How to harness your fears
Sleeping alone in the wild, one comes face to face with fears. Namely, the fear of creatures in the night. Routt National Forest is home to bears, mountain lions, scorpions, and rattlesnakes, all of which I was acutely attuned to during my three night solo in the woods. Before my cohort and I set out for our own solo adventures, we shared what these fears looked like with the group. Many expressed the fear of being alone in the dark, and the fear of encountering a wild animal. I was...
Read MoreOde to Francisco Varela
I’ve got the hots for Francisco Varela. The Chilean scientist introduced the concept of including mindfulness meditation into scientific inquiry. He knew that we influence that which we study, and therefore we cannot be truly separate from the subject of our inquiry. There is always an element of influence. His big work was developing the concept of autopoiesis, the systems theory that an organism is always self-creating in relationship with its environment. Thus, there is no solid,...
Read MoreHeart of Danger
Desire is a wall that separates the body from the self. My desires painted a picture for my future, stroked with rich and deeply diverse brushstrokes of brightly colored hope. Yet currents of convention swept me back into the black and white boundaries of habitual tradition, keeping me from realizing the full spectrum of my potential. Fear contained me in a cycle of questioning and stagnation, held “safe” within the walls of boxes. Like a stash box ballerina, my toe danced on a single axis...
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