Look to Qigong and Nature Wildlife Recording as Health Therapy

Turning to time in the outdoors and working with Qigong has paid off for me physically and mentally.

Alligators can be quite vocal in the SMNWR

Lately I've been helping someone obtain their disability entitlement. This required much time filling out paperwork and driving, sometimes even going out of state.  All in all we were successful however the stress was significant.  Trying to navigate bureaucracies usually comes with constant challenges.  Drving for hours at night under heavy rainfall is even more stressful.

So living with aortic dissection now during the flu season I found myself stressing to the point of heart palpitations. The palpitations have receded now though and I can thank my Qigong meditation and breathing practice, as well as spending more time working with my Sony recorders in the marshes and swamps of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Hiking out in nature is a form of moving meditation and really has had a positive impact on both my physical and mental health. More soon.

Healing: Receiving Serious Health Diagnoses & Survivorship

 When diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer or as in many of our cases an aortic rupture or dissection, we may often experience a range of emotions and psychological responses. 

Me wearing a wound vac and chillin after my second open chest aortic procedure

The response to such life impacting news can be likened to grief, as we grapple with the loss of our former "perceived as OK" health status and we begin to confront own own mortality. The processes we encounter often mirror the five stages of grief and loss initially outlined by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book “On Death and Dying”.  If you've never read this book you should.

Here's a brief look at these stages as applied to any diagnosis of a significant medical condition or illness but especially written here for aortic dissection/aneurysm or and/or cancer survivors as these challenges are two I am personally familiar with:

1. Denial: This is often our first reaction. We may not accept the diagnosis or may think there has been some mistake in the test results. Denial serves as a psychological defense mechanism that helps us cope with the initial shock of diagnosis.
2. Anger: As the reality of the situation sets in, we may feel anger and resentment. This can be directed toward ourselves, our doctors, loved ones, or even a higher power. I kept asking myself, "Why me?"
3. Bargaining: This stage involves negotiating or pleading with a higher power, doctors, or even oneself. We may seek to make lifestyle changes, try alternative treatments, or adopt healthy habits in the hope of reversing the disease.
4. Depression: This stage is characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair. We may become overwhelmed by the potential implications of our disease, including pain, disability, and especially the prospect of our untimely death.
5. Acceptance: Over time, we may reach a stage of acceptance. We acknowledge the reality of our situation and may start to make plans for our future care or end-of-life arrangements. This stage is not about being okay with the cancer or aortic dissection but rather about acknowledging our physical and mental challenges and working with our diseases rather than fighting against them.

These above stages are not linear and we may cycle through them multiple times, even experiencing more than one stage simultaneously. Importantly, not everyone will experience all stages, or in this order.

Receiving support from mental health professionals, such as psychologists or counselors, can be vital during this time. Health care professionals can provide strategies to cope with our trauma and emotions associated with our diagnoses. Additionally, joining support groups, either in-person or online, can also be beneficial, providing a platform to share experiences and feelings with those who are going through a similar situation.  Facebook support groups have been a tremendous help for me and I know for many others.  I've also met some awesome people in these support groups who inspire me and give me hope.

It's also important to note that our journey with our challenging illnesses is unique, and there's no 'right' way to react or cope. The primary goal is to find ways of managing the illness and maintaining quality of life that work best for us.

As discussed above, one of the initial stages we may encounter is denial.  Denial serves as a psychological defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock of our diagnoses. It is a normal and in some ways, a healthy initial response, as it allows us some time to adjust emotionally to the diagnoses and to gather strength for our journey ahead.

I've personally found that denial can manifest in various ways and progress through several stages, including:

1. Shock and Disbelief: This is the immediate reaction to our diagnoses. We may feel numb, and there's often a sense of disbelief, as if what we've just heard can't be possible. We might think, "This can't be happening to me."
2. Dismissal of Diagnosis or Prognosis: We may question the competence of the medical professionals involved or insist on multiple retests, seeking a different opinion in the hope that the initial diagnosis was mistaken. We may also downplay the seriousness of the disease or believe that we will be the exception to the prognosis. This was especially true for me.  I spent so many hours on the internet researching how I would be spontaneously healed of my extensive aortic dissection.
3. Avoidance: In this stage, we might avoid medical appointments, refuse treatments, or avoid talking about the disease with friends and family. We might keep ourselves extremely busy so as to not have the time to confront the reality of our condition.  Again, I see a period of time where I did everything possible to try and get my doctors to allow me to stop taking the meds I was prescribed, including anticoagulants, beta blockers, statins, aspirin and others.  I was convinced that if I was not taking these prescriptions then I’d wouldn’t necessarily be sick.
4. Rationalization: We may also try to find explanations that could discredit our dissection or cancer diagnosis. For instance, we might attribute our symptoms to less serious conditions or to factors like stress or fatigue. We may also overemphasize stories of misdiagnosis we’ve heard or read about.  I too, to an extent was guilty of thinking my doctors may not have really known what they were seeing on the CT scans.  Ditto me on that.

