Where to learn how to live in nature?

[Liminal]

I'm interested in expanding my relationship with the non-human world.  I think a good way to do this would be to learn how to live more directly within it.  But I'm interesting in learning to live in nature and not to survive in the wilderness, if you take my meaning.

The attitude of all this wilderness survival stuff seems to be that nature is an enemy that you have to learn to out-maneuver if you want to survive.  I want none of that.

I want to learn about nature as inherently life-sustaining, though clearly one needs to know how to go about it (injury and death being just as natural as anything else).

Does anyone know where I might start exploring?  Books?  Websites?  Instructors/programs?

Thanks!

[Ric_Richardson]

Tansi;

It may be just semantics, but I think that we already live "in" nature, but it would be better if more people learned to live "with" nature, having Respect for our surroundings, as well as for the others that need nature for their survival.

In the northern forest of Saskatchewan, we harvest and use natural products, while making sure that there are enough left, for their own sustainability, as well as for all of the other residents of the forest.

I do not know of any books that teach this, but there are probably some.

Ric

[Liminal]

Your point is well taken.  Perhaps the biggest reason we've gotten into this mess to begin with is that somewhere along the line we decided that we were somehow separate from the rest of the world.

Semantics do play a bit of a role.  I guess you could say I feel like I'd know more about living "with" nature if I knew more about living outside-of-modern-human-construction.  We need a word for that!

[Barnaby_McEwan]

...somewhere along the line we decided that we were somehow separate from the rest of the world.

Who is this "we"?

[Liminal]

...somewhere along the line we decided that we were somehow separate from the rest of the world.

Who is this "we"?

Sadly, nearly all of the last few generations of the human race.  There are exceptions, and I'd be happy to know that you and yours are among them, but if we don't think of this as a "we" issue, then all of "us" are going to die.

[Diana]

 I guess you could say I feel like I'd know more about living "with" nature if I knew more about living outside-of-modern-human-construction.  We need a word for that!

In my Tribe we call it "camping". He he!


Diana

[Prairie Fairy]

My fraud friends here in Deventer do Permaculture Gardening, Firewalking and Sweats. I also did a little research on Permaculture and found that some radical eco activists object to the Permaculture people involving themselves in any money economy. I object to the involvement of spirituality in money economy, but ruling money economy out entirely seems unrealistic at this stage of events. Further I don't know of anything wrong with Permaculture gardening. I'll bet there are folk around who do not do unethical spiritual practices alongside it as my friends do.

Also if you can train with a good herbalist for basic plant safety. Watch out though. Make sure you are dealing with somebody who has their s*** together.

[Andreas]

Think about from where everything you use, comes. How do you make the cloth from which your clothes are made, the utensils from you survive, the food you eat, the passage of the day, the seasons, and so forth. What is sought is an awareness, but if you wish to know the techniques also, that can be a deeper journey of discovery. In reality, we need very little from which we can survive. The excess of luxuries in modern life, is overwhelming.

The whole endeavour would be like learning a new language: you might be able to be understood, but you would never be wholly fluent unless you grew up in that existence. (I grew up surviving from the basics, which is not an easy life, but the insulation from those realities, by modern life, is troubling as so very few people are even concerned about such matters).

To ask a question, is the beginning of opening the door towards understanding.