Our world is always changing,
Constantly re-arranging.
From ocean depths to mountain peaks,
Mother Nature moves and speaks.
While telling stories of our past
She tries to teach us how to last.
Mankind, so smart, sometimes blind
Leaves common sense far behind.
We're moving fast and living large,
Forgetting she's the one in charge.
Amazed when she rings our bell,
Sending us through living hell.
She can twist our steel, shake any city,
If her wrath you feel, we shall pity.
Yet some who speak on her behalf,
I fear just seek the golden calf.
It's true, we must treat her right.
Or we will incur a deadly plight.
Treat her with distinction
Or surely face extinction!
By Edith A. Phinazee
Mother Nature, Environment Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/mother-nature#ixzz2YOXCa8Xf
Sunday 7 July 2013
Psychological Dimensions - Self Reflection
Hi, my name is Gregg. My work consists of
organizing and leading outdoor trips of all types for the campus recreation at
a local university. This job offers me opportunities to showcase the wilderness
to guests and spend my time outside in the fresh air. In this paper I will
consider the dimensions of my psychology that have developed through experiences
and maturation.
Upon
reflection my life I have found that my work life, relationship with the
environment, and ultimately my project focus are all guided by several key
dimensions of my psychology. These key
dimensions of my psychology include my artistic expression, values, and
identity. Each aspect of my psychology mutually support one and other and
empower my choices in regard to work, environment, and thesis.
Over the
years I have developed and explored several mediums of artistic
expression. While in high school I
became very fond of painting abstract mix media pieces. I first developed this passion through
spending time in nature. I vividly
remember, as a teen on family sea kayaking trip, spending evenings on the beach
of a west coast islets exploring different representations tidal sea life. More
recently my artistic passion has shifted toward ceramics.
For the
last 2 years I have been developing my skills of throwing on the pottery wheel
and developing a variety of glazes. This process has allowed me to express my
love of the natural world though the inclusion of nature themes and the use of
my low tech homemade wood fire kiln.
Similar
to my artistic endeavors, the development of my values has been a process that
has been largely driven by my experiences in nature. I have many fond childhood
memories of building forts in the forest near my house. Unfortunately for my
sense of nostalgia, the forest land I utilized as a child have all been taken
over by the overwhelming urban sprawl of greater Nanaimo. Observing this take
place, I have developed a strong regard for minimal living.
My best
friend, who I grew up with, once told me, “if I can’t carry it, I don’t need
it.” He has been hitch hiking the world for the past 7 years, and though I
don’t live up to his words completely, I still carry them with me. Together these memories have empowered me to
reduce my consumption and minimize my impacts.
My
identity deeply entangled with my values.
I try to lead a life that is in line with my ecological values and true
to my sense of what is right. One aspect of my life that I identify with is small
scale farming. At my home I a number of
garden beds that I cultivate for wild range of vegetable goods depending on the
season. My garden goal for the year is to grow ¼ of the food that my family of
3 need annually. This hobby connects me with the earth and supports my
ecological values.
I also
identify myself as an athlete. I enjoy going river kayaking, backcountry
skiing, hiking, and climbing (to name a few). These pursuits are enjoyable and
challenging for me. They encourage me to
develop my skills, spend time in nature, and build my self confidence. Further,
these activities have allowed me to access incredible groups of people who I
would have been able to interact with otherwise. Becoming part of a strong
community of outdoor enthusiasts has further developed my respect for nature,
my values, and identity.
The
above brief representation of my character should allow for a good
understanding of my choices of thesis potential thesis topics. I am potentially interested in exploring: how
community gardening affects ecological ethics, the images of nature impact
psycology, how outdoor pursuit empower environmental activism, and how time in
wilderness effects positive psychology.Hi, my name is Gregg. My work consists of
organizing and leading outdoor trips of all types for the campus recreation at
a local university. This job offers me opportunities to showcase the wilderness
to guests and spend my time outside in the fresh air. In this paper I will
consider the dimensions of my psychology that have developed through experiences
and maturation.
Upon
reflection my life I have found that my work life, relationship with the
environment, and ultimately my project focus are all guided by several key
dimensions of my psychology. These key
dimensions of my psychology include my artistic expression, values, and
identity. Each aspect of my psychology mutually support one and other and
empower my choices in regard to work, environment, and thesis.
Over the
years I have developed and explored several mediums of artistic
expression. While in high school I
became very fond of painting abstract mix media pieces. I first developed this passion through
spending time in nature. I vividly
remember, as a teen on family sea kayaking trip, spending evenings on the beach
of a west coast islets exploring different representations tidal sea life. More
recently my artistic passion has shifted toward ceramics.
For the
last 2 years I have been developing my skills of throwing on the pottery wheel
and developing a variety of glazes. This process has allowed me to express my
love of the natural world though the inclusion of nature themes and the use of
my low tech homemade wood fire kiln.
Similar
to my artistic endeavors, the development of my values has been a process that
has been largely driven by my experiences in nature. I have many fond childhood
memories of building forts in the forest near my house. Unfortunately for my
sense of nostalgia, the forest land I utilized as a child have all been taken
over by the overwhelming urban sprawl of greater Nanaimo. Observing this take
place, I have developed a strong regard for minimal living.
