted flow of the Prana in our body.

Activating the Spine with Meditation

“You’re only as old as your spine is flexible.” ~ Joseph Pilates.

This holds true in its entirety, as our age is not defined by the number of years we have spent on the material plane, but it is based on the wear and tear of the various organs of the body, the ability of our cell to regenerate and keep us supple and flexible.

With the help of yoga and meditation, the age process can be reversed. Like the five Tibetan rites that result in youthfulness and longevity, spine meditation can lead to a healthy and a balanced life with an unrestricted flow of Prana in our system.

Here’s a step-by-step procedure to start Spine meditation

Step 1: Sit comfortably on a chair or on the floor in an easy pose, with your back erect and preferably away from the wall. Bring your hands in Meru Mudra, fold all your fingers towards your palm, while keeping just your thumb straight, pointing towards the sky in a thumb’s up position. Now, rest the hands on your thigh and stay here for a while.

Step 2: Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Feel the breath touching the tips of your nostrils, passing through the nasal passages to the lungs, diaphragm, abdomen and all the way out.

Step 3: Gradually move your awareness to the spine and visualize it. The long structure with curves and vertebrae, the spine will be easily visible in its perfect form. Look at your spine as an observer and gently move your awareness up and down, analyzing the curves of the spinal column.

Step 4: As you move your awareness in the spine, acknowledge a thread or the silver cord in the center of the spine, running from the base of the spine to its tip. This cord is the sutratma or the thread of life, which connects us to our higher self, reaching us in our physical body. Also, it connects all our bodies together, starting from the physical body to the ethereal body to the astral body, so on and so forth.

Step 5: Keep visualizing this silver thread and feel it lighting, which further fills your entire body with a new upsurge of energy. The silver cord removes any blockages in your spine from the light emitting from it as it heals all obstructions in the free flow of the prana or the life force, leaving you energized and recharged.

Keep at the meditation for as long as you want and recharge yourself completely. With regular practice, visualizing the spine, the silver cord and the light would become easier and quicker.

The spine is the axis on which the human body revolves. Keeping your axis supple, healthy, flexible and hydrated will reap long-term benefits both materially and metaphysically. But it is important to keep a good posture and practice this meditation as and when you can.

The Amazing Power of Your Spine

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Kundalini

7 Phenomenal Quotes from Hunter Thompson to Shift your Perspective on Reality

Bhavika
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7 Phenomenal Quotes from Hunter Thompson to Shift your Perspective on Reality

A lot of us were introduced to Hunter S Thompson with, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” perhaps one of the most interesting films to put a perspective of what Gonzo Journalism is from Hunter’s point of view. Although it was a beautiful movie it hardly covered Hunter’s complete character.

After Hunter lost his father at an early age he faced a trying life. But of course he made the most of it as it was literally the boredom that killed him in the end.

Quotes from Hunter Thompson

For someone who valued freedom above everything else, his debilitating condition symbolised the one thing that terrified him the most: indefinite suffering. Instead of prolonging his suffering, he pulled the trigger at the age of 67.

But in those 67 years Thompson has given us enough to last us generations as Hari Kunzru, the author put it, “The true voice of Thompson is revealed to be that of American moralist … one who often makes himself ugly to expose the ugliness he sees around him.”

Let’s take a look at phenomenal quotes from Hunter Thompson.

1) “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
hunter-thompson-quote

How are you spending your “now”? Are you postponing to live life you’ve always wanted, until you have enough bank balance, or once you are at a higher rank or buy a new house? Why is happiness based on circumstances/ situations that might or might not happen in the future?

The present moment is all there is and it is all you have. Experience the blessing of being alive today rather than postponing it until further notice. Enjoy the ride, and when your life comes to an end, may be you say, “Wow! What a Ride!”

2) “We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”

When we talk about love, we often think of others and what others mean to us. What about loving yourself first? Only when you love yourself unconditionally, can you love others. Because when you love yourself, you won’t need others to fill the void. You deserve as much love and appreciation as everyone else. And before expecting to get all of these things from anyone else, you should first learn how to offer them to yourself. Don’t forget, happiness is an inside job!

3) “Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously.”

The only way to evolve as a species is to learn from our mistakes. We are fallible creatures, and perfection is merely an illusion. The moment we accept our imperfections, we will begin to ease off, and and perhaps even garner a sense of humor about our fallibilities.

