Blister of Hope

Learning from Nature

Though flowers in February still seems soon it feels good for things to be showing life again, to be able to sit outside with nature after so much time indoors. It’s not an indulgence. It’s good for my health. When I first picked up the book “Ecopsychology” in 1995, it was a new idea. Since then there have been more books and lots of studies about the benefits of nature for health. A paper from YaleEnvironment360 on ecopsychology pinned down a specific dose, 120 minutes a week in nature for improved health and well-being, from a study of 20,000 people. Traditionally it was thought that the benefits were visual and primarily psychological., but Japanese researchers believe that inhaling aerosols from trees increases the level of Natural Killer cells (NK) which fight tumors. Nature is a multisensory environment that allows us to feel part of it, immersed in the sounds and smells as well as the natural beauty. Many hospitals integrate nature and art with their landscaping, windows and interiors, because the benefits have been known for decades. Though the studies of similar effects looking at art showed that natural scenes worked better for mental health than abstraction, abstraction has such a range of possible feelings expressed it resists being treated as a category. I think the sense of harmony is most important. A very recent study showed that looking at fractal images was calming and theorized that fractals are like looking at nature, the same form at different scales, different size leaves on a tree like different iterations of the same computerized pattern. Its branching has similarities of form between systems of blood vessels and systems of waterflow on the earth’s surface. We are calmed by the harmony of similar form. It is through fractals that we see order in chaos and a world that is fully intertwined, repeating the same chords at every level of reality. It’s a matter of perspective. The benefits of attunement to nature include learning from nature’s design. It has inspired new ways to work with and draw inspiration from design in nature. An early example of biomimetic design was Velcro, inspired by the microscopic hooks founds on the burrs that stick to fur and clothes. The field has spread to competitive swimwear inspired by sharkskin and looking at spiders for designs for a Mars Rover. Looking at order in the seeming chaos is an issue of scale where order shows with the right perspective. Taking a step back is a phrase that recognizes the need for distance to get a broader view of a situation. There is so much fragmentation in our world right now. Finding a broader perspective could remind us of our connectedness.

Resistance

Diversity and Intelligence

“Wisdom is directly proportional to the size of the group whose well being it takes into account.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, The Evolving Self Gregory Bateson defined information as “the difference that makes a difference”. When a new bit of knowledge or experience actually changes the way we view the world, it enlarges the scope of our understanding. The world is full of untapped sources of knowledge from which to build a bigger picture of reality. No one view can see it all. Each individual story has something to teach us. When someone else’s background is radically different from our own, we can learn more than we might from someone similar to ourselves. Though it may feel good to have our view supported, growth requires variety. When something different feels true but challenges our view, we need to adjust our model. This is difficult and is why there’s often resistance to a new truth. Rejecting what doesn’t fit an existing view, using up intellectual resources in the effort to discredit what doesn’t match the existing outlook, is protecting a limited picture. The right/wrong way of seeing interferes with acquiring new information. To not get bogged down in defense of one way of seeing frees valuable mental resources for accommodating more, sometimes contradictory, ideas in the mind at once. This and a tolerance for uncertainty are characteristics of high intelligence that we would do well to cultivate. An appreciation of difference leads to the intellectual enrichment of us all as we come to understand how personal experience forms every individual viewpoint. An overview requires as many perspectives as possible. Prejudice regarding what’s different may start too young to remember, but looking at art from different groups can open up experience and be a pleasurable way to get to know another’s way of thinking and feeling. Understanding that every point of view produces valid assessments of some aspect of reality welcomes the many ways of seeing that have been ignored in a world where power has decided what is true. Diversity is important for a robust ecology of ideas. Just like a larger gene pool creates hybrid vigor strengthening survivability, so can a larger pool of ideas invigorate the world of mind. Restricting oneself to a limited group is restricting the growth of personal intelligence. Intelligence is increased by every different perspective added to our worldview. Problem-solving teams in a workplace were found to be more creative when there were different cultural backgrounds in the group, not just because of the different choices from the different experiences offered, but because everyone’s limits were loosened by the variety of approaches, everyone felt more free to think something new. In his book, In The Mind’s Eye, Thomas G. West suggests that the skill of the future won’t be having the right ideas, but ability to revise our thinking as new information flows in. He feels we need to develop “the ability to model reality in our mind” as an on-going project. Hanging on to one model of reality inhibits the ability to grow. Letting go of the idea of one worldview that holds for everyone makes it easier to ride the flow of proliferating information and adjust our image as necessary. Expanding perspective will bring wisdom to our approach to the future. In honor of Black History Month here are artists I love that help me see into another group’s perspective. 1-Njidedeka Akunyli Crosby 2- Henry Osawa Tanner 3- Huey Lee smith 4-Fabiola Jean-Lousie

Syncope

Re-Connecting

Art does not show people what to do, yet engaging with a good work of art can connect you to your senses, body, and mind. It can make the world felt. And this felt feeling may spur thinking, engagement, and even action.’ – World Economic Forum, Why art has the power to change the world, 2016 This capacity to create connection makes art valuable for healing, both in the individual and between populations. The connection made to the full self is an integrating force. Healing the world depends on first healing the self, but the engagement with art is connection to the outer world as well. It’s where the deep inner life and deep outer world meet. It joins two cerebral circuits that usually operate separately. Most of the time we are either attentive to the outside world and its demands, or to the inside world with its needs. Art is the occasion when the two are alive together. Multiple websites about art and healing point to art as a way to unify body, mind and emotions. Though most sites concentrate on making art, looking at art can get to feelings a person may not have skills to express. Our natural urge toward balance will look for the art that has meaning for us at the moment, a recognition that can be stabilizing. Seeing art that moves us is connecting to the artist as well, not just seeing personal feelings expressed but feeling them shared. Recently, a friend told me of an experience she had where an abstract painting made her weep. Talking with the artist about it later, she discovered that it had been done shortly after the artist’s mother died. Responding so intensely is cathartic. People seem to seek out the strongest feelings. It may be why the drawings I did after my father’s death and over my mother’s slower disappearance are among the most visited on this blog. Recognizing the presence of those feelings claims a deeper self. Perception is always scanning for what we need. Finding and responding to art is part of the mind’s homeostasis, using what will balance energies by giving attention where it’s needed. Looking at art is both stepping back and seeing within. Knowing oneself is an important step to understanding others. Not recognizing feelings leaves them growing below awareness until they explode at the wrong targets. Art can provide a clarifying mirror that connects to the feeling level of our species. The author of the quote at the top, artist Olafur Eliasson said in another part of his paper. “Art helps us identify with one another and expands our notion of WE from the local to the global.” We are at a necessary threshold for the reorganization of our worldview. With personal transformation, we can make a start to changing the world.

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