My best
friend, who I grew up with, once told me, “if I can’t carry it, I don’t need
it.” He has been hitch hiking the world for the past 7 years, and though I
don’t live up to his words completely, I still carry them with me. Together these memories have empowered me to
reduce my consumption and minimize my impacts.
My
identity deeply entangled with my values.
I try to lead a life that is in line with my ecological values and true
to my sense of what is right. One aspect of my life that I identify with is small
scale farming. At my home I a number of
garden beds that I cultivate for wild range of vegetable goods depending on the
season. My garden goal for the year is to grow ¼ of the food that my family of
3 need annually. This hobby connects me with the earth and supports my
ecological values.
I also
identify myself as an athlete. I enjoy going river kayaking, backcountry
skiing, hiking, and climbing (to name a few). These pursuits are enjoyable and
challenging for me. They encourage me to
develop my skills, spend time in nature, and build my self confidence. Further,
these activities have allowed me to access incredible groups of people who I
would have been able to interact with otherwise. Becoming part of a strong
community of outdoor enthusiasts has further developed my respect for nature,
my values, and identity.
Anxiety and the Environment
In chapter 3 – the difficult problem of anxiety in thinking
about climate change, Sally Weintrobe reviews the aspects of our psyche that
complete to manage the anxiety we feel, the reality loving and the narcissistic
aspects. Further, she examines the
coping methods used to deal with anxiety, including projection, splitting, and
denial (both denial as negation and denial as disavowal).
Weintrobe notes that when examining a western add for a L’Oreal
that the marketing is addressing both normal narcissism (vanity) but also “their
underlying more arrogant wish to be part of an in-crowd of superior women,
valued by society and lovable” (p. 41).
Adds like the above are a good example of western life; “we
are actively encouraged to use disavowal and to live within an organized psychic
retreat from the anxieties that reality brings” (p. 41). Further, Weintrobe
notes that if we support disavowal we are unwittingly encouraging people’s
anxieties to rise. Similarly, the work
shop that Olive hosted on Friday, we were provided a forum to allow for people
to express themselves and allow the reality loving aspects and narcissisms see
the light of day. Community support seems to me to provide an opportunity to
discover aspect of self, which allow for the opportunities of change making.
It occurs to me that perhaps in order to encourage people to participant in activities that support climate efforts, we need to also appeal to peoples narcissistic sides to some degree. Environmental advertisements have focused heavily on reality, and reality can be anxiety producing and difficult to deal with. But if we also appeal to people’s sense of specialness we might be able to encourage involvement. Similar to the Smokey the Bear campaign, with the catch line, “only you can stop wildfires”, environmental organization could use a similar catch, or World Vision’s campaigns to sponsor a specific child, that needs your support. I’m not sure how exactly that would look for environmental groups, but perhaps offers a avenue for further investigation.
It occurs to me that perhaps in order to encourage people to participant in activities that support climate efforts, we need to also appeal to peoples narcissistic sides to some degree. Environmental advertisements have focused heavily on reality, and reality can be anxiety producing and difficult to deal with. But if we also appeal to people’s sense of specialness we might be able to encourage involvement. Similar to the Smokey the Bear campaign, with the catch line, “only you can stop wildfires”, environmental organization could use a similar catch, or World Vision’s campaigns to sponsor a specific child, that needs your support. I’m not sure how exactly that would look for environmental groups, but perhaps offers a avenue for further investigation.
Facilitating and exploration of the affective
On Friday of this week Olive facilitated an group unearthing
of affective feelings. We were organized
into two circles of an equal number of people, then we took turns listening and
answering questions that were offered the group. After both answering a question, we would
switch partners and repeat the process.
This activity was very disarming, partly because of the
level of trust that I feel for the group we were working with. Still upon
entering the activity, I had expected to hold my walls up and be unable (unwilling)
to answer from the heart. But, once
taking part, I realized that I was truly answering with my full self. I believe this was in part because of the
trust felt for the other participants and the use of silent probing (the person listening does not respond, just attentively listens), a technique I
was first introduced to in qualitative interviewing.
Overall this was a valuable experience that has unearthed unconscious aspects that would have been difficult to access on my own.
Overall this was a valuable experience that has unearthed unconscious aspects that would have been difficult to access on my own.
Thank you Olive for a powerful and enlightening experience.
Friday 5 July 2013
Ecological debt and maturation
In chapter 5, Great expectations – The psychodynamic of
ecological debt, Rosemary Randall defines the term ecological debt. Ecological debt is a way of reframing an
individual’s impacts upon the natural environment. A person grows an ecological debt by using more
natural resources then their “fair share” (p. 89), or participating in a
lifestyle that pushes an ecosystem to its breaking point. Rosemary follows up
by stating how one recognizes the beginning of ecological debt. To better illustrate
this term she uses the analogy of a child through their development. As a baby/child you are completely dependent
on the parents and do not recognize how you burden them. As a child matures, then slowly see their
parents as more than perfect servants. And
finally, the child develops enough to recognize how they have burdened their parents
and will do what they can to make their parents’ lives more comfortable. In
this example, the child eventually owes his/her parents.