While denial can serve us as a protective function initially, prolonged denial can be harmful.  Unreasonably prolonged denial can delay necessary treatment and prevent us from taking steps to manage our condition effectively.  For a caregiver, friend or medical professional it’s important to approach those of us in denial with frankness and truth but also with empathy and understanding, providing us with emotional support while also encouraging us to face the reality of our dissection or cancer.

Professional help from a psychologist, counselor, or a psychiatrist can be very helpful during our denial phase. Mental health professionals can use various therapeutic techniques to guide us gently towards acceptance of our conditions, providing us with the psychological tools needed to handle our diagnosis and the implications. As we mentioned above support groups can also be beneficial, as they allow us to interact with others who are facing similar challenges.

Both cancer and aortic dissection have been a challenge for me.  Its been well over a decade since my ascending aortic repair and I’m still living with a  complex descending dissection. It’s been seven years since my melanoma surgery, fifteen years since most of my large colon was removed and three years since half of my kidney was ablated for renal cell carcinoma. During these times I’ve experienced denial on a regular basis. Today, with the help of family and health care professionals I find myself able to recognize the stages Mrs. Ross describes in her book On Death and Dying.  Living with serious health challenges is just that, a huge challenge.  Kudos to us survivors.  Next blog post I’ll be discussing the second dimension of dealing with this type of trauma, the Anger phase.

Many blessings, Kevin

Nature Art: Spending Time In The Forest & Swamps, A Source of Art Inspiration

 Spending time in forests can greatly inspire an artist looking to create native plant artwork, offering them an opportunity to explore and understand the intricate beauty of nature in its purest form.

Nature Art, Finding Inspiration In the Forests and Swamps

Below are some of my thoughts about the many ways how a forest could serve as a wonderful resource for any artist but especially a native plant artist:

1. Observation and Realism: The first and foremost benefit of being in a forest is the opportunity to observe native plants in their natural habitats. The artist can study their forms, colors, and textures in detail. This direct observation can lead to more realistic and accurate representations in the artwork.

2. Seasonal Changes: A forest presents an ever-changing tableau as the seasons shift, offering a range of different visuals from fresh spring blossoms to autumn foliage. The artist can depict the lifecycle of the plants or create a series of artwork illustrating these transitions.

3. Connection with Nature: Immersion in a forest allows the artist to develop a deep, personal connection with nature. This emotional bond could be reflected in the artwork, creating pieces that not only depict the physical aspects of the plants but also the artist's feelings towards them.

4. Understanding Ecosystems: A forest provides a unique opportunity to understand the interdependence of various life forms. By noticing how plants interact with other elements of the forest, such as animals and weather, the artist could incorporate these aspects into the artwork, making it richer and more complex.

5. Inspiration and Creativity: The serenity and beauty of a forest can stimulate an artist's creativity. The variations in landscapes, the play of light and shadow, the myriad colors, shapes, and textures, all contribute to an array of visual stimuli that can trigger new ideas and approaches to the artwork.

6. Symbolism: Plants in a forest can carry a wealth of symbolism, often tied to cultural or spiritual beliefs. An artist may choose to incorporate these symbolic meanings into their artwork, adding layers of depth and interpretation to their pieces.

7. Learning Different Perspectives: Spending time in a forest can lead an artist to see things from different perspectives. They might find beauty in the understory that many overlook, or see the towering majesty of old-growth trees. Each new perspective provides fresh inspiration for artwork.

8. Healing & Health: I can speak from first hand experience here as to just how spending time in the wilds has redirected my mind from dwelling on my physical challenges and instead allowing me the opportunity to instead see the beauty of the natural world around me. Fresh air, sunshine, earth colors & hues, wildlife sounds, bird calls, all these help me breathe deeper and feel more whole. When I feel uplifted physically then my mind is ready to create art.

So, spending time in forests allows me to develop a deeper understanding of the natural world, fostering creativity and providing endless inspiration for my native plant artwork. Through direct observation and immersion in nature, we artists can create pieces that are not only visually stunning but also imbued with a sense of authenticity and emotional depth.

Nature Healing: Exploring Ecotherapy as a Health Modality

 Spending time outdoors (I call this outdoor time 'ecotherapy') can be incredibly beneficial for individuals experiencing trauma for several reasons. 