There will be things or situations that need to be taken seriously, but at the same time don’t forget a spark of humor can help turn things around for you. So let go, lighten up and embrace yourself!

4) “Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”

hunter-s-thompson-quotes

We often go through life on autopilot, being too comfortable in our comfort zones and harboring a fear of the unknown. Life is to be lived, and not merely exist.

Break free from the mold and strive to think outside of the box. We all have a spark of madness within us, but its only up to us to recognize that and never let it die.

5) “A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.”

We all procrastinate from time to time. It can be those mundane tasks or bigger things that require more attention and dedication. Its generally related to experiencing the emotional discomfort inherent in making changes in life.

Take the plunge, make the choice and move on before someone else forces it on you.

6) “THE EDGE, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is the ones who have gone over.”

Ever been over the Edge? It exists after your cross the edge and things get a little warped, everyone has their own experiences when they break limits and barriers that were put in.

To push the limits of your sanity has its perks provided you have a safety-line to pull yourself back. As Thompson said there really is no way to explain it, perhaps because to people who haven’t shared similar experiences you will probably be labeled as crazy.

7) “We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.”

The state of affairs with the law enforcers is probably the same all around the world – brutality, fake encounters, corruption, the list goes on. Although some clouds have silver linings.

But what the world really needs is a police force that protects and looks after the civilians, not harass people based on their color or economic status. Do you feel respected by the police force? I personally feel they need to attend Hunter University.

Thompson lived his life the way he wanted to and even though he cut it short, he will always be remembered for his fascinating outlook of the world.

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Hunter Thompson

3 Ways to De-colonize the Human Condition

Gary Z McGee
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3 Ways to De-colonize the Human Condition

dec3 “It would be a mistake to think this culture clear-cuts only forests, it clear-cuts our psyches as well. It would be a mistake to think it dams only rivers. We ourselves are dammed (and damned) by it as well. It would be a mistake to think it creates dead zones only in the ocean. It creates dead zones in our hearts and minds. It would be a mistake to think it fragments only our habitat. We too are fragmented, split off, shredded, rent, torn.” ~ Derrick Jensen

Colonialism, expansionism, imperialism, call it what you will. It has systematically destroyed both our psychological and ecological environments. It is a heartless man-machine hell-bent on conquering, consuming, controlling and repeating, ad infinitum. Like Frantz Fanon said, “Colonialism is not a machine capable of thinking, a body endowed with reason. It is naked violence.”

And in its naked violence it leaves paths of mass destruction that transform healthy environments into burnt-out husks. Unhealthy and unsustainable, colonialism is an engine with outdated machinery and parochial, dyed-in-the-wool equipment. It rampages over environments like a mindless, hyper-violent backhoe; close-minded and dogged in its obsolete dog-eat-dog worldview.

What gets chewed up isn’t just the biosphere but the human psyche, the human heart, and the human soul. And the only thing standing in its way are healthy, reasonable, compassionate, and eco-centric human beings. Self-aware people that understand and empathize with the Sioux proverb: “The earth was not given to you, but loaned to you. We do not inherit it from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” Here are three ways to decolonize the human condition.

1) Decolonize yourself
“Keeping one eye on the way the world ought to be, while never losing sight of the way it is, requires permanent, precarious balance. It requires facing squarely the fact that you will never get the world you want, while refusing to talk yourself out of wanting it.” ~ Susan Neiman
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In a colonized world, it’s extremely difficult to differentiate medicine from poison. It’s almost as if we have to become aware before we can become aware. Like George Orwell said, “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” Frustrating indeed.

So in light of this contradictory self-awakening revolution, what is one to do? First and foremost, we have to be okay with getting uncomfortable. Like Brene’ Brown said, “You can have courage or you can have comfort, but you can’t have both.”

Once courage has sufficiently trumped comfort, we can challenge ourselves into building a new world in the shell of the old. We can deny the egocentric communities and embrace the creation of eco-centric communities. We can choose to break the cycle of rampant nature deprivation. Like Carl Jung said, “Civilized man is in danger of losing all contact with the world of instinct –a danger that is still further increased by his living an urban existence in what seems to be a purely man-made environment. This loss of instinct is largely responsible for the pathological condition of our contemporary culture.”

