HOW did we become so distorted?
Psycho-physical methods of pattern rearrangement have been practices present cross culturally for centuries. Ancient traditions such as Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism and Sufism (to name a few) have all acknowledged the indispensable engagement in individual psycho-somatic activism in order to radiate balance into the outer world. They did this by integrating practices such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, chanting and whirling.
These are only some examples of the vast repertoire of sciences and philosophies we have been granted with from our ancestors and it is essential for our current generation to embrace these teachings.
In our present reality, the most intelligent action humanity could take is to re-visit all wisdom that has been passed on to us and wholisticly integrate it into our modern day lives.
If we take a wide scan of our current global situation, it is quite daunting and obvious that things are totally out of balance and definitely not in a state of union.
Most ancient traditions have emphasized the undeniable need for us humans to re-connect to our hearts, our feelings and our intuition, which have been suppressed and disregarded with the rise of our hierarchical and materialistic reality.
This major detachment from our hearts escalated to the point of anatomically modifying our neurological network and psychological patterns.
Feelings and subtle sensory awareness are all functions of the intuitive mind, which is facilitated by the right side of our brain.
Ever since the rising of masculine dominance, the relationship between the two hemispheres of our brain has suffered a great loss of communication causing a divorce between our inner right/left entities and transforming us into dysfunctional one-sided beings.
This inner struggle generated a comprehensive victory of left-hemisphere while disregarding the right brain’s alarm for compassionate relationship.
Major consequences have occurred from this separation, shaping history of Humanity with the emergence of the so-called Enlightenment, Newtonian physics and the coal-driven Industrial Revolution.
Fundamentally, humans are bilateral creatures; this means we have two sides.
The anatomical structure of our brain is bilateral and, as every structure has its function, we naturally embody bi-functionality.
We are a perfect reflection of the very essence and law of the whole universe.
We have been defining this wholistic understanding throughout history in many different ways and traditions: yin and yang, Shiva and Shakti, heaven and hell, light and shadow, life and death, Adam and Eve…. You name it.
We can safely agree, by now, that both Masculine and Feminine qualities are present in everything to make it whole.
Unfortunately, through a series of ‘unfortunate’ events, we have physically and psychologically transformed in lateralized beings. This means we modified our own structure and interrupted the otherwise organically balanced relationship between our inner polarities and have artificially become mono lateral.
In all other animals and species present on earth, there is no functional preference between one side and the other.
It is only in human beings that lateral supremacy is a genetic fact and the most tangible example is the major right-hand dominance present in our societies. (the right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere)
Not all humans are right handed but the majority is.
From Thomas Henna's Body of Life : “ Studies have been made of pictorial and other signs of hand dominance cross-culturally, covering a period of five thousand years. The results are that, at least since 3000 bc, roughly 92.6% of humans have had right-hand dominance. “
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a world that honors the servant, but has forgotten the gift.”
Of course, Einstein knew.
Now, I can comfortably state that our collective ‘New Age’ comprehension supports the idea that ‘our thoughts make our reality’.
Therefor, bathed in left-brain governance, our thoughts have manifested a very much verbal-thinking, analytic, technologic and materialistic reality.
With the marginalization of our right hemisphere qualities we have placed major restraints on our potential to be fully ourselves.
The right side of our brain allows us to access subtler energetic and neurophysic patterns which allow us to feel love and compassion, to care for the other, to nurture and rest.
The oppression of this inner qualities led to an overwhelming insensitivity within our own species causing Humans to become Anthropocentric and disregard emphatic relationship with any other living being on the planet and the Planet itself.
Most interesting and sadly tangible is the fact that our collective somatic lateralization not only caused anthropocentrism, but it stabbed us even deeper to the point of desensitizing humans from each other.
This profound wound in our bilateral stability narrowed our vision, thoughts and actions whilst reducing our awareness to a restricted individualistic lifestyle and setting the grounds of Egocentrism… the beginning of Humanity and Planetary down fall.
This unfortunate catastrophe started long ago and we are now hitting a point of almost ‘no-return’.
It seems drastic and unhopeful, yet it is what it is, we instigated the ball to start rolling and yes, the so called ‘snowball affect’ happened.
We are very good at that.
The dysfunctionality we actively generated in our own microcosm, has exponentially emanated out into a reflective manifestation of unbalance in the macrocosm of the Earth.
With this, we are now at a very fragile ecological, economical, political and social situation where we need to act in order to restore balance, find global peace and pretty much, heal the whole Planet.
Inner Permaculture
So here we are: Where do we start?
Considering all the above facts and amalgamating them together, wouldn’t it be quite logical to approach this healing process from the place this mass disparity started from the first place? Our brains, our minds, our own selves?
We have amazing knowledge that has been passed down to us by shamans, gurus, priests and philosophers that knew that Global imbalance is a ripple affect caused by individual dysfunction.
By restoring union between our own left/right, masculine/feminine, logistic/intuitive selves we attain a deeper understanding of our potentials and become the divinely masterful organisms that we wholesomely are.
Unifying pathways within our inner world establishes strong foundations from where we can then act upon in order to restore equality in places outsides of our own bodies… like our Social body and Global body.
This is where I like to bring in the practice of Permaculture.
There are many different explanation of the wide practice of Permaculture so, to set the grounds, here are two definitions by Bill Mollison (who created the term permaculture).
"Permaculture is a sustainable design system stressing the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals and the Earth. The core of permaculture is design and the working relationships and connections between all things." (Bill Mollison)
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labor; of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." (Bill Mollison)
In other words, by looking at nature we learn from the greatest teacher, the most intricately balanced and exquisitely divine practitioner of equanimity.
