HEALTH PRACTICE

The Wave of Change Needs Us All

Q&A Flow Future. My first follower on Patreon is an interesting one. Ready for a surfer’s ride on a wave of wisdom?

Last week, I started a Patreon account for two reasons. The first one is that I really want to open up my knowledge of nature-based solutions, regenerative business models, systemic thinking, and storytelling to a vast number of people.

I think our broken world needs all the help she can get.

The second one is that I want to have a basic income, providing for our modest basic needs, so we (Mike and I) can be free to contribute our wisdom, knowledge and hands-on doing wherever it’s needed most. And where it’s needed most is often not the same place as where money is available to pay us.

Broken ecosystems, compassionate people, and regenerative startups.

We are all drops in the wave of change. So I thought, maybe my readers will feel inspired enough to contribute to this wave of change and be a drop.

But of course, I want to give back to my patrons. Reciprocity is my middle name. I’m not in for a cheap ride, I want to be challenged and use my time in a purposeful way. Inspiring, creating value, and giving practical tools.

So, I thought of some categories.

Drop in the Wave

The first one is simple. A small contribution to our wave if you feel inspired by what I do. The reciprocity is already there if you join. Because most likely you follow me on LinkedIn or Medium and you get energy from my work just by reading about Gaia’s solutions.

The next two are about asking questions. Many of my readers are inspired by what I have to say but they don’t know how to apply upstream solutions to their own lives, or businesses, or storytelling.

Curious Being on a Journey

So I made one tier for asking questions online and I will answer them clustered in monthly stories. Opening up solutions for my patrons and opening up wisdom for my other readers and followers in the process.

The categories for asking questions are twofold: 1. nature-based solutions, systemic sustainability, regenerative business models, Gaia’s design (this is all connected) and 2. authentic storytelling for changemakers.

My Apprentices

If a clustered story is not enough, I have created the possibility to ask questions 1:1 and have a monthly Skype-call for personal guidance. I love those Skype-calls, they give me energy. And up to now, nobody walked away disappointed. So I do have something to offer here to my patrons.

My Business Angels

And then the angels might arrive. So I made a tier for them as well. For the business angels and wealthy people who trust my work enough to sponsor bigger chunks of it.

So Mike and I can go help some regenerative startups, or broken people, or broken ecosystems with more than just wisdom and our own hands.

We’ll see how the wave will emerge. I keep you posted.

I started a Patreon account to open up my knowledge

Mental Health Solutions

Yesterday, my first patron arrived. Her name is Shereen Tucker. And wow, I’m happy because she’s working in an interesting field. Mental health.

She told me:

“I’m such a novice on regenerative principles and very curious about the application on mental health care, specifically a private practice business oriented towards well being. Much of my work as a therapist is founded in complex systems theory, Porges polyvagal theory and fractals, so to have landed on regenerative principles feels like enlightenment or rather, dots of enlightenment. I’m hoping you can support me to find the thread to knit it together so there’s sustainability in supporting others, the planet and myself. I’m eager to continue this dialogue.” — Shereen Tucker on Patreon.

I must be honest with you all. I’m a polymath, yes, but I don’t know all. So I had never heard of Porges polyvagal theory. I had to look it up. But I do know about fractals and about Gaia’s wisdom, so I’m sure I can give Shereen some ideas to apply in her therapy practice.

My work as a therapist is founded in complex systems theory — Shereen Tucker

Porges polyvagal theory

In this article on Researchgate, Stephen W Porges himself says about polyvagal theory:

“The scientific legacy of Paul MacLean provides important insights into the neural substrate of adaptive social behavior in mammals.”[..]

“His research and writings provided three important contributions. First, he emphasized the importance of evolution as an organizing principle that shaped both the structure of the nervous system and the adaptive social behavior. Second, by defining the limbic system, he legitimized the biological perspective in the study of emotion. Third, he recognized the important role of the vagal afferents in the regulation of higher brain structures.”

Pfew. That’s interesting stuff!

I’m sure our brains and our social behavior are influenced by nature’s laws. Like everything else on this planet. So what might be snippets of Gaia’s wisdom that might help Shereen with her well-being practice? Give her some regenerative perspective?