We can make a commitment to restore our connection to mother earth. We can wake up to what the native peoples of this earth have always known: that ultimately the damaging development of colonization serves only to separate us from each other and from the very foundation of life itself. We can realize that the oil-mongers and warmongers are us. And then slowly, systematically, begin to un-oil-monger and un-warmonger ourselves by replacing oil with renewable and violence with love.

2) Decolonize through progressive technology
“Revolution is at once the most tragic and redeeming social experience. It is what societies do instead of committing suicide, when the alternatives are exhausted and all the connections that bind men’s lives in familiar patterns are cut.” ~ Andrew Kopkind
modern civilization

We can use technology to progressively evolve instead of regressively devolve. We have the creative capacity to overcome our limits. We always have. This is what makes us most authentically human. And this creative capacity manifests itself through our technologies. It always has.

Technology can be progressive and constructive, or regressive and destructive; a kind of techno-ontological double-edged sword. We are created by what we have created: shoes, the wheel, and computers.

Likewise, we are destroyed by what we have created: guns, the atomic bomb, and run-away capitalism. There are healthy and unhealthy ways to use our technologies. We just have to get better at using them in healthier ways.

Technology has forever been like a second skin for humans. The question is: will that skin be armor-like and invulnerable, and thus destructive and unsustainable; or robust and adaptable, and thus constructive and sustainable. Balance is key. Moderation is the secret. The Golden Mean is forcing our head over the edge of the human abyss.

The Golden Ratio is slapping us across the face. The Middle Way is perhaps the only way to right the ship, but the vast majority of people are too busy sinking it with their extremist views to see that perhaps rocking the boat in moderation is the way to stay afloat.

Along with emerging renewable energy technologies, guerrilla gardening is an exceptional technology for decolonizing the human condition. Or what about the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement, and their idea of moving towards a resource-based economy instead of a monetary based one – money being a huge hurdle for the evolution of our species. Like Douglas Adams said, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”

Or what about Google and the collective consciousness of the internet, or the Hubble Telescope or the Overview Effect, or even the use of smart phones. These technologies have a way of creating what Jason Silva calls “techno-social wormholes” that literally shrink our “line of sight” and squash the outdated notion of “out of sight, out of mind.” With these “wormholes” we can shrink space and time and come together through eco-conscious cells, forums, threads, posts, websites, with which we can crush the overreach of colonialism from the inside out.

3) Transform the Desert of the Real into the Garden of the New
“The Great Lie is that this is civilization. It’s not civilized. It has literally been the most blood-thirsty brutalizing system ever imposed upon this planet. This is not civilization, this is the Great Lie. Or if it does represent civilization, and that is truly what civilization is, then the Great Lie is that civilization is good for us.” ~ John Trudell

Who are the captains of spaceship earth? We are. Each and every one of us has a part to play in steering this most precious vessel. We must be able to transform the Wasteland of the Hyperreal into the Desert of the Real into the Garden of the New.
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The Wasteland of the Hyperreal is the world that has been left behind by outdated colonialism and parochial imperialism. It is the ravaged, burnt-out husk upon which we all currently walk blindfolded. The Desert of the Real is that blindfold removed, the psychological/spiritual/existential wakeup call to the extent of our destruction and to the full realization of the damage that the Wasteland of the Hyperreal has caused.

One cannot even fathom the possibility of the Garden of the New without first removing this blindfold. The Garden of the New is an updated, healthy, and sustainable world where eco-conscious people have rediscovered a sacred balance between nature and the human soul.

This evolution takes shape within the process of techno-social rewilding, keeping in mind that we are not regressing into savagery, but progressing into a healthier more sustainable world for us all. It takes place within the courageous heart of each of us decolonizing ourselves and rising up from the gutters of an outdated way of being human in the world.

It’s an awakening to both our roots and our wings, and how to balance the power of both. It’s an emergence, a re-imagining, an existential revelation and a spiritual revolution. In short: it’s providence, and the salvation of our species. But until such time can pass, dear reader, heed the wise words of John Trudell, “Protect your spirit, because you are in the place where spirits get eaten.”

Image source:

Trudell quote
Uncivilized/Civilized
Garden meditation

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