Mirroring the genius strategic of permaculture to create a harmonious relationship within our innermost territory is a whole book in itself.
This short essay is petite introduction to this methodology.
Wouldn’t we be able to better reorganize outer patterns if we would physically and psycho-emotionally experience the rearranging benefits within our own selves? Within our own skin?
By applying permaculture principles on our inner landscapes whilst considering the law of micro-macro manifestation, wouldn’t balance organically reflect on our surroundings?
Through engaging in the restoration of our own selves with a permaculture approach, we decide to actively showing up on the forgotten, overgrown and chemically modified fields of our inner territory and we get to work.
We start by observing the patterns, interacting with the flow of energies and, with the integration of different principles, regaining control of our own land.
We eliminate any outer artificial imposition, allow neurological bio-diverse activity to come back in our environment and, just like in any permaculture based garden, we sit back and magically watch equilibrium come back into place.
It’s ecstatic, literally.
Inner Permaculture is a wide umbrella that engulfs many different somatic and meditative practices from all kinds of traditions which all aim to the same thing… re-centering the self from within to without; Ecstatic Union; Liberation.
Permaculture presents different principles yet inner permaculture allows the practitioner to decide which tools would work better in respect of their unique territory.
As I personally don’t like to point focus on one belief system or static methods, I allow myself the freedom to practice inner work from different mediums and experimenting different avenues, yet still following the equal underlines present in each of them. In this setting, these equal underlines, are the principles of Permaculture.
Also, just like Permaculture embraces poly-culture to generate a thriving and ecstatic garden, I find that multi-inner practices expand our body and mind even more than just practicing one.
As a yoga instructor myself, I know this can be quite controversial to certain traditional spiritual practices, but, take it or leave it. All is well.
By establishing intelligent grounds in our own inner landscape we heal the relationship between our left/right brain activity as we are actively re-establishing a richer understanding on how to use the best and most powerful tool we’ll ever own, our body. (and yes, this includes our brains)
With the magnificent re-union of our equally powerful hemispheres we become whole again, and we experience something I like to call Bilateral activation.
(in different ancient traditions this state of being has been referred to as samadhi, tantric union, enlightenment.)
So, as we regain sensitivity to our right brain, practice love and compassion, take time for ourselves, become whole again and enlightened… will society and the earth magically come back into its own balance?
Hm… No.
Bilateral Activism
This is when the meditator meets the activist.
Right now, more then ever, our planet needs us to be fully present in the big transition we are going through. The face of the earth is changing drastically under our own feet and her uproar is triggering major shifts in our political, economical, social and religious structures.
As we explored, the majority of our specie is using only half of their capability.
Through authoritarianism and indoctrination individuals are being denied the freedom of being their full selves; and this needs to change.
Isn’t this a big thrive in our current generation right now? The desire to change our patriarchal system and make it balanced again?
Many light warriors and earth guardians are ready to make a powerful rearrangement in our hierarchical political supremacy and our genetically modified planet to re-establish the grounds for a more authentic existence.
Right now, more than ever, we must collectively become conscious participants in the work it needs to be done to heal not only our selves, but also our communities and the planet itself.
As much as immerging ourselves in self-healing, spiritual, and self-development practices, we must ALSO stand together for our social body AND ‘get into the garden’.
As we experience the ecstatic feeling of our inner Bilateral activation the next wholistic step to take is to emanate this radiant intelligence outward by incorporating it in outer structures and share it with the world.
If we truly desire to be conscious participants in our current Global transformation and do the work it needs to be done to gracefully enter this imminent new paradigm, the most wholistic methodology we can act upon is to be fully alive in our own bodies, help improve equanimity through social justice AND help the Earth regenerate from our tyranny by gifting her back the freedom to feel fully alive once again.
With this approach, we become Bilateral Activist.
Being our full selves is powerful, masterful, ecstatic… but what good is this if we keep this powerful state of being all for ourselves?
Being fully active in social justice is honorable, gratifying… but how adequate is our contribution if we are not fully alive, healthy and balanced in our own selves and act from a place of egocentrism?
Bilateral activism is waking up to the fundamental relationship we have with the many layers of the cosmos, which start from the singular cells of our own body and go to the endless interconnectivity of universal life.
Mahatma Gandhi was a perfect example of Bilateral Activism.
He participated in the care of both internal and external worlds.
He integrated activism of prayer, meditation, solitude, gardening, study, cooking and spinning and honored the essentiality of these practices as much as negotiating with the British supremacy in India, organizing movements for independence and work for the removal of cultural segregation.
I feel like most of us are ready to be full again, but we must be open to change.
A total re-arrangement is needed, and the first step is to change habitual patterns that brought us to this social and global situation in the first place. We must individually and collectively accept the undeniable fact that we are unbalanced.
Acceptance is the first step, and a lot of time hard to integrate within our own truth as it comes in conflict with our pride and ego. Yet through this surrender we welcome a more harmonious existence and a deeper, more authentic relationship with others.
The work of Inner Permaculture and the planetary need of Bilateral Activism are wholistic approaches to heal our current state of being (self, social and global) and are all part of a wider more intricate amalgamation of practices and tools of Wild Integration, a Wholistic lifestyle to a more regenerative existence not only for us Humans, but the endlessly unified life-form present on our beautiful Earth and beyond.
With all this, I have had my fair share of left-brain analytic activation for the day.
Now, I’m gonna go for a dance.