Connecting the Dots

The first thing that comes to my mind is to connect dots of clinical knowledge and practical hands-in-the-soil doing.

Human wellbeing is strongly connected to planetary wellbeing. And nature is helping us to be balanced human beings. So my first advice would be: go outside with your clients and communities. Let the trees and the river and the soil help them to heal themselves.

Have your therapeutic sessions while walking, for instance. Or organize silent walks with all the senses wide open and afterward create together.

Make paintings inspired by what you saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted. Or write three-line poems. Two lines with actual sensual experience (involve all the senses) and one line with an internal observation.

Thirsty birds drink from the oasis. My heartflower starts opening.

And if you need reasons for people to go outside, give them something useful to do. Start a community garden based on permaculture principles. Learn how nature does things while being outside with your hands in the soil, growing your own healthy food.

Nature will help people heal themselves

Business Wisdom

But maybe Shereen will want to know about making her business resilient. Creating mulitiple value with multiple income streams. I might have some wisdom for her about synergy in business models. And how nature wisdom can strenthen businesses.

Yesterday, I shared some of my knowledge with the professional women on a Heroine’s Journey with iCanay. Unleashing abundance while healing the world. Love it!

Epigenetics

In the medical field, I am very intrigued by genes and how our medical science is only looking downstream for solutions to problems.

You know, I often write about the river. How we are always looking downstream for solutions, whereas we should be looking upstream?

At this moment, CRISPR gene editing is gaining a lot of interest. Jennifer Doudna even won the Nobel prize of 2020 with her work on it.

But in my view, this is a downstream solution. We have a problem related to genes, so we do something physical to solve it. We cut and paste the genes. And think that we have solved the problem. Whereas, we really have no clue what other problems might result from this gene editing.

Everything is connected, remember? Cutting some genes in food might result in health problems for humans too.

And in fact, if we look upstream, we see that Gaia is so much wiser than that. And solutions can be found in biodiversity and environmental connections.

Epigenetics is the field of connecting the dots. Genes seem to be interacting with our environment. And they seem to have the possibility to turn on or off depending on environmental changes.

Wow, this opens up perspectives without having to touch the physical genes.

In our food, we don’t have to do any CRISPR. We can design the system in such a way that the soil, water, and micro-organisms do their work properly. We can design a system with an abundance of biodiversity, so predators can keep pests under control. And the whole system will thrive.

No gene-editing necessary.

In our human minds, it seems that our unconscious is sabotaging the whole gene-stuff. And also the system of social support has a big influence on mental health.

In the field of epigenetics, I am fascinated by ‘The Biology of Belief’ a book by Bruce Lipton. He is a renowned epigenetics scientist working on the edge of biology and spirituality.

In the social field, I’m very interested in the work of Brené Brown. She gives us magical insights when it comes to handling our feelings of shame. Finding courage. And the science of belonging to a social structure.

Upstream solutions with epigenetics and social structure

Dear Shereen, if you have specific questions, keep them coming.

I will cluster the answers to your questions and others coming from Patreon and make a story at least once a month. You will receive the story as a friends-link in a Patreon-message, so you won’t be hindered by the Medium paywal. And you are free to share it with other friends as broadly as you like.

You can also open some discussions in the comments with this story. Other therapists and nature-inspired people like Rebecca Romanelli, Dipti Pande, or fractal and permaculture experts like Eliot Kersgaard might join in and give their perspectives.

We are a wave, remember. I love surfing the waves and being a drop myself as well. And I will learn as much in the process as my patrons. I can’t wait for more questions…

Warm regards and keep up the good work, Shereen!

Desiree.

And thank you, Kaia Tingley 🌀and Rasheed Hooda for sparking my thoughts on using Patreon to make the wave sturdy and surfable. If anyone wants to be part of my Patreon wave Flow Future, here is the link.

And don’t worry if you just want to be part of the wave for a short while. I don’t mind people coming and going. We learn, we apply the wisdom and we move on. That’s what waves do.

And if you want to reach out, you can also find me on other social media. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, ManyStories, Quora, Patreon, my website.

Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words.

© Désirée Driesenaar