Page 32 - The New Age Chronicles Newspaper No 1 Vol 1

32 Living Creatively with Nature

Living Creatively with

Nature

Kirby Hancock

This article is inspired by personal adventures in
the wilderness. It pursues the idea that a simple,
well-crafted space has the potential to deepen
awareness, improve wellbeing and connect us to
the invisible forces of nature in which we live.
A space, if constructed properly, benefits the
human mind, body, and spirit, by encompassing
minds with a stillness of purpose, nourishment
of the body, and enticement of the spirit to
mythical heights.
Propelled by the momentum of the psychic dependence on nature. Humanity has We stopped. We listened with our ears,
industrial revolution, human beings spend the depended on nature for the sustenance to eyes, nose, skin, intuition, feeling and
majority of time in buildings, with unlimited survive throughout its existence. The evolution imagination, to the current of a pristine
information and one click shopping ready at the of human survival has depended on a deep mountain snowmelt as it made its journey
touch of a button. While there are many connection to nature’s rhythms. towards the ocean. In this way, the flow of water
comforts to be found living in a built When disrupted, the imbalance in nature circulates endlessly from the heavens, to the
environment, it is still a relatively new human may manifest as a parallel to disorders within land, and back to the ocean. Connecting us to its
adaptation to have drinking water appear at the human conditions. Large scale destruction of journey. Quenching a thirst beyond hydration.
turn of a lever, or lights turn on at the flip of a the environment has become a suicidal tendency Along the way, the appearance of stone
switch. In addition, the exponential among contemporary civilizations. markers emerged from the land, speaking to us
development of technologies has rapidly Acknowledging that nature has an in the symbolic grammar of the natural
changed the way we live, to the point where influence on humans beyond physical environment. Appearing here of its own accord,
technological advancements are occurring so limitations may be the first step to reconnecting this self-manifestation of nature can be said to
quickly, it seems like human evolution is still with the elements of nature. be a spontaneous eruption of the divine.
trying to keep up. At times, the world of technology can To evoke a greater understanding of the
The human dependence on nature may feel like a burden to the human spirit, so it’s qualities of water and stone, we chose to create
be linked to humanity’s survival and wellbeing, important to find ways that counterbalance our own space to form a steam sweat. Traditions
more than most people are willing to those feelings and find grounded relief. Taking of steam sweats date back tens of thousands of
acknowledge. Ecosystems are operating outside an adventure into the wilderness is one way to years, and evidence can be found across the
the awareness of most contemporary lifestyles, do this. Allow time to unplug and reconnect to world in different shapes and forms. Although
rendering them as unimportant. This can be the intricacies of nature and the natural elements we both had previously experienced traditional
problematic, as E.O. Wilson states; “If all of of stone, wood, water, air and fire. Native American sweat lodges, this was not a re-
mankind were to disappear, the world would Journeys into the wilderness have been a creation of anything we had been in before, but
regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium part of humanity throughout its existence. rather a creative exercise to try something new.
that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects Motives for such wanderings have links to A blown down tree served as the root of our
were to vanish, the environment would collapse human survival, outward exploration, adventure in creating a space for steam.
into chaos.” recreation, art and spiritual enlightenment. The purpose of sweats has traditionally been to
A reflection of the present human Those motives can be found in nearly every purify the body, mind and spirit, so that a new
condition is shown within the condition of culture at one time or another, and still resonate sense of Self and connection to the divine may
nature. Dependence of human survival relies today. manifest. It involves the elements of earth,
heavily on a maintaining a supportive Acknowledging the powerful influence water, air and fire, to connect the physical world
environment. Wilson continues to suggest, of nature in our own creative process, my with the nonphysical realm.
“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, significant other and I embarked on our own The choreography of creating our steam
intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual wilderness journey. It taught us that in nature, space involved using only the materials
satisfaction.” When the human connection with nothing is lost, only transformed. By connecting available to us in the forest. As wanderers of
nature is lost, a piece of humanity is lost. The deeper to ourselves and the unseen mysteries Montana’s Wilds, we relied on the gifts found
human ability to find contentment within the around us, we were transformed. around us, as there is always more to the forest
embodiment of nature has transformed as High into the Montana mountains we than what we think we see. Tree limbs and
rapidly as the human developments of the went, leaving behind our daily lives with its pieces of dead wood were used to shape the
industrial age. routines and responsibilities, to follow the height and width of the space of our sweat.
Science is only beginning to measure the wisdom of place. Weaving through trees, one
totality in which nature impacts humanity. The step at a time, we followed the paths left by the (Continued on Page 33)
term “ecological unconscious,” as described by four-legged ones, such as deer, moose, coyote,
Theodore Roszak, suggests that humans have a bear, elk, and wolves. Our self-ignited
ceremony had begun.