Is Permaculture the next forced adaptation.
Me? I was transfixed most of the morning by the T-Shirt wearing, say it like it is, brain trainer, body hacker, ad smasher Todd Samson. Presenting his motivational talk on how to improve your creativity. Why creativity? Because creativity and the ability to think laterally is the one skill that differentiates us from the computers taking over many jobs. And creativity is one thing that we should be teaching our children.
What did I get out of the presentation? 3 things. Do something that involves the following
Visualisation - what you see and watch happens to you or to get really existential on you - our existence becomes our essence. So ditch the screens and get out and do something.
Emotional regulation -That's meditation and breathing by managing your fear and understanding your stories (you know, those same negative eroding ones - learn to push them aside and take the energy out of them). Yes you probably meditate - all new age people do. You are human, so you probably breathe too? No just in and out, but breath in and out 10 times, staying focused on your breath and without thinking of anything else. When you think of something else, you have to start again. Try it. When you can do 10 sets of these you should be on track to being a relaxation guru.
Forced adaptation - Now what the heck is this forced adaptation thing. The theory goes that in order to expand our brain we need to create pathways. This doesn’t happen by chance. You have to push it. Go watch some of Todd’s Redesign my brain episodes for the full lowdown an keep reading about retraining your brain. Added to this you have to sleep - 7-8 hours a night. To give your brain a chance to rewire.
With just five hours sleep a night you are working at 50% productivity the next day. Arrrh lightbulb moment. That would be why we are here listening. Get more sleep and become more productive and creative.
This all lead into the next speaker Mark McKeon, ex footy fitness coach at Collingwood for 16 years. (Those who know me would be going - Eric Bittner listening to a footy person -is everything OK?) Yes it is because Mark was also reinforcing what Todd was saying - play or learn hard, but then spend time recovering. It’s the recovery that is important. The meditation, sleeping, breathing, and in Marks case, de-stressing by stretching too.
Forcing our brain to change and develop only happens outside our comfort zone. Todd mentioned learning a musical instrument or a language or brushing your teeth with the opposite hand.
I wanted to know, were there anymore ways to incorporate forced adaptation into your lives? It started me thinking. Scary I know. For some, learning another language is not practical or beneficial immediately (bills to pay, rent to find and food to put on the table), nor is picking up a musical instrument. What about learning some other skills that could benefit either yourself or your family or the environment?
If you know me, you know where I am going with this. Yep, Permaculture and growing your own food, and learning to cook local seasonal produce without waste (ie plastic free, closing those cycles to build local connections). Learning to grow food is a skill that is being lost to a generation. You are seen as being poor if you do it, that you haven’t risen above your standing. We are told digital is where it's at and owning property, playing sports and travelling.
Growing your own food is the ultimate in time travel and sport. You are thinking about the future, your vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be, what you can eat now and in the future, while working hard in the present, doing things that you know have worked before or adjusting them to respond to change. Growing your own food enriches you, connects you to your roots, builds traditions for your family, and helps grow your future. My favourite quote from Frederick Hundertwasser “ If we do not honour our past we lose our future. If we destroy our roots, we cannot grow” pretty much sums it up.
In Australia there is an awakening to the rich and diverse indigenous history of our land. We have spent over two hundred years destroying our roots. Honouring our past now looks like the way to secure our future. Regenerating our communities. How we organise ourselves will define us to future generations.
Regenerating communities built around food production, now that would be the ultimate in forced adaptation. (I know you see the irony that for indigenous populations throughout Australia this was how they survived for 65,000 years). This forced adaptation has already been created. And it is like music to many people's ears, and food for their soul, a worldwide language. It’s called Permaculture. Permaculture plays to the earth's rhythms, you learn its notes, its patterns and cycles. Permaculture is fundamentally about behavioural change. Learning a new discipline, applying self-regulation and the acceptance of feedback.
So when you head back into work after the weekend and you ask your colleagues what they did on the weekend and the response is gardening. You need to translate that. They are really saying they are creating an opera. Making music and words to the symphony and beat of nature. Growing food for the appreciative audience of family, friends, trees, grasses and water. For the birds, bees and bacteria.
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