Biophilia and connection to nature. Science has studied the influence that the connection to nature has on us for a long time. Eric Fromm first used the term biophilia (being attracted to all that is alive and vital). It is our innate need to connect with what is alive (animals and plants). Later, Edward O. Wilson popularised the term in his book “Biophilia” (1984). We now know we humans are not only attracted to nature, but that we need it to feel happy and be healthy. Nature can de-stress us and heal our nervous system. Its contact can make us understand (even feel) that we are part of a bigger whole, thus enhancing our will to protect our environment and our planet. Our reality today. We’ve been losing our connection to nature. We spend more and more time indoors and in urbanised areas, and our relation to our natural surroundings (fauna and flora) is weaker. What are the consequences? By losing this connection, two problems arise. The first, we don’t feel part of nature, so we don’t feel the need to protect it. We don’t take care of our environment, so the climate crisis can get bigger and bigger. The […]
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Let me start with a personal story. I’ve travelled a lot in my life (for work and for pleasure). Everywhere I’ve been, when I’ve felt overwhelmed or out of place, I unroll my yoga mat (I’ve been practising yoga for over a decade) and I sit on it. I don’t really need to practise, just sitting on it it makes me feel at home. I feel secure and at peace. All this years of practising have me make an association with the mat and the good feelings I have while I practise. This association is called, in psychology, anchoring. And it can be so powerful. Anchoring can be positive or negative, depending on what connection you’ve made. We use anchoring daily without even knowing it. For example, my anchoring with the mat was there before I knew about this concept. The same way that, smelling a perfume or a dish that bring us to our childhood happiness, is anchoring too. Or, in a negative way. When we associate a smell, an image or a gesture to a bad experience. Why is anchoring so important and why can it be so empowering to harness its power? So, this means that if […]
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A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the concept of “horizon gazing” and it fascinated me. Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, has discovered that stress narrows our field of vision. One thing is in laser sharp focus and the rest gets blurred. By contrast, when we “defocus” our gaze and we take in a wider panoramic view, we relax, we enter a state of calm. “If you keep your head still, you can dilate your gaze so you can see far into the periphery—above, below and to the sides of you. That mode of vision releases a mechanism in the brain stem involved in vigilance and arousal. We can actually turn off the stress response by changing the way that we are viewing our environment, regardless of what’s in that environment.” Dr Andrew Huberman If you thing about it, it makes sense. When our body/mind worries that there is a threat it will focus our gaze to the things closest to us to make sure no predator will jump on us. When our body/mind doesn’t feel threatened, we can allow ourselves to take in a view and to relax our eyes by defocusing… That is the idea with […]
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When we think of mandalas, we often picture elaborate drawings – and we’re right, those are mandalas. But mandala-like patterns can be found everywhere in nature: Flowers. Succulents. The human eye. Tree rings. Snowflakes. Spider webs… These are small reminders to pause. To stand in awe of nature – and of the life we’re here to live. We live in mystery. For all our efforts, we don’t truly know why we’re here or how we came to be. And it’s easy to feel uneasy with that truth, so we often hide it behind our to-do lists and constant busyness. But what if we could learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable? To be okay with not knowing?Maybe then, we wouldn’t rush so much. Maybe we’d give ourselves the space to discover more about ourselves, and the vast universe around us. Let nature fill our days as much as possible. Let’s look around and notice all these quiet reminders of mystery and perhaps of our true selves as well. *If you want some daily inspiration, please follow my pinterest account.
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