Orientation Course
Eco: 500 B

Begin Your Journey

You and up to four other individuals throughout the world enter a collaborative learning experience wherein you create relationships and share field experiences. Throughout the course individuals unify with each other and Nature. As a result, you begin to recognize your connections with individuals worldwide and nourish and strengthen the inner processes to connect us with the Web of Life and Educating Counseling and Healing with Nature (ECHN).

  1. In your worldwide online study group, read the rationale and objective of a sensory nature-connecting activity you will do in a natural area, backyard, or backcountry.
  2. You do the activity and journal what your 54 natural senses enjoyed from their safe contact with the natural area and their origins there.
  3. You sleep on the activity for at least one night. This lets the attractions of your 54 senses that you experienced (self-evidence) become a conscious part of your mind, body, and spirit that matches the same part of other course members worldwide.
  4. By email, you share with others what you journaled that was attractive and valuable to you in the activity.
  5. Next, other group members share the same with you and help each other connect more intimately with their relationship to Nature, self, and community.

As a result of the Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP), the course process lets our story way of knowing to create balanced sensory contact with the Earth’s Web of Life, in and around us, to increase personal, community and environmental well-being.

Your cohort community support helps us reduce Nature and life’s negative aspects while in Nature. Together everyone strengthens and shares the unifying strength of Earth’s self-correcting life as your life.

Description

BRIEF NEED STATEMENT

Laypeople and experts alike recognize that the thinking of Nature separated human cultures is inflicting damage on people and the life-sustaining systems and resources of the planet. Critical stress arising from the disconnecting of the natural way we think adversely impacts the wellness of people and the environment. It deteriorates human relationships, air, water, soil, climate, and plant and animal species. The process of thought used by industrial society damages Earth’s ability to provide for life in balance and risks damaging vital personal and global systems beyond repair. Our destructive ways are not logical. They are psychological, subconsciously bonded relationships that seldom change until the bonds are attached to constructive relationship building processes. Our troubles arise from disturbing the natural logic of the psyche, which, in turn, emotionally disturbs our thinking into producing our dilemmas. It is irrational to try to solve our problems using the same thinking process that causes them. Instead, we need to recognize and utilize a thinking process that effectively co-creates in balance with Nature’s ways and wisdom.

COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is available to all individuals at their request or as required by their certificate programs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The outcome of the course is to enable a student to be familiar with and bring into their daily thinking and relationships a process that incorporates the intelligence, beauty, and balance of natural systems. In addition, the process helps the student make a solid contribution to personal and global responsibility through heightened natural sensory awareness.

Outomes

The outcome of this course is to strengthen the bond with Nature in and around us. Each individual becomes familiar with and brings into their daily thinking and relationships a process incorporating the intelligence, beauty, and balance of the Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP). The NSTP model assists us in making a strong contribution to personal and global responsibility through heightened natural sensory awareness.

COURSE TOPICS

  • Sensory ecology.
  • Web of Life communication (54 senses and sensitivities).
  • Thinking like nature works.
  • Reconnecting with natural senses.
  • The power and understanding of natural senses.
  • People and Nature as a community.
  • The greening of personal and professional relationships.
  • Psychology of nature negatives and deepening daily relationships.
  • Psychological origins of our separation from Nature.
  • Reconnecting with Nature: the process in action.
  • The twelve elements of the Natural Systems Thinking Process. 
  • Integration and discussions about the ecology of spirit.

In addition, participants discover how our excessive separation from Nature stresses our sensuous inner Nature and initiates our personal and global troubles. Students learn to reverse this destructive process by mastering thoughtful sensory Nature reconnecting activities that dissolve stress by satisfying our deepest natural loves, wants, and spirit. This hands-on course teaches lasting leadership, education, counseling, and mental health skills that tap the ‘higher power’ wisdom of Earth’s creation process. The interactions throughout the course empower individuals to let Nature help them nurture warm interpersonal relationships, wellness, and responsibility on personal and global levels. Students relate the course methods and materials to their fields of interest to integrate these areas with the global ecosystem. In addition, individuals become familiar with the Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP) and learn how to improve their Globally Balanced Thinking (GBT) Score.