Blogs – Page 7 – Seeding Our Future

Perspectives from Bridport Local Food Group

This month’s Seeding Our Future webinar has started an important exploration of how our local food system can adapt to the coming challenges of climate change, just as the recent pressures of Covid-19 are revealing how adeptly the Bridport area’s independent food and drink producers and suppliers can innovate during exceptional times. Short supply chains … Read more

A wider, wiser view of the climate crisis: Charles Eisenstein book:

Climate, a new story Charles Eisenstein is a charismatic American writer and speaker, who has a devoted following. I’m not such a fan, but I do recommend his new book, and I was impressed by his session at the Findhorn climate change conference (see my blog on this here). In this book, he wisely highlights … Read more

This needs many mainstream miracles:

An update on the climate crisis The rapid rise in awareness of the climate change crisis since summer 2019 has been remarkable, and so are the causes. The Swedish teenager Greta Thonberg has been an extraordinary catalyst, leading to the school strikes. And grassroots movements like Extinction Rebellion from the UK and Sunrise in the … Read more

Book blog:Perfidious Albion by Sam Byers

If this is our future, we should be worried… You may not be surprised to know that there’s been an upsurge of dystopian fiction recently. It’s not usually a genre I go for, but I saw good reviews of Perfidious Albion, and it is indeed perceptive and witty – but also pretty depressing. This book depicts Britain in a … Read more

Six big questions for our times

and some ways to explore answers Have you ever had the experience of wandering, lost in the mist, and emerging to find you’re at a vantage point where you can see at least broadly where you are, and where you want to go? That’s the place I’ve reached recently, and I’m sharing my perspectives in the hope that … Read more

Brexit: An Uncivil War – TV docudrama

In hindsight, what could possibly go right? This 2-hour programme from Channel 4 is well worth seeing. Not only will you learn how we all got into the Brexit crisis, it will show you how the present and future game of politics is played. Let’s start with what this tells us about modern politics: There … Read more

Great Dream: Ten Keys to Happier Living

This is published by Action for Happiness, probably the biggest UK network focussed on happiness. It may be stretching things to call it a book; it’s a 28-page free download from their website, www.actionforhappiness.org. Along with the ten keys, all helpful, the book suggests ways to use them, for example creating a local group, or … Read more

Current Events

Grow your own Happiness

60-90-minute online workshop Cultivate your wellbeing with gardening skills! Available for group bookingsWith Alan Heeks In these stormy times, we need new skills to stay happy. A cultivated ecosystem, like a garden, is a role model for human nature: this workshop shows how gardening methods can help you grow your own happiness and deepen the roots of your resilience. For example: Mulching and pruning to nourish your rootsComposting stress as a source of energyUse gardening skills like observation and creativityFind new ways to adapt to the climate crisisDraw inspiration from Nature to guide you in uncertainty Alan Heeks has over 25 years of experience exploring Natural Happiness with groups. It grows from creating a 130-acre organic farm and education centre at Magdalen Farm in West Dorset, and from gardening with his wife at home. In this online workshop, Alan will describe the Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness, and participants will have a chance to try some of them out. Alan is happy to take bookings for this event from environmental, community and other groups, at a time of their choosing for a moderate fee by negotiation. CONTACT LINK

July 9-11 2021: at Hazel Hill Wood, near Salisbury With Alan Heeks, Jane Sanders and Marcos Frangos How can you stay happy when there’s too much change and uncertainty? This workshop shows you how: to cultivate yourself like a garden, and grow your own wellbeing by learning from natural ecosystems, using Alan’s unique Natural Happiness model. In this workshop we’ll explore these questions, with the natural ecosystem of this magical wood as our guide. Our methods will include: nourishing our roots; composting problems; using co-creative skills to work with nature; growing inspiration; and ecosystem insights about community. Along with workshop sessions, there will be solo times in the wood, plus good food, campfires and songs to nourish us. This will be a residential group at Hazel Hill Wood: if Covid restrictions prevent this, it will be run with a series of online sessions with personal time in between. We will explore how to grow resilience for individuals and communities, especially in response to the climate crisis and the related pandemic. If you are interested in using this model in your professional work with individuals or groups, Alan will be happy to offer you advice and support: the content of this workshop relates to his fourth book, which is planned for publication in late 2021. Alan Heeks has been exploring resilience with people and nature for many years, and has led many groups on this theme, drawing on experience of resilient natural systems from creating an organic farm and setting up Hazel Hill. Jane Sanders has over 25 years’ experience in working with a mindfulness based approach to wellbeing with groups and individuals, and has also incorporated deep ecology, ecopsychology and the wisdom of natural systems into her work in many different settings, including numerous groups at Hazel Hill Wood. Marcos Frangos is widely experienced in group facilitation, coaching, counselling and constellations work. He was General Manager of Hazel Hill Wood for 5 years, and has co- led many groups there with Jane and Alan. Cost including food and accommodation: £220, concessions £180. We will share cooking and other community tasks. To secure a place, we will need a deposit of £40, £30 for concessions: if, nearer the time we have to run this as an event online event, your deposit will cover the cost of this, or you can receive a full refund. Hazel Hill is a magical 70-acre conservation woodland and retreat centre, 7 miles from Salisbury. It has simple, yet beautifully crafted off-grid wooden buildings with lovely indoor and outdoor group spaces, basic accommodation in bedrooms and sleeping lofts (or camping), good hot showers and compost loos. See more at www.hazelhill.org.uk For bookings and enquiries: Please contact Carol Nourse via email on: naturalhappinesscontact@gmail.com

Featured Blog

Using humour to defuse tensions

Do you ever feel that you spend hours in a state of high alert, where one more hassle feels like the last straw? The research quoted in our November issue (book blog – Your Brain On Nature) shows that many of us do indeed spend far too long in this state. To help you wind down for Christmas, here are some pointers on using humour to escape your anxieties: Use parody: Find a way to send up or satirise the situation or person which is bothering you. Can you find the ridiculous aspects? Exaggerating everything can help.Comic hero: Think of a comic character you like, and imagine that they play your part in the situation. For example, Groucho Marx was a role model for me throughout my serious management career, for his exuberant wit and irreverence. Here’s a small example: Angry Man to Groucho: What are you, a man or a mouse? Groucho to Angry Man: Well, put a piece of cheese on the floor and you will find out. You may prefer John Cleese or Sandi Toksvig. Whoever you choose, hopefully you can make yourself laugh by putting them in your position. Reversal: Try turning the entire problem situation on its head. If someone is angry with you, imagine them suddenly becoming charming and conciliatory. If the authorities are hassling you, imagine they send you a bouquet and an apology. Let yourself fantasise about what you would ideally like, and enjoy it. Re-scale: Find a perspective or point of view which helps you scale down the magnitude of the situation which is bothering you. Here’s one of my many favourite examples from Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:A huge battle fleet of enormous galactic spacecraft, heavily armed, hurtles across space intent on destroying the Earth. Due to a design error of scale, the entire battle fleet disappears into the ear of a bemused dog. Heroic arrival: Think of a favourite hero or heroine from strip cartoons or movies, maybe Batman or Wonder Woman. Perhaps they are suddenly standing by your side, or you morph into them. Either way, see what the hero/heroine with magical powers would say and do to resolve the situation. It could be quite satisfying in clearing your frustrations! Cartoonify: Think of a favourite strip cartoon, and how they might respond to the problem you are facing. See if you can find the comic twist which they would use. Here’s one of my favourite Charlie Brown quotes from Peanuts: No problem is too big of complex that it can’t be walked away from.