Ecotherapy & the study of the Languages of Nature has helped me with my aortic dissection healing

Here are a few key ways in which it can help:

1. Stress Reduction: Exposure to nature has been shown to reduce stress, with research demonstrating that spending time outdoors can lower heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Trauma can create chronic stress conditions, and mitigating stress is a significant step towards healing.
2. Mindfulness and Presence: The natural world can encourage a state of mindfulness, which involves focusing on the present moment rather than ruminating on past experiences or worrying about the future. This can be particularly helpful for individuals dealing with trauma, as it can provide a break from distressing memories and anxiety-provoking thoughts about the future.
3. Physical Activity: Outdoor environments are conducive to physical activities like walking, hiking, or cycling. Regular exercise has been found to reduce symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and can stimulate the release of endorphins, the body's natural mood lifters. Physical activity can also promote better sleep, which is often disrupted in those dealing with trauma.
4. Increased Social Interaction: Spending time outdoors, particularly in public parks or community gardens, can lead to increased social interactions. Social support is often a crucial component of trauma recovery, providing opportunities for shared understanding, emotional expression, and reassurance.
5. Restorative Environment: Nature has been described as a 'restorative' environment that can improve concentration and motivation. This is beneficial for those healing from trauma, where cognitive functioning can often be affected.
6. Improved Mood: Research has also linked exposure to green spaces with improved mood and mental health. This can be especially beneficial for those recovering from trauma, who may be experiencing issues such as depression or anxiety.
7. Ecotherapy: A form of therapeutic treatment which involves doing activities in nature. It can help to improve your mood, reduce feelings of stress or anger, help you take time out and feel more relaxed, improve your physical health, improve your confidence and self-esteem, help you be more active, help you make new connections, provide peer support, and provide a sense of belonging and community.  Ecotherapy benefits us through a variety of ways, such as;

• Improved Mental Health:
• Reduces Stress: Exposure to natural environments has been shown to lower cortisol levels, a hormone that the body produces in response to stress. This reduction can help mitigate feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Improves Mood: Nature has a calming effect that can elevate a person's mood. The simple act of taking a walk in a park has been found to trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural mood elevator.
• Enhances Cognitive Functions: Natural settings can be restorative for our cognitive abilities. Research suggests that nature can help restore attention, improve problem-solving and creativity.
• Improved Physical Health:
• Physical Activity: Ecotherapy often involves physical activities such as gardening, conservation work, or walking, which can help improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and overall physical fitness.
• Exposure to Sunlight: Outdoor activities increase exposure to sunlight, which facilitates vitamin D production. Vitamin D is important for various bodily functions, including strengthening the immune system and bone health.
• Lowered Blood Pressure: Spending time in natural environments has been linked with lowered blood pressure, beneficial for heart health.
• Improved Emotional Well-being:
• Building Connection: Engaging with nature can help individuals feel more connected to the world around them, combat feelings of isolation, and build a sense of belonging.
• Mindfulness: Natural environments encourage mindfulness and can make it easier for individuals to focus on the present moment. Mindfulness has been linked with a range of health benefits, including improved emotional regulation and reduced rumination.
• Improved Social Health:
• Community Engagement: Many ecotherapy activities involve social interaction, promoting community engagement and social skills, which can be beneficial for individuals feeling isolated or struggling with social anxiety.
• Increased Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence: Accomplishing tasks in nature, like growing a garden or hiking a trail, can instill a sense of achievement, thereby boosting self-esteem and self-confidence.

Despite the noted benefits, it's important to mention that ecotherapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Spending the day swimming in Wakulla Springs recently was so very relaxing

What works for one individual may not work for another. For some, ecotherapy might best serve as a complementary approach alongside traditional therapy or medication.  This form of therapy is based on the idea that people are connected to and impacted by the natural environment. It leverages the benefits of nature to promote healing and growth. 

While I personally attribute time outdoors to having contributed to healing PTSD and trauma associated with my aortic dissection, it should be noted that ecotherapy isn't considered a replacement for professional treatment methods such as psychotherapy, medication, or cognitive-behavioral techniques. Rather, it's an adjunct therapy that can support and enhance these other treatment modalities.

Regardless, I've found that spending time outdoors has provided me with so many healing health benefits since my dissection and aorta operations and highly recommend discussing ecotherapy with a professional for anyone seeking to anyone seeking relief from mental or physical trauma.

