No other animal spoils its nest like (part of) humanity is doing to Earth. My first memories are filled with a sense that something is greatly wrong with the world. What happened and what can be done to reverse the self-and-other destructive pathway humanity is on? I’ve been searching for answers years and have reached some conclusions I’d like to share with you.
This blog is going to address these questions, examining aspects of the trauma-inducing pathway that humanity has taken up in the last 10,000 years or so and also describing the wellness-promoting pathway of our deep ancestors which has the backing of experimental and observational sciences.
A brief account of humanity’s options is delineated in our Breaking the Cycle film (6 minutes). A brief account of humanity’s promise is delineated in my Reimagining Humanity film (12 minutes). These accounts will be unpacked in the blog.
My approach will be interdisciplinary, taking insights from anthropology, ethology, evolutionary systems, neurobiological, developmental, clinical, educational, therapeutic, and Indigenous sciences. But it is also transdisciplinary, drawing out evidence-based and practice-based insights that emerge from converging findings across sciences and wisdom traditions.
The aim is not only to inform about sources and causes but to offer suggestions for healing practices that readers can take up to “re-nest” themselves, their families and communities. We can do this together. To do so, we must understand the multiple causes of and remedies for humanity’s current destructive path. One solution is to return to the evolved nest.
The Evolved Nest is a set of common characteristics documented around the world by ethnographers in the type of society in which humanity spent 99% of its existence over millions of years. The evolved nest is especially importance in shaping a healthy fetus, baby and child, but it also maintains health and prosociality in adults. My lab has identified and studied nine components of the evolved nest: soothing perinatal experiences, breastfeeding for several years, welcoming social climate, affectionate touch (and no negative touch), responsive care, multiple nurturers, self-directed play, nature immersion and connection, and regular healing practices. Only the first two relate to babyhood alone. The rest are for the rest of us too.
I will be pointing out the aspects of the evolved nest and what happens when they are provided, or not, in terms of a person’s neurobiology, sociality, morality and lifeway orientation. And, I will discuss what can be done to heal when a person was not nested in childhood (most of us).
This blog is about nurturing, which we all need to fulfill our potential. Please join me in learning about nurturing and a renested future.
ABOUT ME
My background is multi-disciplinary, a useful pathway that keeps me from getting mired in one position or defensiveness of one point of view. The questions that facilitate a more expansive imagination include: “What if the opposite were true?” and “If this action/policy were implemented, what then? What are the short- and long-term effects or consequences?”
My heritages are diverse as well: on my mother’s side, who was a Minnesota farm girl, Eastern and Northern European roots; on my father’s side, who was born in Puerto Rico, primarily roots in various groups associated with the Iberian Peninsula and Puerto Rican Indigeneity (Taino People). I spent half my childhood outside the continental USA, in Spanish-speaking countries and Puerto Rico. Growing up, my family emphasized the Hispanic heritage, with no attention to the Indigenous, which was unrecognized. Indigeneity is a recent focus of mine. My primary identity is as a member of the Earth community which includes all our relations, human and non-human. My ethical responsibility is to enhance the flourishing of all.
About the Blog
The blog will be written. Subscribers will be able to comment and join a community of “nesters.”
The regularity of posts will vary depending on other commitments and travel but generally look for a new post on Sunday afternoons.
Any earnings will go to supporting EvolvedNest.org.