In the chapter Rosemary describes
who an ecological debt can be owed to. It can be potentially owed to “other
people, species and habitats, future generations, and the global commons”
(p.90). This is an interesting point to me because she neglects to mention that
this debt can be owed also to self. If a child were never develop enough to
recognize their parents sacrifice, is the child not missing an important aspect
of personal growth? Similarly, by not recognizing
the sacrifice the planet is making for our lives are we not missing an important
opportunity to grow and mature in the ways in which we interact with the world?
Thursday 4 July 2013
Hope and Despair
Over the last year, I have
been trying to shift my own story, in terms of climate change and the
environment, away from doom and gloom.
This process has worked to some degree, I have been able to muster more
hope for the future, but this process has been slightly rocky. It has been challenging
to consider such huge environmental problems, without occasionally slipping out
of the place of hope toward a darker mind space. Recently we have begun to explore the place
and purpose of despair in EECO 509.
During the conversation between
Renee and Elin, we, the audience, were able to listen in on a discussion which explored
the spectrum of Hope and Despair. In the
last year, I have felt despair, despair around the continued development of
micro hydro in remote natural areas, despair around the seemingly endless oil
spills, and despair around the juggernaut of consumer culture in North
America. In light of my aspiration to
approach environmental issues from a place of hope, these emotional responses I
was having, were quite disturbing.
Throughout Wednesday we explored the empowerment of hope through the acknowledgement
of despair.
Despair rests just under the
surface of the psyche, embedded in feeling of powerlessness and
meaninglessness. Expressing despair often leads to concomitant experience of
fear and anger. (Koger & Winter, 2010, p.89). Naturally, I don’t strive to feel these
strong feelings of despair or hopelessness, they had felt to be counterproductive
to deal with. Koger and Winter go on to
mention that by repressing these darker aspects of our psyche, we are draining
our energy (2010, p.89). Finally, they mention that “once the feeling is fully
experienced, the unconscious processes are interrupted and the full power of
the person is newly available (Koger & Winter, 2010, p.89). Though acknowledgement of the fully spectrum
of hope and despair and by moving though the challenging emotions, I am
continuing to develop my mature hope.
I think that the following
poem by Douglas Malloch provides a good analogy for the development of mature
hope.
Good Timber
The tree that never had to
fight
For sun and sky and air and
light,
But stood out in the open
plain
And always got its share of
rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby
thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of
soil,
Who never had to win his
share
Of sun and sky and light and
air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he
began.
Good timber does not grow
with ease:
The stronger wind, the
stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater
length;
The more the storm, the more
the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and
snow,
In trees and men good timbers
grow.
Where thickest lies the
forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of
both.
And they hold counsel with
the stars
Whose broken branches show
the scars
Of many winds and much of
strife.
This is the common law of
life.
by Douglas Malloch
Koger, S. & Winter, D.
(2010). The Psychology of Environmental
Problems. Psychology Press. pp.
Malloch, D. (n.d.). Good Timber. Retrieved from http://holyjoe.org/poetry/malloch.htm
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Psychology & global climate change – addressing a multifaceted phenomenon and set of challenge
In order to better understand
public opinion around the topic climate change the report pulls together the contributions
from the field of psychology. In this
report the authors specifically note the aim, which is, “to engage members of
the psychology community (teachers, researchers, practitioners, and students) in
the issue of climate change” (APA, 2010, p. 1). More completely, they have set out
to assess the contributions of the psychological field, build recommendations
for future research, and develop policies to assist people in the field to
engage with the issue of climate change (APA, 2010, p.1-2).
In the group discussion Tuesday we assessed that the paper was framed around
the concept of control and this seemed to be quite in line with the statements made
in the executive summary. For example,
in the suggested policies to encourage engagement with the topic of climate
change there was no mention of personal changes or modifications that can be
made to further the cause. All the
suggested interventions mentioned were to be implemented upon others, this authoritarian
stance left me with an unsavory taste.
Tonight, upon re-review of
the reports specific policy recommendations pdf, I have found that they do in
fact suggest personal methods of limiting the impact of the research community
as well. They do so with suggestions such as “When selecting
goods to purchase, buy products that minimize impact on the environment such as
buying Energy Star equipment, biodegradable products, and locally grown food
for events” (APA Policy Recommendations, 2010, p.5) and “Encourage
psychologists to understand and alter their own behaviors to reduce emissions in their personal
lives as well as in their places of work” (APA Policy Recommendations, 2010, p.
3). I recognize that the paper is still framed in a place of control, but by
recognizing that their audience of psychologists are also people who could
improve their habits and practices lightens the air of superiority that I had initially
sensed. Further, by encouraging their
frontline workers to adopt more environmentally ethical practices it adds to
the validity of the messages and policies that they promote.
APA. (2010). POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS of the APA Task Force on
the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/science/about/publications/policy-recommendations.pdf
APA. (2010). Psychology and Global Climate Change - addressing
a multifaceted phenomenon and set of challenge – Executive Summary. Retrieved
from http://www.apa.org/science/about/publications/executive-summary.pdf
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