Nature Healing: How Forest Bathing Helps Manage Trauma

Forest bathing, also known as "Shinrin-Yoku" in Japanese, refers to spending time in a forest or natural environment for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness. The practice is not exercise, or hiking, or jogging; it is simply being in nature, connecting with the universal through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Very real health management substances can be acquired through Forest Bathing

The connection between forest bathing and healing trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been known to traditional healers since the beginning of time but has only recently been acknowledged in scientific literature.  

One of my favorite Forest Bathing places is found deep in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Importantly, some potential reasons and mechanisms to explain how forest bathing could be beneficial include:

1. Stress Reduction: One of the significant benefits of forest bathing is stress reduction. Natural settings can decrease cortisol levels, pulse rate, and blood pressure, which are typically heightened in individuals suffering from trauma or PTSD. Lowering these stress indicators can help individuals manage their symptoms more effectively.
2. Mood Enhancement: Nature and forest environments are associated with enhanced mood and feelings of wellbeing. This could be beneficial for individuals with PTSD, who often suffer from mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
3. Mindfulness and Presence: The practice encourages mindfulness and living in the present moment, which can help distract individuals from traumatic memories and intrusive thoughts that contribute to PTSD.
4. Improved Sleep: Forest bathing can contribute to better sleep, which is often a challenge for individuals with PTSD. Better sleep can lead to improvements in mental and physical health.
5. Boosts Immune System: Exposure to forests enhances the activity of natural killer cells, a component of the immune system that helps combat disease. This is partly due to inhaling phytoncides, organic compounds with antibacterial properties released by trees.
6. Therapeutic Setting: A forest can provide a calming and safe environment for therapeutic activities, such as trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy or exposure therapy.
7. Nature Connection: Some research suggests that developing a connection with nature can aid in trauma recovery, as it can promote feelings of peace, resilience, and overall mental wellbeing.

Remember, while forest bathing may provide potential benefits, it should not replace traditional treatment methods for PTSD and trauma, such as psychotherapy and medication. If you or someone else has PTSD or has experienced a traumatic event, it's crucial to seek help from a mental health professional.

Deep Listening to the Languages of Nature

The practice of deep listening has revealed to me dimensions of nature I never before imagined existed.  

Deep Listening, Recording the Languages of Nature

Along with nature's colors and textures, deep listening collaterally has created vibrant imagined images of nature art for my studio's work.  More importantly though, deep listening to the languages of nature has also reduced much of the stress typical to everyday life and increased feelings of satisfaction and happiness.

Focused listening to the different nature dialects around us can offer many health benefits.  Over eons our human brains evolved an ability to grow new cells and create fresh neurons.  Science has documented that learning new human languages is one way to stimulate brain cell growth.  Careful or focused listening is usually the first step in learning a foreign language.  

With routine exposure to new words and speech patterns our brains over time begin to organize these sounds into neurological patterns that can be quickly accessed, recognized and used during communication.  The more we exercise our brains in ways such as learning new languages the more likely the chance our increased brain activity will provide healthy mental benefits through brain cell growth rather than succumbing to neuronal degeneration.

When learning the languages of nature we may gain similar health benefits, including additional important healing and total body health advantages.  As with the study of foreign languages, learning nature's languages begins with listening.  Intentful listening can take practice and time to master.  Once we are successful at compartmentalizing away our daily distractions and we allow ourselves to focus on the sounds around us, we will then begin to recognize important sound patterns originating from Mother Nature.  

As with any foreign speech we encounter in our day to day lives, nature's languages are always around us even when we don't consciously realize their presence.  Importantly, until we learn to listen and recognize nature's sound patterns, natural dialects can remain an unlearned language to us, lost and seemingly useless chatter in everyday life background noise.

In addition to cognitive health, the adventure of learning nature's languages through deep listening practice can greatly improve the well-being of our heart, cardiovascular system and our body's organs.  'Ecotherapy', or spending significant amounts of time out in nature,  has been shown through a number of scientific studies to improve not just our mental health but total body health too.

I've personally adopted the concept of nature therapy as my primary long term health management approach for years now and will go for a hike through the wilds whenever I get the chance.  Spending time out in nature has had a positive impact on my health by reducing my blood pressure and stress to manageable levels.  This can decrease risks of further aortic damage.  Most of us really do understand and accept the premise the we benefit from time out in nature, but the reality is that though we may acknowledge nature based health benefits as important, few of us take the time required to go outdoors, hike, sit and hear.

I've found the concept of 'deep listening to the languages of nature' to be similar to what I've experienced once I learned how to use intenful visualization to recognize nature's infinite array of colors, textures, patterns and visual hues.  Though I've always had a special affinity for art (right brained me) there have been times I may have looked at the forest as a swath of muddled green rather than an intricate collection of brush strokes, perspectives and countless subtle blends of blue, yellow and red hues.

A focused study of nature's visual arts has created so much good in my life.  Inspiration for my artwork comes so much easier now and subject matter jumps out at me countless times when I am on just a short stroll through the woods.  I see examples of nature's complimentary color use evident in an endless array of flowers, bark and leaves.  Perspectives, textures, shadows and light lay out captivating possibilities before my eyes in the wilds along the path.  Instead of muddled green around me I now live and exist in a dynamic, ever-changing exhibit of mind boggling nature art.

And as with nature's visual arts, so it can be too with nature's languages.  Once we begin to focus on the sounds around us, nature's audio will tell illuminating stories full of all sorts of life information.

But to many, sounds come primarily from the television, car radio, digital audio players or the static in our head generated by our overly stressed brains.  Most of the information our ears gather, other than from human speech and electronic audio is clumped into a group of audio what many think of as background noise.  Unfortunately the healing languages of nature are often lost unnoticed in this ignored class of 'noise'.

And since most background noise is always there around us we ignore the complex sounds, filtering them into the trash file or if we can't quite filter out then suppressing their recognition.  Unfortunately, when we filter out the sounds around us we not only lose the unwanted but we also miss out on healthy, beneficial audio of biological, ecological and geophysical systems too.

My personal journey into deep nature listening involved several meaningful milestones, beginning with my South Florida childhood where until my dad installed an air conditioner in the late 1960s, we slept with our windows open. Spending the weekend with my grandparents also afforded me different windows open nighttime sounds as one set of grandparents lived in an open, sandy grassland type ecosystem while the other lived under far reaching live oaks in a semi-tropical mesic hammock.  Eyes wide open until the late hours I can remember lying there listening with awe to the mysterious sounds of frogs, migratory birds and wildlife as the Atlantic Ocean breezes rustled the live oak leaves.

Sometimes I'd sit under our backyard mahogany tree and listen as rain splashed against the leaves or watched the brilliant streaks of electricity light the darkened sky, creating black and white contrast art behind the old crooked live oak limbs. I came to wonder about and believe, even as a youth, all life, animals and plants could and do communicate.   After all, was there that much difference between air rushing across human's and animal's vocal chords and the wind flowing through, rustling leaves of the ancient live oaks or strumming string like needles of the pines.  They are all the languages of nature I would think, just different dialects but all with rich content.

As a teen my interests in natural sciences continued to broaden.  I'd watch with amazement how during the yearly South Florida hurricane season, birds, insects and wildlife would disappear before an approaching storm would make landfall.  Wherever they went they'd leave behind a deafening quiet, one that made me realize just how loud they must have been on a day to day basis when the sky was storm free.  I'd just never really paid attention or practiced deep listening. I should have more often stopped and cleared my day dreaming mind and focused on the animal and plant sounds about me, a task so hard to do then but especially in today's world of digital audio and fast paced city noises.

And so for most of my entire adult life I've been drawn to the complexities of nature's art.  And recognition of the intricate ways the universe stimulates my senses has bestowed upon me much happiness and a sense of secure well-being, for I know I don't live in a muddled up mess of colors and mumbled sounds.  In fact, we live in the midst of infinite beautiful complexity.  And if we chose to brush aside these complexities as background chatter or generic green then we are missing out on some of life's greatest adventures.

Today I carry small digital recorders most places Judy and I may go.  One never knows when the bullfrogs may begin calling or the swallow tail kites sing.  Storms, thunder and water's courses all speak as do creatures great and small.  Plant leaves, limbs and needles rustle in the wind, each with their own unique vibrations so similar to our own vocalizations, all possessing a message.  It's not so much how great the recorder is either, rather its about just having any recorder to prompt me to listen to those now recognized languages of nature.

Life is so full of amazing possibilities and opportunities to learn, grow, heal, enjoy and reflect.  My path has led me through a period of focus on nature's colors, textures and hues.  Yet I always knew though there was more to learn, so much more.  Deep listening woke and turned me on to the enlightening dimensions of nature's languages.  I know there are many other avenues to explore just ahead, such as scents, tastes, electromagnetic fields just to name a few.  We exist in a dynamic universe.

For now I am glad I've begun to learn of deep listening.  And the languages of nature are pure sublime.

You can hear some of my field recordings of the Languages of Florida Nature here.

Bioacoustics, Rainy Morning Blue Jay Squabble

 Two minute clip of Blue Jays, Cyanocitta cristata, fussing over foraging territory with other birds and squirrels.

Sony recorder, Lom Mikro Usi, Windbubbles & a dry bag.